Strike One Wiffle Ball League Rules

 

 

The Playing Field

  1. Pitching mound is 48 feet from the plate.
  2. Hit line is 55 feet from the plate. 
  3. Fair/foul line is 15 feet from the plate.  Balls stopping on the line or beyond the line in fair territory are considered in play.
  4. Doubles zone is located between hit line and outfield fence.
  5. Strike Zone is 22 inches wide x 30 inches high.

 

Equipment

  1. Only official size WIFFLE ball (8 slots on one side, lot #44) will be used for play.  Scuffing is allowed anytime during the game.  Any ball with a crack greater than ¼’’ will be removed from play.  Pitchers may bring their own ball for use in games, however, they must be an official WIFFLE ball (8 slots, #44).  Out of the box balls will be made available for play by Strike One.  Pitchers may only carry one ball on the field at a time.  Balls may not be substituted for strategic purposes.
  2. Yellow WIFFLE ball bats, 32” Black Louisville “Griffey” Replica bats and 32” Black Easton Replica bats are the only bats permitted for use.  Tape on bats cannot exceed 12” from bottom of bat.  No aluminum bats are permitted.
  3. Fielders must play barehanded.  Batters may use batting gloves while batting.

 

Game Play Decisions

  1. Balls and strikes shall be determined by the pitcher.  A pitched ball that hits a batter is considered a ball as long as the batter does not lean into a pitch (also determined by the pitcher).  Batters must stay within the designated batters box with both feet.  Any movement by a batter that is not upwards or backwards will be considered “leaning into a pitch.”  The official count is 4 balls and 3 strikes.  A batter cannot foul out with two strikes during an at bat.  The pitched ball must hit a stationary target before the batter can touch the ball.  Any batter catching a pitched ball will be charged with a strike.
  2. Fair and foul ball calls and check swings will be determined by the batter.  All balls hitting overhead netting are in play and can be caught for outs.  Fair and foul balls will be determined by where the ball lands.  Balls hitting overhead netting and landing in foul territory are foul, balls landing in fair territory are fair.  Balls hitting overhead netting and landing in fair territory are fair unless rolling foul untouched before the hit line.
  3. Singles, Double, Triples and Home Runs are the responsibility of the closest fielder.
  4. The home team will be responsible for the official scorebook.  The batting team will be responsible for their own page in the book and the sheets will be signed off by both team captains at the end of the game.  Errors count as hits for official scoring purposes.  The completed score sheets must be turned in to the Strike One office at the end of each game.
  5. The Hands are an extension of the bat WHEN SWINGING.  Any ball striking a batter during A SWING (at the discretion of the batter) is a strike.  A ball striking a batter who IS NOT SWINGING (at the discretion of the batter) is a ball.

 

Game Set-Up

  1. Games are 4 innings in length, 3 outs per inning.
  2. If game is tied after 4 innings, each team will start the 5th inning with the bases loaded.  In the playoffs, teams will play extra innings with bases empty for every additional inning until one team is leading after the bottom of the inning.
  3. Game rosters shall consist of 3-5 players.  Teams must submit an official game roster to the home team prior to the beginning of each game.  Teams may field a pitcher plus 1-2 fielders.  Teams may hit 3-5 players in their batting order.  Batting order must remain the same throughout the game.  All players on the active roster must bat but do not have to play the field.  Players showing up for a game after the game begins may not play in that game unless they were placed on the official game roster prior to the beginning of the game.  If they are on the official game roster and are not present when their turn in the order comes up the team will be charged with an out each time they come up until they arrive.
  4. Players on the official team roster but not on a game roster may “pinch hit” or be substituted defensively for an active game player.  However, that active game player will be removed from the remainder of the game and cannot re-enter.  The substituted player takes the same place in the batting order as the replaced player.
  5. A new pitcher must start each game of the doubleheader and must stay in the game for a minimum of 3 full innings pitched or 6 runs allowed.  In the playoffs, a new pitcher must start each game and throw at least 3 innings or allow 6 runs in that game.
  6. Free substitution of fielders is allowed at any time when the ball is not live.
  7. Strike One will institute a “slaughter rule” when a team is leading by 10 or more runs after both teams have taken at least 2 turns at bat.  Home team will receive their last at bat regardless of the score after the visiting team has taken their turn at bat.
  8. A “20 run race rule” is also in effect for each game.  The first team to 20 runs, with each team taking at least 1 turn at bat, will automatically be declared the winner.  The home team will not take their turn at bat should the visiting team reach the 20 run mark during the top of the second inning or subsequent innings.

