Mid-Central Illinois League Boys Baseball

President Branden Crowl              Vice President Steve Falica

Treasurer Mark Anderson            Secretary Melinda Barton

2019 Baseball-  10u thru 14u

1) General Rules & Facility Guidelines:

               a. Boy’s baseball age cut-off date is April 30th of the current year.

b. All divisions will be scheduled to play a minimum of twelve (12) games.

c. Games will be played with a time limit of one (1) hour and forty-five (45) minutes or the number of innings specified for each division, whichever occurs first. No new inning can begin after the time limit has been triggered. Games that are tied following the completion of an inning when a time limit or maximum innings has been triggered will end in a tie.

d. There will be NO must slide rule, but we strongly urge action against any obvious attempt to hurt anyone or running over the catcher.

e. A Double Safety base is required for all games played at sixty (60’-0”) foot base lengths or less. It is encouraged for all divisions but not required for base lengths greater than sixty (60’-0”) foot.

f. There will be at least two (2) umpires for each game. It is recommended, but not required, that the umpires be at least three (3) years older than the players that they are umpiring.

2) League Rules:

a. Each team wishing to participate in a MCIL league will pay a fifty-dollar ($50.00) fee, unless they participated in MCIL in 2019. Returning team fees are $0. Each team will be responsible for purchasing their own scorebook and team equipment.

b. All League Divisions will be structured in an A / B format, provided there are an adequate number of teams entered to play within each age division. In the event there are not enough teams, then there will be only one division and all teams will be scheduled together.

i. “A” Teams will be defined as a team having six (6) or more second (2nd) year players. For example, a 10U team has fourteen (14) players on its roster. Out of the fourteen (14) players on the roster, if at least six (6) of them are ten (10) years old then the team is an “A” Team.

c. Schedules will be made available on or before May 1, 2019. Schedules will be emailed to the individual town’s league presidents, or their representative as requested.

3) Roster Rules:

a. Teams are required to bat their entire roster of all players present at the game.

b. Free substitution is allowed anywhere in the field, except for pitchers. Pitchers that leave the mound may be placed back on the mound to pitch again if:

i. They remain on the field in an active fielding position, and

ii. The replacement pitcher has completed pitching to at least one at-bat, and

iii. It is the same inning in which the pitcher was removed from the mound. Once the inning is over, or the pitcher has been pulled from the mound and has left the field of play, they may not re-enter to pitch at any time for the rest of the game.

c. Rosters and team fees will be handed in to the MCIL at the league meeting scheduled for March 31, 2019.

d. Any changes to a team’s roster must be submitted by May 23, 2019 and needs to be approved by the league president.

e. All rosters should include two (2) contact numbers for the team manager and an email address, if available.

f. NO out of town players will be allowed on any team, which has fifteen (15) on its roster without the permission of the league president.

g. A player can only be on one (1) roster for the end of season tournaments and must have been rostered with that team and the MCIL as of May 23, 2019.

h. Any team that attempts to load a team for the end of the season tournament will be disqualified and forfeit all of their tournament games, ten (10) to zero (0). Rosters for the end of the season tournaments will be those that the MCIL has on record as of May 23, 2018.

i. The number of players on the roster is unlimited.

4) Team Rules:

a. All players must wear a baseball cap, but they do not need to be the same color as the rest of the team. b. All players are required to wear a protective cup.

c. Each team will assign a “pitch counter” to track the number of pitches each pitcher throws in an inning. The two (2) pitch counters will compare their pitch counts after each inning and rectify any discrepancies.

d. Batting helmets must be worn while at bat, in the on deck area and while on the bases. If a player is used as a coach on the baselines, they must wear a batting helmet.

e. Teams must field a minimum of eight (8) players to begin the game and take an out in the number nine (9) position of the batting order.

f. In the event a player is injured during a contest, the team will be allowed to complete the game with seven (7) players and take an out in the injured players’ position in the batting order.

g. All catchers must wear a chest protector, shin guards, catcher’s helmet and throat guard. Any type of glove may be used to catch.

h. Teams are encouraged, but not required, to utilize a courtesy runner for the team’s catcher anytime during the inning.

i. The courtesy runner will be the player who made the teams last batted out of the current inning. IHSA Rules will be the official rules unless superseded by the General or Specific Division Rules of the MCIL.