EECS Graduate Student Softball League Rules

This note outlines all of the softball rules that will apply for each EECS softball season. If there is something that doesn't make sense or if you have any questions just let me know as soon as possible - it's better if we work out any gray points before the games start rather than in the middle of the game when a possibly game winning call depends on it.

The various categories are:

Team Composition

Bonus Player Rules

Standard Softball Rules

Home Team Rules

Team Composition

You can have non-EECS graduate students on a team, but 70% of the people playing have to be current or former EECS graduate students. A shorthanded team my recruit players from other teams on a game-by-game basis. This is perfectly alright as long as it's not permanent.
If you think that your team should get an exception from the above rule, then you must clear it with the league commissioner before the season starts. Reasonable exceptions include (but are not limited to) students from other departments (e.g., physics or mechanical engineering) who work in your lab, staff people with whom you work, and significant others.
There can be at most 8 guys playing in the field at one time.
If you have 8 guys then you have to supply your own catcher. If you have less than 8 then you can ask the other team to provide a catcher but they are not required to.
You can have as many women playing on a team as you want but you can't have more than 10 players on the field.
It would be preferable for 50% of the women to be EECS grad students. This rule should not be interpreted to exclude anyone from playing: if the EECS woman can't make it one night then that does not mean that the other women can't play.
A team may not recruit any new players after thirty minutes past the hour. A new player is someone who is not normally a member of the team (i.e., a player who typically plays on another team).
If a team doesn't have any women playing during a game, then every time they are up to bat they start with an extra out. Note that this is in addition to the mercy rule outs. To avoid this out, teams may recruit women who normally play for other teams.

Bonus Player Rules

Before each game begins, each team may designate one bonus player per female team member playing in that game. (Women recruited from another team don't count toward this.) The bonus player rules will apply to the players so designated. Any player may be designated a bonus player. However, it is suggested that they be select from among a team's less experienced players. Designating your best players as bonus players is bad form and is frowned upon.
Whenever a bonus player hits somebody in or is hit in, that run counts as two runs.
- It doesn't matter if there are errors on the play or not. If a bonus player batted and somebody scores during the same play then that counts as two runs. It's too hard, in this league, to have umpires judging what an error is or not.
- Note that the scores don't multiply if a bonus player hits in a bonus runner - it still only counts as two runs. So if a bonus player hits a grand slam, with the bases filled with bonus players, then that counts as 8 runs, not 16.
- If a bonus player is batting and they walk somebody in then the walk counts as two runs.
- If a bonus player is walked in then that counts as two runs.
A pinch runner takes on the bonus-player status of the batter. Thus, if a bonus player bats and a non-bonus player pinch runs, all runs batted count double; and if the pinch runner should score, that run counts double. Conversely, if a non-bonus player bats and a bonus player pinch runs, all runs are not doubled.
If a bonus player is the first to CLEANLY field the ball, then any outs on that play count as two outs. For example, if the ball is hit to a bonus player at second base who cleanly fields the ball and throws the batter out at first, then that out counts as two outs. On the other hand, if the ball is hit to a bonus player at second base who misplays the ball and it is then picked up by a non-bonus outfielder who throws out the batter, that counts as just one out since the ball was not cleanly fielded by the bonus player. However, if the outfield in the previous example was a bonus player, then the play would count as two outs.
Note that a play is from the time that ball is hit until the time the ball is called dead. For example, let's say that a ball is hit to a bonus-player shortstop who throws it to first base but they don't get the runner out. But, there is a runner at 3rd who is trying to score. So the 1st baseman throws the ball to the catcher who tags the runner out. This will be counted as two outs.

The only exception to this rule is:
When a bonus player is batting, all outs on that play (whether on the batter or another baserunner) count as only 1 out.

Game Procedure

Since the lights are shut off shortly after 10PM, we need to start the games promptly at the start time. So make sure that your team shows up on time.
We decided that it's better to have the games ending on time. So we came up with the following rules:
- The 6pm game will start right at 6pm whether the teams are there or not. This game will not start another inning past 6:50pm no matter what.
- For all of the other games for the night, they will not start another inning past 50 minutes of playing time.
If a game is tied then it has to end in a tie if the time is up. If the teams agree to settle the game with a coin toss then that's fine with me but they can always record it as a tie.
If a team doesn't show up by 15 mins after the start time then the other team wins by forfeit. If some team knows that they aren't going to be able to make it then they should call up the other team and the ref and let them know so that nobody wastes their time.

