Baseball Rules
Play in Stateline Youth Athletics is governed by the Official PONY
Baseball and NAFA Softball Rules.
SYA also has a set of Local Rules intended to make the games more fun
for each age group, enhance safety, and deal with some local administrative
issues.
Coaches: The surest way to avoid a confrontation with an umpire is to
know the rules. And do check out Jim Booth's
Rule Myths page
on the e-teamz rules site, below. You’ll be amazed at all the things you
were sure of that just ain’t so.
Also, please review the "SYA
Heated Moments in Baseball" for some commonly misunderstood rules. Official Rules
Stateline Youth Athletics Local Rules
Stateline Youth Athletics General Rules apply to all divisions, and are
designed to help maintain the condition of our playing fields, help ensure
everyone's safety, and supplement the
Good Neighbor Policy. Each Division also has a set of local rules, with
summaries and details available below.
Local rules supercede the PONY national and Official Baseball Rules.
For example, Stateline Youth Athletics has a “must slide” rule in most divisions, even
though the national PONY rules do not.
Help With Rules
The following web sites can assist coaches, umpires, and parents in better
understanding the rules of baseball.
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Jim's Baseball Rules
Answers. Extensive plain-English rules interpretations and
explanations, written by veteran youth baseball and softball umpire Jim Booth. A
lot of the Baseball Rules sections on other web sites are copied from here,
often without attribution.
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e-teamz Baseball
Rules Page. Excellent page including a summary of baseball rules,
frequently asked questions (FAQ), Jim Booth's Rule Myths page, and an umpire's
helper. |
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Amateur Baseball
Umpire Home Page. A "labor of love" web site containing a wealth of
history, commentary, and umpiring advice from experienced amateur umpire and
high school teacher Brent McLaren.
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Rules For Other Baseball Organizations
The Club Teams and Post-Season "All Star" teams participate in tournaments
hosted by organizations other than PONY Baseball. The following organizations
provide their local rules online.
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