CABL Playing Rules 2027

Draft, not yet adopted.

MLB Official Baseball Rules apply, except as listed below.

1. Divisions, schedules and game length

1. No new inning starts after the time limit. An inning already started is finished.
2. A 9-inning game is official after 5 innings (4½ if the home team is ahead). A 7-inning game is official after 4 innings (3½ if the home team is ahead).
3. Any game is official once its time limit runs out.
4. Mercy rule: the game ends when a team leads by 10 or more runs with 2 or fewer innings left to play.

2. Tied games and lights-out

1. Regular season: if the game is tied after the last inning or when time runs out, play up to 2 extra innings. Each extra inning starts with a runner on second base. If it is still tied after the second extra inning, the game is a final tie.
2. Playoffs: play until there is a winner.
3. Lights-out: on a field with a hard lights-off or curfew time, no extra inning starts if it can't be finished before the field goes dark. The game ends as it stands, and a tie stays a tie. A playoff game stopped this way is suspended and finished later.
4. The plate umpire confirms the lights-off time at the plate meeting.

3. Pace of play

1. The umpires control the pace of the game. There is no pitch clock.
2. Pitchers get up to 8 warm-up pitches between innings.

4. Minimum players

1. A team needs 8 players to play. With 8, the 9th spot in the batting order is an automatic out.
2. A team with 8 may borrow a player from the other team if that manager agrees. This is not allowed if an ejection brought the team down to 8.
3. A team that falls below 8 players forfeits.

5. Lineups and substitutions

1. There is no designated hitter. Bat 9 or more players, up to 18. You may add batters to the bottom of the order at any time.
2. Defensive substitutions are free and don't need to be announced.
3. The batting order can't get shorter. An empty spot is an automatic out. If a player is injured, you may instead split a shared spot or close up the order with no out.
4. Two players may share one batting spot. They stay in that spot and may not pinch-hit or pinch-run.
5. The starting pitcher may come back to pitch once. A relief pitcher who is taken out may not pitch again in that game.

6. Courtesy and designated runners

1. Injury courtesy runner: for an obvious injury, the runner is the last batted out. With no outs in the inning, it is the last out of the previous inning. In the 1st inning, it is the last batter in the lineup. Each player may have one courtesy runner per game.
2. Pitcher or catcher on base: the last batted out may run for them at any time.
3. 45+ Classic: before the first pitch, a team may name two more players who will get runners.
4. Batters 65 and older (45+ Classic): a ball that reaches the outfield grass untouched is a single. The batter may take a runner (the last batted out) but must tell the umpire before the at-bat.

7. Pitching

1. 2-3-4 rule: a pitcher must leave the mound after hitting 2 batters in the head, 3 batters in one inning, or 4 batters in a game. The umpire warns after the 1st, 2nd and 3rd hit batter. The pitcher is taken off the mound, not ejected.
2. Hit-batter counts are per pitcher, per game.

8. Bats and equipment

1. Bats must be wood or wood composite. No metal parts, and no chipped, cracked or repaired bats.
2. A player out of uniform may play if the other manager agrees. A member guest may play in baseball clothes. Jerseys are tucked in.
3. Anyone under 18 in the dugout wears a batting helmet.
4. Fake throws and tags: if a fielder fakes a throw or a tag when there is no play, every runner moves up one base. A second time by the same fielder is an ejection. Obvious fun is not penalized.

9. Conduct and ejections

1. Cursing directed at a player, umpire or fan is an immediate ejection.
2. Any other cursing gets one warning per team. The next time anyone on that team does it, he is ejected.
3. An ejected player must leave the field, dugout, stands and premises, or his team forfeits.
4. No alcohol, tobacco or vapes on or near the field. A player who breaks this is ejected. A fan must put it away or leave.
5. Protests are allowed. Declare the protest on the field when the play happens, and have both managers and the umpires sign the scorebook. Then file it in writing with the President within 48 hours, with a $100 fee.

10. Weather, field calls and suspended games

1. At the field, these people decide whether it is playable, in this order: the field contact, the Executive Board, the Commissioners, then the umpires with input from both managers.
2. A weather delay lasts no more than 1 hour, at the umpire's call.
3. A suspended game picks up exactly where it stopped, with whatever time was left on its time limit.
4. Official rainout notices come only through the TFA app and email. If there is no official notice, the game is on.

11. MLB rules CABL does not use

1. Pitch clock or pitch timer, including the limits on pickoffs, step-offs and batter timeouts.
2. Replay review and manager challenges.
3. Automated ball-strike (ABS) challenges.
4. The defensive shift restriction.
5. The three-batter minimum for pitchers.
6. Mound-visit limits.

All umpire judgment calls are final.