Softball League Bylaws and General rules
(Effective Date: April 25, 2000)

Objective: The objective of the SSC Softball League is to provide a means for employees to participate in the sport of softball in an organized fashion, and promote friendly competition and exercise.

Governing documents:

  1. SSC softball League Bylaws and General Rules.
  2. American Softball Association (ASA) Rule book.
  3. Approved minutes from League meetings which occur after the affective date of these Bylaws.

League:

  1. Eligibility - Any person who's job is located at the Stennis Space Center, and his/her spouse or children are eligible to participate in the League. No other relatives (brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.) are eligible. All participants must be 15 years of age or older.
  2. Officers - The SSC Softball League shall have the following officers:
    1. President
    2. Vice President
    3. Secretary/Treasurer

    Note: All officers are members of the League's Advisory Committee on Code of Conduct, Rules, and Protest.

    New officers will be elected/approved before each season by team representatives at a League meeting. Each team represented gets one vote.

  3. Responsibility of Officers

    1. President
      1. Take overall responsibility for seeing that the League is run smoothly and fairly.
      2. Ensure that the playing fields are prepared and ready for play by the beginning of the season.
      3. Call and chair League meetings as necessary.
      4. Ensure that a schedule is prepared and distributed to all teams prior to the start of the season.
      5. Coordinate and organize special League activities (picnic, tournament, etc.).
      6. Submit yearly budgets to the SSC Rec. Association.
    2. Vice-President
      1. Assume the responsibilities of President in his absence.
      2. Keep an inventory of all the League's equipment, and ensure that there is enough equipment (balls, bases, score books, etc.) for the entire season.
      3. Update the League schedule as necessary, and ensure that all teams know when games are being rescheduled.
      4. Inform umpires of rain-outs and dates of rescheduled games.
    3. Secretary/Treasurer
      1. Take responsibility for all League financial matters, which include the following:
        1. collect team entry fees,
        2. pay umpires, and
        3. maintain the League's bank account.
        4. Support the President and Vice-President with League functions as necessary.
      2. Record and distribute the minutes from League meeting.
      3. Maintain won-lost records for all teams in the League, and update the League standings at least every 2 weeks.
      4. Keep a record of forfeits charged to each team.
      5. Maintain an official roster for each team.
      6. Reserve the meeting room for League meetings.
    4. Advisory Committee
      1. Will meet as necessary and make rulings on official protests, questions of misconduct, rule interpretations, or other special situations which arise during the season. Each Officer shall have one vote except for the President, who shall only vote in the case of ties.

  4. Teams - The League will consist of teams made up of men and women that meet the eligibility requirements. Each team will have one vote at League meetings.

  5. Season/Schedule - The season will typically start in early April and run through July or August. Games will generally be scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings to start at 5:00pm. Mondays will be reserved for make-up games. No team will play more than 20 games during the season or be scheduled to play more than 2 games per week, excluding make-up games.

  6. Tournament/Playoffs - A tournament will be held at the completion of the regular season. The tournament format will be approved by team representatives at a League meeting Prior to the_season being half over. To be eligible to play with a team in the tournament, a person must have played in at least 2 games with that team during the regular season.

  7. Entry Fees - Each team must pay a League entry fee prior to playing their first game of the season. Failure of a team to pay the fee on time could result in their expulsion from the League. The amount of the fee will be approved by team representatives at a League meeting prior to the start of the season.

  8. Rosters - Each team must submit a roster to the Secretary prior to their first game of the season. Once a roster has been submitted to the Secretary, it is "official". Team managers may update official rosters up until 75% of the season is over (a cutoff date will be designated at a League meeting). In order to play for a team, an eligible man or woman must be on that team's official roster. As a minimum, rosters must list each player's name, age, and the criteria which makes them eligible to play in the League. New hires, transferred military personnel, or ship riders desiring to be added to a team roster after the cutoff date must be cleared by the Advisory Committee. A person may only play on one team during the season (no person may be on 2 different official rosters). The only exception is that if a team folds before the season is 75% over, then players from that team may be added to other teams' rosters.

