KEY RULES TO BE AWARE OF

When running to First Base, be sure to run to the right-side bag. There are two bags at first base. To minimize collisions, the first baseman has the left-side bag for making plays and the runner goes to the right-side bag. If you run to the left-side bag, you'll be called out.

One exception to this rule is if you get a hit thru the infield which doesn’t involve a play at first base then you don’t have to touch the outside base when rounding first base.

When running to Home Plate, be sure to run to the right-side plate. At home plate, there are two plates. The plate where you bat is where the catcher makes plays. The runner goes to a second plate that is 8 feet way. Same run applies, if you run to the wrong plate, you are out. There is no need to slide.

Also be aware that there is a "commit" line on the third base line located 30 feet from home plate. Once you cross that line, you cannot return to third base.

Play at the Plate is a Force Out. The plays at Home Plate are called like they are at First Base, if the catcher has the ball and is touching Home Plate before you cross the running plate, you are called out.

For Obvious Double Plays, Runner to 2nd Must Run to Clear of Throwing Lane to 1st. To reduce risk of injury, when it is obvious a runner to 2nd will be out on a double play attempt, that runner must run to outfield clear of throwing lane to 1st. If fielders do not make the play (e.g., dropped ball, bad throw), the runner will be given 2nd base).

Ball:  Any softball meeting the 12” 44/375 core with a composite leather cover are considered acceptable for league play.  Each team provides a new ball and a good backup clearly marked for their team. These balls shall be placed in the pitching screen base at the beginning of the game. The pitcher will only pitch the batting team’s balls, so that each team will hit their own balls and also be responsible to replace balls lost over the fence.

Field: 65’ baselines, 50’ pitching rubber, 21” x 35” Strike Zone Mat, Home Scoring plate located 8’ from home plate and 65’ from 3rd base. 3rdbaseline commitment line 30’ from home scoring plate. 

Players: A complete roster of all possible players for the year, including age and jersey number, shall be shared with all teams at their first meeting. (Only Players 58 or older). Players shall be prepared to show ID at any time. Copy of team rosters shall also be submitted to league via email to dd.turner @verizon.net by no later than March 17, 2023 in order for the rosters to be distributed to all team managers. A new player to a team during the year must present an ID at his first game and the league notified before his first game. Each team shall field 11 players and may have unlimited DHs, which can rotate in and out of the field as long as they are in the 1st inning lineup or have entered as a substitution. If a team does not have a minimum of 11 players, the opposing team may supply them a player. If a player is injured during a game and cannot continue to play, if a substitute is not entered in the lineup, his spot in the batting ordered shall be skipped with no penalty. If a player voluntarily leaves a game and a substitute is not available, his spot in the batting order shall be considered an out. There shall be no blending of rosters during league games or tournaments.

Umpires: Umpire(s) shall be provided by each team (1 home, 1 field). Base coaches at 1stand 3rd are empowered to make calls in the absence of a field umpire. Calls at second base shall be first called by the home umpire or coach having the best view. If there is a question about a call at a base, the home umpire and field umpire or coach making the call shall get together to discuss what they saw. Defensive players shall not participate in this conversation, unless asked to do so. 

Rules: The SPA rule book shall be used for our official rules for anything not covered by the following: 

