2025 Rules

GAMEPLAY:

• 7 inning, doubleheaders each Sunday.
• Doubleheaders are 2 hours and 45 minutes
• Minimum 4 innings played
• Blowout is 12 runs after 4 innings
• A game is official after 4 innings have been completed
•                 2 All Game Courtesy Runners. They MUST be announced at the Managers Meeting BEFORE the game so each manager/umpire can mark the courtesy runners in the lineup. Failure to do so will forgo the opportunity to use the courtesy runners.
• Pitchers are allowed only 3 warmup pitches per inning
• Batter starts with a 1 ball - 1 strike count
• Courtesy Foul Rule – A batter with 2 strikes will be given 1 courtesy foul, the next foul is an out.
• Leading is allowed after the pitch has been released from the pitcher’s hand
• Field Dimensions - 65’ base to base, 46’ front of pitchers rubber to the back of home plate
• Uniforms - Team jerseys must all match - no alternate colors/designs allowed. All players must be in uniform by May 4th, 2025.
• When the weather is 90+ degrees, jerseys need to be shown, but do not have to be worn. In this instance, each player must show their jersey number prior to first at bat.
  
• Players in tank tops/topless are not allowed to play.
• No jersey/Wrong jersey - player bats with 2 strikes & loses their courtesy strike (they only get 1 swing)
• If the Pitcher does not have the team jersey, and they are receiving a designated hitter (DH), the DH, will bat with a 1 ball-2 strike count with only 1 swing (no courtesy swing).
• Putting on a jersey after first pitch does not nullify this rule.
• The game can start with 8 players (in coed, 2 must be women). Once the lineup has gone through (the leadoff batter has 1 pitch thrown during their second plate appearance), players cannot be added to the lineup AND they CANNOT play the field.
• There is no re-entry. Once a substitution is used for a player in the lineup, that player is out for the remainder of the game. 
• If using a DH, DH can only come into the game for the player they are hitting for. 
• In Coed, this must be gender specific (men can only DH for men, women can only DH for Women)
• Illegal substitution - All substitutes must be listed on the lineup card provided by the league. A substitute can be challenged, and will be considered illegal when:
• The substitute has entered into the game, but is not on the lineup card AND after 1 pitch has been thrown during gameplay. The result is an automatic out. The player that was was being substituted out, must return unless a legal substitute is available. If the player is no longer available, and there are no legal substitutes, the spot in the lineup will be vacated and result in an out each time it comes up. If an EH (not DH) is in the lineup, they can take the defensive position of the player. If no EH is available, the defensive spot will be vacated.

Women:

• A walk to a male batter in front of a female batter will receive two bases and the female will automatically be awarded first base.  
• The team, and female batting, can forgo the walk and have the female hit. If the female decides to hit, the walked batter will still be awarded second base.
• Outfielders are not permitted in front of the designated markers during a female at bat until contact.

•                 The game can start with 8 players (in coed, 2 must be women). Once the lineup has gone through (the leadoff batter has 1 pitch thrown during their second plate appearance), players cannot be added to the lineup AND they CANNOT play the field.

• If using a DH, DH can only come into the game for the player they are hitting for. 
• This must be gender specific (men can only DH for men, women can only DH for Women)

EXTRA INNINGS:

• Game 1 of each doubleheader must be completed, including if it goes into extra innings
• If game 2 goes into extra innings and is not completed within the time limit, the game will be completed at another date and time
• 8th Inning and onward starts with a runner on 2nd base:
• The runner is the LAST BATTED OUT ONLY

THE GAME:

Game Times:

• 9:00am, 12:00pm (Harris Field & Indian Field) / 2:30pm Indian Field.
• Full season schedule will be sent out prior to season beginning
• In the event of a rain out, teams will continue on with their schedule as originally given prior to Opening Day. Makeup games for rainouts will be decided on by the commissioner.
• Weather delayed start times
• Managers will be notified night before if fields were affected by rain from the week
• If it rains the night previous to games, fields will be inspected, and if needing repair, teams will be given notice by 7:30am. This may cause a delay in start times.
• All games will be made up to the best ability of the teams involved. If no agreement is made by the end of the season to make those games the teams will be awarded a 1-1 spilt for those rained out games.
• Players will receive 2 game towards qualification per rainout, with a limit of 2 rainouts.

