Baseball pitcher throwing on field

Summer Baseball Operational Rules for Youth Leagues

Our summer baseball standards set the foundation for youth competition in Southeastern Massachusetts. Southeastern Massachusetts Baseball Association's guidelines, refined since 1995, ensure fair play, safety, and consistent management in the Hockomock Summer League for local communities. We follow Babe Ruth league rules, adapted to local needs, and use modern safety protocols. These standards help us deliver unparalleled experiences for players ages 8U-12U and support coaches, umpires, and administrators in providing well coordinated games.

Divisions

The Hockomock Summer league provides three different divisions of play.  Below are descriptions of the divisions to help guide towns as they determine the right level for their teams to play based on skillsets.

Keep in mind the majority of players who decide to continue their baseball experience into summer are typically as good or better than the average town spring season player.  High quality baseball is played at all divisional levels.  The HSL does not tolerate "trophy" chasing at the Division 2 or 3 levels, so towns should take that into consideration when declaring teams.

Division 1
The strong majority, if not all of the roster is comprised of all-star level talent.  All of these players are consistent hitters and fielders with high baseball acumen.  Players who pitch and catch are greatly skilled in doing so. 

Division 2
Less than half of the team is all-star level talent.  The rest of the roster is comprised of players that are above average talent, but maybe have gaps in parts of their skill set.  Division 2 is a great choice if a town has more all-star players than rosters spots in Division 1, or simply not enough all-stars for a Division 1 team. 

Division 3
Teams are mostly comprised of players who would be considered average level talent in their town spring programs.  Roster exceptions also may include:
      - One or two higher skilled players, or even all-stars who are from towns that may not have enough players for a Div 1 or Div 2 team.  These higher level players should be EXCEPTIONS to a division 3 roster.
      - Lower skill players who love the game and want to keep developing

Division 3 combines 9/10U and 11/12U age groups for additional flexibility for towns who may have very low populations at certain age levels and therefore cannot field a full team at Div 1 or 2.  Towns are not allowed to declare a division 3 team if they have not declared at least one team at Division 1 or 2 at a commensurate level.  If town population issues are severe, the HSL board does grant exception reviews to this placement criteria.  

Declaration Examples:

Scenario A 
"Town A" has a high population of 12U players and a low population of 11U players.  Because there are not enough 11U's to form a team, they have a few options:  
       
OPTION 1
        - 12U Division 1 (all-star level players)
        - 12U Division 2 (above average players)
        - 11/12U Division 3 (mix of talent players at 11U and remaining players from 12U)

OPTION 2
The town could declare it's 12U teams and reach out to the HSL to indicate their 11Us do not have enough to form a team and they are seeking to work with another town to place those players.

Scenario B
"Town B" has 33 13U players.  The talent is evenly split between all-star level, average level, and below average.  While Town B could simply split the players between the three divisions, the division 3 team will likely get beaten more often than not. 

        OPTION 1
        - 13U Division 1, 13U Division 2, and 13U Division 3

        OPTION 2
        - 13U Division 1, 2 13U Division 3 teams which have the talent balanced between the two, as long as the talent is D3 level commensurate.

Please note, since younger players are allowed to play up to higher age level teams, towns should not place a mix of ages into Div 3 simply because they are not the same age.  For example, if a town has six highly skilled 10U players and five highly skilled 9U players, the town should consider placing them onto a 10U Div 2 team as opposed to defaulting simply to Div 3 because of the mixed ages.  The overall competitive makeup, regardless of age mix, still needs to be considered when declaring the team.

Please reach out to the Hock Board of Directors if you need assistance determining the best division for your team based on makeup.

Umpires

Age Requirement:

  • All umpires must be at least 13 years old.
  • Umpires under 18 are classified as Junior Umpires.

Junior Umpire Roles:

  • Junior Umpires may officiate as Home Plate Umpire in the Eight-Year-Old & Nine-Year-Old Divisions, where both umpires can be junior umpires.
  • Junior Umpires can serve as base/field umpires for all divisions ten and above.

Patch Requirement:

  • All umpires must wear league patches.

Responsibility:

  • The home team is responsible for providing two umpires who meet these requirements.

Exceptions:

  • Due to umpire shortages, exceptions to the age requirement may be considered by the Hock Board for the current season.
  • Such decisions will be made before the season starts and communicated to all town representatives during pre-season meetings.

Minimum Game Requirements:

  • 8U/9U Games - 2 Junior Umpires
  • Junior Division (10U-12U) Games:
    - D1: 1 Junior Umpire; 1 Patched Adult.  Playoffs require 2 Patched Adult Umpires.
    - D2-D3: 1 Junior Umpire; 1 Patched Umpire (adult or junior; as long as they are patched).  Playoffs require 2 Patched Adult Umpires.
  • Senior Divisions (13U-18U) Games: 2 Patched Adult Umpires​​​​​

If a Town is Short an Umpire:

There is a twenty minute grace period for umpires to arrive, starting from orignal game time.  The home team should be in contact to ensure umpires enroute and to also verify with any late arriving umpires that they are able to stay for the full game duration (i.e. if they arrive at 5:45 for a 10U 5:30 game, they still need to stay the full two hours, or until 7:45).  If they cannot, the home team must take a forfeit.  If the umpire arrival is imminent and will take longer than the grace period, the visiting team is allowed to decided whether or not to wait and play they game or force the home team to forfeit.  If the visiting team does choose to wait longer and plays the game, then the game results are final - there are no reversions to a forfeit state once the visiting team decides to play.