 

Game Play – Pitching

  1. A pitcher (including relief pitchers) shall be allowed 10 warm-up pitches prior to his first inning of work.  He will be allowed 5 warm-up pitches for following innings.
  2. Any pitched ball striking a batter will be ruled a ball unless the batter is swinging (at the discretion of the batter).  Should a batter intentionally move into a pitch (at the discretion of the pitcher) the pitch will be considered a strike.  See Game Play Decisions Rule #1 for further ruling on “leaning into a pitch.”
  3. The pitcher must have contact with the pitching rubber when releasing a pitch.  If a ball is pitched while contact with the mound is not being made, the pitch will be called a ball.  Pitchers must start their wind-up with at least one foot in contact with the pitching rubber.
  4. Any combination of 3 missed swings and/or called strikes is an out.  Batters cannot foul out during an at bat (see Game Play Decisions Rule #1).
  5. 4 balls is a walk as described in Game Play Decisions Rule #1.

 

Game Play – Hitting

  1. Each batter must bat in the order his name appears on the official batting lineup.  Should a batter hit out of order, he will be considered out and the next batter on the lineup will take his turn at bat.  Batting out of turn must be called by the pitching team after the first pitch of an illegal at bat and before the first pitch of the following at bat.  Should an illegal at bat not be called by the pitching team the next batter will take his normal turn at bat.
  2. The batter must have both feet in the batter’s box while hitting.
  3. Single – A ball landing before the hit line on the ground is eligible for a single.
  4. Double – A ball landing on or behind the hit line in the air is a double.  Also, a ball rolling to the back fence and making contact with the fence is a double.
  5. Triple – A ball hitting the wall in the air or deflected into the wall by a fielder is a triple.
  6. Home Run – A ball landing over the wall before hitting the ground or a ball being deflected over the wall by a fielder is a home run.
  7. Bunting is allowed.  The ball must cross the 15 foot line in fair territory to be considered a hit.  Bunted balls are treated the same as balls hit while swinging.

 

Game Play – Fielding

  1. Ground balls must be fielded cleanly to record an out.  Bobbling a ground ball is allowed as long as the ball does not touch the ground after coming in contact with a fielder.  A ball may be bobbled into the air by a player and fielded cleanly in the air without touching the ground by another fielder to record an out. 
  2. Fly balls may be bobbled but must be caught before contacting the ground or wall to be an out.
  3. Maximum of three fielders, including pitcher.  Fielders may play anywhere in fair territory no closer than the pitching mound.
  4. Fielding substitutions may be made anytime the ball is not live (windup to ball being dead).
  5. See attached Double Play Rule information.
  6. If there is a runner on 3rd base and a batter hits a fly ball the batting team can call “Tag” while the ball is in the air during the balls climb.  After the fielder has made the catch, in one fluid motion he may throw to hit any part of the backstop target or Strike Zone to get the runner out at home.  If successful, the runner is out, otherwise the runner tags and scores.  All other runners hold.  If the batting team does not yell “Tag”, no play can be made on the runner at third.

 

Game Play – Baserunning

  1. No base running.
  2. No base stealing.
  3. Runners advance only the same number of bases as the value of the hit. (One base on single, two bases on double, three bases on triple).  A man on third scores on a single and a man on second scores on a double, etc.

 

Miscellaneous Rules

  1. The Strike One facility will always be open regardless of any weather condition.  Games will not be made up or rescheduled after the official league schedule is printed prior to the beginning of the league.
  2. After official team rosters are submitted prior to the first week of play no player may play on another team during the seven week season (no roster jumping).  A team can only submit a maximum of five players on their official team roster.  Should a team lose three or more players from their team due to schedule conflicts Strike One Management may allow a team to sign non-league players to their roster.
  3. Teams must pay the registration fee in full prior to the beginning of the season.  Any team not paid in full will forfeit games until full registration fee is paid.
  4. Teams may begin a game with a minimum of two players (1 pitcher, 1 fielder).  If a team cannot field a two man team 15 minutes after a game is scheduled to begin that team will forfeit the game.  The team receiving a forfeit win will be given a 9-0 victory (for tie-breaker purposes).  Should both teams not be able to field a team within the time allotted the game will be considered a double-forfeit with both teams receiving a loss and the official game score being recorded as a 0-9 loss for each team.
  5. Tie Breaker rules for playoff positioning are as follows:
    1. Head To Head Record
    2. Head To Head Runs Scored minus Runs Allowed
    3. Total Runs Scored In All Games (Highest Total)
    4. Total Runs Allowed In All Games (Lowest Total)
    5. Coin Toss
  6. To qualify for playoffs, players must play in at least 5 games of the regular season schedule.
  7. Unsportsmanlike conduct of any kind (swearing, arguing, etc.) will not be tolerated.  All unsportsmanlike conduct will be handled by the Strike One Management Staff.
  8. No alcoholic beverages of any kind may be consumed on the Strike One premises.  including the facility and surrounding parking lot areas.  Any person found consuming an alcoholic beverage in these areas will be removed from the league immediately.