Rules

1. UNIFORMS, HELMETS, BASEBALLS AND OTHER EQUIPMENT

a. All teams must have full baseball uniforms, consisting of caps, numbered jerseys, and baseball pants. Each player's uniform must be identical to his teammate's. No player may alter his uniform in anyway, including, but not limited to, cutting or tearing sleeves. If uniforms are made without sleeves, an undershirt must be worn with sleeves covering the shoulders. Names are permitted on the backs of jerseys, but last names only. No first names or nicknames will be allowed. A first initial is allowed when names are repeated. Teams having sponsorships will be permitted to have the sponsor's name on their uniforms via a patch or uniform shirt.

b. All teams MUST have complete uniforms by opening day.

c. All batters and runners must wear helmets. This rule is not optional. Full double earflap helmets are required for at bats and also for the bases.

d. Only wooden and composite bats are permitted for league play. The maximum allowable weight/length differential is -3. For the safety of its players, the league commissioner reserves the right to rule on any bat at any time. If the league office deems a bat dangerous or undesirable, it will be outlawed from that point forward.

e. Metal cleats are permitted. Anyone found wearing deliberately sharpened spikes will be expelled from the league permanently.

f. The league commissioner will designate an official baseball for league play. This will be the only baseball used in league games.

2. GAME LENGTH, RUN-RULE, AND RAINOUTS

a. All games are 9 innings unless:
1. A 10 run discrepancy exists after 7 innings-or 15 after 5
2. Rain: 5 innings complete
3. Darkness/Power Failure: game suspended
4. Double Headers: 7 innings-10 run rule after 5 innings.

b. The league office will make every effort to reschedule rainouts. Time, umpire availability and the importance of the game will determine makeup schedule.

3. TEAMS, PLAYERS, AND LINEUPS

a. A player is eligible to participate in league games on the date of his 18th birthday. Special exemptions can be made for players 16-17 years of age who are not covered by Little League or High School.

b. Team rosters must be submitted to the league commissioner at least 48 hours prior to opening day, including player fees and waiver forms. No player may play in a game without the commissioner being notified at least 24 hours prior. All teams must carry no less than 13 paid players, no more than 18. Any team whose roster has less than thirteen paid players must supplement it from the wait list or recruit another player.

c. Prior to the date of the draft, a new player (who has not played for an AAMBL team for at least one full season.) is considered a free agent and may join any team with the coach's consent.

d. Once a player becomes a member of a team, his rights belong to that team and may not change teams without the consent of both managers and the league commissioner. However, any player who misses every game for one or more full seasons is to be considered a free agent. A player is considered a member of his team once both player and coach of a particular team sign his player contract. Other circumstances may exist in a player’s rights question that is not covered in this rulebook. The league commissioner will have final say on when or if a player’s rights are matched to a particular team/coach. Any type of player tampering will not be tolerated.

e. Trading of players is permitted. Any trade must have the approval of the commissioner. The commissioner is responsible for making sure any player movement is in the best interest of the league. Trading however is not to be used as a vehicle to "beef up for the post season", but rather as a method of resolving disputes or creating parity. No teams may engage in trades predestined for reacquisition after the season.

f. All players, prior to participating in a league game or practice, must have a signed waiver form on file with the league. Birth certificates may be required for players under 21.

g. Managers are required to submit a copy of team’s lineup, complete with first and last names, as well as uniform numbers to the opposing coach, plate umpire and PA announcer at least 15 minutes prior to game time.

h. A manager may bat as many players as he desires, with a minimum of 9. Batters may not be skipped over or deleted, regardless of their batting position or when he was entered into the game. A batter, of course, can be substituted for.

i. A manager may add batters to the bottom of the lineup at any time. As many as he desires, but they may not be skipped later. They may be replaced. Only starters may reenter the batting lineup once removed. However, their replacement must see at least one plate appearance before being removed. Each team has a batting and fielding lineup, which are independent of each other. Players may play in either lineup or both. Teams are required to report lineup changes prior to a substitute’s at bat. Both the opposing coach and plate umpire need to be notified as well as the PA announcer if present.

j. If a player is forced to leave a game due to injury, or if a player is ejected, a reserve player, not previously entered in the game as a hitter, must hit in the batter's place. If no reserve is present, that spot becomes an automatic out each time it comes up in the lineup.

