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2007 Tournament of Champions

Schedules and Game Scores

Contacts

TOC Host – Scott Brohaugh – NBLL (scott.a.brohaugh@boeing.com)
TOC Scheduler – Geoff Nestor – NBLL (geoffrey.nester@americanhm.com)
TOC UIC – Chris Vandenberg – WWLL (chrisvan@microsoft.com)
TOC Information Coordinator – Cathy Lehmann – WLL (wlbbcoach@hotmail.com)

Field Addresses

Rainout Line Information

Combinations

Tournament Format

Round Robin Pool Play followed by a single elimination Championship Round.

Teams are seeded into 8 Majors and 8 Minors pools for Round Robin Pool Play. The two teams with the best win-loss records in each pool advance to the “Sweet Sixteen” Championship Round. Teams in a four team pool are guaranteed at least three games; teams in a five team pool are guaranteed at least four games.

The participating leagues and number of teams are as follows:

There are a total of 32 Majors teams and 33 Minors teams. The rest of this document addresses the details of the tournament format, tie-breaker algorithm as recommended by Little League, and the tournament schedule.

Tournament Schedule

Home team is the second team listed in Pool Play round. Home team in Championship round will be decided by a coin toss.

Pool Play – Tuesday 5/29 through Friday 6/8 – Top two teams in each pool move on.

Championship Series:

Sweet Sixteen – Saturday 6/9 and Sunday 6/10.

Quarter-finals – Monday 6/11 and Tuesday 6/12 (Winners move on).

Semi-finals – Wednesday 6/13 (Winners and losers move on).

Finals – Friday 6/15 (Two games per Majors and Minors Pools 1^st/2^nd place, 3^rd/4^th place).

Majors Pool

• Eight pools (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H).
• All pools will have four teams each.
• Each league shall rank (Seed) its teams with #1 being the highest ranked (Best team).
• Each pool will be equal in weight in terms of seeding. This means that if you add up the rankings of each team in each pool (Sum of seeds), all of the pools should be close to equivalent.

• There will be 48 games played in the Majors Pool Play round.
• Two teams from each of pool will advance to Championship round.
• Championship round will consist of sixteen teams playing a single-elimination tournament with a championship game and a consolation game.

Minors Pool

• Eight pools (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H).
• Seven pools will have four teams each. One pool will have five teams.
• Each league shall rank (Seed) its teams with #1 being the highest ranked (Best team).
• Each pool will be equal in weight in terms of seeding. This means that if you add up the rankings of each team in each pool, the pools should be close to equivalent.

• There will be 52 games played in the Minors Pool Play round.
• Two teams from each of pool will advance to Championship round.
• Championship round will consist of sixteen teams playing a single-elimination tournament with a championship game and a consolation game.

Tie Games

Ties will be allowed in pool play. Ties are counted as .5 win and .5 loss in pool play. Games have been scheduled to allow extra time to finish a game. Week night games may continue beyond two hours as long as no other games are scheduled for your field, you have light and it is safe to play. The umpire on the field will make that determination.

Rescheduling Games due to Rain, School Activities, etc.

During pool play, a rained out game that cannot be made up will be scored as a tie. No runs allowed or innings defended will be charged to either team. During the Championship round, rain outs that cannot be made up will be decided by a coin flip. Do everything possible, keeping safety as your number one priority, to avoid a rain out in the Championship round (i.e. move to a school field, do your best to get four innings in, etc.).

Due to the number of games to play and the limited field availability, your ability to reschedule a game for any reason will be very limited. For the TOC, the minimum number of players necessary to play a game is nine (9). So, if you can field nine players, your team can play the game.

Dugouts

Home teams will occupy the 3^rd base dugout. In pool play, the home team is the second team listed on the schedule. In the Championship round, the home team will be decided by a coin flip.

It is the responsibility of both teams to clean the dugouts, and make sure the spectator area is cleared of trash, after their game.

Tie-Breaker Algorithm

At the end of pool play, if two or more teams have the same win-loss record, the tie will be broken as follows:

1. Head-to-Head Record among tied teams.
2. Lowest Run Differential.
3. Coin Flip.

The Tie-breaker is applied as follows:

1. If two teams are tied:

a.       Head-to-head record.

b.       Lowest overall run differential.

c.       Lowest run differential of the head-to-head game.

d.       Coin flip.

