AAA Rules

GAME OVERVIEW:

AAA baseball is recreational and meant to be fun for the kids while learning how to play a more competitive brand of baseball than AA.  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 advance 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:

  • Situational fielding; where to go with the baseball in advanced situations
  • Proper outfield technique (turning to run, keeping the glove down until the ball is centered, etc.
  • When to throw to the cut off and when to throw to a base
  • When to hold and when to advance on bases depending on the nature of the play
  • How to make a proper jump off the base as the ball crosses home plate on a pitch
  • Proper pitching techniques: motion, pace, breathing, & emotion management
  • Proper catching technique: blocking, basic framing, & and how to properly field home plate

RULES:

AAA 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.
  • Six inning games
  • Game duration: 2 hrs. max. If a game needs to run past 2 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 2 hours.
  • 5 run maximum per inning; 6th inning is unlimited.  Due to time limitations, if only 5 or less innings can be played, coaches should confer with umpires and the unlimited run inning can be moved to the 5th inning or earlier if necessary.
  • 10 run slaughter rule after 3 1/2 or 4 innings.  If home team scores their 10th run in the bottom of the 4th, the game is over unless both coaches agree to continue play.
  • Teams will play 3 outfielders for a total of 9 players in the field.  If a team loses a player during the game, they can continue playing with 8 players in the field.
  • Continuous batting order: All rostered players in attendance must bat: if 12 players show, 12 players must bat.  Players arriving late must be inserted into the end of the batting order.
  • All players must play at least 4 innings in the field with a minimum of 1 inning in the infield and 1 inning in the outfield.  If a player arrives late, they may not be able to comply with the 4 inning minimum rule, but they must still must comply with the IF/OF rule. If a player leaves early, they also must comply with this rule (i.e. a player cannot pitch 2 innings and then exit the game).
  • One a player exits a game they cannot return.
  • Pitcher and Catcher DO NOT count as IF or OF.  This is to help ensure development of all players at various positions.
  • 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:

  • Base runners must hold their bag until the ball has passed the plate
  • No sliding headfirst (you can dive headfirst back to a base)
  • All batters and runners are required to wear an appropriate helmet, including the on-deck batter
  • The ball is live until the pitcher has possession of the ball and is on the mound (not rubber). Try to avoid yelling “Mound It!!” to force players to learn to get ball back to pitcher.
  • On a batted ball, runners can advance as much as possible until the ball is returned to the vicinity of the mound.
    • Example: Batted ball to outfield, runner from 1st base slides into 3rd base, tag play is attempted. Runner is safe, ball rolls into foul territory. Runner can attempt to advance home.
    • Example 2: Batted ball to outfield, runner from 1st base advanced to 3rd base.  Outfielder holds the ball, runner can attempt to advance home.
    • Example 3: Batted ball to outfield, runner advances from 1st base to 3rd base, throw to 3rd base and runner is safe. Ball is thrown back to the pitcher and gets by the pitcher; runner can attempt to advance home.
  • No Catcher courtesy runner.
  • Collision rule in effect: SLIDE OR AVOID AT HOME PLATE. Any closer plays, players must slide.  If they do not, it's up to the umpires discretion as to whether or not the player is to be called out for not sliding.
  • Stealing is permitted; defined here as a runner attempting to take an additional base during a non-batted ball situation.
  • 4 successful steals, or pass balls per inning; after which, ball is dead on pass ball
  • Runners may advance on non-batted passed balls. Passed balls are from pitcher to catcher or catcher to pitcher. Bases advanced on passed ball count towards the 4 steals per inning.
  • A double steal counts as 2 steals
  • When a batted ball is put into play, overthrows do not count as steals.
    • Example 1: A player hits a single.  The second baseman attempts to throw out a runner advancing to 3rd, but overthrows the third baseman.  The runner advances home.  This does not count as a steal, as the player advanced during a batted ball situation.
    • Example 2: Catcher makes an errant throw on an attempted steal of second base and the runner advances to third at their discretion. If the runner successfully makes it to third, then it is counted as an additional steal toward the 4-steal maximum per inning, as this was not a battled ball situation. If the runner is thrown out at third in the above situation then it would count as 1 steal (2nd base stolen, 3rd base attempted but not stolen)
  • No delayed steals; defined as runners attempting to steal a base when a defensive player (including the catcher) is throwing the ball back to the pitcher. This is intended to prevent runners from taking advantage of certain kids that may struggle to throw or catch the ball.
  • Each team can attempt a steal of home once per inning.

PITCHING:

  • Pitching mound will be set at 46'
  • USA Baseball Pitch Smart Guidelines are in effect and rigorously enforced
  • A pitcher can finish pitching to a batter even if they began facing the batter under the daily limit. For example, if a 10-year-old starts pitching to a batter at 70 pitches, the pitcher does not have to be pulled if he is still pitching to that same batter and is at 76.
  • If 2 batters are hit in an inning, the pitcher must be removed.
  • Intentional walks are prohibited
  • No breaking/curve balls are allowed; if the umpire determines a pitcher is breaking the wrist, a warning will be issued followed by removal.  Coaches will be disciplined for this behavior.
  • Once removed, a pitcher cannot come back in that game as a pitcher, but may play other positions.  If possible, avoid pitchers incurring heavy work loads and also playing the catcher position in the same game.
  • Coaches must count pitches for both teams. Between innings coaches should exchange total pitch counts.
  • Catchers must wear a cup.

PLAYOFFS:

All previous rules apply with the following exceptions:

  • Single or Double Elimination tournament based on number of teams and day/field availability
  • All teams qualify for the playoffs
  • No Time Limit
  • Suspended games carry over to the next day
  • Seeding tiebreaker shall be:
    • Winning percentage
    • Head-to-head matchups
    • Runs for

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.
  • Coaches are not allowed to yell “swing” when he thinks a player should swing and cannot assist the player in hitting the ball in any way.
  • Coaches must enter pitch counts 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 coaches discretion.
  • While on offense, the offensive team is responsible to have adult coaches on 1st and 3rd base.
  • The home team is responsible for delivering game balls (League Director will provide), field lining, and base placement each game.
  • AAA games are umpired with two junior umpires (home plate and base) OR one patched umpire.
  • A meeting shall take place between the umpires and two managers before the game to review ground rules and strike zone, which is shoulders to knees at the AAA level.
  • The home team is responsible for returning all above items to storage and locking up all doors, as appropriate.
  • Home team has rights to scoreboard management and PA usage/walkup music.  They can choose to defer to the other team if they wish.  If children are performing the duty, home team is responsible for ensuring proper behavior in the press box.
  • 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 AAA level, a commiserate number of 3rd graders may be designated as call ups.  Their responsibility is to their AA team FIRST.  A callup assignment should be secondary to their primary assigned 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.
  • Rotating players through different positions. While the most skilled players may play premium positions such as shortstop or first base more often, 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 1st 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.
  • Coaches should play more competitive lineups during the KP Cup tournament and town playoff, but should still be respectful of not marginalizing less skilled players.