Rules
MUSA MN Kickball Rules
(NEW RULES / RULES OF IMPORTANCE IN ALL CAPS)
I. Field/Equipment/Misc.
All games shall be played on softball sized diamonds. Fields with or without home run fences are acceptable, although no fence is preferable. All games shall be played with an 8.5 inch ball provided by MUSA. All equipment is provided by MUSA.
Metal spikes are not allowed. Participants are strongly encouraged to wear MUSA issued kickball jerseys during game play.
Teams must furnish umpires as assigned on the schedule. The umpires word is final and not to be disputed unless a blatant contradiction to the official rules. MUSA
field monitors may eject players for unsportsmanlike behavior. Any occurrences
that are not covered in the rules shall be settled by the field monitor and noted for
later rules updates. UMPIRES MUST CALL OUT EACH DECISION FOR ALL TO HEAR. THE HOME-PLATE UMPIRE ISSUES FINAL DECISIONS.
Players will remember we are all out here for fun! Please check your competitiveness at the door.
Consistent failure to provide umps will jeopardize future league participation.
FIELD MONITORS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS AND DISPUTES AT EACH FIELD.
Minneapolis/St. Paul/Bloomington Parks and Recreation policy is NO ALCOHOL at their fields.
II. Number of participants
Rosters may hold an unlimited number of people.
A maximum of 11 players can be on the field for the fielding team, with a minimum of 7 players. A catcher is not necessary for teams with less than 9 players.
Teams must have a minimum of 4 players of each sex. If a team does not have four females/males for a particular game, a ghost player shall be written into the
batting order and represents an automatic out for each female/male under the minimum. TEAMS MUST NOTIFY THE UMPIRE OF THE GHOST PLAYER PRIOR TO THE START OF THE GAME IF SHORT THE NECESSARY PLAYERS. A team having 11 players that is missing a required male/female player must play short on the field by the number of
missing players male or female. You must have at least two players of each gender or forfeit completely (unless opposing team captain allows for subs).
Teams with fewer than 7 players shall have a 10-minute grace period before a forfeit is declared. Subs may be used at any time so long as the opposing team does not object.
III. Regulation games
A regulation game shall consist of 9 innings or a time limit of 55 minutes. If a
game starts late, the next scheduled games will start immediately following the completion of the late game.
The away team shall bat first. The home team gets last at bats if the time limit is near. Home and away team is determined by rock, paper, scissors, best two out of three for every game.
The field monitor may call a game due to time if an inning may not reasonably be completed before the 55-minute time limit.
A game is considered official once 5 full innings have been completed.
Regular season games may end in ties. If time permits, field monitors may grant additional innings if captains agree to play them (ties are points in the standings too).
During the playoffs, the winner shall be determined by whoever wins the next full inning (both teams get at-bats). In playoff situations, each team shall play short one
additional fielder for each inning beyond nine in boy, girl, boy, girl order. For example, a team in the 12th inning must take two male players and one female off the field. These players still kick in their respective slot.
Called games shall be played at a future date agreeable to both team captains at a
site to be agreed upon. Any games not replayed shall be counted as a tie in the
standings unless the league makes other arrangements for a make up game.
Each team may have base coaches at first and third bases.
IV. Pitching/Fielding
A legal pitch must be underhand and no higher than knee level of the batter (sidearm or overhand pitching is not allowed). Anything higher over the plate is a ball. Whether a pitch is a ball or strike based on bounciness should be based on the height of the last bounce before it crosses home plate.
Pitches will be thrown in a civil manner at a reasonable rate and not excessively bouncy. A guideline is pitching as though you are rolling it casually to a teammate. Fast pitch and curveballs are not allowed. ANY PITCH DEEMED BY THE UMP OR FIELD MONITOR TO BE OUT OF THE CONTEXT OF A CASUAL PITCH (FAST OR CURVE) WILL RESULT IN A WARNING TO THE PITCHER AND CALLED A BALL. THE NEXT INFRACTION WILL RESULT IN REPLACING THE PITCHER. Umps in doubt of as to what is an allowable pitch should consult the MUSA field monitor on duty for assistance.
The pitcher must pitch from the back rubber (running up to the rubber is not allowed). Once the ball is pitched the pitcher may advance no further than the first rubber or 6 feet from the back rubber, depending on the field. Lateral movement is NO LONGER tolerated and not permissible. Infield players may not cross the base line between 1st and 2nd, and 2nd and 3rd until the ball is kicked (unless a bunt defined by Rule V).
The catcher must give the batter ample room to bat. The catcher may not break the plane of the front of home plate until the ball is kicked and may not interfere with the batter. An infraction will result in a called ball. If the ball is kicked, the result does not count.
A strike consists of a ball that is rolled over any part of home plate and below knee level. Any ball that is kicked into foul territory shall also be considered a strike. Two strikes of any kind will result in an out.
