Little League Baseball Rules

QuickSwingTrainer.com

By Wiley Channell and Brownee Channell

Little League baseball isn't just simply a game played by younger players, there are a number of different rules when compared to official baseball. Anyone coaching a Little League team will have to know the variations in order to teach younger players properly.


Differences in Field Layout


When playing Little League baseball, the field is usually sized about 2/3 of a regulation ball diamond -- instead of 90 feet between the bases, there should only be 60 feet.
The pitcher stands 46 feet away from the batter's box, rather than the 60 1/2 feet for regulation baseball.


Game Rules


All players on the roster will play 2 innings in the field at a minimum, and have the opportunity to bat at least once.
Also, any players who leave the game can return, as long as their substitutes also get to play 2 innings and have one at-bat.
A game of Little League baseball lasts for 6 innings instead of 9.- A game is declared over once either side gets a 10-run lead over the other team.
After the 3rd strike, the hitter is out. It does not matter if the catcher holds on to the ball on the third strike.
There are no designated hitters in Little League baseball. All 9 players come up to bat according to their position in the roster.
All runners have to stay on base until the ball reaches the batter when pitched.
There are limits to the number of pitches any player can throw, based on age. For example an 11-year-old can only throw 85 pitches but an 8-year-old is limited to 50. Rest periods are also given to pitchers, depending on how many have been thrown.
A manager can visit the pitcher on the mound twice during an inning, unlike the regulation limit of once.
If a game is called on account of rain, it will count as an officially complete game if four innings have been played. If the home team is head, then only 3 1/2 innings are needed.
Double-headers can only be held once per week at a maximum, unless one of the games is played to continue a suspended tie game from earlier.


About Author:Wiley B. Channell is the editor of BaseballFarming.com - the information resource for baseball fans and players. Find more about famous baseball players at his site.
Article Source: http://www.ezinearticles.com/?expert=Wiley_Channell

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Youth Baseball Digest - Can You Name 10 Ways a Batter Can Safely Reach First Base?

By Nick Dixon


Have you ever thought about how many ways a batter can safely reach first base? I have pondered the question and I have come up with 10 different ways for a batter to safely reach first base.
The ways that I thought of include the following:
1) Base Hit - Batter swings the bat and hits a base hit. In baseball statistics a base hit is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory.
2) Walk or Base on Balls - A base on balls or walk is credited to a batter when the batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. The walk can be intentional or not intentional.
3) Error - A batter reaches on an error when, in the judgment of the official score book keeper, a fielder misplays a ball hit by the batter allowing the batter to reach first base. The ball misplayed is one that the official scorer judges to be a play that should have been made with reasonable or ordinary effort. What this means is that the fielder misplayed a routine play.
4) Passed Ball on a Strike Out: The batter strikes out but the catcher misses the ball. The batter becomes a batter-runner and reaches first base safely. This play should be officially scored as a strikeout and passed ball, a strikeout and wild pitch or a strikeout and a fielders choice.
5) Catcher Commits Interference - Catchers interference is called when contact is made by the bat of the batter. With catcher interference, the result is the same as with all interference, The batter is awarded the results of the swing or first base. The manager of the offense may advise the plate umpire that he elects to decline the interference penalty and accept the play
6) Fielders choice - A fielder`s choice is a play made on a ground ball in which the fielder chooses to put out an advancing base runner, thus allowing the batter to reach first base safely.
7) Batter-Runner Interference - Once the batter hits the ball the batter becomes a base runner. The batter becomes a runner and is entitled to first base without interference by a defensive player. If interference occurs, the manager of the offense may advise the plate umpire that he elects to decline the interference penalty and accept the play.
8) A Sacrifice - The batter hits a sacrifice fly or executes a sacrifice bunt.
9) Double Play - The batter reaches first on a double play by the defense that did not involve a throw to first base.
10) Hit by a Pitch - The batter is hit by a pitch thrown by the batter. The batter must be in the batting box and in the judgment of the umpire did not "lean" into the pitch.

I am sure that you may think of one or two more. These are what came to my mine because they are the 10 ways that occur most often. I hope that you found this article to be informative. Thanks for taking the time to read it. I wish you and your team good luck in the coming season. Have a great day! Nick

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Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

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A Baseball Rule That is Broken All the Time

By Larry Cicchiello

Baseball rules clearly state that you can NOT block a base without the baseball. So much for the rules.

Many players don't just bend this rule but completely break this rule.

If you're not going to enforce a rule, why do we still have it in the rule book?

Catchers do it on almost every close play at the plate and get away with it 100% of the time.

Infielders get away with it 99.9% of the time.

They say the hand is quicker than the eye but in this case, quite often the knee is quicker than the eye.

What the infielders will do is block the base a fraction of a second before they receive the throw.

It happens so fast that they get away with it.

The runner often gets to the base beforehand but has no access to the base.

First basemen are very good at blocking the base on a pick-off throw from either their pitcher or their catcher, before they actually receive the throw.

What the first basemen will do is to get their knee down to block the base an instant before they catch the ball and then bring their tag down.

They get away with it because the knee blocks the base at the very last split second before they receive the ball. Most are so good at it that it has to be viewed in slow motion to be seen. We're talking a fraction of a second.

A base runner can discourage this from happening.

If the runner is retreating to a base or advancing to the next base, he can slide in feet first instead of head first. The last thing we want is to see anyone hurt on the ball field so hopefully the player in the field will follow the rules. And even if the player in the field does not follow the rules, we still don't want to see anyone injured.

I saw a high school coach in May of 2006 make a valid point.

His team had a runner on first base and his runner had to dive back to first base on an attempted pick off by the pitcher to the first baseman.

Before the first baseman had the ball, he blocked the base with his knee and the runner was safe but it was a very close play. Much closer than it should have been.

But, the base runner was blocked by the first baseman's knee and had a difficult time getting to the base.

The coach simply yelled to his runner, "If he's going to block the base, go back feet first."

The coach is 100% right.

I'm hopeful that the coach did not want his runner to injure the first baseman but simply wanted to forewarn the first baseman that he should abide by the baseball rules of the game.

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc. and also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or are involved in baseball coaching at any level of play or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello



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