New Little League Boundary Rule Involving Schools

There is a new Little League regulation for parents to be aware of. Beginning this year, a player's geographic school location may be used in determining which local Little League he or she is zoned for. In the past, a player's home residence was the only factor involved - if your address was within our league's boundary, you could sign up at MPTLL. That regulation still applies. However, players may also now register if their school is within our boundary, even if their residence is not. Keep in mind that this applies only to our Little League baseball divisions (TB, AL, NL, ML). Our softball program is not affiliated with Little League.

This new regulation means that players who might have been previously considered "out of territory," but attend school inside the MPTLL territory, may now register with us. This option may come into play in the case of students attending various private schools within our boundary, that have no boundary of their own, like Charlotte Country Day, Providence Day or Charlotte Christian, or magnet schools like Myers Park Traditional, Elizabeth Traditional or Chantilly Montessori. Or it may apply to some students attending neighborhood schools near the edges of our territory like Selwyn, Greenway Park or Olde Providence.

If you know of any families in this situation who may want to play at Myers Park Trinity, please share this information with them. Our online registration for the spring 2014 season begins very soon. It will include a new question regarding where each player attends school.

For more information, here is the article from Little League on this subject. And here is the amended regulation itself, relating to eligibility requirements. Click here to see the MPTLL boundary map. Please contact someone with the league with any questions.

Little League Rule Changes for 2013

Coaches, please be aware of this year's Little League rules and regulations changes, announced over the winter. MPTLL is not participating in the new 50-70 Intermediate Division, but some of the other changes will affect our Spring and All-Star seasons. There is more info here.

Little League Round Tables Are in Charlotte

The 2012 Little League Regional Round Tables are in Charlotte today. Little League is visiting each of the five US regions to educate and get input from District Administrators (DA's) and Assistant DA's regarding proposed regulation changes for the future. The agenda established by Little League to facilitate discussion indicated that big changes could be around the corner.

Little League Bat Info Page

If you are wondering the difference between BBCOR and a BPF... or comp vs. alloy... or you want to know which bats will be allowed this season... Little League has put all of this information and more on one page. Here's more info regarding the new Little League bat info page. Keep in mind that Myers Park Trinity is currently associated with Little League, Inc. in only the 5- through 12-year-old baseball divisions. Our older divisions and our Softball program do not fall under Little League rules.

All-Star Residency Documentation Change

Just a reminder for parents of prospective 2012 All-Star players.....

Documents collected for proof of residency must now be dated or in force between February 1 of the previous and current years. This means that for the 2012 season documents must be from between February 1, 2011 and February 1, 2012. A driver's licence in effect during that time would be accepted. This rule mainly applies to the All-Star Tournament season, when these documents must be presented to Little League officials for player eligibility.

Click here for more information on this and other rule changes. And here is more info on the specific proof of residency documentation that will be acceptable.

Little League Rule Changes for 2012

Little League International has announced its rule changes for 2012, some of which will directly affect Myers Park Trinity. Our Major League division may now play "dropped third strike" rules. And the residency documentation process for All-Stars has gotten more strict - documents must now come from within a specific time frame. More details are here.

Little League Bat Regulations Announced For 2012

Little League International has announced its bat regulations for the 2012 season. There do not appear to be any major changes at the Major League level and below. The composite bat moratorium and updated list of approved composite bats remains in effect. Here is more info.

Keep in mind that the Myers Park Trinity Softball division, as well as our Junior League baseball division and above, are NOT governed by Little League.

More Composite Bats Get LL Waivers

Little League has granted several more waivers under its composite bat moratorium at the Majors Division and below:  a couple of DeMarini CF4's and some of last year's Easton Stealth models. The Stealths are surprising to me, as they are quality bats and I had figured the older model composites would be too "hot" to pass Little League testing. Here is the updated list of waivers.

Only Five Composite Bat Waivers So Far

Little League Baseball, Inc. has been testing various composite bats for the past few weeks to see which ones might be granted a waiver under the recent moratorium on the use of such bats at its Majors Division and below.

So far, only five bats have received a waiver:  the Mattingly Ballistk, Easton Omen -10, Easton Omen -12, Easton Stealth Speed -12 and Louisville Slugger's TPX Maverick. Sorry boys - no Combats yet.

First Youth Composite Bat Waiver Granted

Little League, Inc. has announced the first youth composite bat to be tested and receive a waiver of the moratorium instituted on December 30th for its Majors Division and below. I don't know that anyone in our league has it, but it's a Mattingly Balistk. I have doubts that many more will get a waiver, but we'll have to wait and see over the coming weeks. Here is the page where Little League will list all waivers. And remember to check here for all approved non-composite barreled bats.

