ESTABLISHED BY TEAM REPRESENTATIVES


ELIGIBILITY
1.)       (Age eligibility) All players must be at least 18 years of age to play.
2.)       (Pregnancy) Pregnant woman are not allowed to play. It is each coach’s responsibility to notify all female players on their team that the league does not recommend or allow anyone who is pregnant to play.
3.)       (Uniforms) All players must wear a similar color jersey with a non-matching number.
4.)     (Rosters) Teams are encouraged to turn in a team roster prior to the beginning of the season.  Teams are allowed to add male players to their roster up until and including July 1, 2008.  One week before the roster cutoff date the league will provide each team with an updated roster. Only players on the final roster will be eligible to play during the rest of the regular season.  Teams will have an open roster for female players.  If a team is caught using an illegal player they will forfeit that game and team manager could be subject to league discipline.
5.)       (Blue Scorebook Sheets) Each team must turn in league issued Scorebook Sheets within 7 days after games are played.  Sheets should be placed in the drop box in the shed at the league field.  Teams that fail to turn in scorebook sheets within the specified time will not receive credit for that weeks game (PLAYERS WILL NOT GET CREDIT FOR THAT GAME TOWARDS PLAYOFF ELIGIBILITY). 
PLAYOFF ELIGIBILITY / PLAYOFFS
1.)       (Games played) Each male player must play in at least 10 regular season games to be eligible for the playoffs. Each female player must play in at least 8 regular season games to be eligible for the playoffs. If a player is injured and is unable to play he or she can still get credit for that game played. An injured player has to be present for the start of that game and must be logged into both teams score sheets as "Injured unable to play but present".
2.)       (Each round) Each round will be a best 2 out of 3 series, including the championship series. 

3.)       (Teams eligible for playoffs) The top 8 teams with the best record will participate in the playoffs. The bottom two teams will not participate in the playoffs.  If 2 teams are tied for the last playoff seed then a 1 game playoff game will be played in the morning of the first round of the playoffs.  A coin toss will determine home team in that game.   

4.)       (Home team) The team with the higher seed will be home team in games 1 and 3. If 2 teams have identical records then a coin flip will determine the seeding.  If 3 or more teams have identical records then one of the following will happen:  (1) determine head to head matchups, if all teams split then each team will flip against each other to determine seeding OR (2) determine head to head matchups, teams that won the head-to head matchup do not flip against the team they have the better record against.  Team’s that spilt flip first; the loser is the lower seed, the winner flips against the next team and so on.
5.)       (When playoffs start) Playoffs start immediately following the completion of the regular season. There will be no weeks off before the playoffs start.
6.)         (Playoff locations) The league will have to use another field located in the Lowell area to accommodate all the games in the first round. The league may have to randomly select who plays where in the first round. 7.)         (League Championship Prize) The team that wins the league Championship will be awarded $250.00 cash that they can use towards any team expense.

GRACE PERIOD / FORFIETS
1.) (Forfeit) There will be no financial penalty for a forfeited game. If a team forfeits 3 games in the same season they will go up for vote for removal from the league.
2.) (Minimum players on field) Each team must have a minimum of 9 players including 1 female player on the field or a forfeit will be issued.
3.) (Grace period) There will be a 10 minute grace period, FROM THE SCHEDULED START TIME, for teams to have enough players to play a game. After 10 minutes any team that does not have the league minimum to play will be issued a forfeit. If your team has an 8:00 game and the game before ends at 8:10 and your team does not have enough players to start the game at 8:10 then you will be issued a forfeit.
4.)       (Rainouts) Every team is expected to show up for all scheduled games rain or shine unless a league board member informs a team not to.  The umpire is the only person that can cancel a game due to inclement weather.
5.)      (Changing a game date or time) Any team requesting a game date or time change request, FOR ANY REASON, must get approval from opposing team and league President 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED START OF THE GAME. Failure to get approval 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE START OF THE GAME from both will result in a forfeit to team requesting game date or time change.  The league WILL NOT prolong the season 1 week to accommodate a game date or time change.  Note:  All game date or time changes are pending if permits can be obtained. 

6.)       (Umpire does not show up) In the event an umpire does not show up in time for their scheduled game then both teams must mutually agree on a volunteer umpire at the field. That volunteer umpire can be a member of the league. In the event both teams cant agree then the league President will appoint one.


ALCOHOL
1.)       (Alcohol) No player will be allowed to consume alcohol while participating in a league game or practice. Alcohol is not allowed on the playing field or dugout at any time.  Team rep must notify umpire if opposing team has alcohol during game.


