General Supplemental Rules 2019

Belmont/Redwood Shores Little League shall be governed by the current Official Regulations and Playing Rules (Green Book) and the procedures of the Little League Operating Manual as published by Little League Baseball unless superseded by these special Supplemental regulations and rules.

The Mission of Belmont/Redwood Shores Little League is to assist youth in developing the qualities of citizenship, discipline, teamwork and physical well-being. By coaching the virtues of character, courage and loyalty, the Little League Baseball program is designed to develop superior citizens rather than superior athletes. We continue to strive through baseball to teach life lessons, to instill in our children the ideals of respect for the umpires, teammates, coaches and the game itself, and to show good sportsmanship within a fun, positive environment.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• DIVISIONS
• PLAYER SELECTION FOR DRAFTING DIVISIONS
• PLAYER SELECTION FOR NON-DRAFTING DIVISIONS
• PLAYER REPLACEMENT
• ALL-STAR SELECTION
• RAIN OUTS
• LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
• FIELD PREPARATION
• GAME RULES

0) DIVISIONS

Teams are fielded in 6 divisions: T-Ball, Farm, AA, AAA, Majors and Intermediate. Farm, AA and AAA are collectively known as Minors. T-Ball may offer two sub-division: T-Ball Rookie and T-Ball Veteran, if registration permits.

1) PLAYER SELECTION FOR DRAFTING DIVISIONS (AA and up)

Eligibility:

Intermediate: All 13 year-olds shall be eligible.

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  Majors: All 10 and 11 year-olds who have played a season in the AAA Division, and all 12 year olds, shall be eligible. All 12 year olds must be selected in the Majors draft.
• AAA: All 9 and 10 year-olds who have played a season in the AA Division, and all 11 year olds, shall be eligible. All 11 year olds not drafted into the Majors division must be selected in the AAA draft.
• AA: All 8, 9, and 10 year-olds shall be eligible. All 9 and 10 year-olds not drafted into the Majors or AAA divisions must be selected in the AA draft.
• Exceptions to this rule are permitted only with approval of the Player Agent.

Team Size: 

• Intermediate: Each team will consist of 11 – 15 players, as determined by the Player Agent and DC.  
• Majors: Each team will consist of 12 players. The maximum number of 12 year olds on any given roster is 8.
• AAA: To the extent practicable, based on number of teams and number of registered players, each AAA team will consist of 12 players. In no event will a AAA team have more than 13 players on its roster.  
• AA: To the extent practicable, based on number of teams and number of registered players, each AA team will consist of 13 players.  In no event will a AA team have more than 14 players on its roster.

• Draft Attendance:

• Intermediate and Majors: Teams shall have only one manager (or representative) present for the team selection.
• AAA:  Teams shall have one manager (or representative) present for the team selection, and may additionally have a single coach present.
• AA: Teams shall have one manager (or representative) present for the team selection, and may additionally have two coaches present.
• In addition to the managers/coaches, draft attendance shall be limited to the following: League President, Player Agent, League Registrar, DC, other as approved by the Player Agent and the DC.

• Draft Mechanics: Player selection shall be made by draft method. Draft order shall be determined by a blind draw among the managers prior to the start of the draft. The rounds will be serpentine from first to last and then from last to first. If there are an odd number of rounds, draft order in the final round will be determined by a second blind draw.

• Hat Picks: Any player that fails to attend 50% of tryouts but has the BOD approval to gain status of a candidate for the draft will be eligible as a hat (blind) pick, regular pick or will be placed on the waitlist. This decision is made by the BOD, per the Operations Manual.

• Confidentiality: The proceedings of the draft, including the draft order of players are to be kept confidential.

