1. The Organization

            The Longwood Babe Ruth Baseball League of Seminole, Inc. was organized as a not-for profit corporation under laws of the State of Florida on October 4, 1988. Robert Rules of Order is the parliamentary authority on all matters not covered by the Articles of Incorporation or these Bylaws.

 

2. Purpose and Mission

Purpose of the Organization

            The corporation was organized for the purpose of promoting and assisting in efforts to provide the citizens of Orange and Seminole Counties with a nationally recognized system of organized children’s baseball and softball.

 

The following are recognized as founders of the league:

Dave Gamble

Rick Holeman

James DiProspero

Mike Conner

Buck Carper

Terry Beever

John Melillo

Steve Palumbo

 

Mission Statement

            Our mission at Longwood Babe Ruth is to develop baseball and softball players who possess the following attributes:

            A positive self image

            A spirit of cooperation and team play

            Self control over emotions and speech

            An attitude of sportsmanship

            Courage in defeat; tolerance and modesty in victory

            To accomplish our mission, we rely on parents, coaches, and players to teach and                            role model to each other:

            Discipline

            Good sportsmanship

            Good baseball skills and fundamentals

            Positive attitude

            Fairness, respect, and cooperation

 

3. Participants

            All registered children that live within the boundaries of the league and whose league age is between 4 through 18 (or as defined in the Babe Ruth League, Inc rulebook) may participate in the league. The league’s boundaries are defined and maintained by Babe Longwood Babe Ruth Bylaws. All participants must sign the Players Agreement at the start of each season.

 

4. Members

            Each Parent or legal guardian of a registered, legal age child automatically becomes a voting member of Longwood Babe Ruth Baseball League. Each member is accorded one vote. All members must sign the Parent’s Agreement at the start of each season. Any member may attend any meeting of the Board of Directors as a visitor, and may make reasonable requests for copies of board meeting minutes from the league secretary.

            A member may resign at any time. A member may be expelled from membership if by action, voice, physical demonstration, or otherwise he or she acts in a manner contrary to the purpose and missions of the league as defined in paragraph 2 of these Bylaws.

            Expulsion will require a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors present at a duly called meeting at which a quorum is established. A member may be expelled due to nonpayment of fees. The board may allow reinstatement upon payment.

            Individuals who do not have children participating in the league and other such persons as the Board of Directors determines to be interested in the activities of the corporation may be admitted as a member upon two-thirds vote of approval of the Board of Directors, donation of $5 annually to the League, and upon satisfaction of any further and admission criteria as established by the Bylaws of the corporation.

            Amendments to the Articles of Incorporation or the Bylaws require an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the corporation. The number of official, signed, will determine this majority ballots submitted at a duly called meeting of the membership.

 

5. Officers

            The affairs of the corporation shall be managed by a President, a Vice President of Baseball, a Vice President of Softball, a Treasurer, and a Secretary. The officers of the corporation shall be elected annually by the General Membership at the end of the Spring Season.

 

Elections: Members interested in running for one of the “Officers” positions must announce their intent to run with a written (or Emailed) notice to all current “officers.” An election committee, absent of any candidates for an “officer” position will be selected by the sitting president.  This committee will organize and publish the ballot, count the results, and report the results at the first possible meeting after the election. Two weeks before the Election Day, nominations will be closed and no new names will be allowed to be entered onto the official ballot. Members will be allowed to write in candidates on their specific ballot, and the ballot must be so-designed by the nomination committee.

            The annual terms for officers run from July 1 through June 30 of each year. In order to be eligible to hold office, one must be a member in good standing and a resident within the boundaries of the Longwood Babe Ruth Baseball League.

 

President: It is the duty of the president to preside at all meetings of this League and to perform all duties usually pertaining to that office.

 

Vice President: In the absence or disability of the President, the vice president will perform all duties of the president. He/she will perform all duties as instructed by the president or board of directors.

