Games will be played according to the Baseball Canada Rulebook unless superseded by the league rules:
1 . Spirit of the League
2. Start of Games - Definition of an Official Game - and Mercy Rules
3. Pitching Rules
Please refer to the following scenario’s to help understand the rule:
Scenario I:
John is pitching for Team X. John is struggling to find the strike zone and gets behind in the count with 3 balls and 1 strike. Joh n’s next pitch to Jill who is batting for Team Y is called ball 4. Traditionally, Jill would be walked to first base. In the modified scenario, Jill does not get a free pass to first. John must hand over the ball quickly to the designa ted P itching C oach from Team Y (Jills team) who will stand on the respective f oul line 15 ft from home plate and not in the field of play. The Pitching Coach will then underhand soft toss, from the 45 - degree angle, the same number of pitches as strikes re mainin g in the count. Given Jill only had 1 strike , the Pitching Coach can ONLY throw two underhand soft toss pitche s to Jill. The Pitching Coach throws the first underhand toss from the designated spot and Jill doesn’t swing. Regardless of whether Jill swings or not, or the ball crosses/does not cross the plate, this pitch constitutes as strike 2. The Pitching Coach throws the second underhand toss and Jill swings fouling off the ball. Regardless of whether Jill fouls or misses making contact with the ball, this constitutes as strike 3. In this particular scenario Jill had two strikes remaining in the count and up to a maximum of two opportunities to hit the ball into the field of play.
Scenario II:
Sarah is pitching for Team Y. Sarah has been st ruggling to find the strike zo ne all game, and against the latest batter Sarah gets behind in the count with 3 balls and 2 strikes. Sarah’s next pitch to Steven , who is batting for Team X, is fouled off. Sarah pitches again, and once again Steven fouls t he ball off. Steven remains at the count of 3 balls and 2 strikes as he continues to make foul contact with Sarah’s pitches . On the next pitch, Sarah throws ball 4. At that point, Sarah must hand over the ball quickly to th e designated pitching Coach from Team X (Stevens team) who will stand on the respective foul line 15 ft from home plate. The Pitching Coach will then deliver a 45 degree underhand soft toss the same number of pitches as strikes rem aining in the count. Given Steven had 2 strike s, t he Pitching Coach can ONLY throw one und erhand soft toss pitch t o Steven. The Pitching Coach throws the only allowable soft toss and Steven swings and misses. Regardless of whether Steven swings o r not, this constitutes strike 3. Had Steven fouled off t he ball, he wo uld have been called out regardless . Steven was given one chance to make contact from a coach pitch . If Steven had made contact and placed the ball into the field of play, than the ball would be live and the defensive team would then make t he rightful attempt to throw Steven out on base.
4. Keeping a Good Pace to the Game
5. Equipment Requirements
6. Reporting the Game Results
7. Affiliated Players