• Protected Players (Majors and up):
• If a Manager wishes to draft his child, he must protect him. If the Manager does not wish to coach his child then the child will not be protected, but cannot be drafted by his parent. Managers who wish to not draft their child must alert the DC to this prior to their confirmation as a Manager by the board. This applies to all the Manager’s children playing in this division.
• Each Manager may pre-select one Head Coach. The children of the Head Coach who are eligible to play in the division must be protected in a manner identical to those of the Manager. The selection of Head Coach is subject to board approval and must be made prior to the last board meeting before the draft.
• All the protected players will be placed on the appropriate team roster, and the Manager shall forfeit a draft pick equivalent to the skill level of each of the protected players. The skill level will be determined by a sub-committee formed by the President, which typically includes the DC and Player Agent, prior to the draft, and announced prior to the draft. No board member who is a Manager or protected Head Coach may serve on this sub-committee.

• Protected Players (Minors):
• Manager and two coaches: The Manager must protect his or her children and up to two approved coaches per team must protect their children which are playing in the division they are coaching in. Protected players shall be exercised in the following rounds:

•         Manager: Round 3
•         Coach #1: Round 4
•         Coach #2: Round 1

• If a Manager or coach has more than one child playing in this division, they shall be protected in the next available round. For example, a Manager with two children and with a Head Coach would have their second child protected in Round 5.

• Sibling Option: All siblings must be declared to the Player Agent before the draft begins. If a Manager drafts a player with a sibling signed up for the same division, the Manager has the option to protect the sibling in the following round. If the Manager does not protect the sibling, he make draft the sibling in a later round, but another Manager may also draft the sibling. If siblings end up on different teams, it is the expectation that the situation will be resolved via a trade at the end of the draft. If a parent informs the Player Agent that they do not wish their children to be on the same team, the SIbling Option rule does not apply.

• Draft Rulings: If a Draft circumstance occurs not covered by the Player Selection rules in the Operations manual, the League President, DC and Player Agent will make a ruling during or after the Draft based upon fairness to all teams and players.

2) PLAYER SELECTION FOR NON-DRAFTING DIVISIONS (T-Ball and Farm)

• Eligibility:

1. T-Ball: All players of age 5 will play in T-Ball Rookies, and plays of age 6 will play in T-Ball Veterans, or opt to play in Rookies.

• Farm:

1. Age 7: Players of baseball age 7 will be automatically placed on a Farm team with no tryout required.
3. Age 8: Players of baseball age 8 will be asked at registration if they would like their child to be considered for play in the AA division.  If “no” is the response, then the parents will simply complete the registration for their child in the Farm division.  If “yes” is the response, they will be invited to participate in AA tryouts. Participation in the tryout does not guarantee being drafted in AA, and after the draft, parents of 8 year olds not drafted to AA will be notified of their child’s placement in the Farm division.

• Team Size: Teams shall consist of as many players as required until all eligible candidates are placed on a team.

• Player Placement: Player placement shall be done by the Division Coordinator and shall be approved by the Player Agent. Up to 3 coaches will be allowed to work together and therefore have their children on the same team.

• Parent Requests: Siblings may be placed on the same team per parent request. Other requests made during registration for players to be placed on the same team due to car-pooling shall be accommodated as long as it does not affect team balance.

• Registration: Players who become eligible to play after roster placement is conducted, shall be placed on a team by the Division Coordinator.  The Division Coordinator shall place the players on teams to balance the number of players on each team. No team shall be assigned more than one (1) player more than any other team in the league.

3) PLAYER REPLACEMENT

• Temporary Replacements (AA and up)

