Petaluma National Little League
Spring 2019
AAA League
Local Rules
The rules for the AAA will follow the Little League Green Book except as modified below (coaches and managers are expected to know the Little League Green Book):
SECTION I: FORCE AND EFFECT
A. The Local Rules govern the play & conduct of Petaluma National Little League, also referred to as PNLL or “The League.” The Local Rules are referred to as “By-Laws,” serve in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of Little League Baseball, Inc.
B. The Local Rules must NOT alter, supersede with any published Little League Baseball Rules, Regulations, Policies or Principles.
C. Any rule shall NOT remove or replace authority granted to certain persons by the Little League Baseball Rules and Regulations.
D. The League shall be governed by the Board of Directors, elected from the general membership, consisting of volunteer personnel.
E. The Board of Directors reserves the right to make changes and /or exceptions to the local rules by normal Board Meeting quorum and majority vote.
F. The Local Rules shall be distributed and/or be available to any party required to implement and uphold the policies or directives (i.e. managers, coaches, umpires, player agent(s), Board of Directors, etc.).
G. The League holds its Players, Managers, Coaches, Officials, Family Members and Fans to the highest standards of good sportsmanship, fair play, civility, appropriate behavior, appropriate dress and respect for others.
SECTION II: VOLUNTEERS
A. As a condition of service to the League, all Managers, Coaches, Board of Directors and any other persons, volunteers, or hired workers, who provide regular service to the League and/or have repetitive access to, or contact with players or teams and must complete and submit an official “Little League Volunteer Application” to the President of the League. Annual background screenings must be completed prior to the applicant assuming his/her duties for the current season. Refusal to annually submit a fully completed “Little League Volunteer Application” will result in immediate dismissal of the person(s) from the League.
B. Volunteerism: Little League is a volunteer run organization. Each family wishing to participate in this League shall be expected to embrace this concept. A parent or guardian for each child shall volunteer to work the required number of hours determined by the League.
All persons working in the concession stand must be at least 14 years of age.
During concession stand operating hours, the only individuals, aside from PNLL Board Members and Little League District Officials, to be in the concession stand are those individuals scheduled to fill a concession stand shift.
C. Field Duties: The Managers and Coaches of the Home team will prepare the field for play. The visiting manager will lock the storage container at the conclusion of the last game of the day, and after raking the field, and securing all League equipment in the dugouts. The visiting manager will also ensure the field/facilities are secure before leaving the area. Each team is responsible for emptying trash from their respective dugouts.
D. Scorekeeping: The Home team will provide the Official Scorer for all games. The Official Scorer may not be in the dugout, and may not communicate with members of either team. The Official Scorer works for the home plate umpire. The designated official scorekeeper will keep the pitch count and report it to the umpire at every half inning. In absence of an official scorekeeper, the official scorebook for a game will be the home team scorebook. The official scorekeeper shall be the official pitch counter for each game. The visiting team provides a scoreboard operator who will record the innings, pitch count, outs and pitch count on to the outfield scoreboard as directed by the home plate umpire and official scorekeeper. The home team will provide an announcer, if the sound equipment is set up.
In the AAA division when a junior umpire is utilized behind the plate, the visiting team must provide an adult umpire to cover one of the bases. If a manager/coach wants to speak with a junior umpire he must first ask for permission to approach and make sure the adult umpire is present. The adult umpire needs to monitor the conversation to make sure that it is one of respect and not abusive or intimidating.
SECTION III: REGISTRATION AND PLAYER EVALUATIONS – WILL BE CONDUCTED BASED ON GUIDELINES FROM OPERATING MANUAL AND RULE BOOK
A. Player registration for the PNLL season shall begin on-line in December. Check website for dates and information.
C. All player candidates (League Age 8 – 16) shall participate in PNLL’s sanctioned player evaluation (tryouts) activities as determined by the League.
D. Any player candidate who fails to attend 50% of player evaluations (tryouts) forfeits League eligibility unless an excuse is presented which is accepted by a majority of the Board of Directors.
E. Once a player registers with PNLL and has completed tryouts, the league reserves the right to retain all submitted fees, forms and materials. No refunds will be issued after said player completes player evaluations.
