NABA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES TOURNAMENT RULES

1.  Start Times:  Game start times will be approximately 8:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted on your schedules.  Should a team fail to arrive or have a full team ready to play (8 or more under the 8 man start and finish rule) by the scheduled start time, a maximum 1 hour grace period will be allowed and the exact amount of time given that team will be deducted from the original starting time so that the game will be shortened by that amount of time.  (Example:  if the game starts 15 minutes late due to one team’s being late, no full inning will start after 2 hours and 45 minutes after play has begun.)  Assuming the game starts within the 1-hour grace period, the late team will forfeit one run for every 15 minutes to the other team and the game will start at 1-0, beginning with the first minute.  In other words, if the start time is 8:30, the score is 1-0 at 8:31; 2-0 at 8:46; 3-0 at 9:01; 4-0 at 9:16 and a forfeit at 9:31.  (However, the actual forfeit score “in the scorebook” for tiebreaker purposes will be 9-0.)  This rule will not apply if the late team is coming off a back-to-back game, and games that start late due to the previous game’s running over (and not due to a team’s lateness) will not be shortened. (E.g. if both teams arrive to a scheduled 3:30 p.m. game on time and have to wait until another game finishes and do not start until 4:00 p.m., that game will be allowed the full time under the 3 hour Time Limit rule, provided there is adequate light.)  START TIMES WILL BE ENFORCED; YOU HAVE NOW BEEN WARNED.

 2.  Time Limit:  3-hour time limits for all pool play games.  No new inning may start after the 3-hour mark.  If two teams are tied after 9 innings and have not played 3 hours, they may continue to play up to three hours, however no new inning may start after the 3-hour mark.  All games tied at the end of the three-hour mark will remain a tied game.  There is a 3 hour time limit for playoff games.  No time limits for Championship games.

3.  Games Called Due to Darkness:  With exception of Playoff games, any game that has gone at least (5) complete innings before being called because of darkness (on an unlighted field) will be deemed a “complete game” or “regulation game” for “pool play purposes” in accordance with the 2010 Official Baseball Rule (4.10(c)(1)).  The NABA will do its best to see to it that travel times between games are minimized so that games can begin on time and games scheduled at 3:30 p.m. on fields without lights can begin on time and “be completed with 9 innings of play”.  If a game during pool play has past (5) complete innings and the game is called due to darkness by an umpire before the bottom of the inning is complete, then the score of the game will revert back to the previous inning and the game will be ruled complete.  For Playoff games only, at the discretion of the umpires and the tournament director, games to be “called due to darkness” will either be moved to an available field with lights the same evening (after checking in with the Tournament Directors’ office) or continued until the next day at another field (to be determined by the Tournament Director) so that these games can go a full 3 hours or 9 innings or play; provided, however, the “continuation of the game” is in accordance with the 2010 Official Baseball Rule (4.12(d)).

4.  Games Called Due to Rain:  With exception of Playoff games and Championship games, any game that has gone at least (5) complete innings before being called because of rain, will be deemed a “complete game” or “regulation game” for “pool play purposes” in accordance with the 2010 Official Baseball Rule (4.10(c)(1)).  NABA will do its best to ensure that all pool play games are given every consideration to complete as many innings as possible (to be determined by the tournament director) in case of rain.  If a game during pool play has past (5) complete innings and the game is called due to rain by an umpire before the bottom of the inning is compete, then the score of the game will revert back to the previous inning and the game will be ruled complete.  For playoff or championship games only, at the discretion of the umpires and the tournament director, games will be “suspended due to rain” and will be continued at the point where the game was suspended on an available field that is playable the same day or evening, or continued the next day at the same field or another field (as determined by the tournament director) so that these games can go a full 3 hours or 9 innings of play.   

5.  Mercy Rule:  There is a 10 run mercy rule after 7 innings, and a 15 run mercy rule after 5 innings in effect for all pool play and playoff games.  The mercy rule will not apply to Championship games.

6.  Protests:  All protests must be filed at the field with the plate umpire and with a tournament official within 1 hour of the protested game’s completion.  A $150 cash, non-refundable fee (refundable only if you prevail) must be submitted to a league official at the Tournament Office within 1 hour of your team’s completion of the game in question (1 hour after your last game if you are scheduled to play another game immediately after the protested game).  Call the number provided at Check-in.  Remember, you cannot protest an umpire’s “judgment”, only a rule interpretation.  If a protest is lodged, all parties involved (Managers of both teams, and umpires) must be available the day of the protest no matter what time it is to discuss the protest.  The testimony as to the facts of the protest will not be considered, if a party involved in the protest cannot be contacted by a tournament official by 12 midnight of the day of the protest. 