  9. Expulsion - Any team that accumulates 3 forfeits (by failing to show up for games) will be expelled from the League. Entry fees will not be refunded. A team may appeal an expulsion to the Advisory Committee. If a team is expelled, the Advisory Committee will meet to determine if the League schedule and standings should be adjusted accordingly.

Team Responsibilities:

  1. League Meetings - Each team shall have at least one representative at all League meetings.

  2. Manager - Each team shall have at least one person designated on their roster as manager. The manager shall be responsible for the following:
    1. Ensure that his/her team will have enough players for each game. If a manager knows his team will be short of players and will have to forfeit a game, he/she should contact the opposing teams manager or a League officer so that the other players and umpires can be notified.
    2. Provide his/her teams batting order to the official scorer (home team) and opposing manager (if applicable) prior to the start of the game. Notify the official scorer and opposing manager of player substitutions during the game.
    3. The actions of all players on his/her team while a game is in progress. A manager shall encourage good sportsmanship, and not tolerate any conduct which is detrimental to the game.
    4. The manager of the home team shall ensure that the final score of the game and the names of the umpires are reported to the Secretary.
    5. Managers shall ensure that all players on their team are familiar with the League's Bylaws and General Rules.
    6. The manager may question an umpire about a rule interpretation during a game, but no other player on the team should be involved. The manager may not argue with an umpire about a judgement call. If an official protest is required to settle a rule interpretation, then the manager shall inform the Plate Umpire that the game is being played under protest, and ensure that the official scorer records the game situation. The manager must then submit a written protest to a League Officer within 48 hours after the completion of the game.

  3. Official Scorer - The home team at each game will provide a person to keep the official score and maintain the batting orders for both teams. If a game is suspended or protested, the official scorer shall record the game situation at the time of the suspension or protest, including the score, number of outs, count on the batter, and the position of base runners.

  4. Players
    1. All players must play within the rules and maintain good sportsmanship. Any player who engages in fighting, argues with umpires, intentionally tries to hurt another player, uses excessive profanity, or engages in any other conduct detrimental to the League, may face suspension or expulsion from the League.
    2. Players shall ensure that no trash is left on the field, benches, or bleachers following a game.

Rules of Play:

All games will follow the rules given in the most recent edition of the ASA Official Softball Playing Rules for Slow Pitch, Co-Ed Leagues with the following additions and exceptions:

  1. Pitching - SSC Recreation Association Softball League will play a modified version of softball which requires the calling of balls and strikes. A pad with be place behind home plate, any legal pitch striking the pad will be called a strike. Any pitch missing the pad will be called a ball. All batters begin with a count of 1 ball and 1 strike (the batter will be called out after 3 strikes or walked after 4 balls). The pitcher will be on the defensive team. A legal pitch must have an arch of at least 6 feet but no more that 10 feet. If a man batter is issued a walk and the next batter is a woman, the woman batter has the option to take a walk or continue her at bat. For foul balls exception, see Rule 14.

  2. Man/Woman Ratio - Teams will field at least 3 defensive women players at all times. The defensive positions are all positions except catcher. The women may play any position except catcher. A woman may play the catcher position if 4 or more women are in the batting lineup. Teams having only 2 women will not be required to forfeit. They may play with 2 women, but will be required to have three women in the batting lineup. When the third woman comes up to bat, she will be issued an out. The third woman's position in field will be vacant. Teams must field a pitcher and catcher in all cases. All defensive players MUST remain in their relative positions for the entire defensive half of the inning, unless changed by LEGAL subsitution as defined in ASA rule book. (ie: All outfielders must remain in the outfield and all infielders must remain in the infield for the entire defensive half inning, unless a LEGAL substitution is made. This rule does NOT preclude an infielder from playing "deep" or "shifting" positions within the infield or outfield as long as it does NOT delay the flow of play.) Switching positions is NOT allowed within a defensive half inning (example: 2nd baseman can NOT move to another infield position such as Shortstop or 3rd base while the other player moves to 2nd base. Outfielders also can NOT switch positions.)