 

Secretary: The secretary will keep and record the minutes of al proceedings. He/she will give notice of all meetings, notify all officers of elections, and perform such other duties as that office may require. The secretary will keep and maintain the Corporation’s formal Minutes Binder. This binder of all official minutes will be handed down to subsequent secretaries.

            The secretary will maintain an “action list” of items and tasks that have been voted on at each board meeting. Each “Action Item” will remain open until noted as completed by the secretary. The “Action Item” list is a part of the minutes and must be approved as part of the minutes by the board.

            The secretary will make note in the minutes of any and all elections, appointments, and resignations of Board Members. The secretary is responsible for maintaining the current list of the Board of Directors, along with the addresses and phone numbers. This list will be used to determine the number of sitting directors for a quorum purposes.

            The secretary is responsible for the safe keeping of the Corporation’s Bylaws and must make sure that a revised copy is available to members upon vote of the members and board to make any changes or amendments.

            The secretary is responsible for the issuing, collection and filing of signed copies of Parents, Players and Coaches agreements for each season, both fall and spring.

 

Treasurer: The treasurer will receive and safely keep all funds of the League. The board of directors must approve any and all disbursements of funds. The board of directors may give officers specific discretionary authority for disbursements of funds, but this authority will not exceed $500. This authority must be noted in the minutes. A report must be given to the board of any discretionary monies disbursed. The treasurer will make a report of receipts and disbursements at the regularly scheduled board of directors meeting.

 

            The board of directors will approve a person or persons to perform a review of the league’s financial records at the end of each season. The approved person or persons must be deemed to be objective as to the review process. The approved person or person may not be an officer or board member. The board may approve a fee to be dispersed for this review, if necessary.

            In the event an officer of the league cannot fulfill their term of service, the Board of Directors will fill the position at the next meeting of the Board of Directors.  This can be a regularly scheduled meeting or a special meeting, if needed.  The President will notify all members of the Board of Directors no less than seven (7) days prior to the meeting that the opening will be addressed and filled at the Board meeting.  The President must also notify the members of the Board of Directors of his recommendation for the open position.  Other candidates may be nominated at the board meeting.

            If the President of the league does not fulfill their term of service, the Vice President of Baseball will ascend to the position of President as soon as the opening occurs.  The position of Vice President of Baseball will then be filled in accordance with the procedure above.

 

6. Board of Directors

            The Board of Directors shall consider, evaluate and vote upon all matters pertaining to the operation of the league. The Board shall be responsible for all matters pertaining to a good and successful operation of the league.

            The Board and/or the officers of the corporation may not act in any manner or put forth any policy or procedure that runs contrary to these Bylaws. These Bylaws may only be changed by majority vote of the general membership.

The number of members of the Board of Directors shall never be less than four nor more than twenty and shall be determined or divided into such classes as provided in the Bylaws. The officers of the Corporation are automatically members of the board and are afforded the same voting privileges as any board member.

            The following Director positions may be elected by the membership or appointed by majority vote of the elected board if the positions remain vacant after the annual elections.

 

Player Agent Baseball

Player Agent Softball

Rules Chairman

Equipment Manager Baseball

Equipment Manager Softball

Concession Director

 

            In order to improve continuity and an orderly transition from season to season, the Past President (held the office of President in prior season) is invited to sit on the board with full voting privileges. The Past President may decline the invitation, upon which the position will remain vacant. The Past President may remain in the position until replaced by the next Past President. Only one Past President may serve on the board as a Past President at any time.

            The following directors’ positions can be nominated by the President with approval by majority vote of the elected board to support the league activities:

 

Managers Representative (each Division)

Sponsorship/Fund Raising

Tournaments/Special Events

Public Relations/Communications/Publicity

Insurance

 

The Board of Directors can form committees as it deems necessary including:

Rules Committee

Protest or Grievance Committee

Nomination or Election Committee

Tournament Committee

 

            The league shall have the power to solicit funds in a manner approved by the Board of Directors. The league shall have the power to expend funds as approved by the Board of Directors.