A ball shall be called on anything that does not cross home plate. Three called balls shall result in the ball being placed on a tee within two feet from either side of
home plate. If the batter kicks the ball foul off the tee, they are automatically out. Infield players cannot advance until the ball is kicked. Pitchers who repeatedly pitch for the tee may be replaced at the discretion of the field monitor.
The batting team has three outs per inning. An out results due to the following:
- two strikes
- a ball caught on the fly
- base runner is forced out
- base runner is hit with ball while not on base (if runner hit with ball before run scores in third out situations, run does not score. Runners do not score if last out is via force out).
- see ghost batter rule above
As even the most innocent looking pop ups are potential hits in kickball; THERE IS NO INFIELD FLY RULE. Due to some abuses of this in the past, there will be a No Cheese rule for situations where a fielder is judged to have intentionally allowed the ball to drop to turn a double play. For example, team A has a runner on first. The batter from team A kicks the ball in the air to the first baseperson on team B. The runner on team A stays on first, while the batter runs to first. The first baseperson intentionally (and these are generally obvious) muffs the pop fly, tags the waiting runner and tags the base. As this is contrary to fair sportsmanship MUSA promotes, the tactic will be deemed Cheesy and runner and batter are both safe.
A foul ball that is caught counts as an out, but is a dead play, meaning runners
may not advance. IF A BALL TOUCHED BY A FIELDER IN FAIR TERRITORY, IT IS FAIR; REGARDLESS OF OTHER FACTORS I.E. FOOT PLACEMENT OF THE FIELDER BUT IF THE FIELDER PUSHES THE BALL INTO FOUL TERRITORY WHILE IN FAIR TERRITORY, THE BALL IS FAIR. A foul ball is defined as a ball that settles or is touched on or over foul territory between
home and first base or between home and third base.
One base on an overthrow. An overthrow constitutes a ball that is thrown or kicked out of play to the intended base or target (past the bench line or fence, based on field [field monitor will define boundaries]). Anything thrown or kicked from the outfield is a live ball. If a player is past ½-way to the next base, they are awarded the base they are on the way to plus one on the overthrow. A ball thrown past the base that remains in the set boundaries remains a live ball and runners may advance at their own risk.
V. Batting/base running
The batter may not kick the ball until the ball crosses home plate. Kicking the ball before the plate is a strike, with the exception of week one. A SECOND INFRACTION OF CROSSING THE PLATE DURING A GAME BY ANY TEAM WILL RESULT IN AN OUT. THE BATTER ONLY KICKS FROM BEHIND THE PLANE OF HOME BASE.
FLOAT VERSUS NO FLOAT RULE: FOR FEMALE KICKERS, DEFENSIVE INFIELD MAY NOT ENCROACH PAST THE 1ST TO 2ND AND 2ND TO 3RD BASE PATHS UNTIL THE BALL IS KICKED (NO FLOAT). FOR MALE KICKERS, FIELDERS MAY ENCROACH UP TO THE BOUNDARY OF THE "FORBIDDEN ZONE" DEFINED AS THE MIDPOINT FROM HOME TO 1ST BASE AND HOME TO 3RD BASE (TO BE MARKED WITH CONE OR FIELD CHALK) AND SAID MIDPOINTS TO THE PITCHER MOUND (FLOAT). THE PITCHER CAN ONLY ADVANCE AS PREVIOUSLY STATED IN RULE ABOVE (SEE PITCHING) ENCROACHMENT INTO THE "FORBIDDEN ZONE" OR PAST THE BASELINE RESTRICTION FOR FEMALE KICKERS RESULTS IN A "NO PLAY" WITH A BALL CALLED TO THE KICKER.
Runners must stay in the base path. Fielders impeding the runners path to the
base shall result in the runner being awarded the base.
Leading off and stealing are not allowed. Leading off/leaving early will result in a do-over.
Sliding is legal. Please do so with caution (keeping fielders and yourself in mind)
After contact on a fly ball that is caught, the runner must tag up before advancing to the next base. Failure to tag up before advancing results in an out if the runner is
tagged or the ball is thrown to the previous base.
Balls throw at the base runner must be below the shoulders. Any head shot results in advancement to the next base. Any unintentional head shots to a runner will result in the runner being awarded the base.
If a ball hits the kicker in fair territory after being kicked, the batter is out. Intentionally kicking the ball out of play by the batter then results in a dead ball.
Pinch runners are allowed for injured players only. The runner will be the last out of the same sex. Injured kickers may utilize pinch runners based on the same criteria.
BATTING ORDERS ARE REQUIRED BY EACH TEAM AND MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE OPPOSING TEAM CAPTAIN PRIOR TO THE START OF EACH GAME.
VI. Mercy Rule
Teams may opt to submit if down 15 runs or more.
VII. Standings
A win shall count as two points, a tie as one and losses as zero. Seeding for the Tournament is based on highest point total. Tiebreakers are as follows: head to head, runs against (defense wins championships), runs scored, coin toss.
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