IAB All-Star & Club Tournaments
Special Rules
Contents
Division of
Tournament Responsibilities.................................................................................. 2
Tournament Rules for All Divisions............................................................................................ 3
Tournament Rules For Minors........................................................................................................... 6
Tournament Rules For Juveniles.................................................................................................... 8
Tournament Rules For Cadets......................................................................................................... 10
Note: Additions and changes from last
year’s rules are highlighted.
·
The tasks of the Tournament Committee shall include the following:
-
Identify teams participating in each tournament.
-
Set tournament dates, format, and preliminary schedule of games and
venues.
-
Review and reissue tournament playing rules, as necessary.
-
Review and reissue ground rules for specific playing fields, as
necessary.
-
Set policy for transportation subsidies.
-
Appoint Tournament Directors (TDs), and assist, as necessary
·
A Tournament Director shall be appointed for each of the divisions:
Minors, Juveniles, and Cadets. The tasks of the TD shall include the following:
-
Finalize schedule of games and venues, in coordination with the
Regional Directors (RDs), and report to Tournament Committee for final
publishing..
-
Publish final schedule of games, venues, times, and umpires.
-
Ensure that RDs are aware of and carry out their tasks (see below).
-
Receive and approve rosters.
-
Approve all umpires appointed by RDs. Ensure that umpires receive these
and all other relevant rules relating to the game they will be umpiring. Ensure
that umpires receive rosters of teams participating in any given game.
-
Clarify rules for coaches, umpires, and/or RDs; adjudicate
disagreements and protests; forward requests for rules changes to the
Tournament Committee.
-
Collect game scores/recaps (including
reports on innings pitched by each pitcher) from the umpires. Report
scores/recaps to IAB Secretary General.
-
Ensure that IAB national office has ordered medallions and trophies;
arrange for IAB representative to preside over awarding of medallions and
trophies immediately following championship game.
-
Ensure overall smooth operation of the tournament.
·
Regional Directors (RDs) tasks for tournaments shall include the
following:
-
Notify IAB Tournament Committee of divisions in which the region
intends to enter a team.
-
Appoint head coach for each team, ensure proper selection and
preparation of teams, assist with transportation logistics (as necessary).
-
Consult with TDs on final schedule of games and venues.
-
Reserve venues for games.
-
Engage qualified umpires (preferably two) for each game scheduled to be
played in their region; submit to TD for approval.
-
Submit (or appoint agent to submit) roster at least seven days prior to
beginning of tournament for each division; certify validity of each roster.
-
Ensure appropriate playing conditions for games in their region,
including: fields and backstops in proper repair, chalk lines on fields, bases
and pitcher’s rubber properly placed.
T1.0
Team rosters shall include up to 18 players for Juveniles
and Cadets, 20 players for Minors. Up to 14 players shall be named
on the lineup card for each game. (A regional director may request permission
from the Tournament Director to name more than 18 players to his/her region's
roster. There will be no exceptions to the maximum of 14 players per game.)
Each player on the team roster must be on the lineup card for at
least one game. The IAB encourages regions to include as many
players as possible on the teams and in the games.
T2.0
Rosters shall be submitted to the
Tournament Director at least seven days prior to the first game of the
tournament. The roster shall include (for each player): first and last name,
birth date, telephone number, and team during league season. The Regional
Director shall certify that the roster is correct, that all players satisfy the
age criteria for the division, and that all players played in the league and
have paid all required IAB fees for the season.
T3.0
Age is determined by the age of the player on December
31 of the year in which the tournament is played. For example, a player born on December 18, 1988, shall be considered a
13-year-old in the 2001 tournament (i.e., even though the player is 12 years
old at the actual time of the tournament). Any exceptions must be approved
by the regional director and the tournament director. Age limits:
-
Cadets (13) ‑15
-
Juveniles (10) ‑12
-
Minors (8) ‑10
A player shall not play in a division in the tournament that is different from the division in which he/she played during the league season. A player shall not play in the tournament for more than one division.
T4.0
There are no time limits on single games for all-star
and club tournament games. If games are tied, extra innings shall be played
until the game is decided.
In the event of double and
triple headers, a 2.5 hour time limit will be imposed on the game. The subsequent paragraph will determine the
winner of a tie.
