Metro Detroit Baseball Tournament Rules
TOURNAMENT RULES
Metro Detroit Baseball Tournament offers teams a rules-focused atmosphere providing a quality
experience for all involved. Unless noted prior to the event, Michigan High School Athletic
Association Rules will be used as the basis for our play, with the following notations overriding or
supplementing those basic baseball rules.
Eligibility
1) Age Requirement: May 1st, 2020 will be the designated date to determine age groups. We will honor the
Canadian age cut of Jan 1 st , 2020 for Canadian teams at AA & below. On September 1 st , 2020, we will rollover
to 2021 age groups.
CONCERNS at the EVENT
2) It’s the right of the coach to protest. Protests: The Protest Fee is $100 cash (on rule interpretation only).
Protests must be made prior to the next pitch being thrown. The Umpire(s) must be informed first of a protest
made during the game. The Tournament Director will make the final decision on all Protests. Protests that
result in an over-ruled decision will include a full refund of the fee.
Standings, Seeding Determinations, Tie-breakers, Forfeit recording.
Standings will be posted via the Tourney Machine App. Because scores matter, we ask that scores are
reported along with victories, ties, and losses. Seeding is also determined by our tie-breaker rules.
Tiebreaker rules
Overall record, Head-to-head, runs allowed, runs scored, coin flip. In situations where there are three teams
tied, head-to-head still can play a role IF there is a clear way to determine the three teams placement via head-
to-head. Many times, in a three-way tie or more, runs will factor into the equation. A forfeit will have a
tournament score recorded as 7 – 0 for tie breaker situations.
GAME PLAY
Game Times: Starting time is forfeit time, unless delay is created by tournament officials. Official game time
starts at completion of the pre-game meeting. We want kids to play baseball – and reasonable exceptions can
be made due to unforeseen issues. Teams MUST be prepared to play by their scheduled times. Game times
and field assignments will be emailed prior to tournament and posted on Tourney Machine. If you are not able
to find information on Tourney Machine or you can ask a tournament official and they should be able to assist
with getting you the information. Games may start thirty (30) minutes early due to mercy or other factors, so
please arrive to the fields at least thirty (30) minutes before start of game. Both teams must provide batting
lines ups, and teams must bat in provided order. Umpires / coaches must agree to (and note) starting time.
Except the first inning, innings start immediately AFTER the 3rd out of the home team. The first team to arrive
at the field before game time gets their pick of dugout. The home team is determined by the umpire via coin
toss prior to the start of the game unless it’s a seeded game – then the higher seed is the home team, with 1 st
seed being the highest designation. The home team is required to keep the official score book and should
check their scorebook with the opposing team every inning. If a discrepancy is found, it must be brought to the
umpire’s attention before the next inning. Teams must provide their own scorebooks.
INNINGS/TIME LIMITS
For the 8U – 12U Divisions, games will consist of six (6) innings with a 2 hour time limit. For the 13U- 18U
Divisions, games will consist of seven (7) innings with a 2 hour time limit. No new inning shall start after the
designated time limit. An extra inning may be played IF there is additional time but ties are allowed in pool
play. In seeded play or playoffs, the following TIE BREAKER rule will be enforced in extra innings: the player
that made the last out the previous inning will return to second base, the inning will start with one (1) out and
play will resume with the next player in the line-up batting.
Complete innings will be played until a winner is determined. ONLY the Championship game will be played in
full without a time limit. In the event that a tournament game cannot be completed within its time limit due to
adverse weather, poor lighting/darkness or serious injury, the following guidelines applies:
a game may be called after four innings of play (or 3 1/2 innings of play if the home team is ahead) and will be
considered as an official game played. The tourney director has right to amend this rule due to weather & time
factors on Sunday play.
The tournament director reserves the right to make changes to the schedule that are in the best interest of the
tournament as a whole. Weather may play an issue and time limits may need to be adjusted. We will make
every effort to provide all teams with best possible solution if games are adjusted because of weather issues.
If the event is canceled due to rain, no awards will be assigned – teams must win the trophies on the field.
MERCY RULES
Teams should play for at least one hour in each game.
Mercy Rules - ALL DIVISIONS – Fifteen (15) run differential after three (3) innings. Ten (10) run differential
after four (4) innings, eight (8) run differential after five (5) innings. A losing team may elect to continue to play
IF the game has not lasted a full hour. Games past the mercy will end at the conclusion of an hour of play.
Mercy rules are in effect for championship games.
Required Roster Minimums & Maximums
A team must start with a minimum of 8 players. The team can play the entire event with just eight players.
