9U Rules of Play 2024

9U House League Rules 2024 season

Imperial Measurements shall apply

 

1. The official start time for all games shall be 6:30 PM. Games shall be one and one half (11/2) hours in length. No new inning will begin after 8:00 PM, and Dead Ball shall be called at 8:15 PM. The umpire or his designate shall be the official timekeeper.

 

2. Base lines shall be sixty-five (65) feet in length. The pitching machine shall be operated by an adult and have a set location and speed: forty (40) feet directly in front of Home Plate and a pitching speed of thirty-five (35) miles per hour. These configurations shall not be altered during the game. The pitching machineʼs trajectory may be adjusted after an inning with the agreement of both coaches.

 

3.  A team with fewer than seven (7) players after a fifteen (15) minute Grace Period from the scheduled start time shall forfeit that game.  If neither team is able to field the minimum number of players, both teams shall forfeit the game.  If one or both teams forfeit, the remaining players should be made into two (2) teams to play an exhibition game.  This game will be umpired by the already assigned umpires.

 

4. All games shall be five (5) innings long. Two and one half (2 1/2) innings with the home team leading, shall constitute a game in the event of Dead Ball time or adverse weather conditions. For a curfew or suspended game, the final score will revert back to the last complete inning. When curfew is called, the current batter shall be allowed to complete his at bat.

 

5. The ball used for the entire season shall be the traditional white baseball. All batters are allowed to use aluminum or wood bats, of an appropriate size for this division.  Player's shoes with metal cleats are not allowed. All players are allowed to wear sunglasses.

 

6. All players shall wear the same NBA uniform, that is, gray pants, sponsor coloured shirt and matching hat. All batters and runners shall wear a helmet with a fastened chinstrap. Catchers shall wear full protective equipment behind the plate. The pitcher shall wear a helmet with a full face guard and a fastened chinstrap.

 

7. A Safety Bag shall be used at 1st base of which the orange portion is in foul territory. Runners must touch the orange part unless making a turn to proceed to 2nd base. The 1st baseman, with possession of the ball, must touch the white part in order to make an out. If there is no safety bag, then the standard white base shall be used and standard baseball rules shall apply. Note: If on a hit ball, a player overruns 2nd or 3rd base, he can be tagged out providing the ball is in possession of the baseman.

 

8. As a minimum, the defense shall consist of seven (7) players; a catcher, a pitcher, 1st baseman, 2nd baseman, 3rd baseman and two players in the Outfield. Any additional players beyond the minimum shall be limited to a maximum of ten (10). That is, the traditional nine (9) positions and another outfielder.

 

9. Positions for all outfielders shall start each play from the Outfield grass. Before the start of each play, both the 2nd baseman and the shortstop shall be several feet away from 2nd base. The pitcher shall stand beside and behind the release point of the pitching machine until the ball is hit.

 

10. No player shall play the same position more than twice in a game and no player shall play the Outfield a second time until each player has played there once. No player shall sit twice until all players have sat once.

 

11. An inning shall be three (3) outs or ten (10) batters, whichever occurs first. The maximum number of runs scored in any half inning shall be five (5).

 

12. Players shall bat in their proper rotation and the batting order cannot change after the game commences. Players who arrive late shall be added to the bottom of the batting order.  Coaches are required to make every effort to change the batting order for all regular season games to ensure that all players have the chance to bat at the top and bottom of the order as evenly as possible. (Not applicable to playoff games)

13. Players may be called up from a lower house league team but not from another team in the same division. These players shall not have priority playing time over regular team players.

 

14. The number of defensive coaches shall be limited to two (2) in the Outfield. As of July 1 of the current season, there shall be no defensive coaches in the Outfield. The number of offensive coaches on the field shall be limited to three (3); one (1) coach at 1st and 3rd base and one (1) coach at the pitching machine who shall operate the pitching machine and position the batter.

 

15. Play shall commence with the pitching machine operator in possession of five (5) white baseballs to be used for the entire season. These are to be pitched in succession and at the end of each at-bat will be returned to the pitching area. Each batter shall receive a maximum of five (5) hittable pitches. If a fair ball is not hit within the 5 allotted pitches, the batter is called out. The last pitch shall be announced by the umpire. Only the umpire shall have authority to call a pitch unhittable. Batters may not be walked, nor may they bunt. Intentional bunts are automatic outs. IF THE BATTER HITS THE LAST PITCH FOUL, THE BATTER IS OUT.

