GAME OVERVIEW:

AA baseball is recreational and meant to be fun for the kids while learning how to play competitive baseball.  Scores and standings will be kept throughout the season.  A successful coach is positive, develops their players, and continues helping them fall in love with the sport of baseball.  The ultimate compliment a coach can receive, and one of the best indicators of a good coach, is their full roster registering to play baseball again the following season.

All teams are encouraged to hold at least one practice per week when the schedule permits.

The season will consist of regular season in-town games plus the KP Cup Tournament, and a Norfolk Town playoff at the end of the season.  A variation of these rules will be reviewed with Plainville and Wrentham to settle on an agreed upon version for the KP Cup as each town may have possible variations within their own spring systems.

The goal is to teach fielding, hitting, and base running fundamentals in conjunction with sportsmanship, teamwork and above all, developing a love for the sport of baseball.  Players at this level should be taught the concepts of:

• Outs at bases other than first
• Force outs vs. tag outs
• Fielders covering their bases
• Outfielders backing up infielders
• Outfielders throwing to 2nd (cutoff)
• Runners rounding first on a single and also advancing to the next base
• Recognizing strikes vs. balls
• Pitching fundamentals

RULES:

AA is governed by the official Cal Ripken Baseball Rules.  The following covers highlights and specific rule variants for the Norfolk Baseball Association:

• Bats must be “USA” stamped.
• Five inning games.  At the start of the season, 3 coach-pitch innings and 2 player-pitch innings.  At the season midpoint, provided the coaches and league director determine it is appropriate, switching to 2 coach-pitch innings and 3 innings of player pitch.
• Game duration: 1 ½ hour max. If a game needs to run past 1 ½ hours in order to finish the current inning, it’s acceptable as long as the coaches and umpires are in communication and everyone is agreeable to extending slightly past time in order to finish.
• No new inning can start after 1 ½ hours.
• Innings conclude when either 3 outs are made by the defense or 5 runs are scored.
• 5th inning is unlimited run scoring.  Due to time limitations, if only 4 or fewer innings can be played, coaches confer with umpires and the unlimited run inning can be 4th or earlier if necessary.
• During player pitch if a batter receives 4 balls, instead of the traditional base on balls, the batter will remain at the plate and a coach will come in to pitch with a new batting count.
  • This was an important rule implemented to increase fielding activity for the players vs. just having numerous walked in runs and pitchers losing confidence.  It also gives fielders more opportunities to make plays and stay engaged in the game.
• During player pitch, if a batter is hit by a pitch, they may elect to take their base or face coach pitch with a new batting count.
• Teams may play with 4 outfielders to keep more kids off the bench and actively involved in the game.
• Continuous batting order: All rostered players in attendance must bat: if 12 players show, 12 players must bat
• All players must play at least 4 innings in the field and 2 must be in the infield in a five-inning game.
• Coaches are allowed on the field to teach and direct, but not interfere in play (preferably standing in the outfield or behind pitcher’s mound).
• Speed Rule, you may pinch run for the next inning’s catcher in order to speed up the game – the pinch runner must be the last previous out.  This keeps the game moving if it’s taking a long time for a catcher to get gear on.
• Slash bunting is illegal, and the batter will be immediately being called out if attempted. Slash bunting is showing a bunt (drawing the infield in) and then attempting a regular full swing. The batter is out whether he makes contact or not.

BASE RUNNING:

• The batter may take more than one base if the ball is struck well into the outfield
• Base runners are allowed to advance a single base on all overthrows until the ball is returned to the pitcher who must be in the vicinity of the pitching mound.
  • At this age, many kids can’t make a throw from the infield to home plate, and many catchers can’t catch the ball.  Do not take advantage of this as a base coach.  Use common sense.
• Collision rule in effect: SLIDE OR AVOID AT HOME PLATE. Any close plays, players must slide.  If they do not, it's up to the umpire’s discretion as to whether or not the player is to be called out for not sliding.
• All batters and runners are required to wear an appropriate helmet, including the on-deck batter
• No leading or stealing

PITCHING:

• Pitching mound will be set at 43’
• 7 year olds and new pitchers may pitch from 40’
• 50 pitch daily limit per pitcher
  • A pitcher can exceed 50 pitches during an at-bat, but cannot start a new batter once they have reached 50 pitches.
• If 2 batters are hit in an inning, the pitcher must be removed.
• Coaches must enter innings pitched in the league’s pitch tracker following the game.
  • Coaches must count pitches for both teams. Between innings coaches should exchange total pitch counts.
  • 21-35 pitches requires 1 day of rest
  • 36-50 pitches requires 2 days of rest
• Coaches pitch the 1^st three innings of the game (two innings in second half of season)
  • During coach pitch innings, there are no walks or hit by pitch.
  • Strikes, including strike three, can be called by the umpire if the ball is in the middle of the plate
• Players pitch the remainder of the game.
• Catchers must wear a cup.

