Shetland Division Local Rules

The LA-MV PONY Shetland program teaches the fundamentals of baseball, team spirit, and sportsmanship in a safe environment while having as much fun as possible. In addition to the rules that follow, please also review the League Wide Rules, which 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.

Goals & Logistics

• The Shetland division is non-competitive; no score will be kept.

• Parents are encouraged to work in the infield & outfield, as base coaches, and to help direct play.

• The season starts using the batting tees, and coach pitching is introduced in practice early on. The goal is to have the teams coach-pitching in games by mid season. Pitching underhand is permitted.

• The batting team is responsible for monitoring the home plate area to ensure kids are swinging the bat safely. The home plate monitor should be an adult. Teach the kids not to throw the bats: correcting this tendency early makes a world of difference when the kids are older. There is no catcher.

• Head coaches have a lot of latitude with respect to running games and practices. You can move, re-schedule or cancel games on your schedule with the agreement of the other coach. Rainouts are called by agreement of both coaches and players should assume the game will play unless notified.

• Keep a copy of each player’s registration/medical form with you at all times (practices and games).

• Every player plays every inning. For example, you can have 6 infielders and 6 outfielders. Rotate all players to all positions during the course of a season. This is not only “fair” but it also provides the kids with a better learning experience. All players bat once per half-inning.

• Shetland uses an approximately 50-foot diamond. Home team sets up and returns the bases.

Shetland Division Game Rules

• Each game shall consist of three innings. A half inning is complete when everyone on a team has batted once. The last player up in a half-inning hits a home run. The team in the field should wait for the last batter (during his home run sprint) to touch home plate before exiting the field.

• No outs are recorded, but if a batter or runner is out via a put out, a force out, or a caught fly ball, the batter/runner is retired. This reinforces the defensive concept of trying to get base runners out and keeps the defense interested in the game. Put outs from a runner failing to tag up on a caught fly ball are not called – the runner returns to their original base (no quadruple-plays).

• Any hit ball travelling less than 5 feet in front of the plate is considered foul. This is a safety consideration to avoid collisions at the plate. No bunting.

• No extra bases on overthrows to any base. No sliding is allowed.

• Kids must have a helmet on their head before being handed a bat. When a team is batting, only one player may be outside the dugout area; there is no “on-deck” batter.

• When coach pitching, limit the pitches to three and then setup the Tee in order to keep the game moving. Have a Tee near the backstop at home and use it for all of players when the three pitches are up. Consistently doing this will remove the “negative Tee image” and move the game along.