Rules Amended March 18, 2003

Summer 2004 Wiffleball League: Initial creation = 4/28/02 8:54 PM
Opening Day: June 5, 2003.

OVERVIEW:
This summer Wiffleball will be played for enjoyment and possibly compensation. A committee of devoted players headed by League Commissioner Dan Planton established the rules for the league, qualifications, and league design. The League intends to acquire a total of 8 teams consisting of four to six individuals to play seven inning round robin matches for the season. After completion of these 14 games per team, it is desired to have a 3 round playoff for the title of League Champion. The League Champion team will be required to split the prize money in an equal manner amongst the team participants.
A maximum of forty participants will be accepted and included primarily.  There is no maximum or minimum age; however the League Committee retains the right to refuse admittance to anyone.

Entrance Fee: $8 per participant

TEAM ASSIGNMENTS:
Those willing to sign up will do so with a team of 6-9 initial players. The team sign up sheet must be handed in to the Commissioner, with all members' waivers, prior to May 29th. A captain must be selected for each team for management and contact purposes.

ROSTERS: (Amended late June 2002)
A teams’ roster may consist of a maximum of 9 players and a minimum of 5.

TRADES:
Player transactions in the form of trades are permitted, so long as there is a majority vote amongst the trading team and receiving team. This majority rule must be followed to ensure fairness for all. Since there is a goal of prize money, voting wisely may substantially determine the outcome of games. However, there is no good way to predict the true outcome of player transactions. It is our belief that nearly all of the participants will be of semi-equal ability (Come on people this is Wiffleball we're talking about) and team selection prior to the season will work fine.

GAME SITES:
As of March 18, 2002, the games have been predetermined to be played in the back yard of the commissioner's residence, at 5940 Garden Grove Drive, Sheboygan WI, 53081. A second site is being may be considered if expansion is deemed necessary.

CONDUCT:
All participants will be required to date and sign a written waiver to disclose any legal rights to the site owner. (Forfeiture of rights to take legal action for injuries).  It is understood that the entrance fee will not be refunded for any reason after the established drop date.

All participants are expected to display good sportsmanship. Any intent to injure another individual will be dealt with strictly. Our primary goal remains to have fun, regardless of the championship outcome.

Proper language will be used at all times. Multiple offenses may result in removal from the premise, by the request of any resident of the location, neighbor, or of the League Commissioner. Don't make us use this clause. Watch your mouths and be respectful. Excessive wild behavior or rowdiness will be dealt with in the same manner. If a mess is left after games the season may be cancelled or the involved party(s) may be expelled from the league (without refund).

Intoxication: If you believe you can show up for games intoxicated or under any non-standard influence, you're badly mistaken. This action will be taken as an insult to the teams, league, and hosts. If a host or League Official has any reason to believe that substance abuse prior to or during game play has occurred, the deemed guilty party will be immediately disqualified from the current game, required to leave the premise, and will be referred to the League Commissioner for possible expulsion from league without refund. In the event that the disqualification reduces the number of players as per the Minimum Player Policy, the game shall be forfeited. If an expulsion from the league occurs a Free Agent may be signed.

Use or possession of controlled substances of any kind on the premises of any of the aforementioned game sites will result in the immediate expulsion of that player from the league (without refund).

Aside from possibly water, no food or beverage will be supplied at any game site. Any bottles, containers, or cans brought to the sites are solely the responsibility of the individual who brought them. The area must be clean before the teams may leave.

PAYOUT:
As of March 18, 2002, it is believed that the money the league receives for entrance fees will be used for only two purposes. 1) The league will take a  portion  for a grounds fee and equipment fee. Over 60 games are being scheduled and private lawns are at stake. We are working on ways to reduce wear and tear on the game surface and the grounds fee aims to cover it. 2) The remainder of the entrance money will be used for a cash reward only to the winning team.  The first place team will receive the remaining portion of the league total balance (after equipment/grounds fee).

GAME REGULATIONS:
Each game intends to be played with a five-member team at one time. If a roster contains 6+ players only five may participate  field at one time. Extra players beyond 5 may bat in the lineup – as many as 9.  Once a player is replaced they may return as per normal baseball substitutions – however they may not pinch run, except in the case of a cleared injury situation. If a sixth player is in attendance it would be appreciated if they would play backstop (behind umpire).

Since this is the summer season we are under the assumption that at nearly all games the full rosters will not be in attendance. For this reason we will be instituting a Ghost Runner Policy and a Minimum Player Requirement for all games.