SECTION IV: PLAYER SELECTION – WILL BE BASED ON LITTLE LEAGUE GREEN BOOK
A. The number of teams at each level shall be determined by the Board of Directors immediately following registration dates.
B. Level of Play: A player candidate’s League age and the player draft will determine a child’s level of play. The levels of play and corresponding League Age are as follows:
C. Little League Minor Division (AAA): All Players 9 – 11 years of age. Any player 9 years of age drafted onto a team. All Players 10, 11, years of age NOT drafted into Little League Majors, and any 12 years of age with a written approval by District Administrator. 12-year-old players are allowed in the Little League Minor Division upon parent/guardian request and District approval.
SECTION V: GENERAL GAME RULES:
Game Status: Prior to game time, a presiding Board Member, Vice President of the Division, Safety Officer, or any member of the Executive Board may call games for safety and/or weather reasons. Games shall be rescheduled to continue per Little League rules. Once the game has begun the Board Member on Duty (BMOD) will be responsible for making decisions regarding weather and safety with regards to the minor division field.
Missed Games: A Player in the Little League Division that misses six (6) consecutive regular season games for any reason shall be removed from the roster of his or her current team. The Manager, through the Player Agent, shall fill that spot within three (3) days. No roster spots will be filled after two (2) weeks before the last regular season game.
The playing rules of Little League Baseball, Inc. and these Local Rules will govern play in all PNLL games. Particular attention shall be paid to the rules of minimum playing time (see Regulation IV (i) in the Little League Rule Book) and pitcher eligibility (see Regulation VI in the Little League Rule Book). PNLL will strictly enforce the rules of the game and any violation should be reported immediately to the Umpire-in-Chief at the game involved and the responsible Division Vice President.
D. Make-ups: Incomplete or postponed games during the regular season will be rescheduled by the Division VP prior to the end regular season play and reported to the Board. Makeup games will be played on the first available day following postponed game. No make-up game will be played within four
(4) days prior to any League Championship Playoff, unless the game is required to determine the Playoff participants. If circumstances prevent rescheduling of such a game, the Division VP may cancel the game with the approval of the Executive Committee
SECTION VI: LITTLE LEAGUE 9-12 YEAR OLD (AAA) MINOR DIVISION SPECIAL RULES
A. Goal: The primary goal of this Division is the development of baseball skills in all Players.
B. Age Bracket: This Division shall be comprised of Players of age nine (9) to twelve (12) years old. Players that are nine (9) years old may be allowed in this Division based upon the League’s evaluation of their playing ability.
C. 12 year old players are eligible for this division by waiver only and cannot pitch.
D. Playing Time: No Player will remain out of the defensive line-up for two (2) consecutive innings. Managers and Coaches shall rotate defensive Players.
E. Scoring: During the first 4 innings of a game, a team is limited to scoring five runs per inning. If an out of the park home run is hit, all runners on base, plus the batter will be allowed to score and the batting team is allowed to finish the play, but a maximum of 5 runs will be recorded. Beginning in the 5th inning, there is no run limit for either team. (See 2017 5 run rule waiver). The Minor Division does adhere to the ten (10) run rule.
F. Time Limits: No new inning shall begin after the game has been in progress for
1:50 hours, as long as 4 innings have been completed and game is not ending in a tie (see rule 4.10-4.12). A time clock will be provided by PNLL for all games and monitored by the game’s umpire.
Batting Order: All Players present at the start of a game shall be listed on their team’s batting order and shall bat in that order throughout the game, whether or not they are playing in the field during any particular inning. This shall be known as the “continuous batting order” rule.
Base stealing: Players may steal second and third on any pitch. Players may advance to home on a passed ball or wild pitch, but may not steal/delay steal home. However, player may run home if the pitcher misses the throwback from the catcher.
The team with the best record will receive the top seed in the AAA Division Championship Playoffs. If multiple teams have the same regular season record, the advantage will be determined by:
a. Team with the best head to head record. If still tied then,
b. Team with the lowest total runs allowed between the tied teams. If still
tied,
c. Team with the lowest total runs allowed against all other teams in the full
season. If still tied then,
d. A coin toss.