York County Oldtimers Baseball League, York, PA

York County Oldtimers Baseball League

Special Rules and Other Information

(amended 7/8/2024)

·         No bunting.

·         No stealing, no advancing on wild pitches or passed balls, no running on missed 3rd strikes. Maximum 10' lead from 1st and 3rd base and 15' lead from 2nd base. Secondary leads will be a maximum of 2 additional steps. You may run on a 3-2 pitch with 2 outs if you are forced.

·        Bat Restrictions (adopted 2023): All players UNDER AGE 50 must use a bat with a length/weight ratio of minus-3 or heavier. Players age 50+ may continue to use any bat with no restrictions.  For bat restrictions, your age is determined by your age on opening day, which is September 8th in 2024.

     Helmets must be worn while batting and while the league recommends that you wear an ear flap facing the pitcher, other helmets without flaps will be permitted. Players are strongly encouraged to wear helmets on the base paths but they are not mandatory.

·         Though you can't steal, you can be picked off by pitchers or catchers. Balks on illegal pickoff attempts will be enforced. Runners may not advance (steal) on a pickoff move, but they may advance on errant throws.

·         Maximum of 4 innings pitched per person per game (an appearance in an inning counts as an inning), and pitchers’ innings must be consecutive. Once a pitcher is removed he may not re-enter to pitch.

·         A continuous batting order will be established the first week and picks up where it left off each week until the end of the season.

·         Free defensive substitution.

·         Courtesy runners permitted for physical, health, and time reasons only (they are not to be abused). If a runner is needed, it must be the batter in the order who precedes you provided he is not on base and able to run. Catchers and Pitchers may be replaced with a courtesy runner with 2 outs at the manager’s discretion to speed up the game. This is NOT mandatory.

·         Courtesy runners may not be used for a player who reaches second or third base during his at bat (including advancing a base on an overthrow) unless it is due to an obvious injury.

·         10-run rule in effect after 5 innings at the discretion of the losing team.

·         All players 38 (born in 1986) and over are eligible to play and are guaranteed a roster spot if registered by initial deadline (exception: Central/Susquehanna League starters must be age 40). Players under age 38 are not eligible unless an exception is granted from the commissioner.

·         A waiting list of players who registered after the deadline will be utilized on an as needed basis. Managers must request a fill-in player by contacting the commissioner. Fill-in players will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.  Requests for specific players or positions will be denied. Players from the waiting list are ineligible to pitch.

·         Unless noted otherwise, the first game at each field will have a 2:15 time limit (no inning may start after the 2:15 time frame has elapsed). Exception: Final game of the day at each field can be played until darkness. Official time will be kept by the home team manager, NOT THE UMPIRES. Our goal is to allow all teams to play at least 7 innings each game.  Managers – you are responsible for keeping games moving.

·         Tie game rule (adopted 2022): If the game is tied after 7 innings, or if the time limit has expired (regardless of how many innings have been played to that point), an additional inning will be played using the new MLB extra inning rules. (1) In our continuous batting order, the next batter up will be the first batter in the additional inning. (2) The last batter of the previous inning will be placed at 2nd base to start the inning.  A courtesy runner may be used only if necessary. (3) All regular season rules will apply in regards to number of innings a pitcher can pitch. (4) A maximum of 3 runs may be scored in the inning and after the 3rd run scores, the teams change sides. (5) If the game is still tied and time permits, additional extra innings may be played using the same format; if the time limit has expired after the one extra inning, the game will be ruled a tie.

·         Teams that do not have 9 players at the start of the game will be allowed ONE extra player from another team to both hit and play defense. This “guest” player: 1) may not be a ringer (no top 5 draft picks; no sensational rookies); 2) must be approved by opposing manager; 3) may not play SS, 3B, or CF; 4) may not pitch. The guest player will bat last on that day (after everyone on the team has batted once – inform scorekeeper of his spot in the order). If a team is two or more players short of a full starting nine, they may find extra players to play the field – even borrowing bench players from their opponent if needed – but only ONE guest batting spot is allowed. All other missing spots will be automatic outs. The goal of this rule is to allow teams to compete in the event they are shorthanded on a specific day, but they are not to be “rewarded” for missing players.

·         Standings and World Series participant tiebreaker criteria: 1) head to head record among tied teams; 2) division record; 3) head to head run differential; 4) division run differential; 5) overall run differential.

All other unforeseen situations that arise in games are to be settled and agreed upon by both managers.