2. If three teams are tied (Note: After one team has broken the tie, the two remaining teams start at step 1):

a.       Head-to-head record.

b.       Lowest overall run differential.

c.       Coin flip.

                                 i.            Each team is assigned a coin.

                               ii.            Odd flip out is eliminated.

Information regarding “Lowest Run Differential” obtained from the Little League website:

If there are two or more teams, and no clear victor can be determined through head-to-head competition, then the total number of defensive runs given up in all games, divided by the number of innings played on defense, is computed for each team involved in the tie. The team with the lowest "run differential" will advance. If teams are still tied, the number of defensive runs given up, divided by defensive innings played will be re-computed using just the teams involved in the tie.

NOTE: If a team only plays part of a half-inning on defense before the game is ended, that partial inning will count as a full half-inning for the purpose of computing run differential.

Awards, Ceremonies and Decorations

Northshore Athletic Fields (NAF) should be decorated for the Championship games as time and budget allows. There will be award ceremonies after each Consolation and Championship game.

• Trophies will be awarded to players for 1^st and 2^nd place for both Majors and Minors.
• Medals will be awarded to players for 3^rd and 4^th place for both Majors and Minors.
• Pins will be given to every player that participates in the tournament.

The total cost of awards and trophies will be split between all leagues participating in the TOC.

Game Score and Pitching Reports

1.       Game reports must include game number, date, field, team names, score & innings defended for both teams. Pitching reports must include pitcher jersey number, pitcher age, pitch count and pitcher last name. Last names of pitchers will not be posted to the web site for child safety reasons.

a)       Format for the game results and pitching reports will be emailed to all managers prior to the start of the tournament.

2.       Visiting and home team managers must agree on ALL OF THE ABOVE BEFORE LEAVING THE FIELD.

3.       HOME (during the Championship round the WINNING) team manager is responsible for e-mailing complete game reports for both teams to the TOC information coordinator (Cathy Lehmann – wlbbcoach@hotmail.com) by 11:00PM the night of the game. Failure to do so will result in a 6-0 forfeit to the visiting team with 6 innings defended. Missing game reports will be submitted to the TOC information coordinator as soon as possible.

4.       Game results and pitching reports will be posted to the tournament web page nightly, allowing managers to check who pitched and their next available pitching date by clicking on the game link. For any unreported games that resulted in forfeit the scorebooks will be presented by each team to the opposing manager to confirm the forfeit pitch counts plus eligible pitchers at the start of the following game, or will result in a forfeit.

5.       Every manager is responsible for checking the TOC website to ensure their game information is correct. Game report discrepancies need to be discussed with the home team. If necessary the home team will send a game report clearly indicating REVISED with an explanation to the TOC information coordinator. Pool play and Championship play summary discrepancies need to be reported immediately to the TOC information coordinator.

6.       Pitching violations:

a)       Exceeding the maximum pitch count in a game or not adhering to the rest requirement is a pitching violation and is charged to the responsible Manager. TOC committee standard punishment for Manager rule violations shall apply:

i)        First offense, manager receives a warning.

ii)       Second offense, manager is suspended for 1 game.

iii)     Third offense, manager is suspended for remainder of the TOC.

b)       Will result in forfeiture of the game in which the violation occurred if the violation is not discovered until after the game has completed. A game forfeiture is reported as a 6-0 loss with six innings defended.

c)       If discovered during the game, the game will revert back to the point at which the violation occurred (Inning, score, field position, etc.), and play will resume with an eligible pitcher. Pitches pitched by pitchers from the non-offending team while an illegal pitcher was being used, will not count against their pitches pitched for that game.

Tournament Rules

The tournament will be played under regular season rules. Umpires will officiate games based on the 2007 Little League Baseball Official Regulations and Playing Rules (the little green rule book). In addition, the rules below will be enforced:

Common Rules for Majors and Minors

1.       Both teams are responsible for setting up the fields, clean up after the game and putting away the fields (When no game follows).