7.  Eligibility Protest:  All protests with regard to age or identity must be protested on the field to the umpire and opposing team manager.  If a player’s age or identity is questioned and protested, the opposing manager must provide the player’s proof of age and identity with a valid picture ID.  Any player unable to produce a valid picture ID will be ineligible to continue or play in the game.  If a player’s identity or age makes them ineligible to play, the player will not be allowed to continue in the game.  The NABA rules committee will then determine if the game has been tainted and if a protest/consequence should stand in the game and tournament for the violating team.  All protests with regard to ex-pro or college player eligibility should follow rule #6 protest rule.  However the player or player’s in question must also show a valid picture ID at the time of protest.  If they are unable to produce a valid picture ID they will be ineligible to continue in the game.  Where possible, an NABA tournament official will assist in the process and if the official can rectify the situation on the field they will do so.   The NABA rules committee will then determine if the game has been tainted and if a protest/consequence should stand in the game and tournament for the violating team.

8.  Reporting Scores:  Both teams must report all scores within 1 hour of completion of the game to the tournament score line.  It is the team manager’s responsibility to verify their teams score with the official tournament headquarters records.  No discrepancies will be altered after seeding for playoffs.

9.  Tiebreakers:  See the official NABA Tournament tiebreaker rules attached.

10.  Bat Requirements:  Aluminum and graphite bats must not have a bare handle.  Bats that have a -.03 differential in weight vs. length  or less are currently eligible.  Unauthorized use of an illegal bat will result in the bat being removed from the game.

11. Additional Rules:  If a team registered for the tournament decides not to come, and does not communicate with tournament officials until after the schedule has been completed, the following rule will apply:  The schedule will be played as written and each team scheduled to play the said team which did not show up for the tournament will receive a forfeit win of 9-0.  No pro-rated refund of a team fee will be given as a result of a forfeit win.  If a team decide to stop playing a championship game and leave for any reason the following rule will apply:  The championship game will be called a forfeit loss for the team who decides to leave or stop playing the game, and the championship will go to the remaining team.  No warming up in the infield or around the dugouts.  Use the ONLY the outfield area to warm-up.  Do not warm-up in front of the dugouts.  No SOFT-TOSS or hitting baseballs into the fences.  No alcohol on the baseball fields or in the dugouts at all.  No smoking on the baseball fields or dugouts at all.  No tobacco on the baseball fields or dugouts at all.  Use only the restrooms provided.  If you are caught not using the restrooms, both the player and the team will forfeit their game and be ejected from the facility and will not be allowed to play at that facility the rest of the tournament.  All other rules of baseball (set forth in the 2008 Official Baseball Rules published by the National Baseball Congress), amended by the rules set forth in the NABA Manager’s Rulebook and Guidelines, except as amended above, apply.

12.  Wood Bat Divisions:  In the wood bat divisions NATURAL WOOD BATS, COMPOSITE WOOD BATS AND METAL/WOOD BATS are permitted for use during play.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NUMBER OF GUARANTEED GAMES WILL BE FIVE (5) FOR ALL THE DIVISIONS (AS PUBLISHED ON PROMOTIONAL FLYERS), AND THERE MAY BE ONE OR TWO ROUNDS OF PLAYOFFS FOLLOWED BY CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES FOR EACH SEPARATE DIVISION UNLESS ALTERED BY EVENTS OR HAPPENSTANCE BEYOND THE CONTROL OF THE NABA INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, INCLEMENT WEATHER, WAR, RIOTS, CIVIL DISORDER, FIELDS BEING OUT OF ORDER, OR ACTS OF GOD.

The NABA reserves the right to refuse any player or team permission to participate in a tournament.  The NABA reserves the right to add, delete, merge or create divisions or divisional formats based on the number of teams entered at anytime before the tournament, and will give every effort to give teams advance notice, however NABA may not be able to do so.  If a team planned to enter a deleted division, that team may play in another division or receive a refund minus your deposit, or transfer the balance to another NABA National or World Championship Tournament, provided it is at least 5 days prior to check-in.  The NABA also reserves the right to make changes to the rules or make changes in prizes and/or giveaways (but with a substitute of equal or greater value), which would then be effective upon notice to the teams participating in the tournament.

NABA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

2010 PLAYOFF and TIEBREAKER RULES

The following Playoff and Tie-Breaker Rules only apply when determining eligibility/qualifying for playoff games.  Tiebreaker rules have always been difficult.  This is especially true in the case where there are several teams with the same or tied record worthy to go on to the playoffs; yet, due to a limits on fields and time to complete the tournament, not every team with tied records can be assured a playoff spot.  The only way to “guarantee” a playoff spot is to remain undefeated.

It is our sincere belief that the following set of tiebreakers is the fairest, because the focus is on win-loss percentages first, head-to-head competition second, and the “best defensive teams in a given situation”, with least runs allowed, next. 