GHOST RUNNER POLICY:
In the common event that a team must play short-handed a ghost runner will be permitted to take the place of a player who must come to bat if all team members are on base. The ghost runner will take the lowest number base and advance on each play as far as the batter does. (Example: John was just on third base and due to the size of his current team (3 players) must leave his base to bat, because Sam, and Lester, each got singles, placing Sam on 2nd and Lester on 1st. The ghost runner takes 1st base. Sam and Lester each move up one base. Should John get a single, double, or triple, the ghost runner will move accordingly.) A force out at home is an option on the lead runner because the ghost runner forces lead runners from his presence on first base. An out in which the ghost runner is forced will be determined by the League Official based upon the timing of the force and the reaching of first base by the batter. These should be the only situations for ghost runners due to the Minimum Player Policy.

Pinch/replacement runners:  teammates may run for one another in the event the a runner is up to bat, or in the event that a runner is cleared by the commissioner to be physically ineligible to run the bases.

MINIMUM PLAYER POLICY:
Each game must be played with a minimum of 3 players per team. If only 1 or 2 attends, the game will be forfeited. In the event that both teams must forfeit, the game will result in a tie game regardless.

If a player must leave early from a game and the team then becomes below 3 active players the game will be forfeited. If it is believed that foul play to achieve victory from a forced forfeit is at hand, the game may be suspended and resumed upon the desire of the League Commissioner or designated League Official.

In the event that a single player misses (unable to, or does not show up for at least 1 at bat) SIX total games the team of that player has the ability to drop this player from their roster (without refund) and attempt to sign a Free Agent if desired. A Free Agent is defined as a player dropped from a roster due to missed games, or individuals that were NOT IN the initial league of players. (Example: John just missed his 6th game of the season and his team has elected to drop him. His team may vote to add Bob to their team who had previously been dropped by another team, or may add Popeye, who was never on any team and would like to join the league.) The league entrance fee must be paid for this added player. The money will be added to the prize winnings. No roster shall exceed 9 players. The minimum required roster size is 5. A RE-signed player is not required to pay an additional entrance fee.

Teams are allowed to sign Free Agents who were not in the original draft to their team so long as their roster limit is not exceeded. Players may not be dropped unless they have missed 6 or more games. If a team chooses to sign players beyond 6, they may not simply drop one to reap a larger share of the prize money.

*Abuse (viewed by the Commissioner and/or League Committee) of this Free Agent signing privilege will not be tolerated. The commissioner must approve all Free Agent signings. Once dropped, the commissioner or League Committee has the authority to disallow that player to be resigned to any team.

PITCHING:
Each team must supply a pitcher who is to attempt to throw the ball either overhand or underhand over home plate. There shall be no speed limit or arch requirement for pitches, however one pitching rule does apply.  A pitcher is only allowed to pitch 16 13 innings for every three consecutive games his team actually plays in (forfeits* do not count towards the 3 consecutive).  It is the league's intention for a pitching rotation to be used.  A pitcher may be relieved and return within the same game, but statistically is ineligible to receive both the pitching win and the save.

*If a pitching-innings rule violation occurs, the game will be forfeited by the team committing the violation.  The game stats – including pitching wins and losses will still be awarded to the actual pitching winner and loser, but the game is still lost and forfeited by the violating team.  The number of innings pitched still count in the 3 consecutive games for a pitcher’s team.

BATTING:
Each player, in a maximum of 9, must take a turn batting. The order is to be determined by each team and submitted prior to each game. The players must use one of the supplied Certified League Wiffleball Bats (no carry-ins). Batters must remain in the batters box designated to hit the ball, a true violation will result in a strike on the batter.

Batting out of order -- Each time a hitter bats out of order it results in an out for his team along with accompanied ridicule for not knowing his own team's batting order. The out recorded will be a strikeout.  -- the player who was supposed to be batting will receive the strikeout and the batting order will continue with the player after the player who received the strike-out.

Bunting is illegal and an altogether wimpy way of going about batting in this league. If a player successfully bunts a ball he shall be ruled out, and the put-out is recorded as a strikeout.

Foul ball arc - A painted arc will be provided 15' from home plate in all fair directions.  The area between the arc line and home plate and between the foul lines is a foul ball zone.  The ball must roll out of this zone and into fair territory to be registered as "in play."  Since foul lines are considered fair, the arc line will be considered fair as well – if any part of the ball touches the line it is FAIR.  A fielder may enter this zone to attempt to catch a ball, and as soon as it is touched the ball becomes fair.  This is different than a regular foul ball in which a dropped ball is still foul.  Fielders may also attempt to pick up ground balls in this zone, as well, they will be considered fair as soon as the ball is touched.

Errors are not recorded; instead, they are ruled as hits.

