1. General
a. All participants must sign a "Waiver and Release of Liability" form before playing in the EWBC.

b. Team fees, payable to the EWBC, may be paid in two installments - $1000 before the first game and $950 by July 4. Checks should be hand-delivered at the pre-season Board meetings or mailed to the EWBC, P.O. Box 10528, Alexandria, VA 22310.

c. Games are 7 innings with no time limit unless there is a game immediately afterwards; in that event, no new inning starts after the permit expiration time. If time runs out before the inning is completed, Major League Baseball rules apply.

d. A 15-run slaughter rule will be implemented after 5 innings.

e. Rained out games will be rescheduled  as follows:
  i. The first games rained out will be rescheduled during the last two weekends in August unless teams and fields are available earlier.
  ii. Any additional rainouts will be rescheduled on weeknights with a minimum of two weeks notice given to       players, or as double-headers if both teams agree.
 iii. All attempts will be made to reschedule every rainout. However, if for some reason a rained out game is not played, winning percentage will determine the final standings for the purpose of playoff seeding.

2. Team Rosters
a. Team rosters must be submitted to the League president and the team managers at least 48 hours prior to the start of the season.

b. After the season begins, any additions to the roster must be reported to the League president and the team managers at least 24 hours before game time.

c. Players not listed on the roster are ineligible to play.

d. A player is permitted to leave a team to join another before the 4th game of the team she is leaving (for a 15-game regular season). The transferring player must pay a $25.00 transfer fee to the League. The player must return any team-owned uniform or equipment before playing for the new team. The new team may charge the transferring player uniform costs. A player may change teams only once during a season and only under the conditions described herein.

3. Substitute Pool and Player Pool

a. A combination of substitute and player pools will be used, with the sub pool getting the first request and required to respond within 24 hours before the player pool is notified. The following rules apply:
i. Only team managers may request players from the pools and must do so no earlier than the end of the preceding game. The request is to be made via email to the Sub Pool first, copying all team managers. The sub pool players must respond to all so that everyone is in the loop. If there is no response within 24 hours, team managers should request a player pool member via email to the Player Pool, copying all team managers. Team managers are to notify the League president and all team managers by email if they are using pool players by the day before the game in question.
ii. Team managers may not request specific players from either pool.
iii. In the case of a last minute emergency (car accident, etc.), a team manager may request that the opposing team manager allow the use of a Sub or Pool Player.
iv. A maximum of 2 players from the pool may be added to a team. A team using pool players may not play the game with more than 9 players in the line-up.
v. If a team that requested a sub or pool player has 9 or more of its own players at the game, the pool player may not play.
vi. If an injury occurs during a game which reduces a team's line-up to less than 9 players, a Sub or Pool Player may be used if present.
vii. Pool players may not be used in the playoffs, including any pre-playoff tiebreaker games.
viii. Pool players may play any position.
ix. Any player who knowingly violates the player pool rules will be removed from the player pool.

b. Sub Pool players:
i. Cannot be on any team roster.
ii. May join at any time of the season.
iii. Must pay the league a one-time fee of $50.

c. Player Pool players:
i. Must sign up before the season starts. Only new players may join the Player Pool after the start of the season.
ii. May not play for another team if her primary team has a game that overlaps with that of the team seeking pool players. For a given game, players from the opposing team may not play for the team in need of players.

4. Team Uniforms
a. Players will not be permitted to play out of uniform without the consent of the opposing manager. All players on a team must wear matching jerseys. Each player’s jersey will have a unique number. Pool players must wear matching jerseys, to be provided by the team.

b. All players on a team must wear baseball pants or shorts of the same color. Players are encouraged to wear baseball pants rather than shorts.

c. Hats, if worn, must be identical in color and logo. Players are encouraged to wear team hats.

d. All batters/baserunners must wear a helmet fro safety reasons.

5. Equipment
a. Only baseballs supplied by the League will be permitted. Each team must bring two new balls to each game.

b. Aluminum (metal alloy/composite) and wooden baseball bats are permitted. Little league baseball bats are permitted. Softball bats are not permitted.

 c. A pitcher may wear a glove under her mitt as long as it is not a distraction.

