Philosophies

The philosophy of the Junior League is to give the players the guidance to improve on the skills needed to prepare for possible advancement to the Senior League.

This should be done with the emphasis on team play and improving on fundamental skills instead of wins and losses.

Players should be allowed to play multiple positions while keeping their safety as a key goal. Players should not be put into playing positions where their safety will be compromised.

Fairness should be used in giving all players adequate playing time to allow for the skills taught to be put into use during game situations.

Junior Umpires (usually 13 or 14 year olds) are being given the opportunity to prepare their skills. Coaches and parents are expected to be lenient towards them as they learn.

Our primary goal in Junior League is to give players the instruction needed to improve on their skills while having fun playing the game of baseball.

Roster

• A Junior League team roster will contain a minimum of one nine year-old. Rosters must consist of a minimum of 11 and no more than 12 players. All eligible players not selected for Senior League will be placed in the Junior League.
• If a team loses a player during the first half of the season and that team’s roster drops below 12 players, that team may choose a player from the Rookie League to bring their roster back to 12.  If a team loses a player during the second half of the season, it may pick up player/players from the Rookie League on a game-by-game basis.  When players are drafted up from the Rookie League, the above roster limitations apply.
• Temporary roster shortages (when a team has fewer than ten players) may be filled by first notifying the Junior League Commissioner, then notifying the Rookie League Commissioner who will assist the Junior League manager in his selection.  9 year old Rookie league players will be available on a first come first serve basis. 9 year old Rookie League players will not be available if they have a game scheduled the same day as a Junior League game.
• Games may be played with as few as eight players, however all attempts should be made to compete with a full roster and batting order. Replacement players must be put at the bottom of the batting order and cannot pitch. 
  
  

Drafting Rules

• The order of the draft will be determined by lottery on or before draft night. Draft order will be reversed from the selected number on the even rounds of the draft. Example: Draft order 1-9 for round 1, 9-1 for round 2, etc.
• All nine-year-olds that registered and indicated Junior League, must attend at least one of the scheduled tryouts to be eligible for the draft.
• All teams will draft until they have 5 players and then they will discontinue drafting until all other team rosters have filled to 5 players. All teams will then resume until all players have been drafted.
• A maximum of up to two children and grandchildren of manager’s (only) are automatically placed on the manager’s team (at the manager’s option) before the start of the draft. Children of managers (only) do not have to try out for the Junior League.
• One assistant coach may be named before the start of the draft.  Assistant Coach’s children may be added to the team’s roster before the start of the draft, as long as roster age limitations are not violated AND the number of automatically placed players does not exceed two players. 
• Eligible brothers/sisters of players on a team will be automatically placed on that team’s roster at the option of the coach before the draft starts. If the manager does not use this option before the draft, the player will be eligible to be drafted by any other team. However, it is strongly recommended that managers make every effort to keep qualified siblings on the same team.
• If a player drafted has an eligible brother/sister in the draft the sibling may be added to the roster immediately at the option of the coach.
• Once the remaining number of roster openings (to 12) equals the remaining number of undrafted ten and eleven year olds, these players must be drafted to fill the rosters.
• Parents shall notify the board at or before tryouts of any special coaching requests.  The board will consider all reasonable requests but cannot guarantee the request will be granted.
  
  

Playing Rules

The Official Cal Ripken Division of Babe Ruth Rules and Regulations will apply, except as noted by the Keene Cal Ripken Baseball Association Junior League Playing Rules detailed below.

• A rotating batting order will be used, i.e. all players bat, whether playing in the field or not.
• No more than eight runs per inning can be scored until the first inning started after 7:15 pm through the Second Monday in May and 7:30 pm thereafter.
• In instances where the umpire feels that a serious injury has occurred, play will stop immediately until after the injured player has been attended to.
• No inning shall start after 7:45 pm. Determine the watch to be used as official time before the start of the game. Note: the last out of the previous inning is the start time for the next inning.  Games played on weekends will have the same time limitations as weekday games, for example, scoring restrictions will be removed 90 minutes after the start of the game.
• Forfeits -Teams short of players (Fewer than 8) shall forfeit the game and the score will be recorded as 1-0 in the home team's scorebook.   The game will be played by loaning players to the team short players, but the score will not count due to the forfeit.
• If a team has nine players and loses one to injury during the game, that team must complete the game with eight players. No automatic out for any team playing with 8 players.
• A maximum of six warm-up pitches are allowed to start an inning.
• When there are two outs, a manager may remove the catcher as a base-runner and substitute another runner to allow the catcher to get his/her gear on.
• Pitching Rules will be the same as the pitching rules in the Cal Ripken Division Rules and Regulations 0.06, with the following exceptions:
  • NO PITCHER may pitch more than three innings in any one regular season game.
  • During the playoffs a rolling 6 pitching rule will be used.
  • Players must be put in the field by the 3rd inning and must play for at least two consecutive innings in the field.
• No balks will be called. However, pitchers who can’t abide by the intent of 0.06 will be asked to pitch from the stretch. Pitches must be “legal” pitches; it will be up to the umpire to enforce.  
• Intentional walks are not allowed.
• Tie games that must be resumed to determine a playoff position will start from the point at which the game was stopped. All appropriate pitching limitations (both game and current week) and substitution rules continue for the game being resumed.
• Batters who throw a bat will be issued a warning by the umpire. A subsequent thrown bat by the warned batter will be an out.
  
  

Junior League Playoffs

All teams will compete in a single elimination playoff format.  Play-off seeding will be according to the regular season final standings.Tie breakers will be decided as follows:

• Head to head record with tied team(s).
• Head to head versus teams finishing ahead in the standings.
• Runs allowed versus tied teams.
• Coin toss will be used to determine playoff position if required.

Home team will be determined by highest seeded position for all games.

All playoff games must be played to completion. (In event game suspended due to darkness, Game can be completed on a lighted field from point of suspension on that or next available night). Trophies will be awarded to the top 2 teams. First Place (Winner of Championship game) and Second Place (Runner Up).

Umpires

Junior League will use umpires as assigned by GSUA.  Deviations from this format will be at the discretion of the Junior League Commissioner.

Safety

In case of injury that prevents a child from participation in a game, a letter from the child’s parents will be required for the child to return to league activity. Children with a cast on an arm or hand that prevents them from gripping the bat properly will not be allowed to participate in games or practices. Players should not return to play without a note of clearance from Doctors or parents.

Managers

• Anyone wishing to become a manager in any league must fill out the application for manager/coach position and return it to the league commissioner. The Board will review the applications annually. The Board of Directors will approve all managers. All Coaches will be subject to a national background check.
• All Coaches must have completed Babe Ruth League/Ripken Baseball Coaching Certification Program. Coaches who successfully pass the Babe Ruth League Coaching Education and Certification Program will receive a certification that is valid for their entire coaching career with Babe Ruth League, Inc. This also applies to any coach who has already taken and successfully passed the Babe Ruth Coaching Education and Certification Program.
• All managers will be subject to a performance review by the Board of Directors.
• Managers must return all equipment and uniforms at the end of the season as directed by the equipment manager.
  
• Any Manager or Coach who is ejected from the game will result in banishment from that game plus the following two games. Coaches may not attend games to which they are suspended. If a player or coach is ejected twice in a season, the minimum penalty shall be suspension for the remainder of the season, including playoffs.