1. Requirement: If a team expects to have less than 10 players available for a scheduled game (11 in AA), the manager must contact the Player Agent to obtain a temporary replacement. If a team expects to have 10 players available (11 in AA), a temporary replacement player is encouraged but not required.
3. Violation: If a team has fewer than 10 players (11 in AA) at the start of a game, and the Manager did not attempt to contact the Player Agent prior to the game for the purpose of requesting a replacement player, the Manager shall receive a warning for the first offense. For the second offense, the Manager will not be permitted to attend the team’s next game.
5. Ongoing Replacement: If a player is injured and will be sidelined for some period less than the remainder of the season, temporary replacements may be used to fill his roster slot until he returns, as determined by the Player Agent. More than one replacement player may be used to cover the absence of a permanent player.
7. Replacement Process: The Player Agent shall make the selection for a temporary replacement from the list of eligible temporary replacements maintained by the Player Agent. The Player Agent will supply the Manager with the name of the replacement player. Only the Player Agent may contact the player about the new assignment. There will be no contact between any member of the team, manager, coaches, players or parents and the lower division team without approval of the Player Agent.
9. Eligible Players: Any lower division player who is age-appropriate, other than a player who declines a permanent call-up, with the requisite skill level (in the judgment of the Player Agent) is eligible to play in regular season games as a temporary replacement player. 12 year-olds in Majors are eligible for Intermediate. 10 and 11 year-olds in AAA are eligible for Majors. 9 and 10 year-olds in AA are eligible for AAA. 8 year-olds in Farm are eligible for AA.
11. Duties to lower division team: A temporary replacement cannot be made if participating in the game prevents the player from participating in any games played by his lower division team. Any temporary replacement from the lower division must continue to be dedicated to the lower division team. If the player avoids these responsibilities, the player will be removed from the list of eligible replacement players.
13. During the Tournament: Temporary replacement players may be used in the league tournament only under extenuating circumstances (injury, illness, unavoidable absence from games) that causes a team’s roster to fall below 10 players. The Player Agent should carefully review requests for replacement players during the tournament and should verify circumstances with the families of absent players. The number of defensive innings played by a temporary replacement player in a tournament game may not exceed the lowest number of defensive innings played by a regular team member.

• Permanent Replacements (AA, AAA, Majors)

1. Requirement: All teams must maintain a roster of at least 12 active players. An active player is defined as any player able to play in a regularly scheduled game. Manager shall inform the Player Agent and DC of the need for a permanent replacement player.
3. Inactive/Lost Players: A player shall be considered inactive/lost and shall be replaced if he/she misses four consecutive regular season games or three weeks of practice with no communication to the Manager. The lost player (if he/she returns) goes back into the pool of eligible players if the player meets the conditions of regulation III(d)-2, Note 2 (medical permission). If another opening develops, the replaced player must get Board approval before being placed back into the division.
5. Timeline: The replacement must be made within two games after the player is declared inactive/lost by the Player Agent – that means the longest a team may go without a player is six games in total. In cases where it is clear that the player will be lost (e.g. a move out of the area, a season-ending injury, etc.) the replacement should be made more quickly.
7. Eligible Players: The Player Agent shall make the selection for a permanent replacement from the division’s draft pool or the waitlist (if any). The pool consists of all players remaining from the original draft pool who did not get drafted into that division (and fell to a lower division). If there are no willing or able permanent replacement candidates remaining from these sources, the Player Agent will identify a pool of possible permanent replacement players with the requisite skill, ability and willingness to play in this division from the age-appropriate players in the lower division.
9. Replacement Process: The Player Agent will supply the Manager with the name of the replacement player. Only the Player Agent may contact the player about the new assignment. There will be no contact between any member of the team, manager, coaches, players or parents and the lower division team without approval of the Player Agent.
11. Replacement Players: Any replacement player becomes a permanent member of that team and will no longer participate in lower division games.
13. Impact to lower division team: Any lower division team losing a player through the replacement procedure shall not lose a player through this process again until all other teams in that division have also lost a player. No permanent replacements will be made during the last two weeks of the season or the during the League Tournament, unless the team has been eliminated from their League Tournament.
15. Permanent Replacements (Intermediate): Given that no other division carries 13 year olds, all attempts will be made to avoid permanent replacements unless candidates are on the waitlist. Due to this, teams will be permitted to fall below 11 players, or rely on a stream of temporary replacements as needed.  If one Intermediate team loses several players, and another has not, players can be moved from one team to another at the discretion of the Player Agent.