k. A team must have 9 of it’s own players for an official game. However, a team may begin a game with 8 players, but a 9th player must arrive before completion of the 5th inning. If no 9th player arrives by the end of the fifth inning, the game is immediately forfeited to the team with nine players. If neither team has nine players by the end of the fifth inning, the game is considered "unofficial" and both teams are credited with a loss.

l. Any team that is forced to forfeit two games during a season, for any reason, will be required to accept a player from the league’s wait list immediately and prior to the team’s next game. If a team is repeatedly short several players, the team will accept as many players as the league deems necessary to avoid future forfeits.

m. All players may be substituted for defensively at any time, without affecting the player's offensive status in the lineup. A starter in the batting order may be removed and a substitute may bat in his place at any point during a game so long as the starter has had at least one plate appearance. The starter may return to bat again, but only in his original spot in the lineup, and only after his replacement has had at least one plate appearance. The substitute may not bat again once he is removed from the batting order. The starter may reenter only once during the course of the game. The starter and his substitute are locked into the same spot in the order and cannot bat anywhere else.

n. No player may switch teams without the consent of both managers and the commissioner. In the event a team disbands, the players are to be placed on other teams by league management, if at all possible. League discretion applies here.

4. PLAYER BEHAVIOR AND TEAM RESPONSIBILITY

a. Alcohol is strictly prohibited on all league grounds.

b. Umpires have sole discretion to expel any player, manager or fan from the game. Any ejected person or animal must leave the field promptly, including the parking lot or adjacent grounds. He may not reappear until after the game has ended and the umpires have left the grounds. The commissioner will review all ejections and further disciplinary action is possible.

c. Base runners may not intentionally collide with fielders at any base or home plate. It is the umpire's discretion to expel a player for initiating contact with another player. All base runners must slide or give up their right to a base path to avoid a collision. Catchers must allow the runner access to the plate while awaiting a throw or applying a tag.

d. Each team will be assigned mandatory field maintenance before and after each game.

5. COURTESY RUNNERS

a. No courtesy runners are allowed

6. PITCHERS

a. No pitcher may wear a batting glove or wristband, nor visible jewelry or any other distracting apparel while on the mound.

b. If a pitcher hits 3 batters in any one inning, or 5 in one game, he is to be removed at that point.

c. There is no regulation on how often a pitcher may pitch nor how many innings he may pitch.

7. FIELDERS

a. Fielders are not to decoy a catch where there is no strategic value. If a decoy is detected, all runners advance one base. If the same fielder decoys again, he is ejected pending league review. Decoying is referred to as a false catch intended to make a player slide unnecessarily.

b. Glove sizes for all fielders are defined by Major League Standards.

8. GENERAL LEAGUE RULES

a. Any protests must be lodged to the commissioner within 24 hours after the protested game. The commissioner or head umpire will decide all protests.

b. In order for a player to be eligible for his team's playoffs, he must participate in at least one-third of his team's games (17 game season = 6). Injury exceptions can be considered as long as the player was on the roster for at least one-third of his team's games. However, for an injury exception, the player must still attend required number of team games in uniform.

c. Only players in uniform are permitted to use league facilities. This includes pregame and postgame warm-ups, etc. No team may allow fans, sponsors or perspective players to enter field or dugout at any time before, during, or after games. Players, current or former, are also forbidden from field and dugouts unless in complete uniform.

d. Smoking is strictly prohibited on playing fields and dugouts at all times.

9. CODE OF CONDUCT-PROHIBITIONS

Managers and players shall conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner at all times. No one shall commit the following:

a. Lay a hand upon, shove or strike an official.

b. Refuse to abide by an umpire's decision.

c. Be guilty of objectionable demonstrations of dissent at an official's decision.

d. Use unnecessarily rough tactics in the play of a game against another player.

e. Be guilty of a physical or verbal attack as an aggressor upon any player, manager, official or spectator before, during or after a game or other league event.

f. Use foul language during games. No foul language will be tolerated regardless of who or what it is aimed at.

g. Possess or consume alcoholic beverages on league grounds.

h. Be insubordinate toward a coach, manager, or league official.

10. PENALTIES

a. Fines, suspensions, expulsion and work detail are a few of the penalties that the league commissioner may impose on any player, manager, fan or volunteer found to be in contempt of the league's rules and regulations.

b. Since it is virtually impossible to name all prohibitions and cover every indiscretion possible, the league hereby reserves the right to impose disciplinary and corrective measures on any action it deems detrimental to the league's image or intentions, regardless of whether or not it is outlined specifically in this rulebook.