6. Field Maintenance
a. The home team is responsible for readying the playing field (applies only to fields that are not maintained by the County), and is assigned the 3rd base dugout.

b. The pitcher’s mound and home plate must be filled and raked by the home team before and after every game, if necessary. Other areas of the infield must be raked and filled, if necessary. (Applies only to fields that are not maintained by the County.)

c. Informal batting or pitching practice must cease 45 minutes prior to the game start time to allow teams to begin formal pre-game warm-ups/infield. Pre-game throwing and stretching must be done in the outfield (not in front of the dugouts).

d. It is each team's responsibility to remove all trash from its dugout and replace all equipment on the field at the conclusion of each game.

b. A forfeit will be recorded as 7-0 in the scorebook.

c. There is a 15-minute grace period from the scheduled start time before a forfeit occurs.

d. A team that forfeits 3 games will be ineligible for the playoffs. (See the General Disclaimer below regarding the Board's right to decide league membership.)

8. Player Substitutions
a. Liberal player substitutions are permitted under the following provisions:

b. If a player is removed from the game due to injury the following rules apply:

9. Batting Order, Extra Hitter
a. A 10-batter line-up includes an extra-hitter, who must start the game as such. Teams may add a 9th batter, but not a 10th batter, after the start of the game.

b. Teams playing with 8 batters must take an automatic out when the unoccupied position in the batting order is reached.

c. If the number of batters is reduced from 9 and/or 10 after the start of the game, an automatic out occurs in the line-up for each batter removed. To clarify: If a team goes from 9 to 8 batters, or 10 to 9 batters, an out occurs in the lost batter's position. If a team goes from 10 to 8 batters, whether concurrently or not, two automatic outs occur - one in each of the lost batters' positions.

10. Player Conduct
a. Players must avoid unnecessary aggressive contact with other players. Any unnecessary aggression, in the umpire’s judgment, can result in an out for the batting team and/or the ejection of the aggressive player.

b. Fielders may not fake a tag or block the runner from reaching a base if the fielder is not making a play. This will be called an obstruction by the umpire and may result in the ejection of the defensive player.

11. Playoffs/Final Standings
a. Playoffs will begin as specified in the schedule each year.

b. All teams will be eligible for the playoffs. The playoffs will be single-elimination with the first and second rounds played on Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend and the championship game played on the second weekend.

c. In the first round, the 3rd place team will play the 6th place team (Game 1) and the 4th place team will play the 5th place team (Game 2). In the second round, the winner of the Game 1 will play the 2nd place team, and the winner of Game 2 will play the 1st place team.

d. Should there be a tie in the regular season standings, the following tiebreaker will be implemented in the following order:  (1) head to head, (2) runs allowed btw tied teams, (3) runs allowed total, (4) runs scored btw tied teams, (5) runs score total, (6) coin toss.

d. Players must play in at least 6 regular season games  to be eligible for the playoffs. Exceptions will be made for injured players who attend their team's games. Such players must be present for the entire game and must be in the dugout (not in the stands). Opposing team managers must be informed of the player's attendance and the player's name must be recorded in the scorebook. Rained-out games that are not made up will count as eligible games for all players on the roster.

e. Teams may request a waiver of the 6-game playoff eligibility requirement for certain players.

12. Procedure for Protests
a. Protests must be verbally declared to the umpire in charge and the opposing manager at the time of occurrence. Umpires and managers must sign and date the scorebook at the end of the game.

b. Protests must be filed with the League president within 48 hours after the end of the game in question.

c. A $50.00 fee must be given to the opposing team manager, who then forwards it to the League President. The fee is refundable only if the protest is upheld by the League.

d. Protests will be reviewed and decided by the President unless he/she has a conflict of interest (COI), in which case the Board will decide (with any Board members recusing themselves in the event of a COI), or by an Arbitrator if the Board so decides.