            The President may recommend removal of a member of the Board of Directors, including elected officers.  This recommendation should be announced no less than seven (7) days prior to the meeting of the Board of Directors, and will include a nomination for a replacement or to discontinue the position.  The president must present compelling reasons to the Board of Director, and the member whose replacement is recommended may speak in their defense.  The member may be replaced or removed with a 2/3 vote of a quorum. 

 

7. Board Meetings

            Board Meetings are normally scheduled on a monthly basis, and are open to any member of the league. In order for a Board Meeting to be considered official, a quorum is required, consisting of a majority of the sitting directors, or a majority of the Officers. The Secretary will determine if a quorum is present at the meeting and record those in attendance in the minutes.

            The president will preside over the meeting, which will be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order. Board meetings generally follow the following order of business.

 

Call of order by the president or presiding officer

Roll call by the Secretary

Reading and approving of the minutes from the previous meeting

Treasurers Report

Reports of committees

Unfinished Business

New Business

Adjournment

 

            A special Meeting can be called by the President or 50% of the board members. A request must be submitted in writing to the board and be signed by 50% of the board members. The Board will determine the necessity of holding a special meeting. A quorum for a special meeting shall be a majority of the current Board members.

            The method of submission of motions shall be through the board of directors. The adoption vote requirements shall be a majority of those voting at a duly called meeting at which a quorum is present.

 

8. Seasons

            The Longwood Babe Ruth leagues will conduct two seasons per year, a fall season and a spring season. The league considers the FALL SEASONS to be instructional in nature. The emphasis of everyone involved in the fall season should be on teaching baseball fundamentals to the players.

 

9. Rules of Play

            The board of Directors has the right to make and enforce Rules of Play on a local basis, but consistent with and not contrary to any rules of regulations promulgated by Babe Ruth League. The order of which the rules will be followed is Longwood Babe Ruth Rules, Official Babe Ruth Rules and then the National Rules.

            The board may vote upon and adopt new Local Rules of Play changes at any official board meeting. However, these rule changes will not become effective until the following season.

            Rules cannot cover every given situation nor prevent the attempted circumvention of both the actual rule, and the intent and meaning of this section. The board shall have the right, when by determination of a 2/3 vote of those present and voting at a duly scheduled meeting (defined in the By-laws) to take action or remedy an attempt to circumvent the following rules (or intent). Such action could include rule changes that take place immediately, new rules or policy, or other conditions that the board may find necessary. Any changes made shall only be temporary, ending at the term of the current board unless modified/enacted via the normal rule/by-law change process.

            It is the responsibility of the Rules Chairperson to keep the Official Local League Rules Binder. All rule changes must be set forth in an official motion to the board and adopted by the Board. Upon approval of the board, the new rule or rule change must be signed and dated by the League secretary and placed in the Official Local League Rule Binder by the Rules Committee Chairperson. The Official Rules Binder will be handed down to subsequent Rules Chairpersons. The league publishes its local rules of play and makes them available to league members each season.

            Any questions regarding rules interpretation or rules not covered will be answered by a rules committee consisting of the Rules Chairman, the League President, and the affected Division Representative. A simple majority of these members will settle the rules question.

 

10. Code of Conduct

The Sportsmanship Code of Babe Ruth Baseball:

Develop a strong, clean healthy body, mind and soul

Develop a strong urge for sportsmanship conduct

Develop understanding of and respect for the rules

Develop courage in defeat, tolerance and modesty in victory

Develop control over emotions and speech

Develop spirit of cooperation and team play

Develop into a real, true citizen

            A positive and sportsmanlike environment must be maintained at all times by players, coaches, managers and spectators. No negative or derogatory comments, profanity or unsportsmanlike remarks will be tolerated. The board may vote to expel from the league any player, coach, or member after an official written warning is given by the board, but ignored.