INJURIES, Line-up issues and ejections:
It is the umpire’s discretion when dealing with an injury in the line-up. Likewise, it is the umpire’s discretion
when dealing with an ejected player. MDBT does not like to punish coaches or teams for situations such as
injury or one player’s actions.
PITCHING RULES
There will be no pitching restrictions.
The tournament expects coaches to use good judgment in using their pitchers safely.
Maximum 3 hit-batters per pitcher per game for 11U-14U. (Umpire does have discretion)
BALKS:
9U-10U – Balks – Unlimited; Educational; Umpire's discretion.
11U-13U: One balk warning
14U-18U: No warnings.
BATS
Bats must comply with USSSA rules.
*14u and Younger: All bats -5 or greater must be stamped BPF 1.15. Must be a baseball bat – no restriction on
weight or length as long as bat has “BPF 1.15” stamp. All -3 bats must be stamped BBCOR. Wood bats
allowed.
**15U and older – High School rules on bats.
Bats will not be checked prior to the game. If a coach has a question about a bat, he may request umpire to
check that particular bat. If the request for a bat check becomes too extreme and a mockery to the game, all
bats from both teams will be checked. The time limit will continue to run during the bat check.
All ages may bat entire line-up, or may also choose to bat nine or ten (EH for 10 hitters). A DH is also allowed
in batting 9 or 10.
Courtesy Runners: With two outs, a courtesy runner for pitcher or catcher is allowed by coaches discretion.
Field Dimensions & Field Rules
Base/pitching rubber sizes
14U & Up – 60-90
13U: 54/80
11U/12U: 50/70
9u – 10u: 43-46-48/60-65 (46-65 preferred)
8U KID /MACHINE: 40-60
Coaching Staff
Three (3) coaches per bench for travel. Please call time-out from umpire to request to come on the field of
play.
Infield Warm-Ups
All teams are encouraged to warm-up as much as possible before game time; however, no practice may be
taken on the infield prior to the game.
Baseballs are provided by the tournament. WE expect teams to assist in returning foul balls to umpires.
Playing surface is as it remains at the tournament fields.
Base-Running
Unlimited Stealing & Lead-offs. Players may advance on dropped third strike.
9U & below: Only one steal per home on pitcher-catcher exchange per inning (does not include pitcher
throwing to another base); No advancement on dropped third strike.
8U MACHINE – See notes below on Time Out and base running.
Slide rules
We advise all players to slide at close plays – and the runner must avoid contact. This is an umpire discretion
area – and will be determined by the umpires on the field. The umpires can warn players and teams to a
forced slide in plays at the base. Malicious contact at any base is forbidden and automatic ejection.
Spikes/Shoes
8u-12u rubber or plastic sheeted shoes only. 13U & Up may wear metal cleats. WE recommend pitchers to
bring indoor shoes for portable pitching mounds at certain sites (Will be noted in specific events).
Code of Conduct
Use of tobacco products is prohibited within game field fences, on all fields and in the dugouts.
Any player or coach ejected from a game will need to meet with the tourney director for potential further
suspensions. Umpires can only eject coaches from a game.
Bad sportsmanship, foul language & Physical confrontation - This tournament has zero tolerance for any physical confrontations by players, coaches, fans or anyone else. Upon the first violation, the violating party
shall be removed from the facility and the tournament. Any profanity, verbal abuse, physical abuse by any
player, coach or parent directed towards umpires, opposing teams, park officials or tournament officials can
result in immediate team removal from the tournament as determined by the tournament director or his
assistant directors. We understand that the heat of the moment can make people do things that are not
appropriate. These situations will be handled in a case by case bases. If these occurrences happen on a
frequent basis then team maybe asked to leave the tournament. Refund will not be given.
The Tournament Director reserves the right to amend any rule, schedule, diamond location, format, combine
age brackets, to accommodate time constraints, weather situations, etc. All participants & attendees are
competing & viewing at their own risk -- and by participating, they agree to hold Metro Detroit Baseball, all
Tournament Officials, all facilities, and all umpires harmless from any liability resulting from participation in the
tournament.
MDBT REFUND POLICY
MDBT REFUND POLICY MDBT’s goal is to have teams play baseball. For teams that need to drop out, there
will be no penalty if the team drops out two weeks prior to the event. There will be no penalty if the team drops
out 4 days prior to the event, provided the bracket has 4 or more teams still playing. If the bracket drops to 3,
there will not be a refund. Any credit card charges accrued to MDBT from the cancellations will be owed by the
team initiating the refund.
WEATHER: IF TWO OR MORE GAMES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED, THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS FOR
CANCELLATIONS