The North Atlanta Church League will
use ASA rules to govern all play with the exception of the following league
rules:
I GOVERNING BODY
The league commissioner (committee) will rule on all matters concerning the
league and its rules. In the event of EXTRA ORDINARY circumstances a panel of
the uninvolved coaches will rule on the event in question.
II CONDUCT
All players MUST CONDUCT themselves in a CHRISTIAN MANNER at ALL TIMES.
Unsportsmanlike conduct WILL NOT be tolerated. Coaches are responsible for their
team's actions.
As this is a church league, profanity is NOT allowed on the premises. Any player
using profanity will be ejected from the game.
Likewise, alcohol is strictly prohibited. Any team caught with alcohol on church
premises will be given a warning for the first offense. The second offense will
cause expulsion from the league.
Smoking is only allowed in the lower parking lot area. Those smoking anywhere on
field level will be asked to extinguish their fire sticks. Continued smoking on
the field area may result in forfeit, ejection, lung cancer or death.
III PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
All players must be at least 15 years of age to play in any game. There may be
no more than three players age 18 or younger on any one team. A player must play
in at least one half of regular season games to be eligible for tournament play.
IV GAME PLAY
Equipment
Game Ball - Each team will be responsible for supplying game
balls for their team. The balls must be 12 inch, cor. 44 balls with
a 375 compression, and have some visibility of "cor. 44"
stamped on it. In order to keep the game moving, each team must keep
extra balls in the rack near home plate. Balls DO NOT have to be new
to start the game. Stitch color does not matter, balls should be white.
Uniforms - All players must wear a shirt with a number on the
back similar to the ones on his/her team. The number must be at least
6" in height and a half-inch thick. Taped numbers are unacceptable.
It is suggested that all shirts be of similar color. There will be
a two-week grace period for teams to get their jerseys.
Shoes - Only rubber cleats and tennis shoes are allowed to
play.
Bats – Only bats approved by the league may be used by
men, ALL OTHER BATS ARE PROHIBITED. Female batters may use any ASA
Approved bat, and are not subject to this list.
Approved Bat List: If your bat (Male Batters) is not
on this list, then it is considered illegal, and will not be allowed
in any NACL game. In order to get your bat added to this list,
it must be submitted to the league via email, 24 hours prior to its
use. Information needed to approve a bat is, Make, Model and
coloring. The email will be replied to with the League’s
decision on a particular bat. If it is approved, it will be
added to this list and you will have an email confirmation.
It is STRONGLY suggested that you carry this confirmation with you
to you games.
Misc. - All jewelry (i.e. watches, necklaces, etc.) must be
taken off before entering the field. Medical id bracelets and necklaces
and other medical identification paraphernalia may be worn. Wedding/Engagement
rings may be worn at your own risk.
Protests
- Only decisions where a rule might have been misinterpreted are considered
to be protestable. Protests are never allowed on what are considered
"judgment calls" – balls, strikes, safes, fair/foul
and outs. Any manager protesting a game must submit a written report
along with a fee of $25.00 to the NACL within 48 hours after game
being protested. The letter must contain the following: date, teams,
and rule(s) violated Also make sure all specifics are included: rule
quoted, player batting, outs, and occupied bases. Protests will be
reviewed by the committee If the protest is won, the $25.00 will be
refunded to manager. The game will be picked up from point of protest
until completed.
Pre-Game Info
Warm-up - All warm-ups at the Northside Field must be done beyond the
white line in the area behind the first base fence. Throwing will be in the
direction of 1st base fence to trees.
Game Times - Game times will be at 6:30pm, 7:40 and 8:50pm. Game time
will be considered the scheduled time or five minutes after the previous game
ends whichever comes LATER.
Grace Period - There will be a 10-minute grace period to field the
minimum number of players required to begin a game, on the 6:30pm game only. The
Grace Period cannot be used to wait for the 9th and 10th players.
Line-ups - Line-ups are to be presented to the scorekeeper BEFORE that
team bats in the first inning. The line-ups must consist of the number of men
batting and the number of women. Line-ups must include the player's number and
name. The game will not start until the visitor's line-up is turned in. You must
have 8 players in the line-up to start the game and at the completion of a game.
Any additional players arriving after the lineup is turned in, will be added to
the bottom of the batting order, based on gender.
The maximum combination of males and females in the batting order is determined
by the number available in the score book. The batting order must alternate male
- female - male - female etc. If there are more females than males the females
may bat back to back.
There must be at least 1 male in the line-up in order to play the game.