            No alcohol or other controlled substance will be allowed at the park during league functions. Tobacco products are not allowed on the playing field or in the dugouts during the games.

            No negative or derogatory remarks made toward an umpire performance, rule interpretation or judgment calls are permitted. A player or manager may ask for appeal from the secondary umpire, who may or may not render an opinion. Under all conditions the Head Umpire will make the final ruling.

            No spectator, with the exception of parents designated by coaches or managers and participants in the team warm-up drills, will be allowed on the playing field, in the dugouts or in the warm-up areas during scheduled games.

            All players must remain in the dugout, on the playing field or in a designated warm-up area during the game. With the exception of T-Ball and Rookies, during actual play time, the team at bat may only have the first and third base coaches, batter and on deck batter out of dugout.

            No throwing of equipment, either accidentally or intentionally will be permitted.

 

Violation of This Code of Conduct

            The head umpire has the authority (until he physically leaves the park) to give warnings to or eject any player, manager, coach or spectator from the game/park found in violation of these rules of conduct, in the manner to which the head umpire sees fit. In addition, the Board of Directors has the authority to suspend or expel offending players, managers, coaches, and spectators from the game, season or league after an official written warning is given by the board, but ignored.

            Should a player, coach, or manager be ejected from a game, the offending team's manager must report the ejection to the League President within 12 hours of its occurrence. The League President may impose additional penalties to the ejected player. This includes, but is not limited to, sitting out additional games.    Appeals to additional penalties imposed by the President may be filed within 24 hours of the President’s ruling. Appeals will be heard by the Rules Chairman, Player Agent, and appropriate Division Representative. A simple majority is required to overturn or amend the President’s decision.

            If the player is ejected a second time, a two game suspension in uniform and on the bench will be imposed. With the second ejection, the player will not be eligible for All Star consideration for the current season. A third ejection will cause the player to be suspended for the remainder of the season.

            If a manager/coach is ejected a second time, a two game suspension away from the park will be imposed. With the second ejection, the manager/coach will not be eligible for the All Star manager or coach consideration for the current season. A third ejection will cause the manager/coach to be suspended for the remainder of the season.

 

11. Manager and Coach Selection

            Each manager can nominate his or her assistant coach. The board of directors will screen all prospective managers and coaches and make recommendations to the Board of Directors. The board of Directors must approve by a two-thirds majority vote the selection of all managers and Coaches. All Managers/coaches must sign the League’s Coach’s Agreement before the start of each season, both fall and spring.

            Acceptance of a Manager position requires one to provide proper paperwork and permissions to obtain the following certifications:

1. Longwood Babe Ruth Baseball background check.

2. MANAGERS/COACH'S TRAINING & CERTIFICATION either by Babe Ruth National or NYSCA (National Youth Sports Coaches Association).

            Managers and coaches may manage/coach on a second team in the same season with prior approval from the Board. No manager of a fall team will be allowed to change divisions and manage in the spring season unless this move is in the best interest of the League. This will be determined by a majority vote of the board.

            The manager and named coach must be on the field and take part in at least 80% of scheduled games. Each manager and assistant coach must sign the scorebook at the end of the game to indicate his or her 80% participation. If the board determines that a manager or coach did not take part in at least 80% of the scheduled games, upon majority vote of the board may deny eligibility for All Star Team coaching, deny eligibility for coaching or managing any future team, or if necessary, expel the person from the league.

            As part of the selection process the Board of Directors requires that all prospective Managers and Coaches posses the following qualities in order to attain a managerial or coaching position with the league:

 

Safety of the children is first and foremost

League cooperation (compliance with league rules, etc.)

Ability to teach and motivate children

Coaching Ability (basic baseball/softball knowledge)

Proper attitude toward participation, as opposed to winning (all players should feel they are part of the team)

Obtain discipline without being abusive

 

Seniority-service to the league (determined in the following order)

1) League founders will be given first priority to manage if continuous service or league membership has been maintained.