Notwithstanding the above rule,
the Umpire may call (an end to) a game in progress prior to normal completion
of the game due to extenuating circumstances; e.g., darkness, the ensuing
onset of Shabbat, safety consideration. The official score shall be the score
as it was at the end of the last completed inning (or half-inning, if the
home team is ahead). If the
game is still tied, the umpire will toss a coin shall be tossed for the winner,
home team calls.
T5.0
It is important that games start at the scheduled
time. The Umpire may declare a forfeit against any team that is, in the
umpire’s opinion, unreasonably late
(but not before 15 minutes from scheduled start of game) without evidence of
any extenuating circumstance.
T6.0
In the first round home and away teams are predetermined.
In the second round a coin shall be tossed to determine home team. If the
two teams will meet for a second game in that round, than the roles are reversed.
T7.0
The following speed-up rules shall be enforced:
-
The pitcher must deliver the ball to the batter without undue delay.
Umpire’s discretion. First offence: warning from the umpire; each subsequent offence:
the umpire shall call “Ball”.
-
The first batter in an inning shall be ready to step into the batter’s
box as soon as the umpire calls “Play Ball”. Subsequent batters shall be ready
as soon as the preceding batter has completed his/her turn at bat. In case of
violation, the umpire shall instruct the pitcher to pitch the ball, and shall
call “Strike”.
-
The batter shall be required to remain in the batter’s box unless
he/she makes a request for “time” and the umpire grants the request.
-
The pitcher shall be allowed eight warm-up pitches to start the first
inning and on any pitching change, and four pitches between innings. Teams
shall be directed to have a catcher (with mask) ready to warm up the pitcher as
soon as an inning is completed. If a team fails to complete the warm-up pitches
in a reasonable length of time, the umpire may terminate them and call “Play
Ball”.
-
When a batter hits a home run, members of his team shall not contact
the hitter until he/she has passed home plate.
-
Only one infielder at a time (catcher included) can hold a conference
with the pitcher at the pitcher’s mound, and only one such trip per inning
shall be allowed (the “infielder’s trip”).
-
Coaches shall be allowed three free
trips to the mound during the game to talk with the pitcher. A trip is defined to be when the coach
crosses a foul line into fair territory; a free
trip is defined as a trip in which the pitcher is not removed from the
game. Any subsequent trip (after the three free trips have been used) must
result in removal of the current pitcher. If the game goes into extra innings,
one additional free trip shall be allowed for each extra three innings.
-
Two trips to the mound in the same inning to the same pitcher must
result in removal of the pitcher.
-
Only one infielder can go to the mound when the coach makes a trip to
the pitcher (and this is considered the “infielder’s trip”, as described
above).
-
Defensive teams shall run in
from and out to the field as soon as the third out of an inning is made.
T8.0
If a team trails by fifteen runs or more after four
or more innings (or, if the home team is leading, after three-and-a-half
innings) have been played, the trailing coach may request the umpire to call
the game. If time permits, all players who have not yet batted should be given
a chance to bat. The official score is the score at the time game is called
(i.e., the score does not revert to the score at the end of the last inning).
T9.0
Coaches shall submit a lineup card, indicating
the starting lineup and all substitute
players, to the Umpire prior to the
game. All players on a team’s lineup card (maximum 14) must appear on the
team’s official roster.
T10.0
All players on the
lineup card for a game must play at least three consecutive outs in the field
and must bat at least once. Minor players,
all players shall appear in the batting order, and each player must play for
at least 2 innings in the field.
T11.0 No base coach may
physically assist a base runner to return or leave first base or third base.
Penalty: Runner is out and ball is dead. See
Rule 7.09(i) in Official Baseball Rules.
T12.0 For balls thrown
out of play, see Rule 8.05(g) in Official
Baseball Rules. The umpire shall define the out‑of‑bounds lines
to the head coach of both teams prior to the game.
T13.0 There
is generally no penalty for accidentally throwing the bat. If, however, in the
umpire’s opinion, the batter throws the bat in a manner that endangers other
players, the umpire should, on first occurrence, warn the batter, and, on any
subsequent occurrence, call the batter out.
T14.0 Players
shall make every effort to avoid collisions between runners, fielders, and
batters.
-
Fielders (including catchers) shall not interfere with runners when
they are not in the process of making a fielding play. Penalty for violation: see relevant section in Official Baseball
Rules.
