Tournament
Rules & Regulations
1. Ontario Baseball Association (O.B.A.) Constitution and Official Rules shall apply, subject to exceptions as indicated in the following rules and regulations.
2.
Payment of the entry fee will apply as an appearance bond and will not
be refunded to any team failing to fulfill its commitment to the tournament.
3.
A team roster approved by the
O.B.A. Affiliate Registrar must be available if asked for.
4.
Prior to participating in any game of a sanctioned tournament, all
players and coaches must sign the approved O.B.A. Tournament Sign-in Form. Teams must provide their team roster number
and call-up roster number. These forms
will be forwarded to the O.B.A. Tournament Chairperson.
5.
Managers and coaches are responsible for the conduct of their players
and anyone involved with the team, both on and off the field.
6.
Line-up cards must be presented ten (10) minutes prior to the game.
7.
Games will commence promptly on time as per the schedule. Any team unable to field nine (9) eligible
players at the scheduled game time will default the game.
8.
Home field will be determined prior to the start of each game by the
flip of a coin with the team travelling the farthest making the call.
9.
The home team is to keep the official score and hand back the
scoresheet to the convenor at the end of the game with signatures of both team
managers.
10.
The decision of the umpire(s) is final.
There will be no protest of judgement calls by the umpire(s).
11.
Any protest will be resolved on the field by the Tournament
Convenor. All decisions of the
Tournament Convenor are final.
12.
In case of rain or other delays, the tournament schedule may be
revised.
13.
Ejection from any tournament game will result in an automatic
suspension from the next scheduled game and/or the balance of the tournament
depending on the circumstances.
14.
O.B.A. pitching rules will be strictly enforced as follows:
i) Baseball Ontario Pitch
Counts will be strictly enforced per Rule P2-10.
ii) The Official Scorekeeper
will designate and inform the Home Plate umpire of the “Official Pitch
Counter” for both teams prior to the start of the game.
iii) Pitch Counts of the “Official
Pitch Counter” will be the only numbers used by the Umpires during a
game regardless of what numbers (Pitch Counts) any coach or spectator may have
– no appeal or protest of the numbers recorded will be permitted.
Note: It is recommended that
coaches check the Pitch Count of a pitcher as recorded by the “Official Pitch
Counter” at the conclusion of each inning.
iv)
Coaches
shall sign the Official Game Sheet immediately following the conclusion of the
game
acknowledging the Pitch Counts of the
pitchers used during that game. In the event of a discrepancy in numbers, the
Pitch Counts of the “Official Pitch Counter” shall stand. In the event a
coach fails to sign the Game Sheet, the Pitch Counts recorded will be
considered official and no appeal or protest of the numbers will be allowed at
a later time.
Note: It is recommended that
coaches initial the pitch count of a pitcher as recorded by the “Official
Pitch Counter” immediately upon a pitching change.
15.
There will be no infield practice permitted before any scheduled game.
16.
Games will be seven innings in length. No new inning will start after 2
hours have elapsed from the time of the first pitch of the game. Ties are
permitted in round-robin games. No time
limit will apply in the Championship Games.
The official scorekeeper will record the time of the first pitch and the
umpire will announce the time to both teams.
17.
In the event of a
tie at the conclusion of 7 innings and/or upon expiration of the time limit
in any
Semi-Final
or Championship Game, the game will
continue until such time as a winner is determined. The game will continue with complete innings
being played.
18.
The ten (10) run Mercy Rule after fifth inning will be in effect for all
games including the Championship game.
19.
Standings will be determined by the number of points earned (2 points
for a win; 1 point for a tie &
0 points
for a loss).
20.
The team in each division with the most points will advance to the
semi-finals and a second place team with the best record (Wildcard).
In the event of a tie(s), the OBA tie- breaking formulas will be used.
a)
Winner of head to head game will be awarded the higher standing within
the division.
b)
Team with the smallest runs against ratio (Runs allowed divided
by the number of defensive innings played).
c)
Team with the highest runs for ratio (Runs scored divided
by the number of offensive innings played).
d)
Coin toss.
Note: In the event of a forfeit during the Round Robin, a score of “7-0”
will be recorded with
1 run being
awarded per inning to the winning team (e.g. 4 runs after 4 innings).
21. The Oakville Minor Baseball Association and its officials accept no responsibility for the loss or damage to any equipment and/or injuries to any player, team officials or any other persons in the park during the tournament.