Based on THE SLO-PITCH ONTARIO ASSOCIATION
PLAYING PROCEDURES
1.Playing Field
-Bases are to 65 feet apart in All Divisions.
-Pitching Distance “should be” 50-60 feet the pitching box should be centered in a direct line with home plate and 2nd base.
-Batters box is 7ft x 3ft
-Double base with safety bag is to be used at 1st base.
-Home plate/Strike Board must be an exactly 2ft x 3ft plywood board.
-A safety line must be drawn in the sand at home plate for players to cross. No base runner is to touch the home plate. A commit line is drawn 21ft from home plate on the 3rd base line. Once a player passes the commit line running from 3rd base he may NOT return to 3rd base unless tagging up on a fly ball.
2.Equipment
-Minimum uniform shall be identical shirts with numbers and proper footwear.
Gloves may be worn by any player. Trappers may be worn by the catcher, pitcher and first baseman only.
-Shoes may not have metal cleats
-Bats: Must be approved by SPO. Approved bats must comply with the current USSSA Bat Certification Policy. USSSA Licensed / Approved Softball Bats List
-Any noticeable tampering with a bat (ie: paint peeled off the barrel, pry marks around the cap, poor cap fit, vise grip marks or substantial surface cracks) will deem the bat illegal and any batter standing in the batters box with such a bat will be immediately ejected for the remainder of the game.
-SENOIR Bats are illegal bats!!!
-If a bat is in question each team should have a copy of the SPO list of approved bats with them if they wish to have the bat removed from play. It is up the umpire if a bat is taken out of play and you must prove it is not legal if you wish to protest a bat. If you are unsure please bring the bat to the attention of the other team and the umpire prior to the game commencing.
-For safety reason we request that no visible jewelry be worn during the games.
3.Team
-The batting order should be a minimum of 10 players. A minimum of 8 players is required to play a game. If a team has 8 or 9 players the opposing team may give the other team a catcher when they are up to bat. If a team only has 8 players then it is a general gentleman’s rule that the opposing team supplies the other team with a catcher. It is the team’s decision whether or not the catcher helps on defense but usually they just throw the ball back to the pitcher. Any defensive play will then be covered by the pitcher.
- A team with 7 or less players present after the 15minute courtesy will automatically forfeit the game and will be charged $75 by the league to cover the expenses. The score of the forfeited game will be 7-0 in favor of the team NOT at fault.
- Winning teams are to email the scores of their games to the scheduler/scorer within 48 hours of the game ending so we game update the website.
-All schedules will be on our league website, it will included date, time, diamond and which team is home and away.
-Home team is responsible for setting up the bases prior to the games start time, also the home team is to supply the umpire with 1 brand new ball, the away team is to supply the umpire with a spare used ball (usually more then 1 used spare is required). Teams that hit homeruns and foul balls are responsible for retrieving those balls ASAP to maintain the speed of the game.
Park Behavior
-There is to be ABSOLUTLEY NO ALCOHOL OR DRUGS ANYWHERE NEAR THE DIAMONDS, PLAYING SURFACES AT ANY TIME. Teams or players seen breaking this rule will be immediately ejected from a game or have their game forfeited by the umpire. If a player or team is seen breaking this rule, and they have finished their games for the night, they will have their next game forfeited by the league executives.
-If a player is ejected for any reason he must leave the park and have absolutely NO contact with the umpires. The team must play one man short, if this leaves them with not enough players to continue then the game will be forfeited. If a player is ejected for any reason, the game continues and all his remaining at bats will be counted as an AUTOMATIC OUT for the remainder of the game.
- The Umpires are there to strictly UMPIRE our games, they are not there to Police our diamonds so be considerate and act responsibly. This is a Men’s League, please act like MEN.
-Intoxication: if a player is deemed unfit to play due to intoxication during or prior to a game he will be ejected or not allowed to play for the remainder of the night.
-Umpires understand there will be differences of opinion during a game and the “heat of the moment” arguments have been well tolerated by our umpires in the past, however, drug and alcohol related arguments will never tolerated ever.
