Brotherhood comes first

1. In the spirit of Brotherhood and Islamic principles, no profanity, in any language, shall be tolerated. A team has the right to place a grievance with the Umpire if profanity was uttered in any language including English. Umpire may warn and/or expel the player(s) from the game/park. BSL Committee will review all Umpire ejections and may add to the suspension period. Repeat offenders will be suspended from future games or the league. 
 
2. No smoking is allowed anywhere near the diamonds. Any player found smoking within 50 metres of the diamonds will receive a $50 fine and reported to the city. 

 

Equipment

1. No METAL cleats or METAL jewelry will be allowed, you will be forced to remove them before entering the field of play.

 

League Rules

1. Minimum of 8 male players, 18-years-old or over, are required to play a game. If any team is found in breach of this rule at the game, team will be fined and game will be forfeited.
 
2. A 24-hour advanced notice is required if a team is to forfeit a game. Notifying the league 24 hours in advance will result in a $60 fine otherwise it will be a $100 fine at the game. The Fine must be paid by the team before its next scheduled game or the next game shall be forfeited for an additional Fine of $60.

3. A Substitute player can only be used if the team has 7, 8 or 9 regular players. The substitute can play any position but must bat last. If the team has 7 regular players, the opposing GM can allow the use of two substitutes to avoid a forfeit. 

4. Fielding team must always play a catcher if they have 9 or more players. If they have 9 players, only 3 outfielders will be allowed and a catcher must be played. 

5. The trade deadline will be as defined by the league: June 26-30.

6. A minimum of 50% of the games or weeks must be attended for a player to play in the playoffs. GMs who wish to seek exceptions to this rule for players who are in situations beyond their control, may appeal to the BSL Board and be subject to a private hearing. Exceptions will be granted only in the event of unanimous approval by the Board.

7. Illegal player: Any player(s) who are not eligible will not be allowed. Anyone who has not played a minimum of 50% of the games, will not be allowed to participate in the playoffs. If any team is found in breach of this rule, they will forfeit or be dismissed from the playoffs.

8. Pictures: BSL will require a team picture or individual pictures from all players. All teams are required to participate.
 

Game Rules

1. Game is played in 7 innings, Bases are 70 feet apart, Pitching distance is 50 feet, commit line of 28 feet, Strike Mat / Home Plate: A 2 feet by 3 feet mat.
 
2. A 3 home-run differential (over the fence) is in effect. Exceeding the limit is an OUT.
 
3. 7-run mercy rule is in effect in every inning from 1st inning to the 6th inning.
 
4. Only 7th inning is open or the final inning called by the umpire.
 
5. If a team is leading by 15 runs or more, the 5th or 6th inning will be the final inning. Home team does not bat in the 5th or 6th if leading by 15 runs. If trailing by 15 or more, the home team bats with the game ending if they are still trailing by 15 after 5 completed innings.
 
6. Batting lineup must be submitted before start of game and not in the middle of the first inning.
 
7. No player can be added to batting line up after the completion of the 2nd inning or 30 minutes after start time, whichever comes later.
 
8. After 1 pitch has been taken by a player batting out of order in a lineup and is realized by the other team or an organizer, the player up to bat will be out and the rightful player in the lineup will go to bat.
 
9. If a player is injured during play and cannot continue then he will be skipped in the batting lineup and NOT deemed as an out.
 
10. Grace period of 10-minutes from listed time will be observed before a game is defaulted.
 
11. Any team found delaying the game by the umpire will receive a warning and may forfeit the game.
 
12. Regular season rules apply for playoffs. Only players with minimum games attended are allowed to play. If any team is found in breach of this rule, the team will be dismissed from the playoffs.
 
13. No new inning shall start after one hour and twenty minutes.
 
14. If time is running short, the umpire will announce time left before cut off. If the visiting team is trailing and allows the home team to bat and time runs out during their at-bats, those runs and at bats will count towards stats and run differential.
 
15. If a game runs for one hour and thirty minutes based on the umpires clock/judgement, the game will be considered complete and the last completed inning will considered the final score. 
 
16. Complete game is 4 innings: All games will be deemed as complete after 4 full innings of play. Whichever team leads at the end of the inning will be proclaimed the winner. If the score is tied, then both teams will receive a point. An inning is complete when the home team (team batting second) has completed all 3 outs. If the game is called off before the 7th inning is complete, then the score after the 6th inning will be used to determine the winner.

17. Rainouts: Any games cancelled or stopped due to weather conditions will be deemed as a tie, unless 3.5 innings have been completed. The home team leading after 3.5 innings or if the away team is up by 7 they will be proclaimed as the winner. An inning is complete when the home team is up to plate. If the game is called off before the 7th inning is complete, then the score after the 6th inning will be used to determine the winner.
 

