NORTH YORK BASEBALL ASSOCIATION

NYBA MAJOR BANTAM TOURNAMENT
SPECIAL RULES

ROSTER

• Please note the OBA procedure for rosters:

1) Teams are NOT required to submit a roster at any OBA tournament. Instead, their sign in sheet must include their OBA roster number, and any roster numbers for any call-ups used. In addition, teams are NOT required to submit affiliate permission to enter any OBA tournament.

Teams will be emailed the word form of the sign-in sheet so that they can complete the sign-in sheet in advance with all the required information. They would then need only to have the players sign the form once they arrive at the tournament.

• All coaches must have proper certification, and proper uniforms, in order to enter the diamond
• Only players, coaches, and bat boys/bat girls may enter the diamond. Non-uniformed coaches, non-certified managers or parents, official scorekeepers, and official pitch count recorders are not allowed to enter the diamond until the conclusion of the game

GAME LENGTH

• All games are scheduled for seven (7) innings and round-robin games have a two-hour curfew. There are no extra innings in round robin games and no new inning may begin after curfew. Ties are possible in round-robin games.
• Semi-finals and final have no curfew and shall be played to a winner.
• The mercy rule is in effect for all games including the semi-finals and final.
• The mercy rule is defined as follows:

1) the game is stopped if the visiting team is leading by ten (10) or more runs after five (5) innings or by eighteen (18) or more runs after three (3) innings

2) the game is stopped if the home team is leading by ten (10) or more runs after four-and-a-half (4 ½) innings or by eighteen (18) or more runs after two-and-a-half (2 ½) innings.

EJECTIONS and PROTESTS

• Ejected players and coaches must leave the ballpark (not just the field) and are automatically suspended for their team’s next scheduled game
• The tournament convenor will determine if an ejected player shall be suspended for more than the automatic single game
• Any protest must be brought to the attention of the umpire before the next pitch, play, or attempted play, as per the Official Rules of Baseball.  Umpires’ judgment calls are not protestable. There will be a $25 protest fee which will be refunded if the protest is upheld, and forfeited if not upheld.  The protest will be ruled upon immediately by the Tournament Protest Chairman, and his decision shall be final

SCOREKEEPING

• At the discretion of the site convenor, the home team shall designate the official scorekeeper in all round-robin games
• For games on the Bond Main diamond, teams shall submit one copy of the lineup card to the announce tower. Please include first and last names, along with phonetic pronunciations
• Pitch counts for each pitcher must be recorded in the appropriate area on the scoresheet
• At the conclusion of the game, the official scoresheet must be signed by coaches from both teams and initialed by one of the game umpires
• NYBA Sportsmanship Rule: In the event that an scoring error is found on the scoresheet after the coaches have signed (for example, if the number ‘6’ is written at the top of the sheet as the home score, but only 5 runs scored are illustrated in the body of the scoresheet) then the scoresheet will be corrected and the coaches consulted on the correction. Signatures cannot legitimize obvious scoring errors on the scoresheet.

PRE-GAME INFIELD

• Coaches may consult with the on-site convenor to determine if pre-game infield warm-up is possible. If time permits to allow a game to start on time, and there is no issue with inclement weather, infield warm-ups may be conducted as follows:
  
  

Fifteen (15) minutes prior to the scheduled start time, the home team may take an infield warm-up.  Ten (10) minutes prior to the scheduled start time the visiting team may take an infield warm-up.  Five (5) minutes prior to the scheduled start time, the game umpires will enter the diamond and summon the managers to the plate to exchange line-up cards and discuss the ground rules.  Once the umpires enter the field, all warm-up activities shall cease immediately.  The umpires are in no way responsible for the infield warm-ups.  Their responsibility is to ensure the games start on time, unless otherwise hindered by weather or by other unforeseen circumstances.

OTHER RULES

• Team awards are set at a maximum of eighteen (18)
• Game MVP awards will be given at the conclusion of each quarter-final, semi-final, and final game. A tournament MVP will also be awarded.
• The EP may be used as per OBA Rule P2-8d
• The DH may not be used as per OBA Rule P2-8e
• A pinch runner may be inserted for a pitcher, who was listed in the starting batting order, and the pitcher may return to pitch only if the player is re-entered immediately as a pitcher when his team takes the field defensively (OBA P2-9b - new rule in 2009)
• Bond Park Rule: Teams are not allowed to bring mini-barbecues into Bond Park. There is a snackbar (with barbecue) available on-site.