• T-Ball and Farm: Players are not replaced. If an extreme situation develops, some plays may be asked to switch teams at their option.

4) ALL STAR SELECTION PROCEDURE (AAA and up)

Teams: The Intermediate Division may field an all-star Intermediate Tournament Team. The Majors Division may field three all-star teams: the 11-12 Tournament Team, the 10-11 Tournament Team and the Majors Superbowl team. The 9-10 Tournament Team will first be filled with 10 year olds in the Majors Division, and if room be completed with 9 and 10 year olds from the AAA division. The AAA Division may field the Minors Superbowl team.

Selection: The process for selecting players, managers and coaches for the all-star teams shall be as set forth in the league’s Tournament Teams Selection Process document.

5) RAIN OUTS

City and League Closures: If the field has been closed by the city (as indicated by the fields hotline) or by the league (as indicated via email), then the game must be cancelled. Note: Sandpiper and Marlin are in Redwood City and have a different hotline than Belmont.

• Game-time Decisions: If the field is open, the decision of whether a game shall be cancelled due to rain shall be made by the managers of both teams playing at game time, or as close to game time as possible.

• If it is raining at the time of the game, the game shall be canceled.
• If the field contains puddles that cannot be drained, the game shall be cancelled.
• If the field is muddy and cannot be dried, the game shall be cancelled.
• If playing on the field will cause the field to be damaged for future games, the game shall be cancelled.
• If the field is wet and the risk is there that players can slip and get hurt then the game shall be called.
• Managers take responsibility for any damage done to a field due to a decision to play in poor conditions.

• Termination of Play: Once a game has started, whether or not to continue to play is determined by the umpires.

• Rescheduling (AAA, Majors, Intermediate): An attempt will be made by the DC to reschedule cancelled regular season and tournament games. In the event games cannot be rescheduled, the DC will determine and communicate any required changes to playoff seeding criteria.

• Rescheduling (T-Ball, Farm, AA): Rained out games will generally not be rescheduled. In an extreme situation, the DC may attempt re-schedule some games.

6) LEAGUE TOURNAMENT (AA and up)

• Participation: All teams shall participate in the league post-season tournament. If there are not enough Intermediate teams to hold a league tournament, these teams may enter a District tournament instead, if one is held.

• Format: The tournament format will be determined by the DC and communicated to the division.

• Seeding (AAA and up): Seeding will be determined by regular season winning percentage. In the event of ties:

1. The first tiebreaker will be won-lost record in head to head competition.
2. The next tiebreaker will be defensive runs allowed in head to head competition.
3. The next tiebreaker will be average runs allowed against all teams.
4. If the tie still cannot be broken, a coin flip will be used to determine seeding. The higher (better) seeded team will be deemed the home team in all tournament games.

• Seeding (AA): The AA tournament will feature pool-play since there will be no regular season standing to use to seed the tournament.

• Rules: All regular season rules will govern play, playing time, substitution, etc., including pitching, except as noted in the Game Rules section for that division.

• Merging of Tournaments: In any given year, the Board of Directors may elect to merge or combine the League Tournament with tournaments of one or more other leagues in the District, as desired.

• Tournament of Champions: The Majors Tournament winning team may also, with the approval of the Board, participate in a “Tournament of Champions” if one is held in the District 52 area.
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7) FIELD PREPARATION

Both the home and away team shall jointly be responsible for field preparation prior to the start of each game and for cleanup, takedown and lock up after the game. Instruction specific to each field are available on the league web site. Each team is responsible for post-game cleanup of its dugout. See the field-specific Field Preparation guidelines for more information.

8) GAME RULES

Game rules for District 52 Intermediate play will be determined at the District level. For game play rules for Majors, AAA, AA, Farm and T-Ball, see the appropriate division-specific Game Rules document.