Table of Contents
I. Operational Authority
II. Preservation of Amateur Status
III. Team Franchise
IV. Eligibility and Participation
V. Transfer of Players
VI. Official Team Rosters
VII. Game Regulations
VIII. Postseason Playoff
IX. Umpires
X. Rainouts
XI. Protests
XII. Collections
XIII. Team Bench
XIV. Scoring
XV. Postponed Games
XVI. Game Rules not Defined in By-Laws
CLICK HERE FOR A PDF VERSION OF THE BY-LAWS
Preamble
The Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League is dedicated to fostering and promoting competitive baseball in the community and is welcoming to all interested participants.
I. Operational Authority
A. The Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League consists of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. The Board of Directors consists of a single representative from each team as comprised during any given year. The Board of Directors shall appoint the members of The Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President(s), Treasurer and Secretary.
B. The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee is responsible for all league operations conducted during the year. The Executive Committee shall serve annually at the discretion of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may remove any officer or director for failure to execute their responsibilities properly.
C. The Executive Committee and Board of Directors will meet at least twice a year as directed by the President or Vice President. Robert’s Rules of Order will prevail at all meetings. The President or one of the League Officers appointed by the President shall serve as Chair of the meeting. Additions and deletions from the GHTBL By-Laws will be accepted in writing from any franchise, sponsor, manager or player, in good standing and will be acted upon by the Board of Directors.
D. The GHTBL Executive Committee has total authority for the operation of the league. The President of the GHTBL shall serve as Commissioner of the League and with the approval of the Executive Committee. The Commissioner shall have complete authority to make any and all judgments pertaining to the everyday concerns that might arise during the season. The decision rendered by the commissioner and/or Executive Committee will be regarded as final.
E. A simple majority shall constitute a quorum of all Executive Committee meetings.
F. In the event of the Commissioner’s absence the Vice-President shall act with total authority.
II. Preservation of Amateur Status
A. Any player participating as a member of any team in GHTBL shall not be compensated or paid for playing baseball in any GHTBL baseball game. Gifts shall include items such as tickets and items of baseball equipment such as gloves, shoes etc. This regulation has been adopted to protect the amateur status of potential and current scholarship and collegiate athletes who are, or will be, registered for participation in the GHTBL. This rule follows the NCAA rules.
B. Violation of this regulation shall cause the offending player or manager to be barred from competition in the GHTBL immediately and for the duration of the current season and until such time, in the future, when for good and sufficient reasons, said player and or manager’s application can be considered for reinstatement by The Board of Directors.
III. Team Franchise
A. A Franchise entry in the GHTBL is granted by majority vote of the Board of Directors. Upon award of a Franchise in the GHTBL the league will recognize a Franchise owner who will be the sole entity for that Franchise and will ensure the Franchise adheres to the rules and by-laws of the league.
B. The Franchise owner has discretion for naming and obtaining any sponsor funding to maintain and operate the Franchise in a manner representing the league. The Franchise owner is responsible for any operational expenses directly related to the operation of the Franchise as well as an obligation for league fees to the GHTBL.
C. The GHTBL retains the right to reject any team name or sponsor as determined by majority vote of The Board of Directors.
D. Franchise owner has right to select a General Manager, Coaching Staff and Player Roster. Eligible players for the roster are defined in the Player section of the by-laws. Any member of a Franchise may be excluded from the GHTBL at the direction of the President or majority vote of the Board of Directors.
E. Once established in the GHTBL, the franchise is retained continuously from year to year until and unless they shall (any one):
- Fail to annually sponsor a team
- At any time, through official sources, relinquish the franchise.
- Fail to comply with and adhere to all GHTBL standards and requirements as interpreted by the GHTBL Board of Directors.
F. Franchise Requirements
- Obtain sponsorship or funding for full and complete baseball uniforms and operation;
- Approved League Balls and Bats; and,
- Acceptable playing fields and required number of home dates.
G. New Franchise Requirements for Entry Into the League
- A letter from franchise listing tentative roster with at least 15 players of Twilight League caliber. Included should be information on players such as what schools they have or are playing for as well as any baseball experience they have had.
- Will supply information regarding the facilities that will be used for the season and dates for scheduled games. This can be reviewed by the President if there are circumstances that exist and further that the team would enhance the league.
- Names of managers/coaches and any experience they have had.
- No new team coming into the league may have any players on their roster that were on the ending roster of any team in the league the prior year.
- New Franchise must indicate in writing to the GHTBL Executive Committee intentions to play in the league on or before March 1 of the new year.
H. First year franchise must pay the entire league fee by May 15th of the current season. If payment is not complete by this date the franchise shall be dismissed from the league.
