Northeast Select Baseball Prospects Tournament

All play shall be governed by the 2012 National Federation of State High School Association's (NFHS) Official Regulations and Playing Rules for play, unless otherwise amended under the following "Rules of Play" listed below:

NORTHEAST SELECT BASEBALL PROSPECTS TOURNAMENT "RULES OF PLAY"

1. GOVERNING BODY

The Tournament Committee has set forth the "Rules of Play" and will be the sole judge of rule disputes. During the course of each game, the umpire-in-chief shall have absolute discretion for rule interpretations and judgment calls. We strongly enforce the principal that disputes with umpires over calls of balls or strikes, fair or foul, and out or safe are impermissible. Only the Team Manager may calmly speak with the umpire, and, even then, it should be limited to rule interpretations and/or clarifications. Any serious disputes about rule interpretations, that are not settled through a brief and civil discussion with the umpire-in-chief, can be considered "on-the-spot" by the Tournament Director, if a proper protest is made to the Tournament Director prior to the next pitch being delivered.

2. TOURNAMENT FORMAT

Participating teams will be split into "pools".

16&U: Upon conclusion of the round-robin games, the top team in each "pool" with the best winning percentage* and two "wild-card" teams will advance to the Playoffs (i.e.: 4 teams will compete in the Playoffs).

18&U: Upon conclusion of the round-robin games, the top team in each "pool" with the best winning percentage* and one "wild-card" team will advance to the Playoffs (i.e.: 7 teams will compete in the Playoffs).

In cases of winning percentage ties, ties will be broken as follows (in order until the tie is broken):

A) head-to-head competition winner;

B) total sum of runs allowed during round-robin games;

C) sum of runs allowed during round-robin games and subtracting the runs from the game containing the highest runs allowed;

D) run differential during round-robin games, with run differential limited to a maximum of 7 per game.

E) coin flip.

* Note: in calculating winning percentage, a tie shall count as one point and a win as two points. Winning percentage shall be the total number of points earned divided by the total number of points possible.

3. PLAYERS

Only players listed on the Team Roster, supplied to the Tournament Director, may participate in a game. Teams must report any roster changes to the Tournament Director no later than 1-hour prior to their first scheduled game...any roster change requests within an hour of the team's first schedule game or after the team's game commences will not be permitted under any circumstances.

All games must be started with at least 9 players....once the game has commenced, a team may continue to play and finish with 8 players. The player who leaves the game cannot return. Any team not on the field and prepared to start at the scheduled game time will cause an immediate forfeit.

4. LENGTH OF GAME

A. Games will consist of 7 innings, unless amended below.

B. A 2-hour time limit will apply to round-robin games....meaning, no new inning may begin more than 2-hours after the start of the game. The umpire(s) are responsible for enforcing the time limit. Prior to the game's first pitch, the umpire will communicate the time on his/her watch or cell phone and ask that it be recorded on each Manager's scorebook. The umpire will strictly adhere to the time limit...meaning, if the final out in inning occurs at the 2-hour and 1-minute mark, no new inning may begin and the game is declared over. Please understand, we limit game times as a courtesy to teams playing later in the day...with a full schedule on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we have limited time to compensate for delays and don't want teams arriving at the fields to discover the games are significantly behind schedule. Also, we institute the time limit for all round-robin games, so all rules are applied equally to all games.

C. Round-robin games tied after 7 innings or after the time limit will be recorded as a tie. All Semi-final and Championship games will be played to conclusion (i.e.: tied Semi-final and Championship games will proceed to extra innings).

D. Teams must be ready to begin games on time, even if that means there is no time for warm-ups on the field. If time permits, teams will be permitted a 10-minute on-field warm-up prior to the start of the game.

E. Mercy Rule: 15 runs after 3 innings, 12 runs after 4 innings, 9 runs after 5 innings.

5. BATTING ORDER

Teams are permitted to list and bat 11 players maximum on the batting order.

6. BAT SPECIFICATIONS

A. Wood bats only: Bats shall be not more than 23/4 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. Composite bats cannot contain any metal materials. .

B. Cupped Bats. An indentation in the end of the bat up to one inch in depth is permitted and may be no wider than two inches and no less than one inch in diameter. The indentation must be curved with no foreign substance added.

C. The bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from its end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance, which extends past the 18 inch limitation, shall cause the bat to be removed from the game. Please note, if the umpire discovers that the bat does not conform and has been used in play, it shall not be grounds for declaring the batter out, or ejected from the game.

7. AVOIDING CONTACT

Baserunners must slide feet or head first into a base or avoid contact on plays if the defensive player has a "tag" play on the runner. If a base runner elects not to slide and no contact is made between the base runner and the defensive player, this is considered avoiding the defensive player, even if there is a play on the runner. This call is at the umpire’s discretion. If contact is determined by the umpire to intentional and/or malicious, the player may be ejected for the remainder of the game.

8. EJECTIONS (hopefully, we will not have to implement this rule)

Any participant (player, coach, spectator, etc.) ejected from a game shall have the circumstances of his/her ejection reviewed by the Tournament Director, Site Supervisor, and Chief Umpire. A decision will then be made what additional penalty, if any, shall be applied to that individual(s). The additional penalty may include suspension from a subsequent game(s) or suspension from the Tournament all together.

9. GAME BALLS

Each team shall be prepared to furnish 3 game balls per game.

10. OFFICIAL SCORING

An official scorer ,may not be available for all games. It is recommended that each team should keep a score book and check the score with the opposing team between innings.

11. HOME AND VISITING TEAM DETERMINATIONS

Home and Visiting team determinations shall be decided by a coin-flip. The team traveling the greatest distance shall call the toss (i.e.: "heads" or "tails") and the team winning the toss shall have the choice of Home or Visitors.

12. POSTPONEMENTS ("RAIN-OUTS") AND DELAYS

Northeast Select Baseball will attempt to play all games as scheduled, however, weather and field conditions may preclude this. Advanced notice of postponements will be provided to the teams when possible...we may, however, "hold-off" postponement notices if there is a chance of weather and field conditions changing. If no postponements are received, teams should report to the field and consult with the Tournament Director. Postponed games will be rescheduled at the discretion of the Tournament Committee, as available fields, times, etc. permit. Also, any game that is stopped due to weather conditions must restart within one hour of suspension. After one hour the game will be rules official.

13. THANK YOU

We welcome a large field of participants this year, for what we expect will be three competitive and exciting days of baseball. We "thank you" and appreciate your team's participation in this year's Tournament. Good luck and enjoy!