More Info From Little League on Composite Bats

Little League, Inc. has provided additional information on its composite-barreled bat moratorium, which was announced on December 30th for its 12-and-under divisions of play. Williamsport released an article today on its website with clarification on various aspects of the decision.

Little League points out that it has not created new bat standards, but is rather enforcing its existing safety guidelines (1.15 BPF). Through scientific testing, it was discovered that composite-barreled bats, once broken in, were exceeding those standards.

More helpful to coaches and parents, Little League included in today's information a short FAQ section at the bottom of its article, a link to its Facebook discussion on the subject, and most importantly, a detailed list of specific non-wood bats that are currently approved for play in 2011. I received my own new bat today and was relieved to see it on the list.

I will continue to post more information as I get it. At some point, they will publish a list of any composite bats receiving a waiver, if any. Click on the "Bats" label below for more info.

Little League Rule Changes for 2011

Changes to the official rules and regulations have been handed down from Williamsport for the 2011 season. As usual, there are several amendments and additions to the rule book, which will be published and distributed prior to spring. Just about all divisions are affected in some way, including regular season and tournament rules. But keep in mind that our Softball program and our Junior & Senior League divisions are not part of Little League, Inc.

Here are some of the changes to the Little League Baseball rules:

A date of February 1st has been introduced to establish player residency. This mainly affects our tournament (all-star) teams.

The pitching regulation stating that a player serving as catcher in four or more innings of a game cannot pitch the rest of the day was officially added to the rulebook. This was a late change last spring.

Tournament teams of 12 or fewer players may once again have a manager and 2 additional coaches.

Such tournament teams of 12 or fewer players will have an increased mandatory playing time for each player in attendance of six consecutive defensive outs and one offensive plate appearance. Teams of 13-14 players will use a mandatory play rule of three consecutive defensive outs and one offensive plate appearance.

Here is the link to all the changes. For the first time in a while, Little League did not make any amendments to its pitch count limits or days of rest.

Composite Bats Update

Minor update regarding Little League's position on composite bats (see my previous post about this issue).....

Little League has contracted with the University of Massachusetts at Lowell to immediately study the performance levels of various composite bats to see which ones are considered safe for play. They plan to announce their findings by the first of the year.

As of now, most composite bats are still allowed in the Major League division and below. But any models that are found to have a Bat Performance Factor (BPF) or Accelerated Break-In (ABI) measurement beyond Little League limits will most likely be banned for 2011. Stay tuned....

Little League Expands 50-70 Pilot Program for 2011

Little League Baseball announced on September 27 that it will expand its pilot program involving use of the "50-70" field for the 2011 spring season. 

Last year this optional program was available as a 12-13-year-old division for leagues choosing to use Junior League rules - most notably allowing baserunners to take "leads" from bases before a pitch reaches home plate -  but on fields with 50-foot mounds and 70-foot basepaths.  It was viewed as a transition from the 46-60-foot Minor and Major League field to the 60-90-foot field normally used for Junior League and beyond.

Based on feedback from leagues around the world, Little League will continue the program in the coming year and has added the option of an 11-12-year-old 50-70 division. In this new "supplemental" pilot program, Junior League rules will be used, but the bats must be the 2 1/4" barrel variety approved for the 12-and-under divisions. 11-12-year-old Tournament Rules (All-Stars) would remain under 46-60 rules.

This style of baseball is still optional, but I would expect some area leagues to try it out next season. Several of them have an 11-12-year-old Majors Division anyway (MPTLL's is 10-12), so rules and field modifications would be the biggest changes.

Statement from Little League Regarding Composite Bats

Parents and coaches might want to hold off on buying their next composite baseball bat. In a September 1, 2010 statement from Little League headquarters in Williamsport, PA, the organization has announced an immediate moratorium on the use of composite bats at the Junior, Senior and Big League levels.

Composite bats are widely considered to be the most technologically advanced sticks on the market. Their barrels have an interior woven composite of metal fibers, which provides three distinct advantages over aluminum bats: lighter barrels, less vibration, and greater energy. That's why people say the ball seems to "jump" off a nicely broken-in composite bat.

The National Federation of High School Associations placed a temporary ban on composites in July, and now Little League has followed suit. But the Little League moratorium only applies to the Junior, Senior and Big League divisions. Myers Park Trinity is associated with Babe Ruth in those age groups and is therefore not affected by this ruling. It does not apply to the Little League 12-and-under divisions, at least yet.

But stay tuned. As you can see in the last paragraph of the Little League announcement, they are considering banning the bats at the younger levels prior to Spring 2011. Here is the LINK.