2) Managed in a specific division during the fall season, and is returning to the same division in the spring season.

3) Seniority point system as follows:

1-Point for every season as manager

½ -Point for every season as coach

One may only earn points from one position, manager or coach, per season.

(Tiebreaker will be the total years as a member of the league.

 

12. Age Division

            The league has adopted the following baseball age brackets per the Babe Ruth League Inc. rulebook in order to establish divisional play. League age is determined by the player’s age on April 30th in the year in which the spring season is played and April 30th of the next year in which the fall season is played. League age is subject to Babe Ruth League Inc. changes.

 

League Age Division

4 to 6 T-Ball

7 to 8 Rookie

9 to 10 Minor

11 to 12 Major

13 only Prep (if available)

13 to 15 Babe Ruth

16 to 18 Senior

 

13. Playing Out of Age Bracket

The word "Division" in this document refers to those defined in the chart above. Note that the BRL rulebook defines three baseball "Divisions". These are Cal Ripken (ages 4-12), 13-15 Division (ages 13-15) and 16-18 Division (ages 16-18). Longwood Babe Ruth will NOT allow a player to play down across these BRL defined "Divisions" for fall or spring play unless a waiver is received from Babe Ruth Headquarters prior to the draft.

 

Playing Up or down

            The Board of Directors will consider on a season-by-season basis if a player is allowed to play outside of his/her age bracket. In order for a child to “play up or down” a division based on ability or other reason, a committee of the league president, a player agent, and a division rep must observe the individual player.

            Upon a majority decision, and at the request of the parent(s), the player can then play up or down. The committee must report back to the board and enter its decision into the minutes of the next board meeting.

Playing down for medical reasons requires a signed affidavit by the player’s physician stating the reason and the medical opinion supporting the waiver.

If a player is allowed by the board to play down, he or she will not be allowed to play the position of catcher or pitcher (except in the Rookie Division), and is not eligible for any All Star team.

Upon completion of the season, the player must return to the draft and tryout for his or her proper age division, unless the committee of the league president, player agent and division rep agree that the player will be allowed to play down the upcoming season. The committee must report back to the board and enter its decision into the minutes of the next board meeting.

 

Swing Players:

            The League has adopted the use of the 15 year old swing player per the BRL rulebook. The League has also adopted partial use of the 12 year old swing player. The League will allow approved league age 12 year swing players to play in just one division per season (i.e. Babe Ruth Division but NOT Major Division).

 

14. Tryout Process

            With the exception of the T-Ball Division all divisions will conduct a player tryout, this tryout will consist of a brief drill designed to evaluate the player’s ability to field a ground ball, throw the ball to designated bases, catch a fly ball and hit a baseball. An attempt will be made to conduct the tryout on a consistent basis for all players. All managers and coaches within each division will observe these tryouts.

 

15. Number of Players on a Team

            Teams will be limited to 12 players. This limit can be exceeded through an exception granted by approval of both the Player Agent and the affected Division Rep.

 

16. DRAFTING OF PLAYERS AND MANAGER LOCKS

The Draft

            The intention of the DRAFT process is to provide a system that attempts to balance teams with players of similar skill levels across the number of teams per division. Only managers and named coaches who either have a player on the roster or do not have a player in the Division will be allowed in the draft room.

            With the exception of the T-Ball Division all divisions will conduct an Annual Fall Draft of all players in the division and a Spring Supplemental Draft in the spring season. In the T-Ball division the Player Agent will divide all teams equally and make all team assignments.

Conditions that apply to both the Fall and Spring season Drafts.

1. Managers must be determined before tryouts.

2. Within the Cal Ripken Division, teams will not be allowed to draft more than

eight players of the oldest age in their specific division (Rookie, Minor, Major) unless only players of that age are available within the 13-15 Division, known as Babe Ruth, each team shall include a minimum of three (3) 13-year old players and no more than five

(5) 15-year old players unless only players of that age are available.