"Standard" Softball Rules

Anybody wearing a pocket protector to bat is automatically out.
Every batter starts off with a count of 1-1.
There is an infield fly ball rule: if there are runners on first and second and there are less than two outs and the ball is popped up in the infield then the batter is automatically out and nobody can advance. Note that the instant that the umpire sees that it's a fly ball situation then the ball is dead and the batter is out and it only counts for one out - not two. It doesn't matter who catches it.
If the batter steps on the plate or out of the batters box to hit the ball they are out.
The first time the batter throws the bat they should be warned they they will be called out the next time that they do that. If the batter EVER hits the catcher with a thrown bat then the batter should be called out right away. The second time the batter throws the bat they should be called out right away, the ball should be declared a dead ball, and the runners should NOT be allowed to advance. The ref should make sure that they declare the batter out really loud right after it happens.
You can't steal. Any runner seen by the ump leaving a base before the ball is hit is automatically out.
You can't bunt. If any batter attempts to bunt, whether they actually bunt or not, then they are out. If any guy checks his swing, ie. doesn't follow around completely, to specifically hit the ball like a bunt then they are out.
You have to tag the runner either with the ball or with the glove that has the ball. You can't tag the runner with your glove if the ball is in your throwing hand.
If a batted ball first lands in fair territory and then rolls into foul territory between home and third or home and first then it's a foul ball. If a batted ball first lands in fair territory and then rolls or bounces into foul territory past third or first base then it's a fair ball.
If a player is on his/her way to home plate and s/he is past a certain line (the 'commit' line) between third and home then the runner cannot return to third base.
There will be a 2nd home plate located approximately 8 feet away from the original home plate. Runners attempting to score must touch this 2nd home plate only and not the original plate in order to score. If a runner touches the 2nd plate before a member of the other team touches the original plate while holding the ball, then the run scores. If the runner touches the original home plate, they are OUT! If the fielding team touches the 2nd home plate with the ball, play continues and the runner is neither safe nor out yet. If the fielding team tags the runner past the commit line, the runner is NOT OUT, and play continues until either the runner touches the 2nd plate or the fielding team possesses the ball at the first plate.
You have to bat in order. You can't switch around the order to get your big hitters up when you need them. You'll obviously be out if you do this.
You can sub as many people in and out of the game as you want.
You don't have to play in the field in the same inning that you bat. That means that if you have 12 players then all 12 of them get to bat - nobody has to sit out.
Designated hitters are NOT allowed.
Pinch runners may be used when the batter cannot run due to injury. The pinch runner must be the last recorded out for the batting team.
There was a situation one night where there was a runner stopped at third when the ball was thrown out of play. The question that came up was since this runner was not attempting to run to the next base, should they still be awarded the next base? This is a tough call. If everybody has stopped running then technically the umpire should have called "Time" - like they do in the major league. This would have signaled that nobody can advance. But in this league we don't usually call "time" like we are supposed to. So there is this ambiguity about when the runners can no longer advance. I would say that we should give the advantage to the runners. So when the ball goes out of bounds then the runner gets an additional base even if they are not running. But if it is clear that the ball is dead then the umpire should say so and not allow runners to advance.
Metal cleats are not allowed. You can wear the standard softball plastic ones but not the metal baseball kind - they are just too dangerous.

Home Team Rules

The team with the worse record will always be the home team. The exception is in the playoffs where the home team is decided by the flip of a coin.
In the case of a tied record the umpire will flip a coin.

Mercy Rules

Any team that is leading by 10 or more runs only gets two outs during the inning.
If any team is leading by more than 15 runs then they have to bat opposite handed.
If any team is leading by more than 20 runs then they only get 1 out when they are at bat.
The mercy rules go into effect immediately after the run scores that pushes them over the limit. For example, if a team is batting with two outs, they are up by 9-0, there is a person on third base, and the batter hits a homerun then once the person on third base scores to make the score 10-0 the batting team has three outs and the final runner doesn't score.
Different mercy rules can be used at the same time. If a team is leading by 16 runs then they have to bat opposite handed and they only get two outs when at bat.
It is up to the umpire to make sure that the teams are abiding by the mercy rules. Anybody that doesn't bat opposite handed should be called out by the umpire.

So in summary it looks like this:

Winning by 10 or more => only get two outs at bat.
Winning by 15 or more => must bat opposite handed.
Winning by 20 or more => only get one out at bat.

