📕 Rules

Abbotsford Minor Baseball Association Mid-Summer Classic 13U Tournament Rules

General Rules

1. All players bat. Fair play rule strictly enforced - BC Minor Rule Book Rule 25.
2. During a game, coaches or parents cannot position themselves on the outside of the backstop behind the umpire in order to coach the team or umpire. There will be a warning and if this continues, the coach will be ejected.
3. The BC Minor Code of Conduct applies. BC Minor updates 2025 Rule 13 applies
4. No player(s) to sit more than three defensive innings.
5. No player(s) to sit 3 consecutive innings in a row (Fair play). Please do not take players out of an inning after 1 out.
6. If a player cannot play defensively, he/she must come out of the game.
7. The Infield Fly Rule applies to divisions 13U and up.
8. All players must play at least three complete defensive innings of a six or seven-inning game. All players must play at least two complete defensive innings of a five-inning game.
9. Courtesy runners will be permitted ONLY for the next 1⁄2 inning’s catcher when 2 outs. The courtesy runner must be the last “out.”
10. No head first slides to a base or home plate are allowed.
11. 3 outs or 4 runs will constitute an inning (except that a team may score unlimited runs in its last at bat).
12. Balks are called at the 13U division and higher as per general baseball rules.
13. Tie games will stand in round robin play (1 point for a tie) but not in semi-finals or finals.
14. Home/away for all round robin games will be pre-assigned
15. Tie games will stand in round robin play (1 point for a tie) but not in semi-finals or finals.
16. In semi-final games, the home team is the team with the higher standing after round robin play.
17. In final games, the home team is determined by a coin toss.
18. The home team will not bat if they are leading in the last inning.
19. Slide or avoid rule is in effect. No head first slides allowed when advancing to a base.
20. 10 run mercy rule is in effect after 5 or more innings (4 ½ innings if home team is leading).
21. There will be a 4 run limit per inning, in all games except the final inning, which will have no run limits.
22. No infield warm-up prior to games.
23. All coaches must be in uniform (no shorts). If not in uniform, coaches are not allowed on the field of play. BCMBA Rule 19.06.
24. All BC Minor Summer Peewee A rules will be in effect, unless otherwise noted.
25. Teams must start a game with 9 players or game will be forfeited. A team may play with 8 as long as they started with 9 players, and player leaving the game is due to injury, sickness or approved extenuating circumstance.
26. Bat sizes and material type as per BCMBA Rule 19.04. - 32 inch, 2 3/4 inch max diameter, -10 max length/weight drop, marked BPF 1.15” or “USABB”.
27. All helmets must have a chin strap or C Flap. as per BCMBA Rule 19.02.

Tie Breaking Rules

Tie breaking format for advancement to semi-finals if teams are tied in points after round robin play:

1. Head to head (not valid if 3 or more teams tied such as A beats B, B beats C, C beats A)

• If team A and team B both have the same amount of points but team A defeated team B in round robin play then team A will advance to the semi-finals ahead of team B.

2. Ratio of number of runs allowed per defensive inning against tied teams (lowest ratio advances):

• Team A had 32 runs against in 21 innings: 32/21 = 1.524 runs per inning
• Team B had 30 runs against in 20 innings: 30/20 = 1.5 runs per inning
• Team C had 30 runs against in 21 innings: 30/21 = 1.429 runs per inning
• Team C advances to the semi-finals because of their lower ratio.
• Statistics are calculated based on ALL games played during round robin play.

3. Ratio of number of runs scored per offensive inning against tied teams (highest ratio advances):

• Calculated in similar manner as #2.
• Runs for divided by total offensive innings played.
• Statistics are calculated based on ALL games played during round robin play.

4. Ratio of number of runs allowed per defensive inning during round robin (lowest ratio advances).
5. Ratio of number of runs scored per offensive inning during round robin (highest ratio advances).
6. Coin toss.

Awards

1. Medals awarded to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place teams.
2. MVP awards awarded to 1 player from each team per game.
3. Coaches will decide which player from the opposing team will be awarded the MVP medal.
4. It is recommended that a player may not receive more than 1 MVP award per tournament. Try to spread it around.

Pitching

1. All BC Minor pitching and pitch count rules are in effect (Rule 24). Any violations result in the head coach being ejected.

• 1-45 pitches = no rest
• 46-70 pitches = 2 nights rest
• 71-85 pitches = 3 nights rest
• 85 pitches max in a day

2. No balk warnings. All balk pitches are called.
3. Note: A rainout will not affect the pitching re: the 2-and-3-night rules, so any pitcher that was ineligible to pitch when the game was supposed to start shall remain ineligible when the game is played. Coaches, please ensure that your pitchers for the tournament have the required rest before your first tournament game.
4. Thursday pitching counts as Friday.

Official Score Keepers

1. The home team’s scorekeeper will be considered the official scorekeeper. The home team’s pitch counter will be considered the official pitch counter.
2. The official scorekeeper will be responsible for reporting the final score to the designated scoring official. Be sure to confirm the final score with the opposing team.
3. The official pitch counter will also be responsible for recording the number of pitches pitched by each pitcher from both teams -- coaches must sign the pitch count record form after the game is over.
4. The pitch count record forms will be provided in the official scorebook to be picked up and dropped off at the designated location.
5. A team shall be awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a tie.

Inclement Weather and Time Limit

1. Teams are to show up for their scheduled time in the event of rain unless notified of a change.
2. Games that are not important to the final standings may be canceled if necessary.
3. No new inning after 1 hour and 45 minutes. Open inning at 1 hour and 40 minutes.
4. Semi-finals and Finals will have no time limit.
5. In round robin games, after any complete inning, if the game is within 20 minutes of the time limit (2 hours), the umpires will declare the next inning to be an open inning. If the open inning finishes before the time limit expires, then an additional open inning shall be played. There is no guarantee of an open inning; however, if no open inning was declared and the time limit has expired, the game is over.
6. The tournament director retains the right to reduce/adjust the time limit if necessary, but this would be declared before the start of the game.

Protesting

1. Protests are not allowed. PERIOD. The tournament director and/or the Umpire-In-Chief have the final say and any disputed situation must be dealt with before the game continues. If the tournament director or the Umpire-In-Chief is not available at that time then the plate umpire has final say on a disputed situation. No IF’s/AND’s OR BUT’s. All umpire decisions are final.
2. Should a player or coach be ejected from the game for any reason, they shall sit the remainder of the game being played plus the next game. They will remove themselves from the dugout and must sit in an area designated by the umpire. They must not disrupt the game in any manner.
   

BC Minor Rule Book: Click Here