Below is a selection of rules from the official Baseball Alberta Rulebook. If any discrepancies are found, the rules as described in the linked document will take priority. All rounds of League Play and Provincial Championships follow Baseball Canada rules, except for specific identifications.
Base Lines: 50 ft.
Bases: 15 in square
Home Plate: 17 in wide
Centre Field Boundary: Minimum 200 ft / Preferred 225 ft
Foul Line Boundary: Minimum 180 ft./Preferred 200 ft
Backstop Setback: 25-40 ft
Fence Setback: 25 ft.
Coach's Box: 8 ft x 12 ft
Coach's Box Setback: 10 ft
Batter's Box: 3 ft x 6 ft
Batter's Box to Home Plate: 4 in
Pitching Distance: 44 ft.
Easton Soft Incredi-ball Training Baseball - 9" | SportChek
A soft stitch indoor ball will be utilized as the game ball. As the coaches pitch to their batters from such close proximity, using these balls provides a safety factor when coaches get hit with a line drive / hard ground ball. This also encourages players to get in front of the ball and not just hold their glove out to the side of their body when attempting to ?eld or catch a ball.
24", 25", or 26" bats will be provided. A player may bring their own bat provided it is 24" - 26".
Coaches pitch from being on one knee, essentially throwing darts, as an adult standing and throwing results in way too high of an arm angle that the ball comes from to home plate. They place a regular plastic baseball bucket in front of themselves and use a glove as added protection. They are encouraged to move closer / further away depending on the hitter’s ability and if they are throwing overhand or underhand to the hitter.
Coaches are encouraged to throw underhand to all of the batters for the ?rst week, however, after the ?rst week they can throw overhand or underhand based on the player’s ability. The goal is to eventually get everyone hitting overhand pitching.
Catchers should wear a mask and chest protector in addition to their regular baseball equipment. They do not throw each ball back to the coach / pitcher. If they miss it, they leave it and get ready for the next pitch. If they catch it they just roll it behind their back or ?ip it up to the coach at the home plate area that is helping out (making sure catchers don’t get too close to hitters, hitter’s stand properly, etc.)
In order to keep the game moving along, each batter will receive a maximum of 5 pitches (May) / 4 pitches (June) from their coach, either underhand or overhand at the coach’s discretion based on the participant’s ability. If they have not made contact after 5 swings a ball will be placed on a batting tee for them to hit.
Baseball Canada rules apply except the below.
Home and visitor can be decided by a glove ?ip / coin toss. Do not keep score.
Players will be placed in the following defensive positions LF, CF, RF, 1st, 2nd, SS, 3rd, catcher and pitcher (5 steps behind the coach that is throwing to the hitters) for a total of 9 positions. If a team prefers, they can play with a 4th out?elder instead of having the pitcher position in the rotation.
Participants will rotate one defensive position after every 2 batters with the exception of the catcher, who will remain in the position for the entire half-inning.
The team that is batting will start with the bases loaded (one runner on each base). Same concept as if the ?rst 3 batters of the game got walked and it instantly engages 3 extra players beyond just the hitter and on-deck hitter.
“Outs'' will be called (eg. thrown ball beats the runner to ?rst base, runner is tagged when not on a base, etc.). The participant that is “out” will just return to their bench and this base runner position will remain empty.
For balls that are hit / overthrown to the out?eld or overthrown into foul territory (eg. shortstop overthrows 1st base), all baserunners may run / advance UNTIL the ball reaches the in?eld (controlled or uncontrolled by an in?elder).
Participants are not allowed to steal bases or lead-off.
The offensive team will bat every participant. Once each participant has hit, the teams will switch.
Helmets are mandatory for all hitters, on-deck batters and base runners.
Thrown down bases will be set up 15 - 16 regular walking steps (50ft) apart.
To ensure the on-deck batters and catchers remain a safe proximity to the batter, a hula hoop can be used to represent the on-deck circle and the catcher’s area.
Equipment bag, set of throw down bases & home plate, bucket of balls (6 soft stitch, 20 whi?e balls, 10 tennis balls, 10 incredi-balls), 10 cones, 8 hula hoops, 3 bats (24”, 25” & 26”), set of catcher’s gear, ?rst aid kit.
Short, very ?imsy soccer cones are placed at each position for the ?rst week to assist the players with where each position typically plays / positions themselves. It gives the young players a visual of where to rotate every two batters. Continue using the cones until the players understand where to stand when playing each position.
Roster size preference is 8 players / team but 9 is the maximum and is not exceeded for any reason. The concept behind this is that as quantity goes up, quality often goes down. This also assists inexperienced coaches with not getting overwhelmed.