Rules

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  • Please arrive 15 minutes before game time for pre-game warm ups.
  • Please notify your coach if you are unable to attend a game.
  • It is the coach's responsibility to inform the baseball office if a team cannot make a game commitment for any serious reason. Notice should be given at least 24 hours prior to the game starting time.



Official Playing Rules: All games shall be played in accordance with regular baseball rules except where modified by the rules contained in this document, Newfoundland Amateur Baseball Association and Baseball Canada.

Duration of game:

  • All games will be 7 innings or two hours in duration.
  • No new inning will commence after two hours and fifteen minutes from the scheduled start time.
  • If an inning cannot be completed within the allocated time due to darkness, the score will revert back to that of the last full inning played.
  • In fields where a two- hour time limit is in place, no new inning will start after one hour and forty-five minutes from the scheduled start time.



Rules of Play:

  • Games will commence at the time indicated on the schedule.
  • Players must wear full uniform, which includes and are advised to wear a protective cup.
  • Catchers must wear a protective cup.
  • All batters must wear helmets when on deck or at bat.
  • Home team will be decided by coin toss prior to the game during the regular season.
  • Players must run on and off the field between innings.
  • All players are in the batting line-up whether or not they play in the field.
  • Nine defensive players are permitted on the field.
  • Bunting is permitted.
  • Stealing bases is permitted.
  • All players should slide on a close play at home.
  • Players are permitted to steal the next base when the catcher misses the ball.
  • Leading off the bases is permitted.
  • Advancing on a wild pitch is permitted.
  • The infield fly rule is in effect. This rule results in the batter being called out when a pop fly is hit to the infield with runners on first and second, or first, second or third with less than two out. Runners may advance at their own risk.
  • Runners may tag and run to the next base after a fly ball is caught at their own risk.
  • If the catcher misses the ball on the third strike, the batter may advance to first base if first base is unoccupied with less than two out, or at any time after the third strike when two are out.
  • No intentional walks are permitted.
  • Pitchers may pitch no more than 3 innings in 2 consecutive games.
  • Balks by pitchers will result in one warning by the umpire. The next infraction will result in the runners being permitted to advance to the next base.
  • If, after the 5th inning, one team leads by 10 runs or more, that team will be awarded the game. The game may be continued at the discretion of the coaches, but the result will be official after the 10-run rule is registered.
  • Score shall be kept by the coaches and confirmed with the home plate umpire at the end of each inning. It is requested that the game stats be phoned into the baseball office by the coach of the winning team.


Playing Field:

  • The distance between the bases shall be 80 feet.
  • The distance from the point of home plate to the front of the pitching rubber shall be 54 feet.


Playoff Rules

  • Playoffs take place in the Mosquito, Pee Wee, Bantam and Midget divisions.
  • All teams make the divisional playoffs. Note that All-Star teams playing up a division are not eligible to advance to the medal rounds in the divisional House League playoffs.
  • Pitching rule that applies in the regular season, also applies in the playoff games. If a team is required to play 3 games within any one week, the third game will begin with a clean slate of innings.
  • Call-ups will be permitted in the playoffs to avoid game defaults only. Coaches must contact the baseball office prior to 12:00 pm on the day of the scheduled game to ensure sufficient time is provided to assign players.
  • No player is to sit out regularly. Playing time is to be allocated on a rotating basis, as in the regular season.
  • All playoff games will be played to completion, including those suspended by darkness or weather conditions. Players unable to play in the original part of said game will only be added to the bottom of the batting lineup.
  • Teams may be required to participate in playoff games with just one day of notice.
  • The NABA tie-breaking formula will apply with respect to a tie after the round robin play. Example: all teams have 1 win and 1 tie; the team with the least number of runs scored against them in the round robin per defensive inning will advance.
  • Home team in the round robin will be decided by a coin toss. The team with the best record after the round robin is completed will be the home team in the championship game.
  • The 10-run rule is in effect.
  • Scores of each game will be reported to the division coordinator after each game and the baseball office by the next morning.
  • Medals will only be awarded to the top 3 teams.