3. Siblings in the same division will be drafted or selected onto the same team unless

their parents have requested that the siblings be drafted on separate teams.

4. Siblings in the same division will be assigned a relative skill level by unanimous agreement among the division's managers. This will allow siblings with a range of talent to be drafted or selected in a manner that might best balance the draft. If the managers cannot unanimously agree on siblings skill level, the siblings will be drafted or selected in consecutive rounds. In order for siblings to be considered for this skill level agreement, they each MUST participate in tryouts. Consecutive rounds includes the first four locking rounds.

5. Players Eligible to be Drafted

            All players properly registered (per the Player Agent) that are not locked are eligible to be drafted. This includes players that did not participate in tryouts with the following exception.

            Should the Player Agent and President agree that an advantage to a team would be created by drafting a player not seen at tryouts, the Player Agent and President can agree to place ALL players that did not participate in tryouts into a "hat". If this is the case, all players that participated in tryouts shall be drafted first per draft rules. Once all of these players are drafted, managers must then draft players out of the "hat" via blind pick. Players chosen in this manner, out of the "hat" at the draft, are considered draft picks not "hat picks".

6. Adding Players After Draft.

a. Any player that registers after the draft will be placed on a team as a

”hat pick”. In order to conduct a hat pick, there must be either a minimum of one player and two teams in need of a player or a minimum of two players and one team in need of a player. The “hat picks” will be conducted by the Player Agent with the affected managers present to pick from the hat. Managers may give the

Player Agent or another party authority to pick from the hat if they cannot attend. The order of picking from the hat will be done as a continuation of that season’s draft order. On occasion, in the best interest of a player or the League, the Player Agent, in agreement with the Division Representative, may “hat pick” a player out to a team without the minimums as described above.

b. Managers may refuse to add a player once ½ of that manager’s games have been played that season. Should a manager refuse to add a player, that manager may not add a player at a later date without approval by the Board. The Board reserves the right to add a player(s) to a team should the number of players drop to the point where games have been, or are in jeopardy of being forfeited due to the inability of a team to field nine players.

 

Locking (Freezes) of Players.

1. The intention of LOCK process is to allow players to remain together as friends on teams and offer Managers/Players from other leagues an opportunity to play Babe Ruth Baseball and still have some of their friends/players remain with them on the same team when they join our league.

2. Up to 4 players can be locked by a Manager for his team. A manager must lock his own child. If a second child plays in the same division, then the manager must lock at least one of his children. If a manager has an unlocked child, then a consensus should be attempted to be reached in the draft room to determine an appropriate round for that player. If the managers cannot unanimously agree to the sibling’s skill level, the siblings will be drafted or selected in consecutive rounds.

3. Locks must be done prior to tryout, unless a new team (Fall or Spring) is added after the tryout. "Prior to tryout" shall be a published deadline determined by the Player Agent. The Player agent shall provide this date to managers with a minimum of 7 days notification. This deadline must be no later than the night before the initial published tryout day. A "new team" is defined as a team that is created due to more players registering than planned. The Player Agent, League President, and Division Rep will decide, by simple majority, when the cutoff date would be for a team to be considered "new" in this respect. A new team may choose locks, with parent/guardian agreement, from players seen at tryouts.

4. If a team has fewer than 4 locks reported prior to tryout, they may add locks between tryout day and draft time if there are still openings for players in that division. These locks cannot be from the pool of players registered by tryout day unless this is a "new team".

5. A player is considered locked only with prior agreement with the parent or guardian. Any trades of locked players must come with the player’s parent or guardian agreement.

6. Locks carry over from the Fall Season to the Spring Season. The only way a player can be unlocked is to leave the team. Each player drafted or locked by a manager to a team has the option of not returning to the team in the spring. The player must then tryout and be available for drafting in the Spring Supplemental draft. An unlocked or drafted player who leaves a team cannot be drafted or locked back on the same team. Should the fall team a player was locked on cease to exist in the spring season, that locked player is free to be locked by a different team in the spring or reenter the draft.