-
Batters shall move away from the batter’s box and the area around the
plate whenever there is the potential for a play on a runner at home plate.
Penalty for violation: play shall be completed, and fielding team elects either
to keep the play as stands or to call for play over.
-
Runners shall make every possible effort to avoid a collision with the
defensive player at any of the bases and at home plate. For those players who
know how to slide, sliding is the preferred method for avoiding these
collisions at second, third, and home. Penalty for violation: runner is out.
All coaches, umpires, TDs, RDs, and members
of IAB Board of Directors present at a game are expected to behave in an
unquestionably sportsmanlike manner, and are expected to do all in their power
to maintain an atmosphere of sportsmanship among all spectators, players, and
coaches.
See the following pages for additional rules specific to each division. The order of authority for these rules shall be as follows (in descending order):
1.
These “Special Rules”, including both those for all divisions and those
for each individual division.
2.
Special IAB league rules for the division.
3.
Official Baseball Rules.
The
“Tournament Rules for All Divisions” are an integral part of these rules.
TM1.0 The umpire shall
declare a forfeit against any team that has fewer than nine players present at
the game.
TM2.0 Regulation games
are six innings.
TM3.0
Eleven players
shall play in the field for the defensive team; i.e., all nine normal positions,
plus an extra outfielder. All five outfielders must play in the outfield (and
not in the infield).
TM4.0 All players on
the lineup card shall be in the batting order. The batting order shall remain
the same throughout the game.
In the event that a batter cannot take or complete his turn at bat, the batter
may take his batting turn the next time through the lineup. If the batter
misses the next turn also, he/she may not bat again in the game. In the case
when a batter does not complete his turn at bat, the following batter assumes
the strike count of the batter who was removed from the game.
TM5.0 A coach (or
designated adult) pitches to his/her own team, must pitch overhand, must pitch
from the pitcher’s rubber (46 ft or 14 m), and may wear a glove (if desired).
TM6.0 In the event of a
batted or thrown ball that hits the coach/adult pitcher, where in the
estimation of the umpire the coach/adult pitcher has made every possible effort
to avoid being hit, the ball is dead and the play shall be taken over. If in
the estimation of the umpire, the coach/adult pitcher has not made effort to
avoid interfering in the defensive play, regardless of whether the coach/adult
pitcher is hit by a batted or thrown ball, the umpire may rule the batter (or
runner toward whom the defensive play was directed) out, and the ball dead,
with no (further) advance by the runners.
TM7.0 If an umpire sees
that a base runner leaves a base too soon (i.e., before the batter hits the
ball), the play should be completed as normal. Following the play, the umpire
shall offer the defensive team the choice of accepting the entire play as it
stands, or taking the entire play over.
This should not be confused
with the rule for appealing leaving a base too soon after the catching of a fly
ball (see Rule 7.10(a) in Official
Baseball Rules).
TM8.0 The play is dead
when a defensive player has control of the ball in the designated area around
the mound, and is not about to make any play on a runner. Runners may continue
to the following base, provided they were more than half way to that base when the
play became dead. If, in the opinion of the umpire, they were not half way, the
umpire shall instruct the runner to return to the previous base.
TM9.0
Maximum ten runs
per half inning.
TM10.0 The infield fly
rule shall not be invoked.
The “Tournament
Rules for All Divisions” are an integral part of these rules.
TJ1.0
The umpire shall declare a forfeit against any team
that has fewer than nine players present at the game.
TJ2.0 A pitcher:
-
Must have three complete calendar days of rest (as a
pitcher) after pitching in any portion of more than three innings of a game,
where delivery of a single pitch constitutes having pitched in an inning. For example, a player who on Monday begins
pitching in the middle of the second inning and is removed as pitcher in the
middle of the fifth inning, cannot pitch again before Friday.
-
Must have at least one calendar day of rest (as a
pitcher) after pitching in three or less innings of a game.
This rule supercedes all other rules regarding the number of innings that a player may pitch.
TJ3.0
The number of
innings that a player can pitch is limited as follows:
-
A single pitcher shall pitch in no more than 50% + 1 of all the innings
played by the team.
Explanation: If a team plays three
six-inning games, then the maximum number of innings that can be pitched by any
single pitcher on that team shall be:
(18 / 2) + 1 = 10. On the other hand, if one of
the three games was called after five innings, then a single pitcher can pitch
in no more than nine innings (any half innings resulting from this calculation
are truncated; i.e., (17 / 2) + 1 = 9.5 = 9). This calculation shall be made
only at the end of a game (beginning with the second game).
