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Tournament officials The tournament is administered by a director with the assistance of a volunteer board of commissioners. These and other key officials are: Bill Bert, tournament director Bob Herr, tournament commissioner Bill Reuter, tournament commissioner Tim Peachey, tournament commissioner, Lancaster County Youth Baseball League, formerly Penn Manor League Allen Toth, tournament commissioner, Susquehanna League Adrian Shelley, tournament commissioner Ernest Schreiber, editor, Lancaster New Era Keith Schweigert, sports editor, Lancaster New Era Changes for 2008 1-7 amended to specify that participants must meet all league requirements. 4-2 added to make personnel ejected for misconduct ineligible for the next game. Section 1 Team eligibility 1. The tournament is open to championship teams located in Lancaster County. All players must live in Lancaster County or in an extended community that stretches just beyond the county line. 2. Each league must have at least four teams. Leagues with eight or more teams that play their regular season in divisions will be permitted to send the champion of each division of four or more teams. 3. A league or group of leagues that includes all of the teams in an age division in Lancaster County may jointly request an alternate method of determining its tournament qualifiers. Such organizations may seed an 8-team tournament for any age division with 20 or more teams, or a 4-team tournament for any division with fewer than 20 teams. 4. Independent teams are not eligible for tournament participation. All-star teams are not eligible. 5. A league that did not participate in the New Era Tournament during the previous season may be required to qualify its teams through a pre-tournament round with participating leagues. Once a league advances one or more teams to the formal tournament it will be entitled to at least one spot in the quarterfinals. 6. Each team is limited to 18 players who must have been on the roster on June 15. No additional players may be added to the roster after that date and be eligible for the tournament. 7. Team roster with each player’s name, address and date of birth plus manager’s name, phone number and e-mail address must be submitted to the tournament director by noon 10 days before the division’s first game. (Example: first junior midget game is Thursday, July 19; team plays Friday, July 20; roster is due by noon Monday, July 9.) If the due date is a weekend or holiday, the deadline will be extended until 9 a.m. the next work day. Any player who was not on the league roster before June 16, who does not meet all league requirements, or whose name is not on the tournament roster at the deadline is ineligible for the tournament. Rosters may be submitted by any league, organization or team official, but the team manager bears the ultimate responsibility for making sure his roster is accurate and complete. Section 2 Divisions 1. Age eligibility a. Midget-midget -- 12 years and under as of April 30 of the current year. b. Junior midget -- 14 years and under as of April 30 of the current year. c. Midget -- 16 years and under as of April 30 of the current year. 2. Field dimensions a. Midget-midget games will be contested on a field measuring 48 feet from home plate to the pitching rubber and 65 feet between bases. b. Junior midget games will be contested on a field measuring 52 feet from home plate to the pitching rubber and 75 feet between bases. c. Midget games will be contested on a field measuring 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate to the pitching rubber and 90 feet between bases. 3. Field ground rules will be the official playing rules for all levels of the tournament. Section 3 Playing rules All levels of the tournament shall be played under the published rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations with the following exceptions: 1-1-1 Midget-midget games will consist of six innings. This modification applies to all other sections listing game length, including 2-17-1. 1-2-1 The field shall meet the dimensions described in 2-2 above. Field ground rules will apply, and layouts that do not fully comply with the listed requirements -- especially at the lower two levels -- will be official. 1-3-4 Bats must meet the high school standards -- 2 5/8-inch maximum diameter, 36-inch maximum length, weight of no less than three ounces less than its length and labeled as meeting the Ball Exit Speed Ratio -- with the following exceptions a. Midget-midget aluminum bats may not exceed 2 1/4 inches in diameter and must be marked Little League approved. These bats are permitted at all levels. b. MetalWood bats are permitted at all levels. 1-4-1 Midget-midget and junior midget players may not wear metal spikes. 1-4-4 No restriction on logos on team uniforms as long as they are done in good taste. 2-33-1 Courtesy runners adopted as presented under the suggested speed-up rules. In levels playing free substitution a courtesy runner may be anyone who has not been in the offensive lineup as a batter or runner. (This and all subsequent mention of the state association shall refer to the New Era Tournament Commissioners.) 3-1-3 Midget-midget and junior midget only: Free substitution will be permitted. a. A player must always bat in the same spot in the batting order. b. A player cannot run for other players except one who batted for him. c. If a player has not batted and enters the game as a runner (other than a courtesy runner in 2-33-1), he may bat or run only in that spot in the order. d. A fielder may enter or leave the game at any time and play any position at any time. e. Substitution is permitted any time the ball is dead, except no player may re-enter until a batter completes his turn at bat or an out is recorded and as provided in Rule 3-1-2 in regard to pitchers. 3-1-4 Midget only: Extra hitter is permitted. a. Teams may bat 10 players and play any 9 of them in the field. b. The lineup used to start the game must be used throughout. c. The extra hitter may be used with or without a designated hitter in the lineup. 3-2-1 Coaches are not required to wear team uniforms, but they are encouraged to wear a team jersey or coach's shirt and cap. 4-1-1 Tournament commissioners or other designated official shall determine whether the grounds are suitable for starting the game. 4-1-3 Before game time, a commission representative shall toss a coin for the purpose of determining the home team. Each team must provide its batting order on the official tournament lineup card. 4-2-2 10-run rule is adopted as listed. Midget only: A 15-run rule will apply after 3 innings. 4-2-4 A game that does not meet the requirements in 4-2-3 will be suspended and resumed from the point of interruption. If a game is called while an inning beyond the fifth is in progress, the game becomes a suspended game in each of the following situations: a. The score is tied. b. The visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead and the home team has not retaken the lead. 4-5-1 Protests are not permitted except in the three championship games, when they will be decided immediately by the tournament commissioners. Judgment calls are never subject to protest. 6-1-6 A player may pitch in no more than 14 innings during the entire junior midget tournament and 12 innings during the entire midget-midget tournament. Delivery of one pitch constitutes having pitched in any inning. Midget pitchers are subject to the following restrictions: A player may pitch in a maximum of nine (9) innings in one (1) calendar day, but not more than fourteen (14) innings in any calendar week (Sunday through Saturday). Delivery of one (1) pitch constitutes having pitched in any inning. If an inning is played in part on two (2) calendar days, delivery of one (1) pitch in that inning in each of those calendar days constitutes having pitched in two (2) innings. If he pitches in less than three (3) innings in one (1) calendar day, no rest is required. If he pitches in three (3) innings in one (1) calendar day, he must have one (1) calendar day of rest. If he pitches in four (4) or five (5) innings in one (1) calendar day, he must have two (2) calendar days of rest. If he pitches in six (6) or more innings in one (1) calendar day, he must have three (3) calendar days of rest. 7-4-1c At the midget-midget level a batter is out even if a third strike is not caught. This also applies to subsequent references, including 8-1-1b. Section 4 Game Management 1. Any postponed or suspended game will be rescheduled by the tournament commissioners on the first available date. 2. A player, coach or other team personnel ejected for misconduct will be ineligible to participate in the next game. 3. Tournament commissioners shall have authority to rule on any subject not fully covered in tournament rules. |