Men's Softball Rules

Sportsmonkey will follow ASA rules (to view ASA rules here) with the following exceptions:

 

  • Games are 50 minutes or 7 innings.
  • 10 players in the field at all time. All players must be 18 years of age to be eligible to play.
  • A team will be allowed to play with a minimum of 8 players.
  • During the regular season, teams are allowed to pick up subs to avoid a forfeit, however, no team can consist of any more than 4 players from another registered team unless allowed by opposing captain.
  • Should a team not have enough players to start a game, the clock will start and that team has until 45 minutes left on the game clock to field the minimum number of players.
  • All batters will start with a 1 ball / 1 strike count.
  • A legal pitch must have an arc of (6′- 10′) by the pitcher. Any pitch that is not deemed legal will be an automatic ball.
  • League will institute a “Middle’s Closed” rule for all batters. The area will be defined by the pitcher’s Rubber and Three feet to either side of pitcher’s rubber. This area will be marked by cones or painted stripes. If a batter hits the ball into the no hit zone a dead ball will be called and the batter will be out. If the ball is over the head of the pitcher by three feet or more there will be no dead ball. Judgement call by umpire.
  • Fake tags are not allowed.
  • Players may substitute freely throughout the game in the field. 1 male courtesy runner (any player) will be allowed per inning.
  • If in a rare circumstance a game is stopped early due to weather it’s an official game if at least 35 minutes have elapsed or 4 full innings have been completed.  If either of these scenarios applies the contest will count and the game will not be made up.
  • Swinging bunts will no longer be allowed. Swinging at/hitting a ball in a manner to intentionally tap the ball slowly into fair territory will result in a dead-ball out.

 

INNING RUN LIMITS:

  • There will be a 6 run limit per inning through innings 1-4. (Exception: Unlimited runs may be scored if one of the innings 1-4 is declared the final inning of the game or 10 minutes left in the game.) Unlimited runs may be scored in innings 5 ,6, and 7 always.

 

MERCY RULE:

  • 12 runs after 4 innings and 10 after 5.

 

EXTRA INNING RULES:

  • During the regular season if the game is tied after 7 innings or the game clock runs out, the result will be a tie.
  • During playoff games there is no limit to how many extra innings are played. 

 

HOME RUN RULE:

  • 1+1up
  • All teams must make an effort to retrieve balls hit for home runs during their game .

 

BAT POLICY:

  • Official USSA/ASA stamped bats ONLY — Not to exceed 1.20 BPF. No Senior bats are allowed in league play.

 

UMPIRES & STAFF:

  • An umpire will be provided by Sportsmonkey to supervise the game. It will be the umpire’s responsibility to coordinate and run the games, which include the following tasks:
    • Starting games on time.
    • Calling outs, making final calls on any disputed balls or strikes.
    • Settling all disputes or disputed calls.
  • It is understood that umps will assist in the tracking of the score (i.e. announcing it between innings) and assist in any discrepancies with regards to the coed line-up ratios. However, it is the responsibility of both teams to maintain their respective line-ups and scores each inning.
  • To coordinate and run the league, our refs and/or staff will be available at all times to help the league run as smoothly as possible. If you have questions regarding schedules, policies, rule interpretations, directions to the bar, etc. please ask. 

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FORFEITS:     

  • If your team forfeits a game during the season, the following rules apply:
    • First Offense: Loss of game and warning issued.
    • Second Offense: Loss of game and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs.
    • Third Offense: Removal from the league.
  • If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to email us at info@sportsmonkey.com to help us schedule your opponent a game.
  • Teams have until 10 minutes past the designated start time to field a full squad (minimum numbers of players required to play according to the rules). Refer to rules regarding guy/girl batting ratio. Anything less then the minimum must be approved by the Sportsmonkey staff and opposing team.

 

STANDINGS:

The updated standings will be posted weekly, displaying each teams rank within its skill level. Rank is based on winning percentage.

 

PLAYOFFS:

  • All eligible teams make the playoffs (teams that have not abused any policies are eligible). Playoff rosters must be complete by the third week of regular play. (Players will only be added after the third week for the purposes of a substitution due to an injury or other extreme circumstances as deemed acceptable by Sportsmonkey staff.) Players are allowed on ONE roster for PLAYOFFS.
  • In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Check with Sportsmonkey League Supervisor to see if this applies to your league.
  • Playoffs are single elimination.

Playoff Seeding:

  • Teams are seeded according to winning percentage and strength of schedule.
  • Teams may be dropped from their regular season level based on the above criteria. Teams may be moved to a higher division during the playoffs only if permission is granted.
  • Skill levels may be divided into separate divisions based upon size of level.
  • Teams may play more than one game per day.
  • Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility must be addressed before the start of the game.
  • Sportsmonkey reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than your regularly scheduled league night.

 

ROSTERS/WAIVERS:

In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the 3rd week of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before participating. In order to be eligible for playoffs, players must have played at least 1 REGULAR SEASON WEEK GAME. Any team not submitting a roster/waiver will be ineligible for playoffs. Any player additions after the 3rd week must be approved by Sportsmonkey.

 

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

Players are allowed on ONE roster for PLAYOFFS. If an opposing player’s eligibility is in question, a formal protest may be filed by the end of the 2nd inning or whenever the player in question enters play. The player in question will be required to provide his/her player information (name, address, phone #, signature) in writing to a Sportsmonkey staff member prior to the start of the game. This qualifies as an official protest. The player will be checked against the team roster. Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy immediately.  If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the ejection of the illegal player. The above procedure will also apply for any other “logged” protests. All rulings by Sportsmonkey staff are considered final. Waivers and Rosters will be used as acceptable player-team identification during playoffs, all participants must present ID’s during the playoff tournament in the event of a roster check. All roster check requests must be made before the first pitch.

 

SPORTSMANSHIP:

The idea of Sportsmonkey is to have fun. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league.

 

LEAGUE CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:

Leagues may be cancelled due to existing weather conditions, dangerous or unplayable field conditions, facility constraints, etc. Sportsmonkey staff makes every effort to play all scheduled games, thus we will not cancel games until absolutely necessary. Therefore, if you are calling concerning a decision on a cancellation, remember we will not have an answer until close to the start of the league. If the league is cancelled, Sportsmonkey staff will change the rain-out voicemail immediately and e-mail all of the captains. If a league is cancelled on site, Sportsmonkey staff will attempt to contact those teams still scheduled to play the remainder of the league day/night. Depending on the time of cancellation, some teams will have to be notified on site.  If we do cancel, follow next week’s schedule (ex. If April 13 is cancelled teams should follow the April 20 schedule for their next game). The games that are cancelled will be made up at the end of the season if time allows. In extreme circumstances, Sportsmonkey reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund of schedule matches on days other than our regularly scheduled league day/night.

 

*These policies are designed to make the league run as smoothly and safely as possible, and provide continuity for its participants. Each player in the league is responsible for this information: please advise your team of these rules and thanks for playing with Sportsmonkey!*

If you have any further questions please email us at info@sportsmonkey.com