FORFEITS:

• A team will forfeit a game if they have less than 8 players (in coed, at least 2 of which are women) 15 minutes after the official game time.
• If a team forfeits game 1, they have 20 minutes after the forfeit time to start game two, or a second forfeit will be assessed
• Forfeiting team must cover umpires fees for each forfeited game of a doubleheader ($90 for 1 game, $180 for 2 games)
• If a team has three forfeited GAMES (not series) in the season, they will be removed from the league, and will not be refunded the league fee.
• Conceding innings - Only after the 3rd inning
• IF an inning is conceded, the next 3 batters in the lineup are to be marked as outs.
• Protesting Games - Only a manager or assistant manager is allowed to protest a game. Protests must be brought to the commissioners within 24 hours of a game's completion.
• Protest can only be registered on a rule interpretation, not on a judgment call by an official. Protests must be announced at the start of the game, or at the point of rule infraction.
• In order for a protest to be considered official, both umpires need to provide a signature in the scorebook of the game being protested.
• Commissioners will let managers know whether their protest holds merit to be considered for further review.

BEHAVIOR:

Game Dismissal/Suspension

• Any person (Managers, Assistant Managers & players) that are ejected from a game will:
• Not be allowed to remain in the team's dugout and cannot continue argument outside of the dugout.
• Remaining in the dugout or continued argument will lead to the team forfeiting the series.
• Players who are thrown out of the game are done for the day, lose eligibility for games played AND are suspended the following week
• Managers/Assistant Managers who are thrown out will meet with the league commissioners to discuss penalties
• “SMD” or any vulgar/personal attacks - Banned from the league for at least the remainder of the year. Anything longer will be at Commissioner's discretion.

FIGHTING / VIOLENT ALETERCATIONS:

• All players involved in a confrontation or violent incident are immediately thrown out of the game and can be permanently banned by the commissioner.
• Depending on the severity of the incident, players may be removed from the league for life.
• Teams who have 2 violent incidents in the season will immediately be ejected from the league with no refund.
• Police will be called for any violent incidents.
• Let's keep this SOFTBALL!

DISPUTING CALLS:

• Disputing calls must be done by Manager & Assistant Manager only, and only after the play has been completed.
• Manager & Assistant Manager need to be announced at the pre-game home plate meeting.
• Any person that is not a Manager or Assistant Manager who argues a call can be thrown out of the game, and subject to the "Game Dismissal/Suspension” rule above
• Arguing balls and strikes with the umpire is not allowed.

ROSTERS:

• Roster Limit - 25
• (Managers/Coaches are considered active players if they are going to play .)
• Roster review and revisions can and will be enforced if a team is considered to have an "A" team.
• Opening Day rosters must be submitted by March 29th, 2025 by 12p
• A traded player’s stats and qualifications will carry over with their new team. Jersey rule will be waived for first 3 weeks being with the new team.
• Once a player is confirmed on a roster (appeared in 1 game) that player cannot quit the team just to play with another team. They must request a trade from their manager and alert the commissioner.
• The team then has 72 hours (3 days) to work out a trade to receive compensation. At the end of the 72 hours the team must inform the commissioner of the player’s release or agreement to stay onboard with the team.
• A player that quits/gets released from a team will be ineligible to play for 2 scheduled playable weeks.
• Teams releasing players must inform the commissioner of the player(s) to be released.
• That player becomes a free agent and can sign with any team but has to go through waivers.
• No manager can hold a player hostage. Doing so will result in forfeiting home field for the following 2 weeks of play and be unable to make player transactions during that time.

• Non-Payment Roster Deadline is May 12th by 5pm
• TRADE DEADLINE: Tuesday July 2nd 5p.
  
• ROSTERS LOCK: Tuesday July 2nd 5p.
• Weekly Lock: Saturday Nights at 9p - Mondays at 12p

PITCHING STYLE:

YTS Coed -

• Lob Style Pitching. All pitches must have a perceptible arc (hump).
• As Pitching arm comes forward, it cannot be more than 6” away from the body (no sidearm).

Insomniac Men’s 

•                 Pitcher must have both feet in contact with the mound at the beginning of the pitch.
• First move must be forward (no rocking back)
• Pitching arm cannot go past 10 o’clock
• As Pitching arm comes forward, it cannot be more than 6” away from the body (no sidearm).

Both Divisions:

• Pitcher is not allowed to hide the ball during the pitch.
• If a pitch is determined to be “Illegal”, the umpire is to call an “Illegal Pitch” and raise his hand/s. The pitch is considered a ball. If the batter hits the pitch, the play is considered dead and the batter returns to hit, unless it is ball 4.
• 3 illegal pitches in a game and the pitcher MUST BE REMOVED FROM PITCHING for the remainder of the day (both games of a doubleheader if it applies).
• Either Umpire can call an illegal pitch.