-Any physical altercations between players, teams, fans or parents will result in those involved and/or the teams immediate suspension until a review by league executives from HASPA. Suspensions could be as high as a lifetime ban and NO refund of league fees.
-Teams must always be respectful of the homes surrounding Sherwood Forest Ball Park, they must be quiet enough not to disturb the people living around the park while in the parking lots. Police have been called in the past to the park. If the Police are called they will report the call to the City of Burlington and that puts our league’s permits in jeopardy for the remainder of the year.
-It is the responsibility of EACH TEAM TO GOVERN THEMSELVES WHILE IN THE PARK AND PARKING LOTS. Any complaints, disturbances or Police actions will result in consequences from League Executives, everything from fines, game suspensions to complete removal from the league with NO refund.
4. Injuries / Courtesy Runners / Declared Batter
- HASPA does not permit the use of courtesy runners as per SPO guidelines. Rather, HASPA has implemented the Declared Batter rule to accommodate injured players with pinch runners.
- The Declared Batter Rule: if a batter is unable to run or perform on the base paths he can tell the umpire that he is a “declared batter" upon his arrival to home plate for his at-bat. This means that the batter can only run to 1st base if his ball stays inside the ball diamond. If a declared batter hits a homerun then he may round the bases and score as per usual. Declared batters must stop at 1st base unless it is a homerun. Once time has been called by the Umpire, then that declared batter is now replaced by the last out recorded, or last run recorded, whichever was most recent. A batter cannot ask for a pinch runner once he is on base unless he is declared. There is no limit to how many players can use the Declared Batter Rule. Once a player has been declared once, he is obligated to declare for every at-bat for the remainder of the game.
Injuries:
If a healthy player is injured at anytime during the game on offense or defense it is a general gentleman’s rule in HASPA that the injured player can be replaced immediately without any penalty. If there are no replacements then the limit of players rule need to be followed. If there are 7 or less players remaining after the injury the game is forfeited without any penalty fee. If it is a base runner then the last out would take his spot regardless of which base they end up on. For the injured player, they are allowed to remain in the game and continue to field and hit. However, for the remainder of that game, they will need to declare themselves, and abide by the Declared Batter restrictions.
5.Game
Weekend games are scheduled for 90 minutes, however, NO NEW inning is to start after the 75th minute. 6.Mercy
Week day games are scheduled for 105 minutes, however, NO NEW inning is to start after the 90th minute.
- The umpire cannot call last inning. It can only be a warning, as if it is quick and the game is only at 74 or 89 minutes then another inning would be played.
You may play all 9 innings if you have enough time. In regular season games there are no extra innings. Games can end in a tie.
Super Weekend games cap at 7 innings, with a maximum score of +7. Super Weekend games can end in a tie.
C division has a 10 run per inning limit with an unlimited final inning (9th or last inning called by the umpire after the 75th minute on weekends and 90th minute on week day).
-Forfeits…A game shall be declared a forfeit if a team fails to field the required number of players prior to or during the game, refuses to continue the game after a suspension of play, intentionally tries to delay or hasten the game, or intentionally violates a rule of the game after being warned by the umpire. A forfeit shall be declared if a player, ejected from the game by an umpire, does not leave the park when directed to do so. When a player is ejected and must leave the ball park, that player must move far enough away so that they may not be seen or heard by the participants of the game and may not participate with the game in any manner. Players or teams ejected are not to have any further contact with the Umpire. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary actions towards the player and his team. Fans and Parents are also included in this, it is the teams responsibility to control the fans or parents attending their games.
-Scoring…A run is scored when a player safely touches, in order first base, second base, third base and crosses the safety line at home plate. Base runners do not touch home plate ever, this is to avoid collisions and injuries. A runner may not score ahead of a preceding runner who has not been retired. A run may not score if the last out of an inning is a force out or a preceding runner declared out.
-The score of a forfeited game shall be 7-0 in favor of the team not at fault.
-Home Run Rule…. In HASPA, we allow 3 homerun hitters per game. Each of those 3 hitters can hit as many homeruns as possible during the game. Any other players to hit a ball over the fence, after the 3 homerun hitters have been designated then his ball will be scored a STRIKE by the umpire.
