Wisconsin District 4 Little League: Welcome

With the turning of the calendar to March, LL baseball is right around the corner!  Leagues have or soon will register players for the 2010 season.  Try-outs and/or drafts will follow.  Most leagues will start games in late April or early May. 

Defending district championships will be the all-stars from West Madison National LL in the 9-10 age division, Verona LL in the 11 year-old division, West Madison American LL at the Majors level, Verona LL at the Juniors level, and West Madison National LL at the Seniors level.  The players will be different this time around, but the competition and fun will certainly return.  Will a team be able to match last year's 15 and 16 year olds and their run all the way to the Senior League World Series?  Their unbelievable and memorable season provided excitement for players, coaches, parents and fans alike.

Check out the "News" and "Recent Tournament Champs" pages for more information about the West Madison All-Stars along with all of our district tournament champs and the post-season tournaments. 

Also be sure to check out the "News" page for important news items regarding the 2010 season.  In addition, there is information about our district coaches and umpire clinics coming up on March 21st.

District 4 Little League fans, this is your webpage!  We hope that it is your first home for information on Little League baseball in southcentral Wisconsin.  If there is anything you feel needs to be added or changed, please send an e-mail to jjkautza@charter.net.

Jeremy Kautza--Webmaster

If you need to contact someone from District 4:

A free clinic for District 4 coaches will be held at Edgewood HS on Sunday, March 21 from 1-3pm.  The clinic is open to all District 4 coaches and registration is not necessary.

Tom Young from Madison West LL will be facilitating the clinic.  New rules for 2010 will be addressed along with practice organization tips.  Chris McKinght, the general manager at Hitters Sportsplex in Middleton, will also be on hand providing his expertise on hitting and pitching and will demonstrate several drills that can be used with your players in practice situations.  Chris is also the manager of the Texarkana Gunslingers and a former college coach.  His ideas will transform your practices for the better!

The clinic will also provide information on providing a safe environment for players, along with first aid tips should a player be injured. 

Rob Ruhle, WI-4 District Umpire Coordinator, recently announced that the District 4 Umpire Clinic will be held from 1:00-3:30 on March 21, 2010 at Edgewood High School.  The clinic will feature several umpires from the district staff as instructors, many of which have umpired in Regional Tournaments and even a LL World Series.

The clinic will be held in the high school gymnasium.  There is no need to register and all umpires are welcome.  Instruction will be tailored toward the beginning volunteer umpire, but those who have been umpiring for their local leagues in any capacity are invited to attend.  Participants are asked to dress for activity and if possible to bring a baseball glove.

If you have questions, please contact the District 4 Umpire Coordinator, Rob Ruhle.

Little League International has released some additional helpful information regarding the transition into the 2010 pilot program where 12 and 13 year-olds can play on a field with a 50 foot pitching distance and 70 foot basepaths.  The additional information provided addresses many of the common questions leagues have been submitting. 

Field Availability

One of the most common questions relates to field space. Many have pointed out that they do not have a field in their boundaries that could accommodate a 50-70 division.

However, they may not realize that the field is not required to be inside the league’s boundaries to be usable. For instance, if only one field is converted to 50-70 play in a given area, any chartered Little League could use that field to play 50-70 games, provided certain conditions are met as noted below.

The field does not need to be owned or operated by the local Little League. As long as the field meets Little League standards, the owner of the field permits the use, and the local Little League Board of Directors approves the use of the field, it’s acceptable. (In this case, Little League accident insurance would be in force. The owner of the field may ask to be named as an additional insured on the liability policy, but this is not required by Little League International.)

That would allow, for instance, some or all of the leagues in a given district to charter for the 50-70 Pilot Program in 2010, and play those games on a single field.

Another solution may be to convert an existing “standard” Little League field (a field with 46-foot pitching distance and 60-foot base paths) to a 50-70 field, but to allow that field to be used for BOTH divisions.

Such a conversion is possible. Little League International has provided a step-by-step tutorial on converting a field for dual use. It can be downloaded at:  http://www.littleleague.org/AssetFactory.aspx?vid=165073

Of course, a local league also can convert a 60.5-90 field to the smaller 50-70 size. However, doing so would require two separate pitching mounds. (A portable pitching mound can be used in regular season, but not tournament play.)

Regular Season and Tournament Play

For 2010, there will not be a separate level in the International Tournament for the 50-70 Pilot Program. However, local leagues and districts that are participating in the program will be able to organize tournaments using a Special Games Request Form.

Any player who participates in the pilot program during the regular season will be eligible to participate simultaneously in the Little League Division (for players ages 9-12) or the Junior League Division (12-14). Such a player will be eligible for selection to either age-appropriate International Tournament Team.

However, a player who participates solely in the 50-70 Pilot Program also will be eligible based on his/her age for selection to a team participating in the International Tournament (only for the 2010 season as a part of this pilot program) under guidelines established for player eligibility.

Here are some additional options available:

• Leagues will be allowed to operate under interleague play and combined teams. However, players will only be eligible for tournament in the league where they reside.
  
• Leagues will be allowed to structure the 50-70 Pilot Program so that their typical season is conducted, for example, on Monday through Friday. Then on Saturday and Sunday, leagues could offer the pilot program to players who wish to participate. All pitching guidelines apply.
  
• Participating leagues (and districts with participating leagues) will be permitted to organize tournaments using a Special Games Request Form for players in the 50-70 Pilot Program. Players may participate in both Special Games and the International Tournament under guidelines established in the Baseball Rulebook.

Rules

In the 50-70 Pilot Program, ONLY players who are league ages 12-13 will be eligible in 2010.

Additionally, base runners will be permitted to lead off in the 50-70 Pilot Program (requiring pitchers to hold runners on base), runners may attempt stealing at any time, and head-first sliding is permitted. In the Little League division, runners cannot leave the base until the ball reaches the batter, and sliding must be feet-first unless the runner is retreating to a base.

Also for the 50-70 Pilot Program – unlike the Little League division – the batter becomes a runner on a dropped third strike, the bat can have a diameter of 2 5/8 inches, and the on-deck batter is permitted.

The fence distance in the 50-70 Pilot Program is up to the local league to decide. It is recommended that the distance be at least 200 feet, but not more than 300 feet.

In the 50-70 Pilot Program, the height of the pitcher’s plate, in relation to the level of home plate, is eight inches.

“We have seen more requests for the intermediate-size field recently,” Patrick Wilson, Little League Vice President of Operations, said. “We are constantly looking for ways to provide more flexibility and to respond to the needs our local leagues. For those leagues with the ability to create a new field for this program, or to modify an existing field, we hope this will be another way to provide an enjoyable experience for the families in their community.”

For more information, click on the headline to go to the press-release on the Little League website.  Our district will make every effort to assist leagues who are interested in finding out more about this program.  Please contact our District Administrator, Jeff Wolfe, for more information about getting started.

Rules and Regulations changes for the 2010 season were announced recently by Little League International.  Among the most notable changes are clarifications about the pitch count rule and the new requirement that every game must have at least one adult (18 years-old or older) umpire present.

For more information about the new rules and regulations for 2010, please click on the headline to go to the press-release on the Little League webpage.  If you have questions on the new rules, please contact one of our district umpire coordinators, Rob Ruhle or Jason Kelley.