These are the rules for CYBL 8U Kid/Coach Pitch (Hybrid) Division.
April 22, 2024
A. Personnel
a. Players in the league should be 8 years of age by cutoffs within the rules set by CYBL. Special
requests for players to play down or play up will be considered on a case-by-case basis after all
qualifying players are registered for the division.
B. Conduct
a. Players are not allowed to call to members of the opposing team in an attempt to distract them.
b. Managers are responsible for maintaining order, discipline and sportsmanship among the
players, coaches, parents, and fans. Managers will be responsible for making sure no smoking is
allowed for their team.
c. Managers must have a copy of the rules with them during all games.
d. Alcohol and/tobacco are not permitted in the playing field or in the bench area before, during
or after the game. Smoking at the fields is strictly prohibited.
C. Teams
a. Team selection will be made by way of commissioner allocation for this year. Going forward, if a
draft is conducted, no more than 2 players/coaches per team are to be allocated at the start of
the draft. Special considerations of player allocation to a particular team outside of the draft
order will be given if agreed upon by all head coaches.
D. Season
a. Game schedules will be determined by the commissioner and will conclude with playoffs as
close to the final game of the regular season as reasonably possible.
E. Play-Offs
a. Seeding will come from the season record. Record ties will be determined by season head-to-head matchups or as deemed by the commissioner.
F. Call- Ups
a. When a manager knows there will be less than 10 players at a game, they may use call-ups to
field up to 10 players. The callups must be obtained through the Mighty Mite Division
Commissioner.
b. Players may not be requested by name. The commissioner will maintain a list of call-ups.
c. Call-ups may not play more innings than the minimum number of innings played by any regular
team member.
d. Calls ups must bat after all regular team members in the batting order and play in the outfield when
they are playing in the field.
e. Failure to adhere to these rules will result in a forfeiture of the game by the team who violated
the rule.
G. Playing Field and Equipment
a. Bases are 54 ft apart
b. Pitching Mound is 40 ft from home plate in the center of the field
c. No bat restriction on length or diameter
d. Metal cleats are no permitted
e. Uniforms – jerseys, caps, and baseball pants must be worn during the games. All players on the
same team must have the same uniform except for call ups which must be in their complete
uniform.
f. Catchers will be behind the plate with all protective equipment including a protective cup.
g. It is recommended all players wear a protective cup regardless of position played.
H. Game Preliminaries
a. A team must have 8 players to start a game
b. All players present must be in the batting order
i. A late player will be added to the end of the order
ii. If a player leaves the game for any reason, the vacated spot is skipped with no penalty
iii. If the player leaves and returns, they will resume their place in the order with no penalty
c. 10 players will be placed in the field, with 4 outfielders
d. No players may sit defensively more than 2 innings per game
f. No player may play the pitching position more than 3 innings per game, pitching or non-pitching
g. No player may play first base more than 2 innings per game
h. Player rotation in different positions to include outfield to infield is strongly encouraged, with the one exception being if safety of the player playing an infield position is a concern
i. Failure to follow this procedure will result in a warning from the commissioner, second violation
will result in forfeiture of the game, third violation will be brought to CYBL Board for possible
further disciplinary action.
I. Starting and Ending the Game
a. A regulation game is 6 innings or 2 hours, whichever comes first. A new inning starts when the
last out is made or the 7th run scores in any inning but the last. A new inning cannot begin after
2 hours. Both coaches must agree of the last inning if there is a reason to cease play prior to
the 6th inning which will be announced prior to the beginning of the inning. If both coaches
cannot agree on the last inning, it will be the decision of the umpire and/or commissioner.
b. A legal game is 3 completed innings.
c. There are no protests at this age level. Any concerns or special circumstances will be presented
to the commissioner.
d. Base Coaches: Adult base coaches will be at first and third in the coaching box
e. 1 Defensive Coach is allowed in the outfield when their team playing defense and 1 coach
behind the catcher to help retrieve missed balls
f. A regular season game can end in a tie. A Playoff game will go into extra innings. If multiple
days are needed for extra innings, the game will be played as if it were on the day the game
started.
J. Putting the Ball in Play
a. The end of a half inning will occur when one of the following first occurs:
i. Three defensive outs
ii. 7 Runs score
b. A ball that has been hit into the outfield will be considered
dead after it has reached the infield dirt as thrown by an outfielder. Control by an
infielder is not required. If the runner is over halfway to the next base, the
runner will get the base in which the runner was advancing to. If the runner is less than halfway
to the next base, they will return to the previous base. This is an umpire's discretion call. If this
results in two base runners on the same base after time has been called, the lead runner will
stay on the base being occupied and the other base runner will return to the previous base.
This does not apply to a fly ball out.
c. Infield Fly Rule does not apply, however, coaches should teach proper fundamentals and treat
the fly ball as if it will be caught.
d. Hidden ball tricks of any kind are prohibited.