 

16. If a batted ball hits the pitching machine, its parts, the operator, or comes to rest within the pitching area or, is touched within this area (as determined by the umpire) the ball is declared dead. The batter is awarded 1st base and any base runners, if forced, advance one (1) base. If the ball passes through the pitching area without contact, the play will proceed as a regular batted ball. When a thrown ball hits any portion of the pitching machine, the electric cord or the adult pitcher the ball shall be declared DEAD by the umpires and the play shall be stopped.  The batter/runner and all runners shall be awarded the base that they are closest too at the time of the stoppage. (To be determined by the umpires.)

 

 

17. There is no overthrow rule. The intent is for the fielders to attempt the play; therefore if a throw is made to any base (other than Home plate) and the player misses the catch, the ball is declared dead and the runners shall go to the closest base (including force plays) as judged by the umpire.

 

18. For all batters except the 10th Batter, once a hit ball is returned to the baseline the umpire shall call time and place the runners to their closest base.

 

19. The 10th Batter shall be announced by the offensive team before he enters the batterʼs box. For the purpose of scoring it shall be recorded that there are two outs. Failure to call the 10th Batter shall result in all runners returning to their positions at the time of the 10th Batter. The batter shall return to his box, and the pitch-count shall be reset at zero. Effectively, the entire 10th Batter situation shall be replayed.

 

20. Should the 10th Batter hit a fly ball and it is caught, the inning is over. If the batted ball hits the pitching machine, Rule Nº16 shall be enforced. Should the 10th Batter fail to hit the ball the inning is over. With base runners and the 10th Batter putting the ball safely in play, the final out of the inning may be made at any base including Home Plate but the ball must be in possession of the catcher. All runners touching Home Plate before the final out is made shall count as one (1) run.

 

21. There is no infield fly rule, lead-offs, stealing of bases or wild pitches. Runners may not leave their base until the ball is hit. They shall advance only on a hit ball. There is no “A Runner Must Slide'' rule. Runners are therefore instructed to slide to avoid contact. If contact does occur, only the umpire shall have authority to interpret and enforce the Malicious Contact Rule.

 

22. If there is an injured player, the following shall apply:

a) If a player becomes injured during the game, a coach must state this prior to the start of that team's offensive inning.

b) If the injury occurs during the at bat, then the next batter will take over with the same count.

c) If the injured player is unable to bat at all, then the offensive team will skip over that player

without an out being registered and the batting order would continue from that point.

d) An injured player would then be out of the rest of the game and would not be allowed to play.

 

23.  No mercy rule in effect

 

24.  Players shall not wear any visible jewelry other than medic alerts. Items that can be removed should be. Items that cannot be removed shall be covered up. There shall be no penalty, such as an automatic out or cannot play rule.

 

25.  ELECTRONIC DEVICES: The use and possession of electronic devices on the playing field is now prohibited by all participants.  This includes players, coaches, managers and umpires. Umpires will ask players, coaches or managers to immediately remove electronic devices from the playing field. Failure to do so will result in ejection. Electronic devices include Mobile Phones, PDA, Pagers, Tablets, Laptops, Smart Watches and Fitbits.  Only Dedicated watches or stopwatches and electronic pitch counters are permitted. It is a safety issue that all participants on the field of play are focused during a game.

 

26.  Bench Restriction Rule: Baseball Ontario has introduced a new tool for umpires to assist with game management, The Bench Restriction.  This allows the umpire to restrict a coach or manager to their bench for the remainder of the game when they commit a minor violation. The coach or manager is allowed to remain in the game but is not allowed to enter the field of play except to assist with an injured player  The coach/manager is not allowed  to argue, yell or speak to the umpire, if they do they will be ejected from the game. The umpire has the sole discretion of whether  a violation is minor or major and whether to use the Bench Restriction Rule.

 

27.  Playoff standings and positions to be determined by Goalline Computer Program but subject to change by VP of Junior House League or UIC.