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Tee Ball® Baseball Playing Rules
"Little League Baseball" Tee Ball
Rules can be found throughout 1.00 -- THE PLAYING FIELD 1.01 -- The baselines shall be forty-five feet (45'). 1.02 -- The pitcher's "mound" shall be a circle with a radius of 5', the center of which shall be 35' from the point of home plate (batting tee). 1.03 -- The outfield fence shall be between one hundred fifteen (115') and one hundred twenty-five (125') feet from the back point of the home plate. Championship play for 7-year-olds will be 125 feet. 1.04 -- The batter's box shall be five feet (5') long and three feet (3') wide. It shall be six inches (6") off from home plate with two feet (2') extending forward from the center of the plate, and three feet (3') extending backward from the center of the plate. 1.05 -- Home plate shall be a portable plate with an adjustable height tee attached on which the ball is placed to be hit by the batter. 1.06 -- Bases shall be any youth league bases. 1.07 -- The catcher's box shall be the distance between the outside edges of the batter's box extended six feet (6') back of the batting tee. (Optional for local league play.) 1.08 -- The next batter's on-deck circle shall also be designated as the batter coach's box. 1.09 -- A foul strike arc shall be made from baseline to baseline in front of home plate on a ten foot radius from the back point of home plate.
2.00 -- EQUIPMENT 2.01 -- The ball shall weigh not less than four ounces (4 oz.) nor more than four and one-fburth ounces (4-1/4 oz.). It shall measure not less than nine inches (9") nor more than nine and one-fourth inches (9-1/4") in circumference and be of orange color. All Franchised Tee Ball Baseball programs must use the four ounce (4oz.) TB-100 orange ball produced by Worth Sports Company. PENALTY: If found in violation; May involve forfeiture of all Tournament privileges. NOTE: The TEE BALL BASEBALL is 1 oz. lighter than a regular baseball. The lighter weight and the orange color are for the purpose of making the game safer for this age youngster. 2.02 -- The bat should be one piece of solid, round hardwood, one piece of hollow metal (aluminum or magnesium), molded plastic on a metal base (inner), or nylon and wood combination. It may be filled with light material for sound effect if this does not materially affect the weight. The bat shall be not less than twenty-four inches (24") nor more than tvwnty-seven inches (27") in length. The barrel of the bat must not exceed 2-1/4" in diameter. The knob shall be of such size so as to give a good grip and maximum protection from the bat slipping from holder's hands. Bats may be "Flame Treated" or natural finish or colored if made of wood. Only bats that meet the above specifications shall become official TEE BALL BASEBALL bats. *The batter using an illegal bat shall be called out and all runners shall return to the bases occupied by them at the time such batter took his position in the batter's box. The use of the illegal bat must be protested prior to the first swing of the next batter. 2.03 -- Players may wear any type clothing in local league play that is approved by the local league. This clothing shall include shoes, but not shoes with metal cleats. 2.04 -- Helmets must be worn by batters, base runners, on-deck batters, bat-boys, or base coaches while on the playing field. The batter's helmet shall be made of ultra high impact plastic or high impact plastic shelf. The shell shall be of one-piece construction or two pieces if they snap into a single unit similar to the one-piece construction type. The helmet shall have pieces for the ears and full protection for the head and temples. The padding shall be of heavy rubber or similar material. The use of the web-type suspension inside the helmet is not recommended. The wrap-around helmets that protect the ears, temple areas, and back of the head are acceptable. Helmets that are not designed to stay on without a chin strap must be worn with a chin strap. NOTE: It is important that helmets stay on while players are sliding or running the bases. For a first offense, the player shall be warned by the umpire; for the second and subsequent offenses in the same game, he shall be called out. If the violation is by a bat-boy or on-deck batter, the penalty for his second offense is removal from game and from field. 2.05 -- All other equipment that is used in the TEE BALL BASEBALL Program, such as gloves, hats, uniforms, shoes, and umpires' equipment shall be the choice of the local league.