Field Rules

There are two light posts standing in the trees in the outfield. They mark off three different areas that can be labeled A, B, and C. If you are standing at home plate looking into the outfield then these are from left to right. The standard rules are:
1. If the ball flies in the air into one of these areas then the batter gets a home run, triple, or double (A, B, C).
2. If the ball rolls on the ground into one of these areas then the batter gets a triple, double, or single (A, B, C).
3. If the ball barely rolls into the hilly area then it's up to the umpire's discretion as to whether they should invoke the ground rule or they should let the players play the ball.
If the ball goes out of play then each base runner gets one more base than the one that they were running to. This is subject to the refs discretion.
First base overthrows. If the ball is overthrown 1st and it hits that big blue thing or the first fence then the ball is still in play and the umpire should yell this. If the ball hits the second fence then the ball is automatically dead and everybody gets one base.
There will be a line drawn at 120 feet (or so) in the outfield that outfielders can't come in past when somebody is batting. This rule shall be interpreted to mean:

You can't have more than 6 people inside of the line when somebody is batting.

Playoff Rules

You can't pack your team with players that didn't play during the regular season. If somebody wasn't a regular player on your team during the season then they can't play in the playoffs. By a regular player I mean that they have to have played at least one game. This also means that you can't pick up people from other teams as is usually done during the season.
All of the games, except for the championship game, will follow the same format as the regular season: you'll play for an hour. The championship game will be played for 7 innings.
Everybody knows that there is going to be a lot of pressure on the umpires to make the correct calls and that people are bound to make mistakes. I expect the coaches to do their best to keep their players off of the umpires back. There will be no appeal procedure - the umpires call is final. It's going to be really unpleasant for everyone if somebody yells at the umpire and the ump is forced to kick that person out of the game.
The home team is decided by the flip of a coin.

Umpire Rules

Since we are playing that the plays at home are force plays I think that we need to make a line in the sand about 15 or 20 feet away from home plate that is the commit line. This means that if the runner passes this line then they can't turn around and run back to third. So make sure that the umpire makes this line at the start of the game and whenever it gets erased.
Umpires have the right to kick anybody that they think is acting in an unsportsman like manner out of the game. The most common situation will be when the players are arguing with the umpire over a call. I must stress again that arguing with the umpire is absolutely forbidden. If a player argues too much the umpire should kick them out of the game and tell them that they have to leave the playing field. These situations will be dealt with by the team captain and me. Since we are all graduate students I find it hard to believe that this will ever need to be invoked.
I think that I should clarify the rule about the out of bounds ball. If the ball is thrown to one of the players and the player misses it and it rolls into foul territory then the ball is still playable and the runners are not awarded bases but they can still run. If the ball is thrown over somebodies head and it goes out of play, meaning it rolls under a fence, get's thrown into the batting nets, rolls into somebody stuff like their gym bag, or rolls behind the batting fence, then the ref should yell that the ball is out of play and that the players get to advance. They advance one more base than the base that they were going to when the ball was thrown out of play. So if there is a person on 1st when the ball is batted and the fielding team tries to throw the batter out at first and the ball goes over the firstbaseman's head and out of play then the base runner that was running to 2nd gets to go to 3rd and the batter gets to go to 2nd.
Whether the ball is in foul territory or if it is really out of play is a call for the umpire. If the ball is not playable then it should be out of play. If the ball is playable but the fielding team can't pick it up then the runners should be allowed to advance on their own. What I am specifically thinking about is when there is a throw to home plate an the catcher misses it. Well, the ball in this case, if it was stopped by the backstop, is still in play and the runners can still advance. If it's a really bad throw and it goes over the backstop then it's out of play.

If the umpire wants to clarify this rule with the coaches at the start of the game then feel free. If the umpire wants they can call all balls that are off the field as out of play balls - it doesn't really matter to me. Just make sure that you tell the two coaches what you decide at the start of each game.
Umpire communication: The problem is that the umpires have not be communicating clearly enough to the players on the field whether they are invoking the ground rule option on a particular play. There have been times when the ball barely rolled up onto the hill and the umpire didn't want to invoke the ground rules because the ball was easily playable. That's perfectly alright. Unfortunately, this lead to some confusion between the players, who played the ball, and the runner, who thought that they had a ground rule hit. When something like this happens the umpire needs to communicate their desire to allow the ball to be played very clearly to all of the players in the field by YELLING that the ball is still in play. Even though the default is that all balls are playable, I would strongly recommend that after every ball is hit the umpire yell out to the players whether they are invoking one of the ground rules or if the players should play on. This goes for foul and fair balls as well.
Actually, I think that it's always a good idea for the umpire to be as loud as possible with all of their calls so that everybody can hear what they are saying. The only complaints that I've gotten about the refs is that they aren't loud enough when they are making their calls. So the louder the better.

If you have any questions regarding these rules or any others then please let me know.