2.       Both teams are responsible for providing game balls.

3.       For championship round games, the home team will be determined by a coin toss prior to the start of each game. The coin toss will be conducted by the home plate umpire.

4.       No batting practice on game fields before games using any type of ball.

5.       The continuous batting rule 4.04 and free substitution will be used in the tournament. All players must meet the minimum play requirement, which is 6 defensive outs and one (1) at bat. The 6 defensive outs do not have to be consecutive.

6.       Each and every offensive player shall keep a helmet on at all times when on the playing field.

7.       The on-deck batter may not step onto the playing field from the dugout until summoned by the Umpire. (This is a NAF Safety Rule to be enforced at all fields for uniformity). However, the first batter in each half inning is permitted to stand along the base line as long as the batter does NOT swing the bat until he/she is summoned to the plate by the umpire.

8.       No player may swing a bat anywhere on the playing field except at the batter’s box for his or her turn to bat. (This is a NAF Safety Rule to be enforced at all fields for uniformity).

9.       When the pitcher is in contact with the pitcher’s plate and in possession of the ball and the catcher is in the catcher’s box ready to receive delivery of the ball, base runners shall not leave their bases until the ball has been delivered and has reached the batter (Rule 7.13). An umpire, if equipped, may drop a flag on the field to indicate when a runner has left early. Rule 7.13 to be enforced as follows:

a)       While a runner is clearly advancing, the pitcher and catcher cannot stop the runner except by playing on the runner.

b)       When a runner is not advancing, for example, stopped near a base or moving back and forth off a base to draw attention or a throw, the pitcher with possession of the ball and in contact with the pitching rubber and the catcher in the box with gear on and facing the pitcher is sufficient to freeze the runner to their last legally acquired base. Squatting is not a requirement for the catcher, nor is the presence of a batter.

10.   Runners may not slide head-first when advancing to the next base, but may slide head-first when returning to an occupied base.

11.   A manager or coach or any adult must not warm up a pitcher at home plate, in the bullpen, or elsewhere at any time. This is an insurance and decorum issue. No penalty, just stop.

12.   Only a player may act as a catcher on the playing field and any player acting as a catcher at any time, including warming up a pitcher between innings, shall wear protective equipment including a NOSCAE approved and embossed helmet, face mask with dangling throat protector and protective athletic cup for male catchers. Skull cap type helmets are not allowed.

13.   There is no balk rule in Little League baseball. The Umpire may call an illegal pitch a ball and the batter shall advance to first base without liability to be put out if such awarded ball is ball four.

14.   Pitching Rules apply as found in the LL green book Regulation VI – Pitchers. Note: the use of this regulation negates the concept of the “calendar week” with regard to pitcher eligibility.

a)       In the pre-game meeting between Managers and Umpires, pitcher eligibility for that game will be discussed. Each Manager should be prepared with pitching eligibility information for his team. The Umpire will coordinate the exchange of this information, but will not monitor pitchers or pitch counts during the game until informed by the official pitch counter that a pitcher has reached the maximum pitch count.

b)       The home team is responsible for providing the official pitch counter for both teams. This person may be the home team scorekeeper or a person working with the scorekeeper. It may not be a Manager or Coach. It is required that each team review, and if necessary, reconcile pitch counts after each half inning, and at the conclusion of the game.

c)       Each team Manager is responsible for communicating with the official pitch counter and knowing when a pitcher must be replaced.

d)       The manager must remove the pitcher when said pitcher reaches the limit for his/her age group as noted below, but the pitcher may remain in the game at another position.

Exception: If a pitcher reaches the limit in Regulation VI (c) for his/her league age while facing a batter, the pitcher may continue to pitch (applies only to maximum pitch count not at each breakpoint, referred to as last batter) until any one of the following conditions occurs: 1. That batter reaches base; 2. That batter is put out; 3. The third out is made to complete the half-inning. Note 1: If the pitcher reaches the limit on his/her last pitch to a particular batter, the pitcher must be removed before delivering a pitch to the next batter. Note 2 – Intentional Walks: The TOC committee strongly discourages intentional walks. The objective is that all players should have an opportunity to hit and put the ball in play.

e)       Pitchers league age 12 and under must adhere to the following rest requirements.