Rules

Central Altadena Little League Bylaws and Local Rules

The Mountain and Coast Division operate as a division where records of wins and losses only determine playoff seeding.

League playoffs will be governed by a tournament committee made up of the League President,  Division Vice President and one board member at large.  If there is a conflict of interest with either of the committee members, that committee member shall remove themselves and the Vice President will fill the vacated position.  All tournament rulings will be determined by this committee.

Official Little League rules are available on the Little League website.

Division Age Alignment is as follows:

T-ball: 5-7 years of age
Bantam (Farm): 6-8 years of age
Coast (Minors): 9-11 years of age
Mountain (Majors): 9-12 years of age

Juniors: 13-14 years old

Tryouts/Draft

Bantam, Coast and Mountain players are required to try-out on scheduled try-out dates.

The Draft method for Mountain, Coast, and Bantam will be plan B per Little League Operations Manual.

Field Rules

- The home team manager or coach will be responsible for getting the field lined up for each game.
- Managers for each team will be responsible for setting up the home run fence on the lower field.
Managers for each team of the last game for the day will be responsible for the breakdown of the home run fence.
All managers and coaches will be responsible for a clean dugout after each game.
Fly balls hitting the trees in the outfield on the lower field will be considered home runs.
Team practices on game day fields must end at least one 1 hour and 30 minutes before the scheduled game time.  In the event the team practice runs over, the practicing team must assist the home team scheduled to play with field preparation.

    Mountain/Coast Rules

    Game Time Limits (Coast Only)

    - From the established start time of the game, no new inning shall begin after 1 hour and 45 minutes of play.  (NOTE: Time is marked from the final out of the previous inning)
    Example:  If the third out of the bottom of the fourth inning is recorded at 1 hour and 44 minutes, then the entire fifth inning will be played.  If the final out is made at 1 hour and 45 minutes and 1 second, the game will be declared over by the umpire and the fifth inning is not played
    Exceptions:  Time limits do not apply during league playoffs and tournament rules are in place or there is no game scheduled immediately following the current game and lighting issues are not a factor.  Both managers must agree to waive the time limit rule before the start of the game.  Thus, a drop dead time of 2 hours or six innings will be imposed, whichever comes first.

    Batting Order
    - Managers must bat their entire roster during the instructional games and may substitute defensive positions at any time without penalty as long as all players’ play 6 outs in the field.
    During the play-off portion of the season, managers will bat only 9 players and follow the substitution procedures outlined by Little League Tournament rules. Major division will follow tournament batting and substitution rules for the regular season.

    Five Run Rule (Coast Only)
    - Teams are limited to scoring five runs per inning in all innings except the final one.
    The final inning of the game will be declared open.  Teams may score as many runs as they can before the third out is recorded by their opponent
    Exceptions: Rule does not apply during league playoffs. Tournaments rules apply.

    Mercy Rule (Mountain Only)
    - If after 4 innings, 3 1/2 if the home team is ahead, a team has a lead of ten (10) runs or more, the manager of the team with the least runs shall concede the victory to the opponent and the game will be declared over.
    If after 3 innings, if the home team is ahead, a team has a lead of fifteen (15) runs or more, the manager of the team with the least runs shall concede the victory to the opponent and the game will be declared over.

    Post-Season
    - League Champion determined by double elimination tournament. Seeding based on regular season record.  Tournament rules apply.
    All-Star selection for District Tournaments will be determined by division managers and division vice-presidents. Player voting will also be taken into consideration by the last Saturday in May.  Ballots will be submitted to each team manager to be distributed to players.
    Although All-Star managers are appointed by the League President.  Weighted consideration will be given to the manager who wins the league tournament.

    Rule Modifications
    Rules subject to change as a result of signed interleague agreements outlining rules with interleague partners. For example, continuous batting may apply for Mountain division as a result of an agreement

    Bantam Rules

    Pitching:
    - Kids pitch 40 feet from home plate
    Coach pitching should be 40 feet from home plate. All coach-pitching shall be overhand
    A pitcher will pitch no more than three walks per inning. A batter who is hit by a pitch is counted as a walk. After the third walk in an inning, the next batter who receives four balls or who is hit by a pitch will then receive a coach-pitch. Each inning will reset and require three walks to initiate coach-pitch.
    A batter is out after receiving four coach pitches unless the last pitch is fouled.  Batter can continue his/her at-bat on foul balls.
    The Three Walk Per Inning Rule shall be in effect through April 1st. Thereafter, there shall be no special pitching rules applied to the Bantam division.  Coach pitch is eliminated.
    A player who has attained the league age of ten (10) or older is not eligible to pitch in the Bantam division