BASERUNNING:

• Baserunners can tag from every base
•                    2 All Game Courtesy Runners. They MUST be announced at the Managers Meeting BEFORE the game so each manager/umpire can mark the courtesy runners in the lineup. Failure to do so will forgo the opportunity to use the courtesy runners.
• A baserunner can avoid an opposition’s attempt at a tag but cannot run egregiously out of the baseline to avoid the tag. It is at the umpire’s discretion to call the baserunner out.
• On a ball that is thrown out of play/into the dugout by a defensive player, runners are awarded 2 bases from the last occupied base at the point of the release of the ball.
• Pick Off - Pick off attempts are allowed by catcher. Fielder only has to touch the base while possessing the ball for the runner to be out. Runner must touch bag first to be considered safe.
• Errant throws during pickoffs - The runner must first touch the base they possess before advancing to another base.
• If multiple runners are on base, they must all wait for the ball to be errant in order to advance.
• Only the runner whose base is thrown to needs to retouch the bag before advancing on an errant throw.
• A batter running to first base can tag any part of the bag that is safest to avoid collision. Conversely, a fielder can also touch any part of the bag to record the force out at first base when the batter-runer is going from home to first.
• After reaching first base, only the white portion of the base is in play to use. If a runner goes to use the orange portion and are tagged they will be deemed out. Conversely, if a fielder tries to record a force out on the orange portion, the baserunner will be safe if they touch the white part first.

BATTING LINEUP:

• League will provide lineup cards to all teams. These cards are the official card for the game. No other card will be accepted.
• Women must bat 3rd,6th & 9th in the lineup and must play the field.
• The Lineup may contain up to 12 total batters
• This can include 10 batters playing/pitching on the field + 2 Extra Hitters

                      OR

• 9 batters from the field/pitching + 1 DH + 2 Extra Hitters
• Batting 12 in a lineup is not mandatory
• In order to start a game, a team must have at least 8 players
• In Coed, 2 of these players must be women.
• Once a team is considered to have gone through their lineup, only a woman can be added to the 9th spot in the lineup, regardless of when they show up.
• If a team only has 8 players, the 9th batter will be an automatic out for the entirety of the game.
• In the situation of 8 players and only 2 available women, both women must play the field BEHIND the pitcher (cannot play catcher).
• In the case where a team has 8 players, and only 2 women are available, only a third woman can be added to the lineup before each player in the lineup has an official at-bat. Once a team has gone through their lineup, it is locked. A team is considered to have gone through their lineup once the leadoff batter has 1 pitch thrown during their second plate appearance.
• The females will bat 3, 6 in this instance.
• If a team only has 2 females available, regardless of the number of male players available, only 9 players can take the field, with both women playing behind the pitcher. Also, the 9th batter is an automatic out (only 6 males players can bat).
• Late entry players are allowed to enter the game, and added to the end of the batting lineup only if the team HAS NOT gone around their batting lineup.
• A team is considered to have gone through their lineup once the leadoff batter has 1 pitch thrown during their second plate appearance. At this point, the lineup is considered closed and no players can be added to either the lineup or the defense.

Extra Hitter & Designated Hitter

• Extra Hitter - an additional hitter/s, which can be placed anywhere in the batting order, to get more athletes at-bats throughout the game
• EXTRA HITTERS CAN TAKE THE FIELD as a defensive switch.
• Designated Hitter - a player designated at the start of the game to bat in place of fielder without causing the fielder to be removed from the game  can only come into the game for the person they are hitting for. 
• They can only take the field for the player they are hitting for
• They remain in the same spot in the lineup
• The DH is lost for the remainder of the game

COURTESY RUNNERS:

• Teams will receive 1 “All Game Courtesy Runner” and 2 “Situational Courtesy Runners”
• The All Game Courtesy Runner must be announced on the lineup card prior to the game beginning (Umpires to decide last out or sub)
• "All Day" means the same player will receive a courtesy runner for the entirety of their time in the game. If the player is subbed out, the courtesy runner is transferred to the substituting player. Once the courtesy runner goes unused, it is lost for the remainder of the game
• "Situational" means a courtesy runner will be used after the completion of a batter's at-bat and the runner is being entered specifically for that time in the game, only.
• A courtesy runner will be deemed illegal when the substituting runner has entered into the game, but are not the last available batted out AND after 1 pitch has been thrown during gameplay. The result is an automatic out and the base the runner was on will be vacated.
• For coed, only a female in the lineup can courtesy run for a female.
• The "courtesy runner" is the last batted out in the lineup (if a "batted" out was not recorded in the inning, the previous inning's last "batted out" is the courtesy runner). The only time this is not the case is if the last batted out is also receiving a courtesy runner. Then the next batted out would be the courtesy runner.
• ******In cases where a runner is injured, and no unused substitutes are available on the bench, the umpire will allow a one-time use of a courtesy runner******
• The injured player is to be removed from the game and their spot in the batting lineup becomes an automatic out the remainder of the game, unless a substitute arrives to the field and is eligible to enter the game (listed on the substitution list & the injured players next at-bat has not come up).

