T-Ball

General Rules

All players and parents must abide by the "Parent/Player Code of Conduct".
Medical Release Forms must be on hand during all practices and games.
All adults on field must have a MOTLL Lanyard.
All T-Ball games must be played on the T-Ball field unless approval is received prior to scheduling the game.

Each team should have one manager and three coaches. However, additional parent support is allowed as required to facilitate games and practices, so long as all parents have a volunteer lanyard.
Home team shall occupy the 1st base dugout. Visitor/Away team gets the 3rd base dugout.
If you have a player batting who is a hard-hitter, give the other team a warning to back up.
No on-deck batters. No kids holding or swinging bats around bench. Players only swing bats when they are at home plate batting. Do not throw the bat after the ball is hit.
Get kids on and off the field quickly between innings, so you can get more innings in.

Games

3 innings maximum. There are no extra innings.1 hour time limit on all games.
Score is not tracked. A tie is a tie.
Both teams are responsible for field set-up / break-down and for ensuring dugouts are left clean.
After every game, you must rake the pitcher’s mound, home plate and all base areas before leaving.
Unless teams have arrived for a game after yours, pack all the equipment and lock the field-box before leaving.

Batting

All players will be placed in a batting order prior to the start of the game.
Late arrivals can be placed at the bottom of the batting order or can be worked into their normal spot in the batting order.
Every player must wear a batting helmet when batting and running bases.
Managers are to draw a ten-foot arc in the dirt, in front of home plate. Any ball hit that does not pass the arc is considered a foul ball and a do-over. Balls hit in foul territory are also do-overs.
There are no balls and strikes, and consequently, no walks or strikeouts.
No base stealing or leading.
Sliding is permitted — feet first.
Runners will advance only one base at a time and will not be permitted to advance extra bases on overthrows or errors.
The last batter of the inning hits a home run (grand slam) and clears the bases.
Coaches are responsible for tee adjustments for individual batters.
The tee must be removed when a runner is coming to home plate.
All batters must hit off the tee. (See below for Coach Pitch exceptions.)

Coach Pitch

At the manager’s discretion, a coach may coach-toss to players who are currently five or six years old, if they are ready for it. Anyone age four or under must always hit off the tee, no exceptions.
Coach-toss cannot be used during the 3rd inning of games. This is intended to ensure the 3rd inning moves along quickly as players tend to lose focus in the late stages of a game. Restrict coach-toss to the 1st and 2nd innings only.
Batters receiving coach-toss should receive up to three pitches per at bat. The number of pitches includes any foul balls.
Even if the batter fouls off the third pitch, they must use the tee for the remainder of the at bat. If the player does not hit the three pitches, they also must use the tee for the remainder of the at bat.
Pitch limits are designed to prevent discouraging a player with too many swings and misses, and to minimize fielders from losing focus while waiting too long for a ball to be put into play.
Parents must be okay with their player having coach-toss, but the ultimate decision is up to the manager. The manager does not have to introduce coach-toss to anyone.This rule is completely at the manager’s discretion.
If you elect to coach-toss to a batter, the pitcher must be positioned to the left or right of the coach who is pitching. This will ensure that the pitcher is ready for the ball to be hit to them. The pitcher must not be positioned behind the coach to avoid potential injury from a ball not seen off the bat.

Defense

Up to eleven players on the field. Four or five outfielders can be used.
Players may NOT be in the same defensive position for more than one inning per game.
Players may NOT play the outfield in back-to-back innings.
Rotate players to give equal development opportunity and learning of all positions.
Managers must always consider players' safety in determining positions. (i.e. 1st base, catcher, pitcher)
Pitcher must wear the helmet with a cage-mask and stay in contact with the pitching rubber until the ball is put in play.
Outfielders must be positioned on the outfield grass and not on the infield dirt.
Everyone bats every inning. Even if a fielder makes an “out”, the batter remains on first base and any base runners advance to the next base. We do not count three outs to end an inning.
No double plays or triple plays.

Catchers

Teaching all positions on the baseball field is a fundamental component to the T-Ball division. Catcher is one of them. That said:

Catchers can only be used as the 10th/11th player on the field. All other positions must be filled before inserting a catcher.
Catchers must wear full catcher’s gear available in the field box.
The catcher must be positioned safely away from the batters box, along the backstop, prior to the batter swinging. The catcher can move into the field of play after the ball has been hit. Be wary that a thrown bat is a real concern at this age.
The catcher’s primary job will be to get the ball from the 1st baseman (or other fielder) after a play has been made and deliver it to the coach setting the tee for the next batter.
The catcher can cover home plate for force outs, but all runners MUST avoid contact with the catcher by sliding if a play is possible. Remember that SAFETY is paramount in all aspects of the T-Ball game.

Last update: 3/3/2020

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