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LITTLE LEAGUE REGULATIONS
 Little
League Baseball has a set of regulations which govern operations of local leagues, as well
as specifying restrictions on team rosters and line-ups. What follows is a summary of
these regulations.
Regulation 1 - The League The league is the only unit of organization. Individual teams, sponsors, etc., have no standing. Each league elects a board of directors, usually every September. The board then elects the league officers. The league president is forbidden from managing, coaching, or umpiring, and other board members are also restricted. The president and board have the final say on selection of managers, coaches, and umpires. Each league shall draw its players from a bounded area including a population no greater than 20,000. The league shall not have fewer than four, nor more than ten, Major League level teams. Each league is also required to provide accident insurance coverage for all players, managers, coaches, and umpires. Regulation 2 - League Boundaries No league is permitted to draw players from outside its specified boundaries. The boundaries may include multiple communities, or specific precincts within a city, but in no case may include a population greater than 20,000. A league may retain a player who once lived within its boundaries, although that player may have moved or the league may have adjusted its boundaries. The rule applies to players on Major, Senior and Big League teams, and to those Minor and Tee Ball players who have siblings on Major League teams. Regulation 3 - The Teams Each Major League team in a league shall have the same number of players (12 - 15, the number determined by the local board of directors). If a team loses a player due to injury, illness, change of address, etc., it may draft a player from the Minor League to replace the player lost. Note: A player may never be removed from a Major League roster on the basis of playing ability. Regulation 4 - The Players A player is eligible to participate in a particular level based on the player's age on July 31 of the current year. (The date was established in the 1960s, at a meeting of all significant national youth baseball leagues.) Age groups include:
Note: Not every chartered league offers every listed level, or opens each level to all ages listed. An example: For 2000, a player born 31-Jul-1987 (league age 13) is ineligible to play in Major League, but may participate in Senior and Junior League. A player born 1-Aug-1987 (league age 12) is eligible to play in Major League, but not Junior Leauge, and is permitted to continue in tournament play even after 1-Aug-2000 should his team remain alive. Subject to approval, an individual who once lived within a league's boundaries who has served for at least two seasons as a dedicated manager, coach, or board member and who continues to serve that league may have his children try out and be selected in that league even though the individual no longer lives within league boundaries. Every player on a Little League team roster wll participate in each game for a minimum of six (6) defensive outs and bat at least one (1) time in each game. A player who fails to meet this commitment must start the next scheduled game and play both the omitted requirement from the previous game and the full requirement for the current game before being removed. The manager who violates the rule is also subject to severe penalties. Regulation 5 - Selection of Players Each Major League shall select its players in accordance with the Little League Draft Selection System. This system is similar to that used for the free agent draft in professional baseball. Exceptions to this rule must be approved by Williamsport. Regulation 6 - Pitchers Any player on a team roster may pitch, except that in Minor League, 12-year-olds may not pitch. A pitcher must observe specific rest periods between pitching appearances. If a pitcher works in three innings or fewer, that pitcher may not work on the next calendar day. If a pitcher works in four innings or more, three calendar days' rest must be observed. Delivery of a single pitch constitutes pitching in an inning. In addition, a player is limited to pitching in six innings in a calendar week, Sunday through Saturday. A Major League team is limited to using three 12-year-old pitchers in a specific calendar week. They may pitch no more than a combined total of 12 innings in that calendar week. Delivery of a single pitch constitutes pitching in an inning. A pitcher once removed from the mound may not return in the same game. No more than five pitchers may be used in one game, except if the fifth pitcher sustains an injury or exhausts eligibility for the week. If a pitcher begins warming up and is found ineligible before throwing a pitch in the game, the ineligible pitcher may be removed without penalty. Rule 3.05 (b) will not apply. Innings pitched in suspended or called games count toward pitchers' eligibility for the current week. Eligibility in a suspended game is determined strictly by innings pitched in the week in which the game is resumed, except that a pitcher removed from the suspended game may not return. Pitching rules differ for tournament play. In the Little League Tournament (11- and 12-year-olds), a pitcher may pitch in up to 9 innings in a game. However, a pitcher may not pitch in consecutive games or on consecutive days, except when the prior appearance was for one inning. The pitcher who was in the game when it was suspended may resume pitching in that game, subject to the 9-inning game limit. In the 9 & 10 Year Old Tournament, a pitcher may pitch no more than 6 innings in a game and no more than 9 innings in any consecutive 7-day period. Regular season rest rules apply, except that a pitcher is eligible the day after pitching in only one inning. Regulation 7 - Schedules A league must provide a minimum 12-game schedule for each team. This schedule should call for no less than two games per week per team. A team may not be scheduled for two games in a day more than once per calendar week, but a suspended game may be completed prior to a scheduled game involving the same team or teams. Regulation 8 - Minor Leagues A Minor League is established to provide training and instruction to those players who, by reason of age and other factors, were not selected for the Major League. There is no "farm team" link between specific Major and Minor League teams. All Minor Leaguers are free agents, subject to selection by any Major League team during the season, and all Minor League teams are dissolved at the end of the season. Regulation 9 - Special Games Little League prohibits games other than regular-season or playoff games to determine a league champion or games as part of its annual tournaments, with the exception of special games approved, under this section, by the appropriate district and regional authorities. The rule does not prohibit pre-season scrimmages between teams in a specific league and level. Regulation 10 - Night Games Artificial lights may be used to play games, provided they meet Little League standards: 50 foot-candles for the infield, 30 foot-candles for the outfield. No inning may start after 10 p.m. prevailing time (Major League, regular season; rules for other levels and tournament play differ). Regulation 11 - Admission to Games No admission shall be charged to any Little League regular-season game, or to any 12- or 10-year-old tournament game. Voluntary contributions are permitted. Admission may be charged for Junior, Senior, or Big League tournament games. Regulation 12 - Awards The value of an award or gift to an individual player must be in accordance with state high-school rules. Awards given on the basis of comparable skills or accomplishments are not permitted in Little League. Regulation 13 - Commercialization Little League players are permitted to participate in one fund raising project annually under adult supervision. This rule affects only player participation in fund raisers and is not intended to restrict a league's overall fund-raising efforts. A participation fee may be assessed
by a local league, but at no time should payment of a fee be a Regulation 14 - Field Decorum No one is parmitted on a Little League field during a game except uniformed players, managers, coaches, umpires, and news photographers authorized by the league or tournament director. Players must remain in their dugouts or bull pen unless they are actively in the game (at bat, on base, or in the field). Beginning in 1996, the on-deck position has been eliminated. A manager or coach who is not coaching a base must remain in the dugout unless allowed by an umpire to confer with a player or an umpire. Tobacco and alcohol in all forms are prohibited on the playing field, benches, and dugouts. Regulation 15 - Television Regular season and special games may not be televised (except for public service television). Players are forbidden from appearing on programs or in commercials in Little League uniforms without express approval from Williamsport. Television rights for tournament games must be negotiated through Williamsport. Regulation 16 - Use of Little League Name and Emblem The following trademarks and service marks are restricted to use by chartered leagues only: the Official Emblem, "LL", "LLB", "Little League", "Little League Baseball", "Little Leaguer", "Senior League Baseball", "Junior League Baseball", "Big League Baseball", "Little League Softball", "Senior League Softball", "Big League Softball", "Challenger Division". Regulation 17 - Tournament Play Tournament team selections may not be announced, and tournament practice may not begin, until 14 days prior to the scheduled start of the tournament. Significant tournament pitching rules differences are outlined under Regulation 6, Pitching, above.
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