There are also four key principles to which we consistently adhered:

1) As a general rule, a tiebreaker between teams with the same win-loss percentage should be determined on a “head-to-head” since it is the best determinant of which of the teams in question is the better team;

2) Based on fairness, where teams with the same win-loss percentage are vying for the final playoff spot (usually the runner-up spot or a “wild-card”), and those 2 teams have not played one another, then the best defensive team in a given situation with average least runs allowed will be used.

3) If head-to-head did occur, but that game ended in a tie, and the least runs allowed for each team is the same, the team with the highest average winning margin in pool play is the pool winner;

4) If a forfeit occurs in pool play, the forfeit win will count towards the tiebreaker for win-loss percentage, and the head-to-head determinants.  However, forfeit wins will not count towards the tiebreaker for average least runs allowed, nor highest average winning margin in pool play.  If a team forfeits a game during pool play, the NABA reserves the right to exclude the team forfeiting the game from the playoffs.  NABA reserves these rights in order to protect teams against forfeiting teams gaining an unfair advantage in playoff games.

DETERMINATION OF POOL WINNERS and RUNNER-UPS

A Pool Winner is the team with the best win-loss percentage within a pool.  However, if more than one team in a pool has the same win-loss percentage, then you must revert to the tie-breaker(s) below.  All examples assume a three game pool schedule.

Determining the Pool Winner/Runner Up

There are two basic scenarios:  A) A tiebreaker involving two teams with the same win-loss percentage; and B) A tiebreaker involving three (or more) teams with the same win-loss percentage.

A) Pool Winner:  Two teams with the same win-loss percentage:

                In the event two (2) teams in the same pool finish with the same win-loss percentage, the order of tiebreakers is as follows:

                1)             Head-to-Head.  (The team that beat the other is the Pool Winner.)

                2)             Average Least Runs Allowed.  (If head-to-head did occur, but that game ended in a tie^[1], then the team with the fewest runs allowed in pool play is the Pool Winner.)  Average Least Runs Allowed is the total runs allowed divided by the number of games played.^[2]  For the purposes of the remaining examples, this will be referred to as “Least Runs Allowed” (and we will assume the same number of games played by the teams involved in the tie-breaker examples).

                3)             Highest Average Winning Margin in pool play.  (If head-to-head did occur, but that game ended in a tie, and, the Least Runs Allowed for each team was the same, then the team with the Highest Average Winning Margin in pool play is the Pool Winner.)  (For situations where two teams in the same pool with the same win-loss percentage did not play each other, see (C)(1) below.)  Average Winning Margin is the following:  The difference between the total runs scored and total runs allowed, divided by the number of games played.  For example, in pool play A, with a 2-1 record scored 30 runs and allowed 20 runs in its 3 games, its Average Winning Margin is 3.3.  ((30-20)/3=10/3=3.3)

                4)             Coin Flip.  (All coin flips must take place in the presence of a Tournament Protest Committee Member.)

The foregoing will be referred to as the “Two Team Tie-breaker” and/or “Tie-breaker A”.  The team that is not the Pool Winner is the Runner-up.

B) Pool Winner and Runner-up:  Three teams with the same win-loss percentage:

In the event three (3) teams in the same pool finish with the same win-loss percentage, the order of tiebreakers is as follows:

                1)             If one team beats the other 2 teams, it is the Pool Winner.  You then proceed to the “Two Team Tie-breaker” to determine the Runner-up as to the remaining two teams starting with head-to-head.

                2)             If all 3 teams involved in the tie-breaker beat one another, then the team with the most runs allowed among the three involved during all pool play games is eliminated.  The two remaining teams revert to the tiebreaker rule for “two teams with the same win-loss percentage”.

                The tiebreaker is as follows:

                                a)             Head-to-head play between the two teams involved will determine the pool winner.

                                b)             The non-pool winner with the least or second fewest runs allowed is the runner-up.

                Example:                                Teams A, B and C are in the same pool and have 2-1 records (examples made up):

                                                Team A beats Team C 6-2

                                                Team B beats Team A 7-4

                                                Team C beats Team B 6-5

                Each team, thus, has beaten one of the other two teams and the runs allowed comparison is as follows:

                                                Team                                                       Runs Allowed

                                                                                                                (As between the 3)

                                                A (2-1)                                                                    9

                                                B (2-1)                                                                     10

                                                C (2-1)                                                                     11

                And, thus, Team C is eliminated because it allowed the most runs as between the three teams; and, since Team B beat Team A, Team B is the Pool Winner    (reverting                 back to the “Two Team Tie-breaker” in (A)(1).  Team A is the Runner-up.

3)             If three (3) teams have the same win-loss percentage and only two of the teams have played against each other, then the team with the most runs allowed among the three involved during all pool play is eliminated first.  The two remaining teams revert to the tiebreaker rule for “two teams with the same win-loss percentage”.  This rule applies not only for determination of pool winner and runner-up, but also for seeding purposes in pools for playoffs.

                Good Luck!

(UP-1/08)