K. The Pitcher
a. Defensive team plays their own pitcher and catcher, with the offensive coach on standby to pitch to their own batters if/when the situation arises as defined below.
b. The player pitcher for both teams will be in combination with adult pitching during innings 1-3.
If it is agreed upon by both coaches due to limited pitching, this may be reduced to innings 1-2.
Adult pitching only for innings 4-6.
c. The player pitcher will get 6 pitches or 3 called balls, whichever comes first. After the 6 pitches
or 3 balls, the adult pitcher for the offense will take the rubber as the pitcher. Upon adult
assuming the pitching position, the former pitcher is still on defense within 6 feet on either side
of the pitching rubber playing the pitching position. The adult pitcher will have 2 additional
pitches to pitch to the batter for the batter to put the ball in play. A batter will continue to hit if
their final pitch is fouled off. (Example: 8th pitch, foul ball 9th pitch, foul ball, 10th pitch foul
ball, 11th pitch didn’t swing, batter is out regardless of where the pitch was located.) When
the coach is pitching there are no called balls or strikes. During player pitcher innings the umpire will call balls & strikes. If there is no umpire for a game the defensive coach will call balls & strikes from either behind the catcher or behind the pitcher.
d. Coach pitcher will have 6 total pitches to each batter (not counting foul balls) during each
of the innings 4-6 when play reverts to coach-pitch only.
The adult pitcher must make every attempt to avoid interference with a ball in play. In the
event, the adult pitcher inadvertently makes contact with a batted ball, the ball will be a live
ball.
e. If a player pitcher hits 2 batters in an inning, that pitcher must be removed for that inning.
f. If a player pitchers hit 3 batters in a game, that pitcher will not be allowed to pitch to batters for
the duration of that game. The player is still allowed to play the pitching position during adult
pitch innings 4-6 only.
g. One pitch constitutes as one inning pitched
h. Pitcher will only get 7 warm up pitches
i. Player pitchers can only pitch 3 innings per game and 3 innings per week.
j. If removed during the inning, layer pitchers cannot reenter to pitch to a batter.
k. In the event 3 games must be played in a week, pitchers will be allowed 1 additional inning for
that week.
L. The Batter
a. A league approved batting helmet must be worn while hitting
b. During player pitcher innings when balls and strikes are being called, if the batter hasn't put the ball in play or struck out the offensive team's coach will step in to pitch on the 3rd called ball. Batter gets two pitches from the coach. Foul balls do not count on the second pitch.
c. Balls and strikes will be called only when a player is pitching. If no umpire is available
to call the game, a coach from the defensive team will call balls and strikes while the player is pitching only.
d. A batter may not be called out on a foul ball, if the batter’s last pitch is fouled off the batter will
receive another pitch
e. If the batter fails to put the ball in play in the allotted number of pitches by both player pitcher
and adult pitcher, the batter is automatically out
f. After 3 called or swinging strikes, or 2 foul balls followed by a called or swinging strike, the
batter is out
g. If the batter is hit by a pitch thrown by a player pitcher, the batter is awarded first base. If the
batter is hit by a pitch thrown by an adult pitcher, the pitch is called a ball.
h. There are no walks
i. One player is allowed in the on deck circle with a batting helmet on
M. The Runner
a. If a batted ball hits a runner, the runner is out and returns to the bench like any other out.
b. Batting helmets must be worn while running the bases.
c. Interference will not be called unless it is deliberate and or willful based on the umpire
discretion
d. If there is a play on the runner at any base except first base, the runner must slide or make an attempt to avoid contact. A play is defined if the defensive player receives a ball within 5 feet of the base. If the
runner does not slide AND there is contact with a player, the runner is called out. Deliberate
barreling at any base will result in an ejection from the game and possible suspension for future
games.
e. A courtesy runner can be used for the catcher only for innings 1-3. The courtesy runner must be
the last out.
N. The Umpire
a. The umpire is the accredited representative of CYBL
b. The umpire will have authority to rule on any situation not specifically covered in the rules
c. The umpire will cover the ground rules and any other rules deemed necessary before each
game
d. Lightning will be determined by CYBL general rules
e. No manager may enter the field of play without asking and receiving timeout from the umpire
f. In case of an injured player, the umpire will call timeout/dead ball to allow treatment. The
umpire will decide where the runners will be.
g. There are no protests and all games should be played through
O. Official Scorer
a. The home team will submit scores of each game to the commissioner no more than 18 hours
after the game has ended.
b. The home team will submit names of the pitchers who player pitched during innings 1-3 with
the score of each game. Player pitcher tracking will be used for drafting purposes for Minors
draft.
*Rules not defined in this set will be governed by CYBL and the governing rules adopted by CYBL.