Wiffleball League Rules

Last updated:  2018 April

Overview

A bit of a merger between kickball & baseball; played with a plastic bat & ball where no gloves are used.

Participating Players

• Up to 8 players can start in the field (min 6).
• 4 players in the outfield (min 2)
• 2 players in the infield (min 2)
• 1 pitcher and 1 catcher (min 2)
• At minimum, teams must have at least 6 players before a game can begin.
• Of the min 6 players to start, at least 2 must be men and 2 must be women.
• If a team is unable to field a legal team, their opponent will receive 1 point every 2 minutes after the scheduled game time. After 10 minutes a win will be awarded.
• Only 5 men in the field at one time.
• Max 2 men in the outfield
• Max 1 man in the infield
• At least 2 women must play in the outfield
• At least 1 woman must play in the infield
• All players on the team can be in the batting order.
• No more than 2 men can bat back to back.
• If more than 2 men are back to back, a “ghost” player will be inserted into the lineup and it will be an automatic out when it’s that players turn to hit.

• Players who show up after the lineups have been submitted will be added at the end of the lineup.
  • If this causes 3 or more guys to be in a row, that team will have the option to shift women down, spacing them so teams are not forced to take ghost-outs.
  • If your team wants to substitute a player, follow the rules outlined in the 'subs' section of the FAQ  (FAQ - League Information - Are subs allowed?).

• Women who have already batted cannot be shifted to bat before women who have not yet batted.
• The order for the women cannot be changed, only their position in the lineup.
• Men cannot be shifted.
• Only active players may be within 10 feet from the first or third base lines. Those not kicking, running, or playing in the field must stay back.

Rosters

• You can have as many players as you want on your roster, but the minimum number of players is 10.
• We recommend having 12 players on each roster.
• Players who register as free agents may be added to teams with rosters smaller than 12 players (captains will be notified first).
• Additional players, including players who register as free agents, can be added to the roster anytime until the third week of the season.
• Captains are responsible for the conduct of teams. This means they’ll need to make sure all players are legal and conform to league play standards.
• All players must meet league player requirements. (FAQ - League Information - Player Requirements)
• All players must wear their league tshirts to participate. (FAQ - League Information - What if I paid late and have not received a league tshirt or forget my league tshirt one night?)
• From time to time for various reasons players may become upset and curse, complain, and more.  When this occurs, our staff will respond and take actions from issuing a warning, to taking a time out, up to ejecting a player form the game.  For more info reference our FAQ. (FAQ - League Information - Ejections)

* Number of men who can play in the field; additional can be in batting order

NOTE:  there are player gender position requirements both in the field and batting order

Equipment & Field Setup

• All equipment will be provided by Be Social Richmond, including:
• Lineup books
• Wiffleballs
• Wiffleball bats
• Bases
• Players are allowed to wear plastic cleats when wiffleball is played outdoors.
• Players may NOT wear metal cleats.
• Players may NOT wear baseball gloves, but can wear batting gloves.

Field Layout

• Orange bases will be used to mark the home plate, first, second, and third bases.
• White bases will also be placed at first and home.
• Runners must only go to the white bases at first and home.
• Catchers and first basemen must only use the orange bases.
• Any offensive runner who runs from home to first and touches an orange base will be out if there is a play at that base. If there is no play at the base, then they will be safe.
• Any offensive runner who runs from third to home who touches the orange home plate will be out if there is a play at that base. If there is no play at the base, then they will be safe.
• Any defensive player making a play at first or home who touches the white base/plate will cause the runner to be safe.
• If both offensive and defensive players make the same mistake of touching the wrong base, they will cancel each other out and the play will be ruled as normal.
• An orange box will mark the pitching area.

League Scoring, Standings, Seeding

Playoffs

• Teams with 1+ forfeit during the regular season will be excluded from the playoffs.
• Teams caught using players that are not on their roster or who were not signed up as legal subs will be excluded from the playoffs.
• Seeding details this single-game per night sport can be found in the FAQ (FAQ - League Information - How are standings calculated for the regular season?)
• A single elimination match format unique each season will be used.

Game Rules

Nightly Games

• The home team will be on the first base side of the field and will play in the field first.
• All games will last 50 minutes.
• The game will end as soon as the current play finishes after 50 minutes.
• There’s no inning limit or maximum.
• Games will be official after 4 innings or 3½ innings if the home team is ahead.

Tie Score

• Regular season games can end in a tie.
• In the playoffs, after time expires, up to 2extra innings will be played.
  • After the two extra innings, the tie will be broken by “the longest hit.”
  • Each team will select a batter and pitcher.
    • The pitcher can have up to 3 pitches.
    • The batter gets one swing.
• The team that hits their ball the furthest wins
• If both batters swing and miss, pitchers may NOT pitch a hittable pitch, or both hits go the same distance.
  • Retry “the longest hit” up to a max of 3 times.
  • The final tie breaker will be a coin flip (home team makes the call).

Runs Scored

• No team can score more than 9 runs in any inning unless the team scoring the runs is behind. In this case, they can only score up to 1 more run than the other team.
• 5minutes before game play starts, both team captains will meet with the ref at home plate. Captains will share their batting order with the referee, who will record for each team.
  • The ref will record players first name and list name first initial.
  • Captains reporting their lineup late will start the first inning with 1 out.
  • Games may NOT start until both teams have submitted lineups.
  • Late arriving players can be added to lineups at the end of any half inning.
    • To add players after a half inning a captain should approach the ref who will call over the other captain. 
    • The first captain will announce the additions to their teams lineup to the referee and play will resume after the ref has recorded the lineup addition(s).