RUNNERS:
Baserunners must remain on base until contact is made with the bat.  The presiding league official is not required to issue any warnings to any player who leaves the base early.  If the runner leaves the base early in the umpire’s discretion the runner may be declared out.  Just like the commandment, thou shalt not steal, bases that is. All bases are occupied by real baserunners, unless none are available. In this case, ghost runners (see Ghost Runner Policy) are used. They advance the same amount of bases as the batter and are thought to run just as fast as the batter in case of double play, even though we can't see them. Runners may not advance on a wild pitch.

OUTS:
Each team is allotted 3 OUTS per inning. Balls and strikes are to be determined by the presiding League Official. A Strikeout will occur after 3 strikes. A walk (1st base free) will occur after 4 balls. Being hit by a pitch does not constitute a free base. It is simply a ball.

Intentional Walks -- Once a pitcher announces he wants to intentionally walk a batter, all players and fans shall proceed to chant "You big sissy!" while the batter takes his stroll to 1st base. No pitches are necessary.

Balks -- There are no balks.
Balls and strikes are to be determined by the presiding League Official.  Strike zone from letters on chest to knees.

HOME RUNS (Field 1):
All balls hit on the fly beyond the property line in fair territory will be a home run, except the east neighbor's (foul ball even though its fair). All balls hit above and between the posts of the 'Blue Monster' in left field and land in the play structure area will be a home run. All balls hit beyond the home run rope-line in left field will be a home run.

Fielders may attempt to prevent homeruns by leaping over the rope lines and knocking the ball back into fair territory.  If this is done the fielder must leap from fair-territory and hit the ball back into play while it is in the air. 

(amended and clarified August 10, 2003) A fielder may attempt to rob a homerun by catching the ball beyond the rope line.  If this is done, the fielder must have both feet (similar to NFL football rule) established on the ground in fair territory with possession of the ball.  If any part of either foot land on the line the catch is not valid and the homerun is awarded.

HOUSE RULES (Field 1):
All balls hit into the neighbor's yard (east) will be a foul ball. It does not matter whether the ball rolls or is hit directly.

Fielders are NOT allowed to enter the East neighbor's yard to catch a foul ball. A true violation of this rule deemed by the presiding league official, will result in a BALL, not a strike for the batter.

All balls hit into the neighbor's yard (north) on the fly will be a homerun.
All balls hit in fair territory into the play structure / swing set area somehow NOT over the 'Blue Monster' will be ruled a ground rule double (i.e. hole in wall, wind pushes it around wall from fair territory).

All ground balls that hit first in foul territory are dead and foul regardless of whether or not the roll into and end up fair.  However, a ball that starts fair, rolls foul and returns fair is indeed a fair ball.

GAME LENGTH:
Each game will last 7 innings, top and bottom. In the event of a tie after the bottom of the 7th, one and only one extra tiebreak inning will be played. If the extra inning does not break the tie, the game will be recorded as a tie. Each game is also to be timed to 1 hour and 15 minutes. If for some reason the game is tied and the time limit has been exceeded no extra inning will be played. The game will result in a tie. The time limit does not signify the end of the game however. The full 7 innings must be completed except for a game in progress that must be halted due to weather conditions or a run-rule. If 4 innings have been played and the game must be cancelled, the game will be considered completed. Uncompleted postponed games may or may not be rescheduled. If left unfinished, the game will result in a tie for scoring purposes.  Statistical records for completed games will count, but if the game is left incomplete all stats are erased.

If games are cancelled much prior to start time all efforts will be made to contact each team's captain who in turn should contact his teammates.

STARTING/ENDING A GAME:
All games last seven innings. Tie scores at the end of regulation will permit an extra inning (singular!). Game Delays -- the commissioner/official and team managers declare when a game delay begins and ends. Games may be called on account of darkness. If a game does not reach four complete innings, it shall be postponed for a later date (and probably never made up).  If a game is under delay it must be completed prior to any other game being started on that day.

Extra innings -- You all know how the extra inning works right? No different than baseball.

RUN RULE:
20 runs after 3, 15 runs after 4, 10 runs after 5.

SHORT-HANDED TEAM ADDITIONS
Players not on a team's roster, but who have paid and signed a waiver may fill in for games in which a team is short.  Max amount due to fill-in may not exceed 5 or their opponent’s number of fielders, whichever is lower.  Both teams may pick up equal numbers of extra fielders if both have identical numbers of their own fielders less than 5.

SEASON SCORING
Scoring will be done exactly like MLB.  Based upon team record.

