Men's Rules
 

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. Women are allowed to play on a men's team, however, they must adhere to all rules for a men's game (i.e., no co-ed rules will be followed).


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 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. After the two week grace period, any player not having a number (either silk screened, heat pressed or tackled quill) will not be allowed to play, including Saturdays.

Shoes - Only rubber cleats and tennis shoes are allowed to play.


Approved Bat List:  If your bat 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 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 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. 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.

The maximum number of players in the batting order is determined by the number available in the score book.

You may add players to the line-up at any point during the game, however, once in the line-up they must remain in the line-up or be substituted. If they can not remain in the line-up or be substituted they will be an automatic out when their turn at bat is reached.

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.

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.

Home Run Rule - The first two balls hit out PER INNING PER TEAM will be considered a ground rule double (All runners get 2 bases). All others PER INNING PER TEAM 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 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 if that person is batting or on deck.

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".

If a ball is hit fair and rolls untouched past the left or right yellow line it will be considered a "ground rule" double.

If a ball is hit fair and touched by a fielder and rolls or is carried past the left or right yellow line, it will be considered a "Dead Ball" and all runners on base will receive the base they were advancing towards, plus one additional base.

If a ball is hit in the air past either yellow line it will be considered a foul ball.

Suspended Game - If a game is suspended due to extraordinary circumstances, the game will be rescheduled at a later date.

If the game has 3 or fewer innings played, the game will be re-started from the beginning.

If the game has more than 3 innings played, it will resume from the point of suspension.

If a game is resumed after suspension, the original time limit will be enforced.