3.00 -- THE GAME/GENERAL INFORMATION 3.01 -- Starting line-ups shall consist of ten (10) players. 3.02 -- Substitutions must be made at the beginning of each half-inning. 3.03 -- In full six inning games, each player must play at least three (3) full innings on defense and offense and bat at least one time. No player, starter, or substitute can be removed from the game by the manager until he has batted at least one time. 3.04 -- A. Starting players may re-enter the game one time in the same batting order position they originally occupied. B. When a Team has entered all of its substitutes in a game and then has an injury, illness or ejection of a player, the manager of the opposing team shall appoint someone on the other teams bench not currently in the line-up to replace the player who must leave the game. That appointed player can play any position his manager wishes, but would bat in the place of the player who left the game even though he batted in another place in the order previously. The player who has been injured- or become ill, and has been substituted for, may not then re-enter the game. This applies to local league play only. 3.05 -- All batters must remain inside the dugout while waiting to bat except the on-deck batter who may wait in the on-deck circle. The batter coach shall remain in the on-deck circle and shall accompany the batter to the batter's box only for the purpose of adjusting the tee and giving hitting instructions. He must then return to the on-deck circle immediately. PENALTY: Strike shall be called for each offense after the team has been warned one (1) time. NOTE: Exceptions may be made concerning the batter coach assisting the batter for the purpose of local league play. 3.06 -- The infield fly rule is not in effect. 3.07 -- Bunting is not permitted. Chopping down on the ball, even though the batter swings through the ball, shall be considered as an attempt to accomplish the same thing as a bunt. PENALTY: Local league - batter warned for first offense. A strike is called and runners return to bases previously occupied. Subsequent offenses, batter is out. TOURNAMENT PLAY - the batter is out, baserunners return. 3.08 -- Base stealing is not permitted. A baserunner must be in contact with his base at the time the ball is hit by the batter. PENALTY: The defensive team shall have the option of either accepting the play as executed or ruling it a "no-swing" by the batter. If the play is accepted, the runner shall not advance any more bases than the batter advances. 3.09 -- Once a batted ball is in a defensive player's possession, baserunners shall not pass another base. PENALTY: Return to the last legal base. Possession means the ball is seen by the umpire to be in the player's glove or bare hand and off the ground. A trapped ball does not constitute possession; the ball must be off the ground. The umpire calling the bases shall have a whistle which shall be blown to indicate when a batted ball is in a defensive player's possession. Optional for local league play. 3.10 -- If the ball is struck hard enough to roll past the 10' foul circle in front of home plate, it is a fair ball. If the ball is hit so as to land in fair territory and roll back across the foul strike line, it is a foul ball. If it stops on the foul strike line, it is a fair ball. NOTE: The batter must make contact with the ball, NOT just the tee. 3.11 -- The batter shall be out if he fouls three third strikes. 3.12 -- The batter shall be allowed to level his bat with the ball (half-swing) only one time per strike. An additional leveling or half-swing shall be called a strike. Touching the ball or accidentally bumping it off the tee as he levels his bat shall not be called a strike. 3.13 -- The umpire shall present the ball and then place the ball on the batting tee when the player has declared himself ready to bat and the defensive players are positioned in the umpires judgment. The batter cannot then move his back foot other than picking it up and putting it down basically in line with his front foot. NOTE: The purpose of this rule is to prevent the batter from intentionally deceiving the outfielders and infielders once they are set defensively by purposefully shifting the back foot in order to hit the ball to the opposite field. Some forward or backward movement of the back foot will be ignored by the umpires if in their judgment the batter was not attempting to deceive the defensive team. In addition, good hitting generally comes off of a steady or "dug in" back foot and it is always the intention of TEE BALL BASEBALL to teach correct Baseball procedures to those in training. PENALTY: The defensive team shall have the option of either accepting the play as executed or ruling it a "no-swing" by the batter. If the play is accepted, the nmner shall not advance any more bases than the batter advances. The first time this offense is called against a particular batter a warning will be given and recorded in the scorebook; subsequent violations - batter is out. TOURNAMENT PLAY - out on first offense, baserunners return. 3.14 -- The batter shall be called out for slinging the bat and runners returned to their bases. (No warning). 