Forfeits - If a team's 8th player has not arrived by game time (or by the
end of the Grace Period for the first game) that team forfeits the game. If both
teams have less than 8 players the game will result in a double forfeit. If a
team forfeits, a $25 fee must be paid by the following game. Two forfeits in a
row or three total will result in expulsion from the league, at the discretion
of the league committee, with no refund of dues.
With 30 hour advance notice to the league committee, there will be no forfeiture
fee charged.
Time Limit - There will be an hour and 5 minutes on all regular season
and tournament games. During championship games there will be no time limit. The
scorekeeper will keep the Official time for all games. In case of extra innings,
the game will continue until there is a winner regardless of how long it takes,
but in order to keep from penalizing teams that play later in the evening, any
game that is tied at the end of a complete inning after time has expired, each
batter will come to the plate with a 3 ball - 2 strike count. This means
if they take a strike, they are out, if the take a ball, they walk, and of
course they may swing. The game clock starts on first pitch.
Due to Northside Drive Baptist Church having a timer on the field light set for
10:15, if the event arises that the third game is late starting (i.e. extra
innings, rain, player injury, etc.) the game will start and be played as long as
possible. Depending on the score the teams have the option of coming back at a
later date and finishing the game or if the game is out of hand the teams can
state that this is a complete game.
Game Info
In the Game - A player is considered in the game if they are on the
active batting order.
Player Position - There may never be more than 5 males on the field at
any time. Male and Female players may be distributed in any fashion while
maintaining one male and one female in the Battery (Pitcher and Catcher)
Outfielders must play behind the white line while a female is batting until the
ball is struck. Infielders must play behind the bases while a female is batting.
Penalty is a ground rule single!
Ball/Strike Count - A batter starts off with a 0-0 count and can go to 4
balls and 3 strikes. If a batter has 2 strikes (regardless of the count) and
fouls the next pitch off it will result in a strikeout.
Batting - If a male walks, the following female has the choice to bat or
walk also. The male will advance to second regardless of the female’s decision
to walk or not.
If a team has only 3 females it must take an out when the 4th female's spot in
the order comes up.
Any female hitting the ball over the fence will be awarded a homerun.
Any male hitting the ball over the fence will be awarded a ground rule double
(All runners get 2 bases) up to 5 pre game, as a team. After 5, all others will
be considered a ground rule single (All runners get 1 base).
Substitutions - Unlimited substitutions are allowed. The only restriction
is once a player is substituted they must remain out of the game one full
rotation in the batting order. All substitutes must be reported to the
scorekeeper before the substitute enters the field.
Courtesy Runner - A team is allowed ONLY ONE male courtesy runner and
ONLY ONE female courtesy runner per game. Once used, the player that used the
courtesy runner may continue to use the runner throughout the game. However,
they are the only ones that may use the runner from that point on.
A team may use a player not already in the game as a courtesy runner (this will
not count as a substitution). If a team does not have a player that is not in
the game, then the courtesy runner MUST be the last player to make an out or the
last player to make an out before him/her if that person is batting or on deck.
Men may ONLY be courtesy runners for men and women may ONLY be courtesy runners
for women.
In case of a serious injury, the opposing coach may allow the runner to be run
for. If this is not allowed the player may be substituted if the team has extra
players not in the game. If the player cannot be substituted and they are unable
to continue the team will receive an automatic out when their place in the
line-up comes to bat.
Run Rule - The mercy rule will be in effect. The mercy rule states that
any team leading by 20+ runs after 4 (3½ if the home team is ahead) innings or
15+ runs or more after 5 innings (4½ if the home team is ahead) will be declared
the winner. The home team always gets the last at bat if they are losing.
Collisions - Both the base
runner and fielder are responsible
for avoiding collisions at all times. There can not be an intentional collision
for any reason. If there is a collision at any base or home plate, it will be up
to the discretion of the umpire as to fault. If the runner is at fault, he/she
will be called out, if the action is intentional in manner or flagrant, the
runner can be ejected from the game.If the fielder is at fault, the runner will
be awarded the base, and if the action is intentional and flagrant the fielder
can be ejected from the game.
In the event that a
fielder has illegally blocked a base, the runner must slide or give him or
herself up (i.e. alters their speed or direction in order to avoid the
collision), they can not intentionally run into the fielder. If a runner chooses
to give himself/herself up to avoid a collision, he/she may still be awarded the
base if in the umpires opinion the fielder was illegally blocking the base as
set forth below. No fielder shall block a base at any time unless the fielder
has possession of the ball WELL IN ADVANCE of the runner reaching that base.
Field Particulars
Out of Play - Anything outside of the left yellow line that extends from
the third base fence to the left field fence, or the right yellow line that
extends from the first base fence to the right field fence is considered "Out of
Play".