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Rules

Baseball Rules

Play in LA-MV is governed by the Official Rules of Major League Baseball and the PONY Baseball Rules. LA-MV also has a set of Local Rules intended to make the games more fun for each age group, enhance safety, and deal with some local administrative issues.

Coaches: The surest way to avoid a confrontation with an umpire is to know the rules.

Pitch Limits - Daily Max and Required Rest (Pitches)

Age Daily Max Pitches 0 Days 1 Day 2 Days 3 Days 4 Days 5 Days
7-8 50 1-20 21-35 36-50 N/A N/A N/A
9-10 75 1-20 21-35 36-50 51-65 66+ N/A
11-12 85 1-20 21-35 36-50 51-65 66+ N/A
13-14 95 1-20 21-35 36-50 51-65 66+ N/A
15-16 95 1-30 31-45 46-60 61-75 76+ N/A
17-18 105 1-30 31-45 46-60 61-80 81+ N/A
19-22 120 1-30 31-45 46-60 61-80 81-105 106+

LA-MV PONY Local Rules

LA-MV General Rules apply to all divisions, and are designed to help maintain the condition of our playing fields, help ensure everyone's safety, and supplement the Good Neighbor Policy. Each Division also has a set of local rules, with summaries and details available below.

Local rules supercede the PONY national and Official Baseball Rules. For example, LA-MV has a “must slide” rule in Mustang and Bronco divisions, even though the national PONY rules do not.

Local Rules for Each Division

Shetland Division Pinto Division Mustang Division Bronco Division Pony Division Colt Division
Ages 5-6 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 16U
Basepath 50 ft 50 ft 60 ft 70 ft 80 ft 90 ft
Pitching Mound 38 ft 38 ft 44 ft 48 ft 54 ft 60.5 ft
Innings 3 5 (Pinto-1), 6 (Pinto-2) 6 7 7 9
Pitching Start with tee; end Coach Pitch Coach Pitch; Pinto-2 ends Player Pitch Player Pitch Player Pitch Player Pitch Player Pitch
Teams Formed By Director Director Draft Draft Draft Director
Base Stealing No No Phased In Yes Yes Yes
Leadoffs No No M-1: Phased In from 1st & 2nd
M-2: 1st & 2nd		 Yes Yes Yes
Balk No No M1: Warnings only
M2: 1 Warning then enforced		 Yes Yes Yes
Dropped 3rd Strike No No No Yes Yes Yes
Breaking Pitches N/A No No No Yes Yes

Official Rules

Official Baseball Rules, published by Major League Baseball.

Official Baseball Rules published by the Baseball Almanac. This site is easier to read than the MLB site, and contains a wealth of additional baseball information.

PONY Baseball Rules & Regulations. These define a set of extensions to the MLB rules to provide age-appropriate divisions with incremental levels of play.