-There are NO lead offs of any kind allowed, the ball must make contact with the bat otherwise the base runner will be called OUT by the umpire.
-Foul balls, a base runner may advance on a foul ball as long as the ball is still in play. If the Umpire calls the ball ‘Out of Play’ then the play is dead and time is called.
-Foul Balls are strikes, in HASPA if a batter has 2 strikes and he fouls a ball out of play he is called OUT by the Umpire.
-You hit it, you get it. If a player hits a home run they are expected to go get the ball and return it for use in the next half inning.
-Pitching…HASPA uses a MINIMUM pitch arch of 6ft to a MAXIMUM of 12ft and the ball must make contact with the 2ft x 3ft plate/board to be called a strike. If a pitch comes in too high or too low then an Umpire will call an illegal pitch, which automatically deems the pitch a “ball”. However, if the batter chooses to swing he may do so without penalty.
Batting.
-An illegally batted ball occurs when the batter steps on the mat or has his foot on the ground completely in front or behind the mat when the bat contacts the ball. A batter/base runner is never to step on the plate.
-On the batter's first attempt at first base on and play is made a first, he must use the Orange portion of the Double Base. Once the batter has safely reached first base, he must now use the white portion. The defensive player always uses the white portion.
Definitions.
Fair Ball - A batted ball that is touched while on or above fair ground, stops on fair territory within the infield, contacts a base, bounces over first or third base, or first lands on fair ground beyond the infield.
Foul Ball - a batted ball that is not fair.
Inbounds - The ball or a player is in bounds until they touch the ground or an object that is outside the designated playing area.
Interference - An offensive team player may not do anything to confuse, distract or hinder a fielder making a play.
Obstruction - A defensive player may not hinder or restrict a runner from progressing from base to base unless fielding a batted ball, holding the ball, or about to catch the ball.
Safe Line - A line drawn in foul territory starting at the top left-hand corner of home plate perpendicular to the third base line. A runner attempting to reach home must do so by touching the ground in foul territory on or beyond the SAFE line. Sliding into home plate is not allowed. The runner is out if he touches home plate whether or not a play is being made. A runner is not out if the plate is touched in an attempt to avoid a collision.
Commitment Line - A line in foul territory drawn 21 ft from the back of home plate and perpendicular to the third base line. When a runner crosses this line by touching the ground beyond the line but does not reach home plate, he shall be called out when the ball is legally held by a defensive player in contact with home plate.
Runners, who have not crossed the line or who cross the line but must tag up on a caught fly ball, may return to third base.
Rain Outs/ Rescheduling
-Home teams are to set up the diamond’s, if the Umpires call the game or the City of Burlington closes the diamonds the Reps from the homes teams are to contact the league Executives A.S.A.P.
-Any requests for a rescheduled came go through the Scheduler and will only be accommodated if any diamond time is still available. More then 72 hours notice is required before we can even attempt to reschedule a game. We need to contact both teams and umpires as well as the city.
-Website has all information you should require, check your schedules at the beginning of the season for possibly conflicts and we might be able make the appropriate changes.
-On game day only an Umpire or the City can cancel a game, we do play in the rain so if a team doesn’t show up because the weather looks bad they will be charged with a default. More then 2 defaults in a season can result in removal from the league with no refund.
Scores.
-The winning team reports the scores to the scorer via email within 48 hours of the completion of the game. That way we can have the website up to date by the next weekend.
-Please be as accurate as possible when submitting your scores as they will be used in the case of a tie-breaker.
Playoffs.
-Every team makes the playoffs, the playoffs set up will be determined later in the year. As a base model we use 1st vs 8th, 2nd vs 7th, 3rd vs 6th, 4th vs 5th
-In divisions where there is an odd number of teams the 1st place team will get a bye into the 2nd round as the other teams play to advance.
Super-Weekend.
-Super weekend is usually scheduled for the last weekend in May each year. Emails and information will be sent out in advance of Super Weekend from the Super Weekend Coordinator.
6.Dogs cannot play baseball
