7U Rules

North Shore Baseball Association 7U Division Rules

Electronic Copy – Revision 4 (March 2019)

 

PURPOSE

The purpose of the 7U Division program is to introduce young players to baseball and to have fun. We want to teach the players good sportsmanship and team spirit. We want these players to learn the positions on the field, how to throw a baseball, how to hit and run bases, how to stop ground balls and how to catch pop flies. These rules are intended to provide a framework to achieve these purposes, and should be interpreted and applied in a manner that is consistent with this objective.

  1. GENERAL RULES
    1. The team t-shirts and hats are supplied by the league and they should be worn to all games. Base runners, batter, and on-deck batter must wear batting helmets with chinstraps properly attached. Players may wear running shoes or molded rubber cleats.
    2. The Home team is responsible to prepare the diamond and ensuring equipment is replaced after the game. If equipment were taken from the field’s equipment bin, it should be returned there.
    3. Coaches are responsible for the behaviour of their team players, and to make sure that there is no abuse of equipment.
  1. STARTING AND ENDING THE GAME
    1. Games must start within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time.
    2. The objective is that games should last no longer than 1 hour from the time of the first batter.
    3. Games postponed due to field or weather conditions will be rescheduled by the division coordinator, if there is time available in the schedule.
  1. PLAYING FIELD
    1. Bases shall be 50 feet apart and where available, shall be held by a base spike to avoid injury.
    2. The pitcher’s mound will be 38 feet from home plate.
    3. A semi-circle (foul line) of 5 feet in radius will be laid out in front of the home plate.
  1. GAME RULES
    1. Two (2) teams will meet at the ball park at the same time.
    2. The teams will play three (3) innings or until both teams decide to end the game.
    3. At the end of the three (3) innings, the teams will have a relay race (round the horn) with one team starting at home plate and one team starting at second base.
    4. All players will bat in each inning, with the last batter running all the way around the bases. The 1/2 inning will end when all players have completed their turn.
    5. Coaches may assist the batter in positioning her/him in the batter’s box.
    6. Hitting is off of tees only. There is no coach pitching.
    7. Each batter will have a maximum of 5 attempts to hit the baseball. If the 5th swing does not result in a hit, a coach will roll the ball to allow the hitter to run the base paths and to allow the defence to field the ball and make plays.
    8. To throw the batter who has hit the ball out, the fielder must throw the ball or reach first base with the ball before the hitter. However, no player will be called out on the play. Rather, the player will remain on the base as a base runner.
    9. When the last hitter hits the ball, the ball must be thrown to home plate in order to get the last hitter out.
    10. Defensive positions should change each time a team is in the field.
    11. A hit ball must travel past the semi-circle for it to be a fair ball.
    12. The play is dead once the throw is made to a base (it can be thrown to any base). If a runner has passed a base before the ball has been thrown to a base, the runner may attempt to run to the next base.
    13. To encourage fielders to make a play:
      1. No extra bases are allowed on overthrown balls. Runners may ONLY take one base on hit balls which stay in the infield.
      2. When a player in the outfield has retrieved the ball and has made a reasonable effort to throw the ball in, even if it falls short of the infield, then the play will stop. If the ball is thrown to the infield, then the play will stop.
    14. The maximum number of bases a player can advance on a hit in the outfield is two.
    15. The following is NOT ALLOWED: bunting, lead offs, stealing, pinch hitting.
    16. Infielders are not allowed to stand on the base line or the base (unless receiving a throw).
    17. A runner cannot touch or pass the runner ahead of him/her or she/he will be out.
    18. If the umpire (parent/coach) is unsure of the outcome of the play, the decision goes in favour of the runner.
    19. Players are not allowed to play the same position more than 2 innings per game.
    20. There is no back catcher position.
    21. Every player on the team can play in the field.
  1. 7U UMPIRES (PARENTS OR COACHES)
    1. Official umpires will not be provided. Instead, a coach who’s team is batting will take on this role.
    2. The batter must DROP the bat – do not throw it.
    3. Remove the tee and/or bat when the runners are coming in to the home plate.
  1. ORDER OF CALLS
    1. The umpire will call the first batter by saying “Batter Up”
    2. They will then say “Ready in the field” to make sure the players in the field are paying attention.
    3. The umpire shall then say “Play Ball”.

 

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