GROUND / MISC. RULES:

• Umpires will discuss ground rules for each field during pregame meetings.
• If there is a play at any base, the base runner must slide or give themselves up (baserunner will be called out).
• No throwing of bats. 1 warning will be issued. Next occurrence will result in an automatic out.

DUGOUT CLEANINESS:

• Dugouts will be inspected upon arrival at the field
• Any mess found will be taken care of by commissioners
• Afterwards, it is up to each team to keep their dugout clean. Umpires will be encouraged to inspect dugouts between each series. Teams will be assessed a $25 fine for leaving the dugout dirty. $25 must be paid prior to the start of the team's next game. We are not your maid

SMOKING / ALOCOHOL POLICY:

• There is no smoking/drinking allowed in the DUGOUT OR ON THE FIELD. Permits are at risk of being revoked by the city if not followed. Have red solo cups if drinking, but smoking must be done away from the field/dugout. Failure to do so will result in a warning followed by an ejection by ump and/or commissioner, and the individual is subject to the game dismissal/suspension rule above.
• Should permits be revoked for conduct detrimental to the league, due to players/managers not adhering to the rules set by the NYC Parks Department, there will be no refunds for any teams

PLAYOFF QUALIFYING & SETUP:

Games Needed to Qualify

• 12 Games Played Men 
•                 6 Games Played Women 
•                 6 Games Pitched (For Pitchers )
• Pitchers: Official Appearance is 3 outs
• Fielders/ Hitters: Official Appearance is 1 defensive inning or 1 at bat.
•                 A pitcher must meet the hitter/fielder qualifications in order to ALSO qualify as a hitter/fielder in the playoffs.

Playoffs Format

• All teams make playoffs
• Playoff series are best 2 out of 3 games for all rounds, including the championship.
• First Round: Times will be 2 series at 8:30am and 2 series at 12:30pm.
• Semifinals: Highest seeded team gets choice of field and start time.
• Championship Series: Highest seeded team gets choice of field and start time.

Playoff Seeding Tiebreakers

• #1 Head to Head record
• #2 Head to Head Run Differential (the difference between the runs scored & runs allowed in the head to head series)
• #3 Total Run Differential (the difference between the runs scored & runs allowed in the full season)
• #4 Total Runs Scored in the season
• #5 Coin Flip

Defense

• All ASA rules for defense are to be followed.
• Outfielders need to be "camped" under a ball for interference to be called on a play from the opposite field. (ex, a player from the other field runs into a camped fielder attempting to catch a fly ball).
• The batter will be called out, and the play will be called dead. No base runners may advance.
• Defenses are allowed to "Shift" however they want, and can position players where they want.
• Normal formation of 4 outfielders and infielders is not required.
• Phantom Tags are an automatic ejection and subject to the ejection rules (loss of day’s qualifying and suspended the following week).
• Fielders cannot block any base/home plate without possessing the ball. The runner must be given a path to reach base/home. Blocking can result in the umpire awarding the base to the runner.
• ?????????? Fielders/Runners on basepaths during offline throws

UMPIRES:

Fees & Payment times

• 2 Umpires per regular season games, except in case of absence.
• In the playoffs, First Round, Quarterfinals & Semifinals will have 2 umpires. 3 Umpires will be used in the championship.
• Umpires will be paid $45 per game ($90 per doubleheader).
• If a playoff series goes 3 games, $45 dollars more will be paid to each umpire.
• Any team that does not pay an umpire, regardless if they win 1 or two games, will be assessed 2 losses.
• Payment is still due to the umpire, but wins will not be reinstated

EQUIPMENT:

Bats

• Men (modified & coed) 1 piece wood or bamboo softball bats
• Women (coed only) aluminum/composite softball bats are allowed.
• NO CORNDOGS!
• Once a pitch has been thrown, any infraction of the Bats rule will result in an automatic out for that at bat where the proper bat wasn’t used.

Footwear

• Molded or Plastic cleats, or turf shoes
• No Metal Spikes!
• A player caught wearing metal spikes is ejected from the game and subject to the Game Dismissal/Suspension rule (loss of day’s qualifying and suspended the following week).

Balls

• 1 Ball will be used per game.
• Teams should provide a “best used ball” in case of errant foul balls/lost balls.
• Game ball should be entered back into play once retrieved
• deBeer Clincher F12 - Regular