1. Season schedule shall be drawn with all teams present and approving. Proper notification of the date of the meeting shall be sent to all team Managers. Original schedule shall be made to complete all regular season games prior to July 20th. July 21st and July 22nd will be reserved for possible league playoff games. County playoffs will be held during the period of July 23rd through July 29th.

2. The League will be comprised of two divisions, Gold and Blue, aligned according to previous year's final league standings.

a. Teams will play each team within their respective divisions twice, and the teams in the opposite division once.

b. Top four (4) teams from the Blue & Gold Divisions make the playoffs. The TieBreaker rules apply to determine the four teams from each division. Once the eight (8) teams are determined, the teams will be seeded #1 to #8. The teams will be seeded according to their record.. The Championship game will be played on a field selected by the County Chairman.

c) Two-way tie for any seeding position. 1) Best record of the deadlocked teams against each other. 2) Best record against play-off teams. 3) Best record within their division. 4) Best record against teams seeded above you.league

d) Three way tie for any seeding 1) Same rule as above

e) Four way tie for any seeding position: 1) Same rule as c.

f) The Bracket set-up is: 1 VS 8 3 VS 6 4 VS 5 2 VS 7

g) Suspended Games: Suspended games will fall under the preview of the rules contained in the Sporting News Rule Book.

3. Postponed, Rained Out, Or Suspended Games must be rescheduled within 48 hours. The home team is responsible for making contact with the opposing team and shall notify the County Chairman of their decision within 72 hours. The County Chairman will contact the managers concerned if this is not accomplished within the time limits prescribed. Additionally, the County Chairman has the authority to revise the schedule in the final week of regular season play as may be necessary.

4. Each team must have on deposit funds sufficient to cover forfeit fees for two ball games. This fee shall remain on deposit with the league unless refund is requested at the end of the season. This fee must be on deposit before the opening game of the season or the team will not be allowed to participate in league play. The fee for 2001 is $96.00.

5. Home team is responsible for field conditions. All fields shall be regulation size with the exception of the height of the pitching mound.

6. Home team shall notify umpires if the weather or field conditions warrant postponement of the game. Umpires and visiting team will be notified of postponement at least one hour prior to game time. It should be noted, in cases where teams must travel a great distance, one hour will not be sufficient and earlier notification must be effected. Failure to notify umpires will cause the home team to be assessed the umpire fees.

7. Protest of forfeiture fees shall be in writing to the County Baseball Chairman who shall rule on the final outcome.

8. Home team scorekeeper will be the official scorekeeper. Care must be taken that only competent scorekeepers be used.

9. Winning team must notify the news media of the game results. Only by keeping the program in front of the public can we be assured of good game attendance and publicity for the participants. If time permits, it is suggested that the local Television Stations and Radio Stations also be advised of the game results.

10. In accordance with department rules we must notify the District Chairman of our representatives by midnight July 29th rain date July 30th. It is agreed that Oneida County will use every possible date made available to us by the District of Department Chairman in order to complete our season and to determine County Champion and complete our season and representatives to the District. Playoff games will begin on Aug 1. Regular season games take precedence over any practice or exhibition games if necessary such games if necessary such games will be canceled to ensure completion of regular season games.

11. American Legion pitching rules will be enforced throughout the season. All games played in or out of the league will be considered when applying the pitching rule.

12. All players are required to wear double ear flap protective helmets when at bat and when running bases. Catchers are required to wear protective helmets and masks with throat protectors in game. When warming up pitchers on the field or in the bull-pen a catcher must wear a mask. Bat Persons and Minor Age Scorekeepers must wear a double ear flap protective helmet at all times.

13. Home team managers shall prepare and sign vouchers (one for each umpire) and present to umpires at pre-game meeting usually held at home plate. The umpires will be responsible for the delivery of both copies of the vouchers to the assignment commissioner who shall forward one copy to the league treasurer who shall mail a check to the individual umpires.

14. Protest committee shall be comprised of this committee. The two teams involved in the protest shall not have a vote. The Chief of Umpires will be present to give their interpretation and to respond to questions from the committee. Each Team Manager and his Coaches shall be entitled to speak. Voting on the protest will be by secret ballot. The decision of this committee shall be final. The County Chairman shall cast the deciding vote in case of a tie.

15. Teams and/or players will be allowed dual participation with the exception of the following: Utica Municipal League, Madison League, or any similarly form of a League. Violators will be prohibited from playing American Legion Baseball unless they have since played High School or College Baseball.

16. Game time shall be 6:00 PM weekdays and 2:00 PM Saturday, Sunday, and Holiday unless another time is specified. A 30 minute grace period will be allowed before a game is declared or forfeited. This period may be waived by mutual consent of the managers involved. Home teams will be off the playing field 20 minutes prior to game time. Visiting teams warm up will follow home team warm up.