1. Start w/0,0 Count with no courtesy foul. A pitch striking any part of the Strike Zone Mat will be considered a called strike.
2. 5 runs max per inning 1-6, no limit in 7th.  See Rule 14 below for “catch up” run rule when “B” rated teams are playing against “A” rated teams.
3. Limit 2 extra innings per game. Start inning 8 w/previous last batter, or pinch runner if the pinch runner ran from home for that batter in the previous at bat, on 2ndbase and inning 9 w/previous last batter, or pinch runner if the pinch runner ran from home for that batter in the previous at bat, on 3rd base. If still tied after 9 innings a tie game is called.
4. No overruns of 2nd or 3rd base. Any runner overrunning 2ndor 3rd base can be tagged out, unless in the opinion of the umpire the overrun was necessary to avoid a collision with the fielder at or near the base. The runner must also be within reach of the target base when the play is concluded. Sliding is allowed going to or coming back to a base. Sliding to take out a defensive player is not allowed and the runner can be called out. If a runner does not touch the base to avoid a collision and the ball is missed or thrown wild, he may advance to the next base at his own discretion AFTER returning and tagging the missed base. When a double play is possible, a runner must turn out of the base path, when he is obviously going to be out. If a runner stays in the base path, thus obstructing the defensive player from making a clear throw to complete the double play, the umpire may call interference and declare that the double play is made. Note, the defensive player must make a throw for the interference to be called. (NOTE:) Defenders covering 2nd or 3rdbase are encouraged to not stand in the middle of the bag to receive a throw. Rather they should play the base like a 1st baseman, keeping their body away from the path of the runner)
5. Courtesy runners are allowed. When running from home the runner starts back at a line as shown in the field specifications located on page 9 of 9.    No team on offense shall utilize more than three (3) pinch runners in innings one through six. Subsequently, no more than six (6) pinch runners may be utilized in the seventh inning or any subsequent open innings.   A player may only be a courtesy runner once per inning, except in the 7thor later inning. If a team bats around in the 7th or later inning, a player may again run for SAME batter as in the first time through the line-up. (NOTE: Cannot courtesy run for a courtesy runner.) A courtesy runner on base when due at bat is ruled out and must come off the field but may still bat and maintain place in batting order. A courtesy runner does not have to be in the lineup. (A player sitting on the bench may be a courtesy runner)
6. Unlimited substitutions are allowed provided  said substitution does NOT impact the original   batting order. (See Players above) 
7. For force plays at home, defensive player need  only be in contact with strike zone mat and in   possession of the ball.
8. Pitching Screen must be used. Screen must be 3’ portable type. Corner of the screen shall be placed whereas it covers a minimum of ½ of the width of the pitching rubber. The screen may cover as much as all of the rubber, but not be moved wider than a minimum of covering ½ of the width of the pitching rubber. The screen shall be placed in front of the rubber exactly a distance of five feet (5’) and shall not be moved unless to accommodate a left or right handed pitcher.  A batted ball hitting the screen is dead and a strike. If the batter has two strikes the ball is dead and the at bat continues.  
9. Pitcher must start delivery of pitch making contact with the pitching rubber or up to 6 feet behind the rubber. He may step outside of his box with his throwing motion provided that at the time of the release of the ball at least one foot is either in contact with the pitching rubber, or behind as allowed and that foot cannot be outside of two imaginary lines drawn perpendicular to the outside corners of the rubber. A six (6’) foot mark shall be established behind the rubber by the field crew prior to the start of the games.
10. Pitchers cannot wear a batting glove on their   pitching hand.
11. The pitcher shall present the ball and pause at   least one second before pitch delivery (No   quick pitches or running to make the pitch) 
12. No time limits or mercy rules apply. However, to expedite play, if a team scores a fifth run in an inning and the ball goes past the outfielders, let the team coming on the field retrieve the ball, instead of the on-field team having to chase down a ball. This supports speeding up the game. Additionally, it is requested that teams have their lineups ready, decide who will provide their team’s umpiring support, try to move off/on the field in an expedient manner and definitely have a plan for substitute runners so the defensive team doesn’t have to spend time waiting on the substitute runners to be provided. It is also requested that team’s try to limit the between game breaks to around fifteen minutes.
13. Flip-Flop rule will be used. If the home team is behind by 7 runs or more at the end of 6 innings, the home team will bat first in the 7th inning.
14. For the upcoming season teams will be rated with either an “A” rating, or a “B” rating. Teams with a “B” rating, when playing an “A” rated team, will have the option to request additional “catch up” runs as follows:                                                                 -- “B” rated teams will have the ability to score as many runs as they are able to in order to catch up to the score of the “A” rated team. This ability to “catch up” runs is available to the “B” rated teams in innings two through six when they are the home team and innings three through six when they are the visiting team. The “B” rated team has the option to waive this advantage, but must make the declaration prior to the start of either of the games played in the double header.                                        -- The “B” rated teams will be designated prior to the start of the season and teams may be re-designated at the mid-point of the season or as deemed necessary as determined by the league commissioner or managers.
15. The minimum age limit for a player to be able to participate in league play is fifty-eight (58) years old. A player must be 58 years old by the end of the calendar year in which they participate. 
16. There are no limits to the number of 58 year old players that a team may have on their official roster. However, no more than two (2) 58 year old players shall be in any team’s lineup at the same time.
17. A foul ball/tip legally caught by a defensive player will be considered as an out regardless of the height of the foul ball/tip.

League Rainouts: 

It will be the responsibility of the team closest to a playing venue to determine if games can be played there. The manager of that team will notify the other team manager(s) as early as possible if games cannot be played. For games played in Clayton/Rabun County, Athletic Director, Adam Dixon, does not want to have communication with more than one person. So, Doug Turner and Adam will communicate, and Doug will notify the 4 team’s managers (via text and/or email) playing that day if the fields will not be playable. Keep in mind that the Clayton fields drain well, and they can have them ready to play most days, unless it is raining hard that morning. League Rainouts will be made up on the rain out date and/or one of the three holiday dates that are available on the schedule and agreed upon by the team managers.  As a third option, a league rainout may be made up on a non-league date.

Late notification of games being postponing due to “lack of players” for reasons other than Covid or other health reasons which may affect the whole team, or the opposing team. It was determined that teams who postpone games for “lack of players” inside of a forty-eight (48) hour window of game time would be required to forfeit the game and take the two (2) forfeit losses. 

Year-end Tournament: 

The yearend tournament format will be determined at a later date as declared by a majority vote of the team managers.  A decision will be made, at a later date, regarding the use of paid umpires for the year-end tournament.

Players: For a roster player to be eligible to play in the tournament, they must have played in parts of 4 league doubleheaders (4 different Wednesdays) during the year. (i.e.: players cannot be added to the roster for the tournament).

Note: Henderson County players will be required to have played in parts of 3 league doubleheaders due to the reduction in league games for the team.