It is also the visiting coach's decision as to whether or not to play the game without the minimum standard (for example, one umpire does not show up but the other is present).  The SEMA Board does encourage all games where the minimum umpire requirement isn't met to be reported so that patterns can be identified and action taken to ensure this is an exception and not the rule.

There is NO flexibility for playoff games.  All minimum requirements MUST be met or the home team automatically takes a forfeit and is eliminated from playoff contention.  Late arriving umpire rules from above apply to playoff games, but once the twenty minute grace period is over, if the umpire(s) have not arrived, it is an automatic forfeit.

Call up Process

  • Teams may only call up a player(s) from another HSL-declared team (not from Friendship, Sizzler, Suburban, independent tournament teams, etc.) from the same town.  If a town needs to call up players from another league in which they participate, they should identify some of those players and roster them to their HSL team in advance.  Even if this is just for the purposes of calling up, they will then be eligible players and can be utilized when needed.
  • A team may only call up players from the same or lower age group.

    Example: A 10U team may only call up 9U or 8U players. 8U teams do not have a call-up option.

    8U Recommendation:     Use larger rosters. For towns with Friendship or other 8U league teams, consider adding some of those players to the 8U or 9/10 HSL team rosters for additional call-up options.

  • A team may only call up players from a commensurate or lower division level (e.g., a D1 team can call up from a D2 or D3 team at the same or lower age level).
  • A callup cannot be made from a team if it would disrupt that team's ability to field nine for their game.
  • Called-up players cannot pitch and must bat at the bottom of the lineup.

These rules apply to the regular season and playoffs for both Junior and Senior Divisions. 

 

Equipment

Responsibility

  • All participating member towns in the Hockomock Summer League are responsible for providing fields, equipment, and baseballs for home games.
  • All batters and base runners must wear a helmet.

Baseballs

  • Junior League Division: Acceptable baseball brands: Diamond DLL, Diamond DCR, or Rawlings RLLB (No dash variations).
  • Senior League Division: Acceptable baseball brands: Diamond DBR or Rawlings RSLL (No dash variations).
  • Diamond League:
    • Baseballs must adhere to NFHS and NOCSAE standards.
    • Players must use BBCOR stamped bats (-3) or wooden bats with a 2 5/8-inch barrel diameter.

Bats

13 / 14 Year Old Division:

  • Allowed bats: BBCOR or USA stamped bats.
  • Maximum bat length: 34 inches. Maximum BBCOR bat drop is -3.
  • Maximum bat barrel diameter: 2 5/8 inches.
  • Only composite barrel bats certified and marked BBCOR .50 or USA stamped bats are permitted.
  • Wood barrel bats conforming to Official Baseball Rule 1.10 specifications are allowed.

9 – 12-year-old Divisions:

  • Allowed bats: Alloy, composite, or wooden bats with a maximum 2 5/8-inch barrel diameter (per new USABat standards). www.usabat.com

Catcher’s Masks

  • One-piece and two-piece (skull cap & mask) catcher’s masks are allowed.
  • All masks must have throat protection via a guard or mask extension.

Playoff Format

Qualification: The top eight teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs (exceptions may be made for abnormally sized divisions). 

For D2 and D3 only: The SEMA Baseball Board will meet near the end of the regular season to review the standings and data.  Teams in these divisions may be removed from playoff contention for the following reasons:

  • If multiple teams are present in the division from the same town and they are deemed to be unbalanced
  • If a team was declared to a lower division than they should have been, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage (i.e. a D1 team declared for D2; or a D2 team declared for D3).
  • If a town is consistently overperforming in lower divisions without having teams in higher level divisions​​​​​​​

Tiebreaker Rules

If teams have the same record:

Primary Tiebreaker:

  1. Head-to-Head performance.
  2. Fewest runs allowed against tied teams.
  3. Coin toss.

Three Team or More Tiebreaker:

  1. Head-to-Head performance.
  2. Fewest runs allowed against tied teams.
  3. Coin toss.

Format

The team with the highest seed will have home-field advantage.

First Round (Weather Dependent):

  • Game One: Eighth Place at First Place.
  • Game Two: Seventh Place at Second Place.
  • Game Three: Sixth Place at Third Place.
  • Game Four: Fifth Place at Fourth Place.

Second Round (Weather Dependent):

  • Game Five: Lowest seed winner at highest seed winner.
  • Game Six: Second lowest seed winner at second highest seed winner.

Finals (Weather Dependent):

  • Game Seven: Winner of game five and game six play for championship.

Seven Team Playoff Format

#1 Seed receives a first-round bye.

First Round:

  • #2 versus #7.
  • #3 versus #6.
  • #4 versus #5.

Second Round:

  • #1 seed versus Lowest Seed.
  • Second Lowest Seed versus Second Higher Seed.

Finals:

  • Winners of second round games.

Divisions with Six or Less Teams: Format will be announced upon completion of the league schedule.

Game Rules:

  • All playoff games will be played to their conclusion, unless the slaughter rule penalty ends the game.
  • Games suspended due to darkness or weather-related issues will continue from the point of suspension.
  • All playoff games are scheduled during the week.
  • Weather-related delays will result in games being pushed back by one weekday. If games are postponed to Friday, further postponement will move the games to Monday.