7. Should a player locked on a fall team move up to a different division in the spring, he must enter the draft. He may NOT be locked on a different spring team regardless of the fact that they are in different divisions. The exception is when his parent is approved to manage in a different division.

8. If a team has fewer than four (4) locks on their roster at the time of the spring draft, they shall fill that open lock round with a draft pick following the spring draft order. This player is then considered a lock. There is no provision for carrying an open lock spot beyond the spring draft.

9. If a Manager loses a player that has been locked, he may replace the player with a player that is or is not on a division’s waiting list should one exist. Replacing a lock is subject to the rules described above.

10. If a locked player is traded, he keeps his locked status. The player that he is traded for now becomes locked even in the event he was not previously locked. A team cannot have more than 4 locked players after any trade, or that trade cannot be made.

 

The FALL Draft

1. Each fall all non-locked players within each division will be redrafted

2. The managers drawing out of a hat will determine the sequence of the draft for the fall.

3. The drafting order will be reversed in every round in which players are selected, beginning left to right.

4. The player Agent (or representative), at a meeting with all Managers in the division to be drafted, will identify all registered players and locked players. Locked players will be placed in a grid (by team) determining any vacancies in the first four rounds based on the order outlined in #3.

5. At this time all Managers who have less than four locks will pick from the pool of players that registered and participated in try outs until the grid is even at 4 across.

a. The order of picks will begin with the Manager who has the fewest locks following the process outlined in 2, 3 and 4 above, until all Managers have 4 players.

b. PLAYERS CHOSEN IN THIS MANNER WILL BE CONSIDERED LOCKS AS FOLLOWS AND SUBJECT TO ALL RULES RE: LOCKS.

1 PLAYER = NOT A LOCK

2 PLAYERS = ONE LOCK (first chosen is treated as lock)

3 PLAYERS = TWO LOCKS (first two chosen are treated as locks)

4 PLAYERS = THREE LOCKS (first three chosen are treated as locks)

6. After all teams have 4 players, locked or chosen/locked the first full round of drafting will begin, choosing in order of draw, moving left to right and reversing after each round, until the pool of players have all been drafted.

 

The SPRING Draft

1. The fall regular season standings will be used to determine the drafting order even if an end of the season tournament is played. The team finishing first will draft last, and the last place team will draft first. A new team will have the second pick in the draft. The drafting order does not reverse by round. The Player Agent will identify all vacancies on the team rosters using the grid developed as the result of the fall draft.

2. Any players that were added to rosters in a fall hat pick (after the normal draft) will be required to tryout and reenter the spring draft process, and may be selected by any team or locked by any team.

3. The first round in the spring will be after all new locks have been declared and be in the reverse order of fall finish. This round enables all teams to have a pick (per order in #1) before team numbers are equalized.

4. The number of rounds that will be required in the spring supplemental draft will be determined by the team that has the most roster openings.

5. In the spring, any team who has not locked 4 players in the fall (or any new team) may lock up to 4 players. A team will not have more than 4 locked players on it including fall and spring.

6. After all locks have been declared the draft will proceed until the player pool has been depleted.

 

Other Draft related items

            Once player’s tryout, they cannot return to their team and must be selected through the draft process. A player’s parent or guardian may not be considered for a vacant or new manager’s or coaches position until after the player is drafted on a team, unless authorized by a majority vote of the board of directors with the authorization duly noted in the minutes.

            The VP of Softball may submit an alternate draft plan for the Board of Directors to consider.  This must be done before the first Skills Assessment of any season, and may be approved by a majority vote.  If selection for all divisions is not the same, a justification of why certain age groups should be selected differently should accompany the proposal.  In the absence of a proposal by the VP of Softball, this draft will follow the procedures outlined in this document.