I. Non-first year franchises are due one half of the league fees by May 15th, amount to be determined by the Executive Committee prior to the start of the season. Remainder of league fees shall be payable on or before July 1st of the current season.
J. If any franchise has not satisfied their financial obligations by stated due date the principal franchise owner shall be dismissed and the franchise is available to anyone to acquire at the acceptance of the Board of Directors.
H. The Executive Committee retains the right to alter any concerns regarding sections H, I and J at their discretion.
IV. Eligibility and Participation
A. Any player who has not participated during the current season as a member of the GHTBL team or listed on the final roster of the previous season may be signed and claimed by any GHTBL manager. Any final roster that contains a player inactive for the season shall be considered unrestricted and available to play for any team (including team currently listed).
B. Players who actively participate on the playing field must make their appearance in a complete baseball uniform including team hats as defined by MLB American League baseball rules (for the duration of the baseball game).
C. Any uniformed player, substitute player or team manager who drinks intoxicating beverages on or in the vicinity of any baseball field where GHTBL games are about to be played, or are being played, shall be suspended for a period of which will include the next (3) three league games which his team is scheduled to play and a $25.00 fine (in each instance) shall be imposed and become due and payable by the offending team or teams to the GHTBL treasurer, not later than 48 hours after the violation occurs.
D. Adherence to MLB dugout decorum shall be followed. Any Tobacco, Alcohol, Vaping, controlled substances or music not associated with the public address system shall be banned from use in the dugout, field of play or immediate surrounding stands. Violation will be enforced by on field umpires, GHTBL Executives, GHTBL Board of Director or GHTBL Team Managers. The offending person shall be suspended from the current game and maybe subject to additional discipline from the Executive Board.
E. Player leaving GHTBL team is responsible to return all uniforms and issued equipment. Uniforms not returned will prevent any player from participation in any GHTBL game until uniform is returned.
F. There are no age or sex restrictions for participation in the GHTBL.
V. Transfer of Players
A. Any player who participated in a GHTBL game (in whole or part) cannot participate as an active member of any other GHTBL team during the current season unless released by that team or extenuating circumstances are presented to Executive Committee for review and consideration.
B. Any official player releases must originate from current Team Manager providing written notification and mailed to the league office or emailed to league at Contact@GHTBL.org. Any release is pending until processed by The League Secretary and subject to approval from the League President or designee.
C. Any team manager who plays a player who has not been officially released will forfeit the game in which the ineligible player played and the player involved will be barred from participation in the GHTBL throughout the duration of the current season.
VI. Official Team Rosters
A. Official Team Rosters shall be limited to 30 active players.
B. Game Lineup provided to the umpire at the start of the game must list all players eligible for that game. Any player not listed is ineligible for that game.
C. Players are eligible for participation in the GHTBL Playoff series with a minimum of 5 GHTBL games appearances.
D. No team can voluntarily lose more than two (2) players from it’s roster from the end of the season to the beginning of the next season. Any player who wants a release, including these two players must notify a league official in writing or email before May 1. The players must return any uniforms and equipment before the release can be official. The league will notify the team manager.
E. No player can leave 1st or 2nd year teams unless released by their manager.
F. No new team coming into the league may have any players on their roster that are on the ending season roster of any team in the league the previous year. An exception can be made by the President of the League for the betterment of the league.
VII. Game Regulations*
A. Each GHTBL team shall report for scheduled games with enough players to field a complete team (9 players).
B. All GHTBL games must start promptly at the scheduled time or as ruled by attending umpire(s).
C. A grace period of 30 minutes, however, is allowed when legitimate reasonable circumstances make it impossible for any team manager to field a team of nine men at the scheduled game time unless additional time is requested by the home team manager due to circumstances that are unusual and approved by the President. In that case, the game must start immediately when the 9th player arrives.
D. No game will end in a tie. Any game not completed will continue at the point of suspension at the earliest date available. This will be any game regardless of how many innings have been played. No game will be played over from the start unless determine by the Executive Committee.
E. There shall be no recourse if the umpire declares a forfeit after the grace period at the start of a game because a contesting team has been unable to field 9 men during the game. A manager or coach not listed as an active player on the roster may be utilized to complete the 9 player team in this situation only.
F. Any team which forfeits three (3) games during the regular season (including playoffs) shall be dropped from the GHTBL and all future opponents shall be credited with a “Forfeit win” on their scheduled game date. Will Forfeit all payments (entry fees, fines etc) in whole or part which have been made to the GHTBL First Forfeit – $50.00 penalty, second forfeit $100.00 must be paid to the treasurer.
G. A game is considered a regulation game — also known as an “official game” — once the visiting team has made 15 outs (five innings) and the home team is leading, or once the home team has made 15 outs regardless of score (see Section VII D). If a field has lights, the decision to use lights to complete a game must be determined prior to the start of the game.
