Majors

The Minors season is April - June:

Pre-Season

Regular Season

Developmental play to help build skills in game situations.  Records during the regular season will not matter so play to make your team better.

Post-Season

The post-season tournament will determine the league winner. There could be games any day of the week depending on the bracket, your seed, and winning/losing.

• 6/17 - 6/26 - Dates, Times, and Locations TBD

The Majors Division is for players in 5th and 6th grade who want to learn the fundamentals of baseball and play in semi-competitive games. The primary goals of the Majors Division are to have fun, to teach the players the fundamentals of baseball, and to allow them to experience the value of teamwork in a semi-competitive environment. In keeping with the philosophy of learning the fundamentals of baseball, players shall play multiple positions during the season. 

The Majors Division season will run from early April to the end of June. Teams will compete in 8 regular season games plus an additional 1-3 games in an end of the season tournament. 

Game Procedures: 

1. A regulation game consists of 6 innings or approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. No new inning shall begin after 90 minutes with a hard stop of 2 hours.  The new inning begins the moment the third out is made in the bottom half of the frame. Any game that is halted by the time limit will be considered a complete game regardless of the number of innings played.

2. The side is retired when three offensive players are legally put out or all players on the roster have batted one time in the half-inning.

3. Teams may score a maximum of 5 runs during an inning. 

4. Teams need to have at least 8 players to play otherwise it is a forfeit. 

5. Call-Up Procedures ‐ In order to avoid forfeits and ensure that all scheduled games can be played, Ames Youth Baseball has a call-up process in place:

   1. If a majors division team will have at least 7 players for a game, but not 9, then the team may call up a maximum of 2 players for that game from a minors division team.

   2. Called up players may play any position; however, it is encouraged by the league that called-up players play positions other than pitcher and catcher. 

6. Pitching distance will be 50 feet and base paths will be 70 feet. 

7. Score is to be kept and a winner is to be declared. 

8. Bats of any stamp may be used in the majors division (i.e., USA Baseball, USSSA, BBCOR).

Playing Time 

1. Over the course of the season, all majors division players should play infield and outfield equally and must sit out defensively equally over the season.

2. Every player on the team roster will participate in the game for a minimum of 9 defensive outs and batting orders must be continuous (i.e., all players are in the batting rotation the entire game). 

3. All players shall play at least one complete inning (3 outs) in the infield (pitcher, catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base) every game that the player is present for the entire game. 

4. A player may enter and/or re-enter defensively anytime during the game provided the mandatory play requirements are met.

Pitching 

1. Any player on the team roster may pitch unless that player has played catcher for 4 or more innings on that day.

2. At the beginning of each inning, the pitcher shall be permitted to pitch no more than 8 preparatory pitches. Such preparatory pitches shall not consume more than two minutes of time. Preparatory pitches shall not count against a player’s pitch count total.

3. A pitcher who delivers 41 or more pitches in a game cannot play the position of catcher for the remainder of that day. 

4. Pitchers may pitch in a single game up to 2 innings or 65 pitches. The coach must remove the pitcher when the limit is reached. However, the pitcher may finish the current batter being faced when reaching the limit.

5. Each team shall track pitch counts for their team. The number of pitches shall be recorded in the official scorecard. The head coach is responsible to ensure that this is done. 

6. Each team is provided a pitch count clicker.

7. Any player may pitch and there is no limit to the number of pitchers that may be used in a game.

8. A pitcher once removed from the mound cannot return as pitcher in the same game.

9. Pitchers will be given 1 warning for a balk, then after the first warning the balk rule will be in place.

10. Remember that this is a recreational league. Develop all your players to the best of your ability. Also, please be aware of players who may be pitching for Storm. There are no rules that limit pitch counts between our rec league and Storm, so it is your responsibility to always act in the best interests of the player.

Catcher Position

1. Catchers must wear a catcher's helmet (with mask & throat guard), a chest protector, shin guards,

catcher’s mitt (not a first baseman's glove or regular fielding glove) and a cup at all times.  

Batting

1. A continuous batting order that includes all players on the team roster present for the game shall be used. Players arriving after the start of play may be added to the bottom of the batting order. Each player is required to bat in his/her respective spot in the batting order.

2. On an uncaught third strike with no runner on first base and less than 2 outs, the batter immediately becomes a runner and may attempt to reach first base. If the runner successfully reaches first, the out for the strikeout will still be recorded.  A strikeout with 2 out will end the inning regardless of the pitch being caught.

3. Bunting is allowed. 

Base Running 

1. Base runners may lead off at any time. 

2. Stealing of bases is allowed at any time when the game is in play. 

3. If a runner is put out by a defensive play, they shall return to the dugout.

4. The batter must step away from the plate when a runner is coming home. 

5. The runner stealing home must slide into home anytime there is a play at the plate, or the runner will be called out. 

6. Runners may take all bases on an overthrow.

Score-keeping and Tracking

1. The home team’s head coach will designate someone to maintain the official scorecard. The head coach may delegate the maintenance of the scorecard to a parent, but the head coach is responsible for the scorecard’s accuracy.

2. The scorecard will detail the batting line-up of each team, including names and numbers. 

3. Starting lineups/batting order must be entered on a scorecard by each team and exchanged prior to the start of each game.  

4. The home team is responsible for submitting the final score to Ames Youth Baseball administration. 

End of Season Tournament 

1. The majors division will have an end of the season tournament. Schedule and rules will be distributed to each team prior to the beginning of the tournament.