[PeteBooth]

Originally posted by Buckeye12

I was asked to umpire a Little League tournament this weekend played under "Official Little League" rules. I told the tournament director that I was unfamiliar with these rules but he said that he will go over main points with me before the tournament begins. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with some of the differences between LL and FED rules. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

When you say LL you need to say which divisions of LL you are referring to.

As Rich Ives pointed out there are some Special rules in the 12 and under age groups that don't exist in the 13 and up groups. Also, the re-entry rule in regular season is vastly different from FED. In LL (regular season), the player re-entering doesn't have to bat in the same position in the order as he /she started.

Also, unlike HS in LL all KIDS must Play. The regular season mandatory play rule (MPR) is: 6 defensive outs AND 1 at bat. In tournament time it is 3 CONSECUTIVE defensive outs OR 1 at bat (either or).

This is a tough thread to answer without making it a thesis so I will try and summarize.

1. Find someone who is familiar with LL rules and pick their brains . LL has safety issues that do not exist in FED. Example; in LL whenever a child is warming up F1 they MUST have a cup, mask and throat protector. However , in FED as long as player is not squating that requirement is not necessary.

2. Once you know the LL safety rules and Special Rules, LL uses OBR. So now we need to compare OBR rules to FED which is no easy task.

Since you umpire using FED rules, you should have a FED Rule Book and at the end of the book, they have a quick reference called MAJOR RULE DIFFERENCIES.

That should give you a start. If you are going to umpire (and even if your not), leagues that use both OBR / FED you should purchase Carl Childress's book on Basic Rule Differencies (otherwise known as the BRD)

Good Luck!

Pete Booth