PONY Baseball Pitching Rules

July 6, 2024
Uncategorized

REGULAR SEASON SECTION OF RULEBOOK

10 – PITCHING RULES

  1. Any team member may pitch, subject to the restrictions of the pitch count as recommended by Pitch Smart Guidelines for the particular age classification.  
  2. FOAL 4U™, SHETLAND 6U, PINTO 8U:  Pitching options:
  1. For use with batting tee:
    1. The ball shall be hit off of a batting tee placed on home plate.  The umpire is responsible for removal prior to any play at home plate.
    2. The batter shall not swing at the ball until the pitcher has made a pitching motion from the pitcher’s plate
    3. The pitcher shall remain in contact with the pitcher’s plate until the batter hits the ball.  PENALTY:  A balk is called.
  2. For use with pitching machine:
    1. The pitching machine shall be located approximately 38 feet from home plate (46 feet in MUSTANG 10U™).
    2. The pitcher shall take position, always to the rear of the pitching machine, and on the left or right side with one foot on the dirt portion of the mound.
    3. If a batted ball strikes the pitching machine and remains in fair territory, the ball is in play.
    4. If a batted ball strikes the pitching machine and goes into foul territory, the ball is dead, the batter is awarded first base and all runners advance one base.
    5. The coach operating the pitching machine shall not direct or coach in any way on offense.  PENALTY:  The coach will receive one warning and the second time he/she must be removed.
  3. For use with coach pitchers:
  1. Coaches or managers shall pitch from a pitching plate 38 feet from the point of home plate (46 feet in MUSTANG 10U™)..
  2. The player fielding the pitcher’s position shall take position always to the rear of the pitching plate, and on the left or right side of the coach-pitcher with one foot on the dirt portion of the mound.
  3. Coach-pitcher must remain in contact with the pitching rubber while pitching.  He/she must throw the ball overhand.  No kneeling or pitching from the knee is allowed.
  4. The coach-pitcher shall not direct or coach their team in any way on offense.  PENALTY:  The coach will receive one warning and the second time the coach-pitcher must be removed.
  1. FOAL 4U™, SHETLAND 6U™:  Players are not permitted to pitch.
  2. PINTO 8U™, MUSTANG 10U™, BRONCO 12U™, PONY 14U™, COLT 16U™, PALOMINO 19U™ and THOROBRED 23U™ must use the Pitch Smart chart printed below. 

NOTE: The pitcher will only be required to observe the calendar day(s) of rest for the threshold he/she reached during the start of that at-bat, provided that the pitcher is removed before delivering a pitch to the next batter.

LEAGUE    DAILY MAX                REQUIRED REST (PITCHES)
AGE       PITCHES    O DAYS  1 DAY    2 DAYS   3 DAYS   4 DAYS    5 DAYS

7-8       50         1-20    21-35    36-50    N/A      N/A       N/A
9-10      75         1-20    21-35    36-50    51-65    66+       N/A
11-12     85         1-20    21-35    36-50    51-65    66+       N/A
13-14     95         1-20    21-35    36-50    51-65    66+       N/A
15-16     95         1-30    31-45    46-60    61-75    76+       N/A
17-18     105        1-30    31-45    46-60    61-80    81+       N/A
19-22     120        1-30    31-45    46-60    61-80    81-105    106+
  1. When pitching in more than one game on the same calendar day, pitchers may pitch any combination of pitches in those games provided they do not exceed the maximum number of pitches for that calendar day.
  2. Pitchers reaching their maximum number of pitches in a day while pitching to a batter, may finish pitching to that batter before being removed. 
  3. Once the umpire-in-chief signals “play” to the pitcher, that pitcher shall become the pitcher of record and their pitch count begin at that point.
  4. A pitcher is charged with the number of pitches in the specific calendar day in which they are pitched, regardless of whether they are local organization league games, the playoff of postponed games or suspended games, tie games, or exhibition games.  Rest is calculated as per calendar day.
  5. Any pitcher withdrawn from the mound and/or lineup, or a pitcher who is withdrawn from the mound and stays in the game at another position, shall not be permitted to pitch again in the same game.
  6. If a relief pitcher comes in “cold” the umpire shall allow the pitcher to warm up properly with at least ten warm up pitches.
  7. Pitchers in violation of any of the pitching rules shall be considered ineligible players, subject to penalties outlined in Rule 18- Penalties.
  8. The pitcher named in the batting order turned in prior to the start of the game or any substitute pitcher, shall pitch to the first batter or any substitute batter until such batter is put out or reaches first base, unless the pitcher sustains injury or illness which, in the judgment of the umpire-in-chief, incapacitates him from pitching.
  9. The pitcher may bring their pitching hand in contact with their mouth or lips while in the pitching circle as long as they wipe off their hands or fingers prior to making contact with the pitching rubber.   Penalty for violation of this rule is that the umpire will immediately call a ball
  10. The league should assign an official scorekeeper for each game to track pitch counts.  In the absense of an official scorekeeer, the home team book shall be the official record of game statistics including pitch count.  PONY Recommends the use of an electronic game scoring system.
  11. PONY Baseball will not be utilizing a pitch clock.
  12. PONY Baseball will not be utilizing the MLB disengagement rule.

TOURNAMENT SECTION OF RULEBOOK

  1. Any team member may pitch, subject to the restrictions of the pitch count as recommended by Pitch Smart Guidelines for the particular age classification unless modified by PONY Baseball as listed below:

NOTE: The pitcher will only be required to observe the calendar day(s) of rest for the threshold he/she reached during the start of that at-bat, provided that the pitcher is removed before delivering a pitch to the next batter.

LEAGUE    DAILY MAX                REQUIRED REST (PITCHES)
AGE       PITCHES    O DAYS  1 DAY    2 DAYS   3 DAYS   4 DAYS    5 DAYS

7-8       50         1-20    21-35    36-50    N/A      N/A       N/A
9-10      75         1-20    21-35    36-50    51-65    66+       N/A
11-12     85         1-20    21-35    36-50    51-65    66+       N/A
13-14     95         1-20    21-35    36-50    51-65    66+       N/A
15-16     95         1-30    31-45    46-60    61-75    76+       N/A
17-18     105        1-30    31-45    46-60    61-80    81+       N/A
19-22     120        1-30    31-45    46-60    61-80    81-105    106+
  1. When pitching in more than one game on the same calendar day, pitchers may pitch any combination of pitches in those games provided they do not exceed the maximum number of pitches for that calendar day.
  2. Pitchers reaching their maximum number of pitches in a day while pitching to a batter, may finish pitching to that batter before being removed.
  3. All pitchers become eligible at each level of tournament play, provided they have the rest as provided by the above pitch chart.   Rest is calculated as per calendar day.
  4. Names of all pitchers actually appearing in the game, along with the number of pitches thrown shall be recorded on the Tournament Pitching Record form on the reverse side of the first sheet of the eligibility affidavit form.  This record shall be signed by the manager, coach, or business manager of the opposing team, the official scorekeeper of the game, or the Tournament Director or their representative.
  5. Electronic scoring devices are recommended at all levels of Tournament Play in order to ensure accurate pitch count.