Minor League Rules
9-10 Year Old Players
No LEADING OFF. Player MAY leave base and/or Steal once pitch crosses the front of home plate. Baserunner may advance on an errant throw to base. Player may NOT steal Home, even on a passed ball/wild pitch. Ball must be put in play to advance home.
TIME LIMIT – One hour, 30 minutes (1:30) drop dead time or six (6) innings, whichever comes first. No new innings after 1:15. If the drop dead time is reached, the score will revert back to the last full completed inning. Regular Season games WILL end in a TIE.
Tournament games will continue until there is a winner. Championship Games there is No Time Limit, 6 innings will be played.
46’ pitching Distance and 60’ Base paths.
No Player may sit out 2 defensive innings until every other Player has sat out at least 1 inning. Free substitution of defensive players with the exception of the pitcher. However, the batting lineup may not be altered.
No pitcher shall appear in a game as a pitcher for three consecutive calendar days, regardless of pitch counts
Plays at Home – Players are not required to slide, but they must avoid contact (they cannot leap). If they make contact with a catcher making a play, it must be with a slide.
Base paths - if in the path of a throw they must slide immediately or peel out of the baseline.
All players are in the batting lineup regardless of whether they played in the field during the defensive inning.
Half inning ends on the 6th run regardless of the result of the play.
Mercy game rule 10 runs after 4 complete or 3 and a half innings if the home team is ahead.
Catchers must wear a protective cup.
Time between innings should be no more than 2 minutes or 5 warm up pitches whichever comes first.
Use two-out runner for pitcher & catcher. The runner will be the last recorded player out, whether that was a strike out or put-out.
All bats must bear the USA stamp with 2 ⅝” max barrel size. No BBCOR bats. (See bat regulations page for for information)
Home team (3rd base dugout) to be the official scorekeeper and Visiting team (1st base dugout) needs to man the snack shack (Flat Iron Only). 3rd base dugout is the HOME dugout for both Bywater and Flat Iron.
See Babe Ruth rule handbook for all other baseball rules RulesBaseball.pdf (baberuthleague.org)
Pitch Count (Days rest based on # of pitches thrown during game)
Age | Daily Max | 0 Days Rest | 1 Days Rest | 2 Days Rest | 3 Days Rest | 4 Days Rest |
9-10 | 75 | 1-20 | 21-35 | 36-50 | 51-65 | 66-75 |
*Pitch Count numbers are based on pitch smart guidelines.
*New for ‘25. Pitch count is determined at the START of the at bat and can finish the current batter and not be “over” his pitch count.
Example, a pitcher starts a batter on pitch 34, but it takes 5 pitches to end the at bat, he would still fall under the 1 day rest rule.
So if on Monday, the pitcher started a new batter on his 36th pitch, he would NOT be eligible to return on Wednesday.
For more examples of proper pitch count application: https://youtu.be/wN-5-kr39-A
End of season tournament will use the Cal Ripken Tournament pitch counts which allows more pitches on less rest. This is approved as the players will have extended rest as the season ends. Those are provided before the tournament, but can be found in the Babe Ruth Rule book.
Potential Slide rule clarification:
Slide rule/hurdles/jumps —It is the responsibility of the runner to avoid contact at home plate. If contact is initiated by the runner, it must be through the process of a slide. Malicious or Intentional contact AT ANY BASE will result in an out and the ejection of the runner from the game. This is a judgment call and is the discretion of the umpire. A slide rule WILL be enforced when an infielder is attempting to turn a double play at second base. If the runner is not close enough to merit a slide, they must peel away from the baseline. This rule is for the protection of the base runner. The base runner and batter will be called out if the runner's not sliding or not peeling away affects the defensive play. This is the umpire’s discretion. A runner may not hurdle, jump over, or leap over a fielder unless the fielder is lying prone on the ground. Penalty: The runner is out, but the ball remains live unless the umpire calls interference. Note: Jumping over a kneeling fielder is illegal.