PITCH COUNT RULES

• OBA Major Bantam pitch count limits are in effect
• At the discretion of the site convenor, the official scorekeeper shall designate the official pitch count recorder in all round-robin games
• Teams are required to keep and maintain ‘pitch count records’ and enter their pitchers’ pitch count on these sheets. Coaches should consult with the official pitch count recorder after the game in order to record the official pitch count.
• Coaches may be requested, by a site convenor, to present their team’s pitch count record
• Teams may ask the site convenor to request up-to-date pitch counts for players on the opposing team
• OBA Major Bantam pitch count limits are defined as follows:

o No player shall pitch more than ninety (90) pitches on any calendar day

o If a player pitches more than sixty-five (65) pitches any calendar day, he cannot pitch the next day. He must have two nights’ rest.

o A pitcher may not pitch on three consecutive days

• The official pitch count recorder must provide the pitch count for any pitcher at any time when requested by any coach or by the umpire
• NYBA Sportsmanship Rule: The official pitch count recorder must inform the umpire and both team managers when any pitcher reaches ninety (90) pitches. The game shall be paused and the pitcher removed from the game.
• If the official pitch count recorder is not neutral (e.g., by nature of being a parent, coach, or player connected to one of the teams) then failing to inform the umpire and both team managers when any pitcher reaches ninety (90) pitches will result in the official pitch count recorder’s team forfeiting the game.

DELAYS and CANCELLED GAMES

• In the event of poor weather, the tournament convenor reserves the right to rearrange the schedule as necessary to complete the tournament during the June 4-6 weekend
• A rearranged schedule may result in the semi-finals beginning after only two round-robin games
• In the event that weather conditions require the cancellation of round-robin games, teams shall receive refunds in the following amounts:
  0 games played = $425
  1 game played = $250
  2 games played = $0
• NYBA Sportsmanship Rule: In the event that weather conditions require the cancellation of the semi-finals or finals, the tournament convenor will work with the teams to determine an alternate date for the games to be played. Teams should make every effort to honour the completion of the tournament. Teams unwilling to work to arrange rescheduling the semi-finals or finals shall be considered to have forfeited these games.

PLAYOFF ROUND and SEEDING

The following step-by-step process shall be used to determine 1) which teams advance to the playoff round and 2) how teams will be seeded in the playoff-round.

1) Playoff-Round Teams

• Two teams in each division with the most points advance to the playoff round. Points shall be assigned as follows: 2 points per win, 1 point per tie, 0 points per loss.

· In the case of a tie between two teams within the same division, teams will advance to the playoff round based on tie-breaking rules in the following order:

1) Winner of head-to-head game

2) Team with smallest runs-against ratio (runs allowed / defensive innings played)

3) Team with highest runs-for ratio (runs scored / offensive innings played)

4) Coin toss

• In the case of a tie between more than two teams within the same division, teams will advance to the playoff round based on tie-breaking rules in the following order:

1) Team with smallest runs-against ratio (runs allowed / defensive innings played)

2) Team with highest runs-for ratio (runs scored / offensive innings played)

3) Coin toss

2) Playoff-Round Seeding

· Once the six playoffs teams are determined, they shall be seeded #1 through #6 in order of points earned from the round-robin. In the event of a tie between two or more teams, the following tie-breaker rules shall determine the higher seed:

1) Team with smallest runs-against ratio (runs allowed / defensive innings played)

2) Team with highest runs-for ratio (runs scored / offensive innings played)

3) Coin toss

· Note that the winner of a round-robin game between two tied teams is not necessarily the higher seed.

• In the quarter-finals, seeds are matched as follows:

· #1 receives bye

· #2 receives bye

· #3 vs. #6

· #4 vs. #5

· Note that, in the quarter-finals, a team may be matched with another team from within the original division

· In semi-finals, teams are matched as follows:

· #1 vs. lowest remaining seed

· #2 vs. highest remaining seed