NEW RULE - 45 Minute Games (no longer just 5 innings)

The fight is over! We battled through hardship, with many fallen, but finally, we are free from tyranny! HUZZAH!

For those of you that played in the Summer this year, or those that have read WAKA rules (yeah right), the standard rules are 5 innings played per game, with a tie after 5 innings. Twin Cities WAKA has tried to combat this in the past because the games can sometimes finish very quickly this way, especially when playing the lock down, hard-nosed defense of the Uncontrollable Runs (unbiased).

HOWEVER, this year we are reverting back to the old rules for the regular season. PLEASE NOTE: Playoffs will continue to be 5 standard innings.

o    IMPORTANT GAME PLAY INFORMATION:

• This Spring we followed WAKA rules because of complaints in previous years, HOWEVER now we are reverting back to a game of timed play because of strong feelings around the 5-inning rule in the spring. If you have any questions, please ask Jackie, Joline, your president or VP before your game. Here are the details on play:
• All games should start at their designated time. However if one team is short the minimum 4 guys/4 girls to legally start the game, they get a 15-minute grace period to field a full team. As soon as the minimum have arrived the game must start. Your game MUST start no later than 15 minutes after your scheduled start time. If any team does not have 4 girls and 4 guys by 15 minutes after your scheduled start time that is a forfeit.
• You do NOT get extra play time if you start later than your scheduled start time
• You CANNOT start a new inning with 15 minutes or less before the next game. If you finish an inning and have 16 minutes or more until the next game, you MUST start a new inning. If you finish an inning and have 14 minutes until the next game, you cannot start a new inning. If you are in the middle of an inning and have 14 minutes left, you should finish the inning and then conclude the game.
• You must complete 3 full innings to count your game. 
• Every full inning counts, there is no limit on how many innings you can have in the allotted timeslot

The struggles in years past came because both captains would text different scores depending on what time they thought the game ended. It is up to the home plate referee to keep track of the time, and relay that information to both teams so they know what is the final inning.

At the end of the game, both captains MUST meet at home plate with the home umpire, and agree upon the score. The home plate ref then must find the white board at one of the three fields, and let the score keeper know the final score. This year that distinction has fallen on Mickey, the super non-competitive 6'7" former 8th grade basketball stud on the Uncontrollable Runs. He can usually be found complaining to the refs about a rule in Section 8.02c while donning his jorts. In the event that there is a discrepancy between the two captains on the final score, the head ref will make the final call on the score. If you have any questions about these rules, you can comment below, or find one of the league managers/head ref, who can help explain.

Unfortunately for Pitch, Please, this does mean more innings, but also more time for Jello-Shots!