A team shall receive 2 points for a victory, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a defeat. At the end of the regular season (anticipated to be August 10th) points will be tallied and the point leader will be given the first seed for the playoff tournament (anticipated to be August 18th/19th). All seeds will follow 2-8 by order of the most points. In the event that two teams are tied in points, head to head victory will break the tie. If each team won one game or tied both in the round robin pairings then the total number of runs scored in all games all season will be the 3rd tiebreaker to determine seeding. If still tied the league will flip a coin.

RULE ENFORCEMENT:
All participants, under the supervision of a designated League Official, will follow all rules. It is the League’s intention to have one non-biased umpire at every game. If for some reason one cannot be present, the league commissioner, league committee member, or commissioner nominated official will preside over the game. This enforcer has total control and dictation over all activity and their decisions will be respected and followed without contest.

WEBSITE:
It is the league's intention to construct a website prior to opening day. This website should contain rosters, standings, limited statistics, and schedules. Web Address http://wiffleballrulez.freeservers.com

DATES for (2004 season):
Registration due date: May 18th
Preseason dropout deadline: May 25th 9:59 p.m.
Team Sign-up sheet due: May 18th
Trade Deadline: July 14th 9:59 p.m.

All Star Break: (TBA - when schedules are made)
(Amended 2003) 14 All-stars are selected.  All star team members are elected by a secret ballot of the League Committee.  Each member will rank 13 selections 1-13.  Each name that appears on every member’s ballot will be an all-star.  Election rounds are repeated selecting only the number of all-stars that need to be selected yet. (ex.  If 8 all-stars were selected in round 1 then each committee member ranks only 5 players on his round 2 ballot).  Again, all players that appear on all ballots are selected as all-stars. The process is repeated until all 13 elected positions are filled.  No special rules are required for mandatory election of pitchers or hitters.

Team assignment will be done as follows:  When the committee ranks their selections 1-13, player number 1 receives 13 points, player number 2 receives 12 and so on until player number 13 receives 1 point.  These points are tallied on each on each ballot.  In following rounds player number 1 receives x points where x is the number of players yet to be selected.  The result is a ranking of all 13 all-stars by points.  Team one consists of the players seed #(1,3,5,7,9,11,13) and Team two consists of players seed #(2,4,6,8,10,12,14).  The #1 seed ALWAYS goes to the web-based voting for the annual All-Star Fan Favorite.  If the fan favorite is already an elected All-Star then the player moves up to the #1 seed and all selected players under his ranking move up one seed.

*All-star team members are elected strictly by statistics. The best 10 hitters will be selected and best 2 pitchers. Team assignments by rankings: Team 1: Hitters 1,3,5,7,9, and Pitcher 2. Team 2: Hitters 2,4,6,8,10, and Pitcher 1. Any player has the right to decline All-star status. If this is the case the next ranked player will take his place, shifting some players up, thus possibly altering teams.

PLAYOFFS:
A playoff bracket will determine the league champion. All rounds except the championship round will be best of three games. The final, championship round will be best of five.  No player may play for a team in the playoffs who has failed to play at least one game with his/her team during the regular season.  (into effect after 2003) Also if a player has yet to pay the league entrance fee by this point they will not be permitted to play.

OTHER RULES:
Any other rule not mentioned will be followed the same way as in Major League Baseball.

DISCLAIMER:
I, , hear-by declare that I have fully read and agree to the rules above. I intend to follow them at all costs and waive my rights for legal action against my hosts. I find that all information submitted on the sign-up sheet to be accurate and up to date. Hosts are not responsible for injury before, during, or after games. Discrepancy between players must be settled privately and not on the property of the hosts. I understand the risk of lost money. I will be respectful of the properties I will play on and the properties around it. I intend to attend as many of my team's games as possible and I will strive to carpool to all game locations. I understand that I may only be refunded a fair portion of my entrance fee if the season is cancelled entirely for some outside reason. The full refund may not be available due to equipment already purchased. I agree to have my name, stats, age, and personal information published on the league's website. If I am not of legal age (18 years old), my legal guardian and I will sign this form attesting to both my acknowledgement and my legal guardian's.

Failure to abide by these rules may result in my expulsion from the league without refund.

The League Committee retains the right to alter these guidelines prior to the season, or to amend these rules for problematic situations that may arise.

Direct questions to League Commissioner Dan Planton at 920-452-8957, 608-335-1333, or via email at dplanton@charter.net , or AOL IM screen name Thedanman1102.
League Committee Members: Brian Schultz, Jon Friedl, and Aubrey Kooistra

____________________________ (Player signature) ____-____-2004 (Date)

____________________________ (Guardian signature) ____-____-2004 (Date)
(If necessary)