VIII. Postseason Playoff
A. Post-season Playoff format will be determined and announced prior to the start of the regular season. The Executive Committee has empowerment to alter playoff format during the season to address any extenuating circumstances.
B. A Playoff Roster must be submitted prior to the first playoff game played by the league. No additions can be made to the playoff roster once submitted. The Roster will be reviewed by the Executive Committee for validation of player eligibility.
C. In the result of a tie for Regular Season champion, a one game playoff will be scheduled to determine the champion. This game may be eliminated if both managers agree to a co-championship. If a co-Championship is elected, then seeding for the playoff will defer to:
- The Co-Champions head-to-head regular season record.
- If the head-to-head record also result in a tie seeding will then default to a coin flip conducted by the Executive Committee.
D. Season records determine the remaining seedings. If there is a tie for any seeding, regular season head-to-head record will prevail; if head-to-head record results in a tie a coin flip will then be implemented conducted by the Executive Committee. If there is more than two teams for any seeding position the process then be selected by lot.
E. No playoff game shall end in a tie. The game will be continued on the next available date. Each playoff game, in case of rain or other condition must complete 7 innings of play to be considered final.
IX. Umpires
A. GHTBL Umpires will be assigned by a Board of Approved Umpires selected by the Executive Committee.
B. The GHTBL Umpires will have full and complete charge of the game to which they are assigned and shall be responsible for the proper conduct of said games.
C. Any uniformed player, substitute player or team manager who is ejected from any GHTBL game for any reason by the umpire will leave the ball field and the immediate seating areas at the discretion of the umpire.
D. Any infraction must be presented to the President or Executive Board in writing for review and determination of disciplinary action.
E. If the infraction is found to be valid, the involved player/players, substitute player/players and or team manager can face a suspension at the discretion of the President or Vice-President.
X. Rainouts
A. Regardless of weather conditions, the scheduled teams must report ready to play unless the team manager in each instance has been notified by an officer of the league that the scheduled game has been postponed.
B. All postponed games shall be scheduled to a future date no later than one week of the postponement. The game need not be played within one week, only that it has to be scheduled.
XI. Protests
A. Each protest must be submitted in written form with a $50.00 protest fee, to the GHTBL President or one of his assistants, not later than 48 hours after the conclusions of the protested game. When a protest is judged to be valid, the protest fee shall be returned. When the protest is judged to be not valid the protest fee shall be forfeited and allocated to the GHTBL treasury.
XII. Collections
A. Collections at various scheduled games shall be at discretion of home and all proceeds go to home team.
B. Postseason game collections, donations and other sources of revenues are to be turned over to GHTBL treasurer.
XIII. Team Bench
A. Only uniformed players and official personnel (Manager, maximum of three uniformed coaches, scorer, certified trainer, bat attendant) permitted on bench.
XIV. Scoring
A. Home Team is responsible to provide an official scorer for each scheduled GHTBL game.
B. Home team is required to contact The Hartford Courant immediately at the conclusion of the game. Each team is also requested to call or give information to their own local media.
C. All scores and stats must be input on the league website within 48 hours.
D. Scoring shall follow the MLB statistic guidelines with the following modification:
- The number of innings pitched to be considered for a win is a minimum of 5.
- An Official game is 4 1⁄2 – 5 innings.
III. A game shall be considered official at the completion of 4 1⁄2-5 innings with the following exception;
- If the visiting team is trailing at the start of inning 6 or 7, and if they tie or take the lead and if the game cannot continue prior to the home team completing their half inning, then the game shall be suspended and completed at a future time.
- If during the home team’s bottom half-inning if they tie and the game cannot complete the game is suspended and completed at a future time. If during the home team’s half inning they resume the lead and the game cannot continue the game is considered complete at that point.
XV. Postponed Games
A. All postponed games must be rescheduled within 48 hours. They must be made up at the next available time. If the above is not completed within that time, league officials will reschedule the game. During the final two weeks of the season all rainouts must be made up within 2 days.
XVI. Game Rules not Defined in By-laws
GHTBL follows MLB American League rules to all GHTBL games with the exception of: – Rule 5.10(I) – Regarding trips to the mound visits does not apply to GHTBL. The following shall be the rule for mound visits:
- Any field player can visit the mound no more than two times per inning.
- Any coach or manager can visit the mound one time per inning. Upon second visit the pitcher shall be removed from the position for at least one batter. Visits for condition of injury shall not apply having been appealed to umpire staff prior to visit.
*Rule 7.02 & 7.03 (game regulations) is replaced by GHTBL by-laws section VII.
**The use of video or video replay in any determination of play, appeal or protest is prohibited. The use of video if available can be considered for evaluation in any decision by the Executive Board.