    Base Runner:
    Stealing bases shall be permitted only on a passed ball (which shall be defined as the horizontal line drawn out from the catcher’s stance). Stealing home shall not be permitted at any time. A runner who has reached third base safely on a hit can advance to home on an overthrow from the outfield.
    Base runners (other than stealing base runners) shall be allowed to advance (ONLY) one base on a fielding overthrow or missed catch. In the event the defensive team, subsequent to the overthrow, makes a play that, in the opinion of the umpire, is an attempt to get the advancing runner or any other runner out, that play constitutes the ball being put back into play, and all runners can advance accordingly. If the subsequent attempt results in an overthrow, runners are allowed an additional base as set forth in this rule
    If an overthrow or missed catch occurs as the result of the catcher attempting to throw out a stealing base runner, the stealing base runner shall not advance an extra base, and the ball shall be declared dead.
    A “pinch runner” shall only be used in the event of (1) an injury to the runner or (2) for the catcher if he/she reaches base.  In either event, the player that made the last offensive out shall be the substitute runner.  The umpire shall be made aware of the reason for a “pinch runner” substitution

    Batting:
    Managers must bat their entire roster and may substitute defensive positions at any time without penalty as long as all players play 6 defensive outs in the field.
    Bunting shall be permitted after the halfway mark of the season
    Teams are limited to scoring five runs per inning in all innings
    Exceptions: Rule does not apply during playoffs. A five run limit will be placed on each inning. The final inning of the game will be declared open.  Teams may score as many runs as they can before the third out is recorded by their opponent

    Fielding:
    Each team shall field a maximum of ten (10) players in defensive positions. The tenth player must be in the outfield, and no closer than five (5) feet from the infield area. This rule shall be in effect through the halfway mark of the season. Thereafter, each team shall field nine (9) players in defensive positions
    Only the Level 5 or other similarly specified ball shall be used in games.
    The “infield fly rule” shall not be enforced

    Post-Season
    Postseason rules will be the same as regular season rules
    CALL internal All-Star selection will be based on the top players from each team in the division
    Each team will select an equal amount of players as All-Star Candidates
    Based on the number of teams during the current season will determine the number of candidates and how teams are divided
    All-Star Managers will draw teams at the beginning of the Bantam All-Star Game
    The District 17 8/9 year old All-Star selection process will be determined by Bantam managers, Coast managers, the Vice-President Bantam and the Vice-President Coast.

    Rules Modifications
    Rules subject to change as a result of signed interleague agreements outlining rules with interleague partners.

    Tee-Ball Rules

    Pitching: 1st half of the season
    Kids will hit from the Tee

    Pitching: 2nd half of the season
    Coach pitches four balls – the player will hit off of the tee after four pitches unless the last pitch is fouled.  Batter can continue his/her at-bat on foul balls.
    Coach pitching should be 33’ to 35’ from the plate.

    Overthrow rules: 
    Players can advance one base for each overthrow until the ball is returned to the pitcher and the umpire calls time out.  The exception to this rule is that a batter cannot reach home plate on an infield overthrow or a series of infield overthrows.  That runner must stop at third base.  
    A runner who has reached third base safely on a hit can advance to home on an overthrow from the outfield.

    Maximum at-bats per inning: 1st half of the season  
    Each team will hit around (using the tee only)

    Maximum at-bats per inning: 2nd half of the season  
    Each team bats until three outs or until the entire roster of players has batted (whichever comes first). 
    Exception:  the team with fewer players continues batting until three outs or until the number of at-bats equals the team with the larger roster.  For example, a team with 9 players is playing a team with 12 players.  When the team with 9 players is batting, they can have a maximum of 12 at-bats that inning unless three outs are recorded first.

    Base Runners
    Runners can’t lead off or steal bases
    Runners can't advance on passed balls/wild pitches

     Fielding
    Each team shall field a maximum of ten players in defensive positions.
    Only the Level 5 or other similarly specified ball should be used in games. T-Balls can be used in the event the Level 5 is unavailable.   T-Balls are not to be used during league playoffs. The “infield fly rule” shall not be enforced

     Umpires
    Each team shall provide a parent volunteer umpire for each game

    Examples of the all-star selection:
    2 team league scenario
    Top nine players from each team

    3 team league scenario
    Top six players from each team

    4 team league scenario
    Top five players from each team

    5 team league scenario
    - T
    op four players from each team

    6 team league scenario
    Top 3 players from each team

    Greater than 6 team league scenario
    Selection of the top 18 league players voted by division coaches and managers.

    Code of Conduct
    Players, Coaches and parents are expected to follow the code of conduct policy.
    Violation of the policy could result in game suspensions.
    Continued violations or behavior considered detrimental to the well-being of the league will result in suspension for the remainder of the season.

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