  3. Batting Order - Team batting orders must be set up so that no more than 3 men bat consecutively at any place in the order. Three men batting consecutively can occur no more than one time in the batting lineup.

  4. Forfeits - Starting times for games will be 5:00pm. After 5:00pm, games must begin as soon as both teams have a full (7 men, 3 women) team of players. If after 5:15pm, either team requests to start and both teams have at least 7 men and 3 women players and the other team declines to start, the game will be declared a forfeit in favor of the team requesting the game start. A team forfeits the game if it does not have the required number of players at the field by 5:30pm.

  5. 15 Run Rule - If either team is ahead by 15 or more runs after the 5th inning, the game is officially over and the team that is ahead is declared the winner.

  6. Home Run Rule - There will be a limit of 3 home runs hit per team per game. Any additional home runs will be considered singles. All runners on base will advance 1 base. (Example: If there are runners on 1st and 3rd and the batter hits and home run, the batter will advance to 1st, the runner on 1st will advance to 2nd and the runner on 3rd to advance to HOME. Notice: The runner on 3rd does not have to be in a forced position.) "In the park" home runs do NOT count towards the 3 home run total.

  7. Rain-outs - If the possibility of a rain-out exists, the Managers of each team will be responsible for inspecting the fields and deciding if they are playable. Fields should be checked between 03:00 and 03:15pm. Both Managers must agree that the game is not playable to cancel the game. It is the responsibility of the managers to notify the League Vice President or Secretary of any rain-out before 03:30pm. The umpire may declare a rain-out at the start time of the game if conditions are unsafe.

  8. Protests - The ASA Rules regarding official protests shall be followed. A manger must submit a written protest to a League Officer within 48 hours after the completion of the game. The Advisory Committee will meet and render a decision on all official protests.

  9. Game Ball - The home team is responsible for supplying at least one new ball to the Plate Umpire before the start of each game. The visiting team shall provide at least one suitable back-up ball to the Plate Umpire before the start of each game.

  10. Provisional Runners - Managers must identify any players on their team who might require a provisional runner to the opposing manager and plate umpire prior to the start of the game. Each team is limited to one provisional runner of each sex per game. If a player so identified reaches base safely, he/she may have the teammate of the same sex who made the most recent out (or who is furthest away in the batting order) take his/her place on the bases, and may still remain in the game as a batter and fielder. Players that are not identified prior to the start of the game may not have a provisional runner, unless they are injured during the course of the game. A provisional runner should not be confused with a substitution.

  11. Discipline - Only the designated Managers of the 2 playing teams may argue a call or discuss a problem with the umpire. At the umpire's discretion, any team member (not the manager) who wishes to take matters into his/her hands can be removed from the game. If a team player gets caught doing this twice (not necessarily during the same game) will be expelled from the league. ANY FIGHTING or threats to other players or the umpire will result in an automatic expulsion from the league. Expelled players may NOT reenter the League.

  12. Outfield Inner Limit Line - This line is drawn in the outfield 160' from home plate. When a woman player is at bat, all of the outfield players must stay beyond this line until the ball is hit. If an outfielder crosses the line before the ball is hit the "Plate Umpire" shall award the batter first base. This rule is NOT in effect for men batters.

  13. Umpires - All teams are expected to provide umpires for scheduled games. The umpiring schedule is contained on the master league schedule. Any team failing to provide an umpire will be accessed 1/2 game forfeit. This forfeit will be included in league standings and will count towards explusion under league rule 9.

  14. Foul Balls - A batter is not declared out when he/she hits the first foul ball on the second strike. A batter is declared out when he/she hits a second foul ball on the second strike.

  15. Extra Player - A team may use an extra player (EP) in the batting order. If the EP is a man, it is permitted to bat three men consecutively in two places in the batting order. Four or more men may never bat consecutively in the batting order. If the EP is a woman, normal league batting rules apply. If the EP is used, the EP must be used for the entire game, may be substituted for in the batting order at any time, may reenter the game if removed by substitution, and may play defense at any time. If the EP is used and the EP is a man, any seven of the eight men in the batting order may play defense in any inning. The decision to use the EP must be made before the start of the game.