17. Proof of Insurance coverage is mandatory. Teams will not be allowed to start the season without the first securing Medical and Liability Insurance equal to or surpassing the coverage offered by the carrier suggested in the National Handbook. Certificate of Insurance must accompany completed Form 1.

18. Each team is required to maintain an appropriately supplied First Aid Kit.

19. Secure an Emergency Medical Information Card for all players. It is recommended that a card be completed for all personnel associated with a team. Players card must be signed by a parent or guardian. If any player's parent or guardian refuses (for religious or other reasons) to complete an FMI card, it is imperative that a "Hold Harmless" signature be obtained for such parent or guardian for Legion protection.

20. A player who registered on an Oneida County American Legion Baseball Team in the immediate preceding year who desires, and qualifies, to register on a different team in the current year must obtain a written release from the previous team. A copy of the release must be filed with the County Chairman on the regular form available from the Chairman and furthermore will not be accepted unless signed by the current Manager. This rule will apply in all cases not in conflict with National Rules on Recruiting.

21. At Playoff games the County Baseball Committee shall provide for all expenses (umpires, baseballs, field expense). The Committee shall receive the proceeds of all collections and donations.

22. The County Champion will be presented a pennant and the runner-up will receive a plaque.

23. Any Player, Coach, Manager, Trainer in uniform or in street clothes who is an active participant in the game will be ejected if an act of consuming alcoholic beverage is detected. In all instances ejection from the game means departure from the ball park environs. Violation of this rule will subject the individuals to further suspension.

24. Pregame practice on a neutral field in the final game or games of the playoffs will be limited to normal pregame warm up as stated in paragraph 16.

25. Teams in the Oneida County American Legion Baseball League will not allow participation on competition by any High School Athletic Year.

26. Players are not permitted to consume alcoholic beverages while in uniform or any part that identifies them as a member of any American Legion Baseball Team. Disregard of this rule will result in suspension of said players.

27. Base School Rule (adopted 4-10-86)

a. Each team must have a base school: Base School will be the school within the community (school district).

b. Players not selected by the teams who have recruiting rights in the community and/or high school may be released to other teams through written waivers. Recruiting of players by teams other than the team who has basic recruiting authority will not be allowed until recruiting teams roster in complete. This will be accomplished not later than the 15th day of May 2001. Waivers granted will be valid throughout each individual player's remaining eligibility. Enrollments will be added o the enrollment of the school the team is recruited from and no school's enrollment will be by-passed.

28. Forfeiture of games due to lack of players (adopted 3-14-90)

a. Any team that forfeits two (2) games due to the lack of players will be dropped from the league for the remainder of the regular season. All remaining games will be regarded as wins.

29. Player suspensions a. Any player suspended from a game for physical violence will not be allowed to play again until the problem is reviewed by the County Chairman. Decision will be made before the next scheduled game.

30. End of Season meeting (adopted 3-14-90)

a. County Chairman will call a meeting in September following the regular season. This is for covering any problems brought to the league and to prepare for the following year.

31. Player, Manager and Coaches suspensions: 1st Ejection: Sit out the following game. 2nd Ejection: Sit out the following 3 games. 3rd Ejection: Will be suspended for the rest of the season. All suspensions are in effect and will run through the County Playoffs and District Tournament.

32. Designated Hitter- The Professional Designated Hitter Rule as defined in the Sporting News Rulebook was adopted for league play as of 6/96. 33. Registration Rule (adopted 9-25-94) All teams will have forms #1-#76-#77+ALB #2, and Insurance copies and Birth certificate or photo copy. Turn in to (County Chairman)only, by due date set by Dept. of New York Rules. Any team not in by deadline will automatic forfeit any and all league games until turned in.

34. Non-Roster Players:

a. There will be no Non-Roster Players allowed on any Oneida County Team.

b. If a Team is caught with a Non-Roster Player, the Manager will be suspended according to the League Suspension Rule.

35. ROSTERS, INSURANCE FORMS, RELEASES:

a. All Rosters, Insurance Forms, Releases must be turned in by the Team 1st Game regardless of League or Non-League Game.

b. The Oneida County Chairman will provide a copy of all Team Rosters to each Team.

American Legion 2002 National Rules

The 2002 ALB Rules are available in Adobe Acrobat format. If you do not have the Acrobat Reader, you may download it from the Adobe website.

If you have adobe Acrobat then click here for the 2002 American Legion Baseball Rules

If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free by Clicking Here.

If you have any questions or concerns about the rule changes for 2002, please contact your State Baseball Chairman, or the Baseball Staff here at National Headquarters via e-mail at acy@legion.org. If you have questions about downloading the above mentioned file, please direct your message to tal@legion.org.