3.15 -- A team on defense shall be allowed no more than two time outs per inning. Exception - injury to a player or other emergency. (Optional for local league play.) 3.16 -- A team on offense shall have three (3) outs or ten (10) batters, whichever comes first. A. Local leagues at their discretion may permit teams fielding only nine players at the start of an official game to bat a tenth batter without penalty by allowing the lead off batter in any given inning to bat twice unless three outs have occurred. If the tenth player arrives after the start then that player must bat in the tenth spot. B. If after a game has progressed and an substitutes have played their required innings and a player is injured, ejected, ill or has to leave and removed from a game reducing the number of players to nine, the opposing team will select a player from the bench of the team in question to bring the line-up back to ten batters. The substitute will then bat in the vacated spot in the line- up. Tournament Play: This rule does not apply. 3.17 -- A. If the tenth (10th) batter in an inning does not reach first (1st) base safely and makes the third (3rd) out, no runs scoring on that play shall count. B. If the tenth (10th) batter in an inning does reach first (1st) base safely and makes the third (3rd) out after passing first (1st) base, any rum scoring before the put-out shall count. C. If the tenth (10th) batter in an inning makes the first (1st) or second (2nd) out, any run scoring on the play shall count. 3.18 -- A. On defense, the pitcher must remain inside the 10' diameter circle until the ball is hit. All other players shall assume normal baseball positions. The 10th player is a roving out-fielder. NOTE: Players may shade to the left or to the right of their normal position, however, those positions normally to the right of second base cannot move to the left of second base before the ball is hit and those positions normally to the left of second base cannot move to the right of second base before the ball is hit. B. It is suggested that in local league play the infield not be allowed to come in any closer than 35' from home plate when the younger and/or immature batters are batting. 3.19 -- Players, managers, or coaches may be removed from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct after the team has been warned one (1) time. 3.20 -- Managers and coaches are not allowed to smoke during a game either on the field or off the field. 3.21 -- A. A regulation game shall consist of six (6) innings. A game called because of rain, darkness, etc., shall be considered a regulation game after four (4) innings, three and one-half (3-1/2) if the home team is ahead. B. Tie games which are called after the game has become official shall be resumed at the next regular meeting of the two teams involved. The game shall resume from the point of the termination with the same personnel in the same positions as much as is possible. C. A game called for any reason before it has become official shall be declared "no contest" and shall be replayed in its entirely. D. Local League games shall be completed whenever possible, even when a team is mathematically eliminated. 3.22 -- PROTESTS A. A protest which involves an umpire's judgment shall not be accepted. B. Only the team manager or the acting team manager shall be entitled to file a protest. C. The only legal protest shall be one which 'involves a violation of playing rules or the use of an ineligible player. D. The protesting manager on a play situation shall notify the umpire he is protesting before another swing by the batter. The umpire shall announce that the game is being played under protest, but failure of the umpire to make this announcement shall not affect the validity of the protest. E. A protest based on a play situation shall be considered only if it is placed in writing by team manager or coach and submitted to the local league president within twenty-four (24) hours. F. A protest on the grounds of the use or non-use of a player shall be filed with the local league president within twenty-four (24) hours after the completion of the game. The decision as to whether the game, or games, shall be forfeited or replayed in the event the protest is upheld, shall be left to the discretion of the league president. NOTE: Only the game or games protested shall be considered, and all protests of this nature shall be made within twenty-four (24) hours. An illegal substitution is one in violation of playing rules. Section (E) applies to illegal substitutions and Section (F) to ineligibility or non-use of a player. For the purpose of this rule, an ineligible player shall be a player who is not eligible to participate in the league because of age, boundary requirements, or other reasons and is not to be confused with illegal substitutions. Example: Team A player plays the first four games of the season. Team B manager protests the last of these four games on the grounds of ineligibility. The local governing body upholds the protest, but only for the game in question, not for the first three games, as each game must be protested within the twenty-four (24) hour limit.
© 2001 Gospel Projects, Inc., Milton, Florida
Tee Ball® Baseball is a registered trademark of Gospel Projects, Inc., Milton, Florida
From the Official Web Site of Tee Ball® Baseball, Inc. For more than 40 years, we've been promoting youth baseball from our headquarters in Milton, Florida.
Copyright © 2000 Brookside Little League, Inc. All rights reserved
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