Batting Rules

1. All at-bats start with 1-1 count, Third strike foul is an out.
 
2. If a batted ball hits the mat or the plate it will considered a dead / foul ball.
 

3. A batter is not allowed to switch sides of the plate after taking the first pitch.

4. Any ball hit in play is considered fair even if it doesn't reach the pitcher.
 
5. When a homerun is hit over the fence, the batter and base runners have the option of walking straight back to their dugout or they can touch all the bases. There is no need to touch the next base. If a batter touches first with the bat in his hand, he is NOT out unless the ball is still in play. The batter that hit the homerun is expected to retrieve the ball if no one else has already.

 

Base Running Rules

1. Anticipation is acceptable but lead-off is forbidden. Runner(s) may leave a base only when the ball makes contact with the bat, plate or ground.  Any player that is caught leading off by the umpire will be ruled out. 
 
2. Sliding is permitted except at Home plate.
 
3. BSL enforces a commitment line and any contact by the runner with the catcher on home plate is an automatic out.
 
4. No player can be tagged out at home plate. Player will be called out if he touches the home plate while coming around to score a run.
 
5. A maximum of 3 courtesy runners are permitted during a game. The last player ruled out can only be the courtesy runner unless allowed by the opposing team.

 

Pitching Rules

1. Pitching distance is 50 feet, and Strike Mat / Home Plate: A 2 feet by 3 feet mat.
 
2. A pitched ball must have a minimum height of 6 feet and a maximum of 12 feet, as per the judgment of the Umpire.
 
3. The pitcher must have a pivot foot that does not move during the pitching motion.
 
4. The pitch must be released while the pitcher is standing parallel to the plate but he can stand up to 10 feet behind the rubber.
 
5. Pitchers must make an attempt to pitch to all batters.  For clarity, a pitcher may not throw a pitch that is blatantly unhittable because the pitch is a considerable distance away from the home plate mat. Any unusual pitches deemed by the umpire to be suspicious will result in a warning. A second warning will result in an ejection of the pitcher and the pitcher may be subject to additional penalties by the Board of Directors, including suspension or fine.

6. It is mandatory for a pitcher to wear a mask while pitching. Shin guards are optional but highly recommended. 

 

Score and Standings

1. A Win is two points, Tied games are one point, and a Loss is zero points.
 
2. The criteria used for tiebreakers are: Points, Wins, Run Differential, Head to Head, Runs Scored.
 
3. A forfeit is a loss of 10-0. The winning team players are credited with a game played while NONE of the players from the team that forfeited gets a game played credit.
 

Umpires and discipline

1. Each Captain of the team must identify themselves to the Umpire before the start of their game. Only a Captain is permitted to discuss an Umpires call with the other Captain and the Umpire. Umpires decision is Final during the game and CANNOT be reversed by the league. 
 
2. Game UMPIRE is the ultimate authority in the park. Any ejection will serve a minimum one game suspension. That player will be skipped in batting lineup as an out.
 
3. If the umpire finds anyone made a play with the intent to injure someone, that player will be automatically ejected and subject to further suspension and a fine.
 
4. Any argument with an Umpire, resulting in an Umpires decision to eject the player(s) will be an automatic next game suspension for the same player(s) for the first offence. A second ejection will result in a $50 fine and a heavy suspension. The Player(s) will be made aware of their future suspension lengths by the Committee within 5 days.
 
5. Any ejected/suspended player(s) must leave the park immediately or their team shall forfeit the game and the player will receive additional suspension. BSL Committee will review all Umpire ejections and may add to the suspension period. Repeat offenders may be suspended from future games or season. Suspended players are not permitted at the fields, if seen at the field the team will receive a forfeit.
 
6. Scorekeeper or a Committee member present at the park may serve as witnesses to the facts of a dispute. Scorekeeper must be informed with the intent to lodge a complaint and/or appeal before the end of the game or it will be negated.
 
7. The BSL Committee will convene to hear the appeal. The hearing must be attended by the appellant/agent by Thursday night at 8 PM on a conference call. Failure to attend the hearing shall negate the appeal.
 
8. All players must wear their league uniform; failure to do so will result in a $10 fine payable before the next game.
 
9. In the absence of an Umpire or Committee Member, two team Managers will mutually decide upon the person responsible to Umpire the game.
 
10. Managers are responsible for throwing away all litter/garbage in and around the dugout at the end of each game. Failure to do so will result in a $50 fine. Stat keepers will note which teams are responsible.
 
11. Any player or players involved in the consumption of any drugs or alcohol near the playing area shall be suspended and the team will be fined $200. The team that this player or players belong to will be put on probation until further notice.
 
ASA and USSSA Altered Bat Suspension Policy
BSL only allows ASA or USSSA 1.2 approved bats. All bats must be stamped by ASA or USSSA 1.2 to be eligible for play. Any bats that are altered in any way will result in confiscation and suspension from play in Canada. The offending player(s) will have two choices: 1. The player(s) can allow the BSL representative to inspect the bat and the BSL representative can reach a conclusion as to whether the bat may have been altered or, 2. The player(s) can refuse to allow the representative to inspect the bat and take an immediate Three (3) year suspension from any and all ASA Canada play with no right of appeal. Exception: Bats that have the approval stamp, but that were subsequently banned, will not be permitted
Rules are subject to change without notice by Brotherhood Softball League.