 

Special application to Babe Ruth/Senior Division:

            It is recognized that High School Baseball Play affects both the draft/lock player process and team strength from Fall to Spring and during the Spring season. The Babe Ruth National Rules address certain situations that affect all stars and players returning to teams. Players who are on a fall team and elect to return to their same team after the end of High School play shall have that option providing they have met all registration requirements and:

1) The team has notified the Division at the beginning of the Spring Season which players may be involved.

2) The team manager agrees to accept the returning players based on his/her assessment of team conditions.

3) The player agent examines the impact on the team and the league overall, considering player welfare, affect on team standings and potential impact on All Star selection. The player agent then must make his recommendation to the board for approval. If approved, all teams in the division will be notified of the return of these players. This process does not replace the normal Locked player rules.

 

19. Trading Players

            Trading of players may be done during the fall and spring draft, with the agreement of both managers, the player agent, and the division rep. Trades must occur before leaving the draft room. After the draft is completed, trading is prohibited. Players who are returning to a team in the spring cannot be traded without the written consent of the player and his or her parents or guardians. Trades shall be on a 'one-for-one' basis and may include players or draft slots. If a locked player is traded, the player received in the trade shall be considered a lock.

20. All Star Tournaments – Spring Season Only

            All Star Managers and Coaches will be picked in each division based on regular season divisional standings. The board may disqualify a manager or coach from All Star participation based on the adherence to the leagues Code of Conduct and Managers Agreement. In order to be eligible for consideration as the All Star Manager, the manager must have served at least one season or coach within the league, prior to the current season. The intent of this rule is to prevent first season managers from other leagues to recruit Longwood Players. The first place manager will be given the first opportunity to manage the All Star team. If the first place manager takes the team, he will then select his two assistant coaches from those that are eligible. Should the first place team manager decline the role, then the next placed team manager will be given the opportunity to manage and so forth.

            In the Rookie division, all rookie managers and the two named coaches for each team will vote for the All Star Manager. In case of a tie vote the Board of Directors will appoint an All Star Manager. The Rookie All Star manager will then select his two assistant coaches from those that are eligible.

            In the T-Ball division, an All-Star Committee will be created to recommend an All-Star Manager candidate to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors will vote to confirm or ask for another recommendation. The T-Ball All Star manager will then select his two assistant coaches from those that are eligible.

            The Board, or a subcommittee appointed by the Board, shall decide the quantity and age group of All Star teams that will represent the League.

 

All Star Player Selection

            Parents and child will have to sign an All Star commitment form before the nomination process. Managers will nominate players from their team they believe should represent Longwood Babe Ruth on the All Star team, based on the player’s demonstration of discipline, good sportsmanship, superior baseball skills, and fundamentals, positive attitude, fairness, respect and cooperation.

            The manager’s from the division will then vote for the top 9 players. The top 9 vote getters will be selected to the All Star team. The All Star manager then has the discretion to fill out the team from the remainder of the All Star pool up to a maximum of 15 players and a minimum of twelve players.

 

21. Rescheduling of Games

            Rainout games will be rescheduled by the Player agent in the order that they occur on the next date that field is available, subject to league conditions and umpire availability. No game can be rescheduled within 48 hours of the rainout so that the managers have time to notify parents, unless the parents agree at the time of the rained out game to make it up sooner.

            In scheduling rainouts, back-to-back games may occur. However, no team will be scheduled more than three games during a calendar week. Babe Ruth baseball defines a calendar week as Monday through Sunday. Protested games will be rescheduled at the end of the season if the season schedule allows.

 

 

22. Complaint Process

            Any parent who is having difficulties with a manager, coach, any league representative, or other league member is first encouraged to address the problem with the other party.

            If the problem is not resolved to the parent’s satisfaction, the parent must put the complaint in written form and forward to the league president or any other member of the board. At its next board meeting, the board will discuss the situation, decide upon proper action to be taken, and notify the parent in writing of the board’s decision and action taken. The board puts greater emphasis on written complaints.

23. Waivers

            Waivers that must be filed with any other BRL organization must first be approved by the Board.