• Pitchers may have 4 warmup pitches the first inning and 1 pitch before every other inning

In the Field & Pitching

• A target will be placed behind home plate, and pitches must hit the target to be considered a strike.
• All pitches must be “hittable.”
• Pitches that don’t meet that standard will be called dead and will count as a ball.
• Calling these pitches are at the discretion of the referee
• All pitches should be hittable. This means no fastballs, curving balls, or that sort.
• Pitches that fail to make it to home plate will be called dead and count as a ball.
• No player may advance forward beyond a line from first base to third base until the ball is hit
• If so and that player makes an OUT, it will not count
• The play will be ruled a single with all runners safe and advancing 1 base.
• Outfielders may not come within 10 feet of any base before the ball is hit.
• If so and that player makes an OUT, it will not count.
• The play will be ruled a single with all runners safe and advancing 1 base.
• Catchers should begin lined up at least 5 feet behind home plate and must avoid contact with the batter.
• Fielders are only allowed to switch positions once during an inning.
• Fielders must stay out of the baselines unless they are making a play on the ball.
• If a fielder is in the baseline and makes contact with a runner, then the runner will be allowed to safely advance to the next base.
• Once the pitcher (and only the pitcher) has control of the ball within 5 feet of the pitchers strip, the ref will blow the whistle and the play will be over.
• Play resumes once the next pitch is thrown.

Hitting & Running

• The count begins with 1 ball and 1 strike.
• Hitters must stand in the batter’s box within 1 foot of the home plate.
• The hitter is out after 3 strikes and walks after 4 balls.
• Foul balls count as a strike.
• A foul ball with 2 strikes will count as a third strike.
• No bunting—this will be a judgment call by the refs.
• As long as there is a full swing or the ball goes at least 6 feet, the swing won’t be considered a bunt.
• Any runners who advanced during a hit that does not land in fair territory and that wasn’t played by a player in the field, will return to their starting base.
• A batter stopping a pitched ball will count as a strike; that’s the catchers job.
• Any player caught hitting out of order will be out, any runners that may have advanced will return to their bases, and the correct hitter will hit next
• Once a ball has been hit that player is a runner
• Any ball that has been hit that hits a runner, that runner is out.
• Runners may not slide.
• Runners must stay within 4 feet lines from home to first, first to second, second to third, and third to home.  
• Runners may tag up and try to advance on any ball that is caught.
• Any runner that advances more than half way to the next base must continue to that base.
• When a man is walked and the hitter behind them is a woman, the woman will have to option to also take a walk. (This means the man will go to second base and the woman to first base. Any players on base in front of them would advance accordingly.)

Rules Continued

• A "ball" is awarded to a batter who is hit by a pitch.
• Runners may only advance one base on over throws that leave the field of play (in between the first and third base lines).
• When the pitcher gets control of the ball in the box, play stops.
• Runners between bases get to advance if they are more than half way to the next base (if not, return to the previous base).
• Infield Fly Rule: With less than 2 outs and runners on first and second base, a ball popped into the air that looks to easily be caught by an infielder will be ruled an Infield Fly Rule out. (This will be at the umpire’s discretion/judgment.)
• A fielder attempting to make an out by tagging a base may have his or her foot on the base, but he or she must lean out of the way of the baseline.
• All ties go to the runner.
• Do not throw the ball at runners.
• Any runner intentionally making contact with a fielder will automatically be out.
• Runners must avoid fielders who are making a play within the baseline.
• No leading off base or stealing of bases is allowed if you do, you will be OUT.
• No sliding, or you will be OUT.
• After a hit ball is caught, runners must tag their original base before proceeding to the next base (this is called a tag up).
• But, if the runner has not left their base, they may simply run to the next base without a tag up.
• If 2 runners are on the same base at the same time, the fielder has a choice to tag either runner with the ball. That runner is out and the other may stay on that base.
• Once the pitcher has control of the ball, any base runners that are less than halfway between bases must return to their original base (this is a ref’s judgment call).
• At any time a runner touches or stops a ball, that runner is OUT.
• Injured players may be replaced by any available player of the same gender.
• A play on a ball in foul territory can only result in:
• A foul ball if the ball is not caught in the air.
• An out if the ball is caught in the air. (In this situation, runners are allowed to tag up and advance after the catch.)
• Hitters can get out by:
• Striking out (third strike).
• Fouling out (hitting foul with 2 strikes).
• Hitting the ball, and it’s caught by a player in the field.
• Hitting the ball and they are tagged with the ball.
• Hitting the ball and forced out at first base.
• Otherwise touching a ball in play.
• Runners can get out by:
• Touching a ball in play (themselves, being tagged, being hit by a hit ball).
• Leading off, trying to steal, sliding.
• Being forced out at a base.
• Running outside the base lines.

*No player should bring or take anything into the playing area not provided by the league or used to play the game. If you have a question on if you can bring something ask the referee or email info@besocialrichmond.com.

*Avoid person-to-person contact at all costs.

Rules are subject to change when and as needed by BSR staff.