LEAGUE MEETINGS / VOTING ON BY LAWS AND AGENDA
1.)       (Voting) Each team rep will get one vote on anything that pertains to league by-laws.  Majority vote wins on all topics. In the event of a tie the league President will then vote to break the tie. Teams that fail to send a team representative to a scheduled league meeting will have no say or vote on any topic.
2.)       (Scheduled meetings) League president will choose date, location and time of all league meetings.
3.)       (Team being removed from the league) Teams that do not adhere to league by-laws could be removed from the league.  For a team to be removed there must be two thirds approval from league reps.  Teams should follow the following standards:-          All By Laws should be followed-          Teams should stay competitive-          Team dues should be paid on time-          Team reps should attend league meetings-          (The league may choose to add to this list by vote of team reps) 
ALL STAR GAME / HOMERUN DERBY
1.)         (Players and coaches eligible) Each team must provide 3 male and 1 female player from their team to play in the annual all-star game. The division leaders as of {insert date} will manage their respective divisions in the all-star game.
2.)         (Homerun limit) There will be no homerun limit in the all-star game.
3.)         (Homerun derby) Two-homerun derby’s will be held before the league all-star game, a male and a female contest. The League requires a $10 entry fee and must be a league member (on a roster) to enter. Winner from each contest will take home a cash prize. Some proceeds will go to the league. Each batter will get 10 outs and will be able to chose his or her pitcher.  A random order will be selected to determine who goes in what order. Males will have to hit at the batters box and females at second base. No one can enter once the first pitch goes off.


BASE RUNNING
1.)       (Courtesy runner) Courtesy runners can only be used for injured players AND once you request a courtesy runner you MUST do so for the remainder of the game..  The injured player must inform the umpire before entering the batters box that they are injured and they require a courtesy runner.  Upon this request the umpire will announce that the batter is injured and requires a courtesy runner.  The batter cannot advance past first base, unless they hit a homerun; if they do make an attempt to pass first base then they will be called out and runners will go back to there original base.  The courtesy runner is allowed once the batter safely reaches first base AND the umpire has called time out.  One courtesy runner will be allowed per team per inning. The player to make the last out will have to pinch run. If no last out has been made yet then the last out from the previous inning must run (male for male, female for female).
2.)       (Slide rule) A base runner has to either slide or get out of the way. The catcher cannot block the plate unless they have possession of the ball. If the catcher has the ball the base runner must either slide or get out of the way.
3.)       (Safety base) A safety base will be used in all league games. How it works? “If you hit a ground ball anywhere in the infield you have to run for the orange bag, however if the ball gets through the infield or is hit in the outfield you can use the white bag. The fielder should never touch the orange bag. This will decrease the possibility of the base runner and a fielder colliding at first base.” Once a runner is safely on first base they can use any part of the safety base.

GENERAL BY-LAWS
1.)       (Count) Every batter will start with a 1 ball and 1 strike count.
2.)       (Extra foul) If the batter fouls of the third strike, the next foul ball or strike is an out.
3.)       revised 2/9/2009 (Mercy run rule) Any game will end if a team is winning by 20 runs after 4 innings or 15 runs after 5 innings.   Home team will get their last atbat if the visiting team reaches the mercy rule regardless of the inning.

4.)       (Cleats) No metal spikes can be worn on the field at anytime during a game.
5.)       (Providing game balls) Every team must provide the umpire with 1 league assigned 12-inch ball for each game. 
6.)       (Tie games) No game can end in a tie. Unlimited extra innings will be played until the game ends.

 7.)       (Homerun limit) The limit of homeruns allowed by 1 team is 6 per 7-inning game. After the sixth homerun is hit the 1-up rule goes in effect. This rule means that after one team hits their sixth homerun each homerun hit afterwards will count as an out until the opposing team reaches 6 homeruns. After that point each team is only allowed to hit one homerun more than the opposing team. If the game goes into extra innings, the homeruns start over and the limit is 3 per extra innings with 1-up.
8.)         (Inside the park homeruns) Inside the park homeruns do not count against a teams homerun limit or league leader board.
9.)       (Number of batters in the lineup) Each team must bat a minimum of 10 batters, which includes at least 2 female players. If a team only has 1 female player they must field and bat only 9 players and 1 has to be a female. The tenth player in the batting rotation will become an automatic out. No team shall have a batting rotation of more than 14 players.

10.)       (Players in field) At no time can a team have more than 8 male players in the field. No team can field more than 10 payers in the field, combined male and female.

19.) removed 3/10/2009 - regarding all star divisions
20.) (Dugouts) Teams must remain in dugout during the entire game.
22.) (Pitch Height/Distance) All pitches must be between 6-12 feet from the ground.  The pitcher must pitch 50’ from the plate (ASA rule).
23.) (Legal Bats) ASA Non Approved bats will not be allowed. If a player steps in the batters box with a Non ASA Approved bat he will be called out. If a batter uses a ASA non-approved bat and is not caught prior to the first pitch of the next batter there is no penalty but the bat is still taken out of play. It is up to the managers to review the other teams bats before the game. Any advancement by runners that were on base are returned to their original base.
24.) (Paying the Umpires) The home team is responsible for making sure the umpire is paid $34.00 before the game starts. Each team will be issued a check for $306.00 before the season starts and they must bring $34.00 cash to every home game they play.