Modified rules add action to youth baseball
MLB and USA Baseball are promoting a modified version of youth baseball that picks up the pace and gets players more active with fewer innings, batters and pitches.
Hit and Run Baseball is part of the MLB’s Play Ball initiative announced Tuesday. Hall of famer and special adviser Cal Ripken is leading the cause.
“When we were kids, we had a chance to be creative in how to play,” Ripken said. “There is a little creative opportunity in the structure of this game. Nowadays, everything is structured for our kids.”
MLB says Hit and Run Baseball is designed to encourage youth organizations to use “alternative formats” for games, practices and tournaments.
The recommended rules for players ages eight and under include:
six-inning games
■ four batters per inning three swings per batter, with ■ no balls or strikes called on taken pitches; if no contact is made in three swings, a tee is used or a coach can side toss to the batter
six players rotating positions ■ each inning, with no outfielders; the centre-fielder roams behind the infield
no catchers; coaches catch pitches ■
“It’s not trying to teach kids how to play the game faster,” Ripken told The Associated Press Tuesday as he made the rounds from ESPN to MLB Network to pitch Hit and Run. “It’s a way to get more reps. To present the game that’s more fun. To get to make it more interactive for kids. It’s a teaching opportunity. There’s a lot of value in there. ■
“You get to learn the game better. You get to practice all aspects of the game. Even if you’re not getting any hits, you still can participate in the baserunning and different defensive positions.”
Hit and Run’s recommendations encourage coaches to add scoring bonuses for properly executed defensive plays and reward teams with an extra batter when players hustle out to the field in 20 seconds.
There’s no stealing and runners are placed on base in the third inning.
MLB said pilot programs for Hit and Run Baseball indicate players get more turns at bat and more balls are put in play.
“Hit and Run Baseball was created as a teaching tool designed to remind baseball participants that playing our game does not require a one-size-fits-all approach,” Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said.
Baseball is trying to address slow play and lack of action at the highest levels of the game, along with how those issues affect youth baseball and drawing young fans.
The average nine-inning MLB game stretched to a record three hours, five minutes last season, up from 2:46 in 2005.
This season, MLB imposed stricter limits on mound visits by players in an effort to speed games, but decided against 20-second pitch clocks for 2018.
The players’ union has pushed back against changes aimed at pace of play.
The first month of this season was the first month in MLB history to feature more strikeouts than hits, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.