PLAYOFFS:

All previous rules apply with the following exceptions:

• Structure of the playoffs (i.e single vs double elimination to be determined based on scheduling)
• All teams qualify for the playoffs
• Teams will be randomly seeded; regular season standings are irrelevant to playoff seeding
• No Time Limit
• Suspended games carry over to the next day

COACHING/TEAM EXPECTATIONS:

• All teams will have one head coach and ideally at least one assistant coach for official roster purposes. Coaches are encouraged to engage parents for help on the bench and with other activities needing supervision by an adult.  Parents who are not official coaches are not to be left alone with children as they are not officially CORI checked.  Check with league officials if you are not sure if a parent has been CORI checked.
• During the game, a defensive coach will back-up the catcher. Their role is to throw the balls back to the coach pitching on pass balls or wild pitches, or collect the balls in a bucket while the pitcher uses a bucket of balls already on the mound. The catcher may throw them back as well and it is up to the coach pitching to decide whether he/she wants balls thrown back after each pitch or in total at the end of each at bat, or as the bucket fills
• An offensive coach is allowed to stand off to the side to help with retrieving passed balls. This coach is allowed to help the batter at the plate with adjusting batting stances in the batter’s box.  This coach is not allowed to yell “swing” when he thinks a kid should swing and cannot assist the kid in hitting the ball in any way.
• Coaches must enter innings pitched into the league pitch tracking tool at the conclusion of each game.  Player arm safety is paramount and as a result, the league will not tolerate violations.
• Home team reports the final score into the league platform for tracking of standings; statistics are available to be tracked at the coach’s discretion.
• While on offense, the offensive team is responsible to have adult coaches on 1st and 3rd base.
• AA games are umpired with junior umpires.
• A meeting shall take place between the umpire and two managers before the game to review ground rules and strike zone, which is expanded at the AA level to encourage swinging.
• The home team is responsible for delivering game balls (League Director will provide), field lining, and base placement each game.
• The home team is responsible for returning all above items to storage and locking up all doors, as appropriate.
• Both teams are responsible for trash removal and dug-out cleaning for respective sides.
• Both teams are responsible for field maintenance (i.e.: dragging the field, field repair, mound and plate maintenance, etc.)
• Tarps should be placed if the forecast calls for rain.  If not in use, tarps should be hung on the outfield fence and kept off the ground during the regular season and stored in the shed when the season is over.
• In the event of a conflict over the interpretation of a rule, the coaches should meet at the plate and discuss the situation respectfully with the umpire.  If a decision cannot be reached, then the game shall be placed officially "under protest".  Play should then resume amicably.  Following the game, the coaches can discuss the situation with the league director, who can make a ruling based on conversations with the Board.
• Grievances with schedule, rules, etc. are to be directed to the league director, and ultimately the Board by the official coaching staff only.

CALL UPS

Depending on the number of teams at the AA level, a commiserate number of 1st graders may be designated as call ups.  Their responsibility is to their A team FIRST.  A callup assignment should be secondary to team activities.

Call ups should only be made to fill a vacancy.  A call up must play according to the aforementioned rules that apply to all standard rostered players, even if absent players end up attending the game.  Call ups may not pitch or play the catcher position and must be inserted into the bottom of the batting order.

Call ups must adhere to the standards set by the league.  If players are being utilized as call ups who are not authorized, the team in violation will forfeit that game.

Call ups should be rotated through to ensure all players on the list have a chance to come up and play.

SPORTSMANSHIP & DEVELOPMENT:

All Norfolk Baseball Code of Conduct policies apply.  Additionally, all coaches should strive for:

• All positivity, all the time. Set an early example and quickly correct behavior that involves players bringing other players down for bad plays or less developed skill sets.
• Teaching by example with all players and umpires.
• Having all players run on or off field, there should be NO walking back to the dugout or to the field.
• Introducing players to new positions consistently and rotating players through different positions. While the most skilled players may play premium positions such as shortstop or first base a bit more, they shouldn't dominate them.
• The only time players should definitely not play a position is if there is a legitimate safety issue: i.e. a player who is afraid to catch the ball being placed at 1^st base.  This, however, should not be used as an excuse to consistently place less talented kids consistently in the outfield.
• Rotating batting lineups so that there is equity throughout the season in the number of at-bat opportunities for every player rostered.
• Ensuring no player is spending more time on the bench than another throughout the season.
• Playing more competitive lineups during the KP Cup tournament and town playoff, but should still be respectful of not marginalizing less skilled players.