-
If fewer than the scheduled number of innings is
played in a game (e.g., slaughter rule, darkness, safety consideration), a team
shall not be held in violation if a pitcher has exceeded the number of allowed
innings at the end of that game. The team shall be expected to correct the excess
by the end of its next game.
Explanation: If a player pitches four
innings in the team’s first game (out of six total innings), that player may
not in any case pitch more than three innings in the team’s second game, based
on the expectation of a six-inning game, and a total of 12 innings played after
this game. If, however, that player pitches the first three innings of the
second game, and subsequently the game ends after four innings, there is no
violation; i.e., despite the fact that a single pitcher has now pitched seven
out of a total ten innings for the team. Since the team now knows that after a
third game they will have played no more than 16 regular innings, they also
know that a single pitcher cannot have pitched more than nine innings total by
the end of that game. Hence, the pitcher that has already pitched seven innings
must not in any case pitch more than two innings in the third game.
-
Innings pitched by a pitcher in extra innings shall
not be counted among the total number of innings pitched by that pitcher. They
shall be considered as innings with regard to the three-day and one-day rest
requirements.
-
Penalty for violation of the rules in the previous
sub-paragraphs: forfeit.
TJ4.0
A pitcher, once removed as pitcher, but not from the game (i.e., is moved to
another defensive position), may pitch again in the same game. A pitcher,
removed as pitcher and from the game,
shall not pitch again in the same game.
TJ5.0
For substitution rules, see rule 3.03 in the special
IAB league rules for the Juvenile division — entitled “JUVENILES
(AGES 10-12).” Note, however, that this rule
(when amended by these rules) states that the player that has come out of the
game for a substitute cannot re-enter the game until the substitute player has
batted and played three outs in the field. This eliminates any possibility that
a substituted player’s subsequent turn at bat could come earlier than if that
player had remained in the game. Note also that a starter may re-enter the game once, but that a substitute player
may not re-enter the game only once
(i.e., the substitute may enter the game only once).
TJ6.0
In extra innings, each player on the team’s
lineup card may re-enter the game once as a substitute. The three-outs-in-the-field and one-at-bat limitations shall not apply.
TJ7.0
A balk shall be called only when the pitch is,
in the umpire’s opinion, blatantly illegal and gives the pitcher a clear
illegal advantage over the batter. On first offense (per pitcher), the umpire
shall call a ball; if there are runners, they shall not advance. On any
subsequent offense, the penalty is as in Official Baseball Rules; i.e., runners
advance one base, or, if there are no runners, the pitch is called a ball.
The above rules supersede any conflicting rules in the special IAB league rules for the Juvenile division — entitled “JUVENILES (AGES 10-12),” and photocopied two pages to a side — and the “Official Baseball Rules.”
The
“Tournament Rules for All Divisions” are an integral part of these rules.
TC1.0
The umpire shall declare a forfeit
against any team that has fewer than nine players present at the game.
TC2.0
Regulation
games are seven innings.
TC3.0
The number of
innings that a player can pitch is limited as follows:
- A single pitcher shall pitch in no more than 50% + 1 of all the innings to be played by the team. A team can anticipate to play two games in the first round, thus a pitcher may pitch the full 7 innings in the first game. After the first game, the team can anticipate to play another 7 innings. If the game is shorter than 7 innings, the team will not be penalized if a pitcher pitched over his quota assuming he/she was to pitch a 7 inning game.
Explanation: If a team plays two seven-inning
games in a round, then the maximum number of innings that can be pitched by
any single pitcher on that team shall be: (14 / 2) + 1 = 8
(any half innings resulting from this calculation are truncated; i.e., (21
/ 2) + 1 = 11.5 = 11). On the other hand, if one of the two games was called
after five innings, then a single pitcher
can pitch in no more than seven innings. This calculation shall be made only
at the end of a game (beginning with the second game).
- If fewer than the scheduled number of innings is played in a game (e.g., slaughter rule, darkness, safety consideration), a team shall not be held in violation if a pitcher has exceeded the number of allowed innings at the end of that game. The team shall be expected to correct the excess by the end of its next game.