Minors Baseball – Local Rules
This division focuses on developing baseball fundamentals, teaching proper gameplay, and maintaining good sportsmanship while keeping games competitive and fun. ⚾ *Local rules agreed upon by Sag Harbor and Southampton for the 2026 season.
Conduct
Players
• Verbal abuse toward a teammate, coach, or umpire – game suspension.
• If suspended, the athlete may attend the game but may not be in or near the dugouts.
Parents
• Verbal abuse toward a teammate, coach, or umpire – game suspension.
• If suspended, parents are not permitted to leave their vehicle during drop-off or pick-up.
Coaches
• Verbal abuse toward a player, parent, coach, or umpire – game suspension.
• Suspended coaches are not permitted at the field while suspended.
Equipment Rules
• Bats must have the USA Baseball certification seal (No USSSA bats allowed)
• Sneakers, turf shoes, or plastic cleats are allowed on turf fields (No metal cleats allowed in Little League)
Players on the Field
• Maximum of 10 defensive players on the field at a time.
• Teams may play with 8 total players if needed.
Stealing Rules
• 1 steal of home per inning.
• 3 total steals per inning, including the steal of home.
• Steals of other bases are allowed within the 3-steal limit.
Purpose of the Steal Limit
• Unlimited steals takes away the opportunity to teach the kids additional baseball plays (ex: encourage SS to make a forced out to 2B covering the bag, not just when bases are loaded).
• Baseball should not be about running bases on passed balls.
• Walks should not turn into triples due to unlimited steals.
Overthrows
• 1 base maximum on an overthrow.
• Encourages catchers to attempt throws to 2nd or 3rd base without fear of excessive advancement.
Batting Rules
• Continuous batting order for all players.
Mercy Rule
• 5 run limit per inning. - except for the last inning. The last inning has unlimited runs.
• 10 run lead after 4 innings ends the game.
• 15 run lead after 3 innings ends the game.
Game Length
• 2 hours limit
• Umpire may call the game due to darkness and won’t begin a new inning if it can’t reasonably be completed before dark.
Scorekeeping & Pitch Count
• Each team must have a designated scorekeeper keeping the book and pitch count.
• Pitch counts are compared between innings and recorded in the scorebook.
• Coaches must follow pitch count limits and required rest days.
Pitch Count Limits
League Age – Maximum Pitches Per Day
• Ages 6-8 – 50 pitches per day
• Ages 9-10 – 75 pitches per day
• Ages 11-12 – 85 pitches per day
• Any player who has played the position of catcher in four (4) or more innings in a game is not eligible to pitch on that calendar day.
• A player who played the position of catcher for three (3) innings or less, moves to the pitcher position, and delivers 21 pitches or more in the same day, may not return to the catcher position on that calendar day.
Pitcher Rest Requirements (Regulation VI(d))
League Age 14 and Under
• 66+ pitches – 4 calendar days rest
• 51–65 pitches – 3 calendar days rest
• 36–50 pitches – 2 calendar days rest
• 21–35 pitches – 1 calendar day rest
• 1–20 pitches – 0 calendar days rest
Pitching Rules
• A pitcher who reaches the pitch count limit may finish the current batter until the batter is out or reaches base.
• The pitcher may not start a new batter after reaching the limit.