Bronco Division Local Rules

These rules are designed to make the sport of baseball fun for our Bronco players and to help ensure their safety and healthy growth. Please follow them faithfully. The Board of Directors is asking the umpires to take the leading role in enforcing these rules.

Please also review the League Wide Rules; these general rules are designed to help maintain the condition of our playing fields, to help ensure everyone's safety, and to supplement the League's Good Neighbor Policy.

All other playing rules are governed by the PONY Baseball 2008 Rules & Regulations and the Official Rules of Major League Baseball.

1. PLAYERS: Each team must field a minimum of 8 players or forfeit the game. Only team roster-listed players may play. Each team may only have 9 defensive players on the field at any one time. Everyone must bat. By the end of the 6th inning, every player must have played at least 3 defensive innings. No player may sit out more than 3 innings in a game. If a team is playing with 8 players and one of those players must leave the game due to an injury, that team’s coach may decide to either forfeit the game or continue playing with less than 8 players.

2. LENGTH OF GAMES: All games are 7 innings (6½ innings). However, on weekdays no inning shall start after 2 hours and on weekends after 2½ hours. Time is judged at the end of the previous inning. Games must start within 10 minutes of the scheduled start time. If a prior game is running late, the next game must start within 20 minutes from the end of the previous game. Games may end in a tie.

3. 10-RUN RULE: The 10-run forfeit rule may be imposed at the sole discretion of the losing manager at any time once at least 6 complete innings have been played.

4. PITCHING THROWS: These are the formative years for our players’ arms and wrists, so no curveballs or garbage pitches will be allowed. Players should concentrate their skill development on fast balls and change-ups.

5. PITCHING DURATION: We recommend that each team develop a four or five player pitching staff with an appropriate mix of older and younger players.
   • A player may pitch for a maximum of 10 innings or 105 pitches (whichever comes first) in a week, and a maximum of 7 innings or 70 pitches (whichever comes first) per day. A pitcher who pitches 4 innings or 50 pitches in a day may not pitch again until 40 hours have elapsed from the start of the game in which the player first pitched that day.

   • If a pitcher reaches his maximum per-day or per-week pitch count during an at-bat, the pitcher will be allowed to continue to complete the current at-bat, but must be replaced immediately afterwards.

   • Scorekeepers shall track both innings pitched and pitch count for each pitcher, and will notify the appropriate head coach when a pitcher has reached his/her inning and/or pitch count limit. In the event that the home and visitor scorebooks cannot be reconciled during in the course of a game, the home scorebook will take precedence.

   • A single pitch is considered to be an inning. The week runs from 12:00am Monday to 11:59pm Sunday.

   • These pitching limits will apply to all regular season, make-up, Club, playoff, and post season games with the following exceptions:
     1. During playoffs, if a team must play 3 or more games in one week, its pitchers' per-week pitch count limits will increase to 140 for that week only. All other pitching rules will remain in force.

     2. At the start of each season, the Division Director will set the ratio of per-week pitch counts allocated to Club and Regular teams for Club team players.

     3. Pitch Count and catching limits will be suspended during post-season PONY Sanctioned Tournament play. All other inning-based per-day, per-week and 40-hour rest limits will remain in force in accordance with PONY Baseball rules. This exception does not apply to non-PONY post-season tournaments (e.g. "warmup tournaments").

6. BALKS: Each pitcher will receive just one balk warning each game through the first half of the season. During the second half of the season, balks will be called without a prior warning.

7. STEALING BASES: Stealing is permitted to all bases, including home. Lead-offs are okay from all bases. A dropped third strike (with less than 2 outs) is a live ball and the batter may attempt to gain an unoccupied first base. If there are 2 outs and the 3rd strike is dropped, the batter may attempt to gain either an occupied or unoccupied first base.

8. SLIDING: Because of the concern for player safety, sliding feet first is mandatory at second, third, and home (unless the runner has obtained the base prior to a play being made). Sliding or base running with the apparent intention of injuring or threatening to injure an opposing player is not permitted. Head first sliding is not permitted, except when diving back to base to avoid a pick-off. Shoes with metal cleats are prohibited.

9. TRICK PLAYS: Trick plays such as “hidden ball” and “fake overthrow on a pickoff” are not allowed. Such plays will be called balks.

10. CONDUCT: We are teaching baseball and sportsmanship. Unsportsmanlike conduct (such as but not limited to: throwing bats, helmet, balls, gloves or abusive language) by a coach, parent or player is not condoned. Violators will get one formal verbal warning from the umpire prior to their being removed from the game and could ultimately be subjected to suspension by the Los Altos-Mountain View Pony Baseball Board of Directors.

11. COACHES: The home-team will occupy the third-base dugout. There are to be no more than three coaches in the dugout for a game. All coaches are to stay in the dugout or in the doorway during the game. Base coaches must stay within their coaching boxes. Coaches must keep their players who are not assigned to a field position in the dugout. Players who are warming up may do so in warmup areas. Non-players and non-coaches are not allowed in the dugouts.

12. PROTESTS OF UMPIRE CALLS: Protests that involve an umpire’s judgment are not permitted. Protests based on the interpretation of the rules can only be made by the team’s head coach. The protesting coach must request a consultation with the umpire and, if granted, will calmly and objectively present the umpire with the written rule from the Division’s Local Rules or from the official rulebook.

13. UMPIRES: What the umpire finally rules must stand for that game. All umpires are to be supplied by the league. An umpire may select assistants at the game if he chooses.

14. FIELD PREPARATION: The home team is responsible for preparing the field before and after the game.

15. GAME SCHEDULES: Rescheduling of games is strongly discouraged, except in the case of rainouts or other extraordinary circumstances. If a team wants to request a game to be rescheduled, the request must be made in writing directly to the Division Director at least seven days prior to the scheduled game. If a request is granted, the game will be rescheduled solely at the convenience of the opposing team.