Play Competitive Baseball Against Town Teams, NOT CLUBS!
Who are TTBA Staff
We are a team of 3 parent/coaches with over 25 years of experience coaching youth baseball, and our children play as part of the local Cal Ripken organization within District 9 of NNJ. Based on recent experience of the past 5 years, a change is needed to bring back the competitive spirit for town teams playing in tournaments and leagues with club teams. We came together with the vision to provide a better town travel ball experience for the kids that can be fun and competitive but fair. Our hope is to keep kids together within their town's organizations as opposed to parents following the buzz around club ball. Ultimately, our goal is to promote the excitement around local teams and help increase town recreation program numbers.
Vision
To provide a competitive experience for town travel teams, while focusing on development and safety for the players without the weekly competition against club teams.
Overview
Tournament and League play for town travel teams that are part of youth recreation programs for their respective town.
Team Levels/Rating
A Bracket: District/State/Region Teams - High-level competitive teams.
B Bracket: Level 2 - District and Non-District Teams
C Bracket: Developmental -
TTBA will use Game Changer data from prior seasons to group teams based on records, past tournaments results, etc..
Fall/Spring/Summer Tournaments
We will provide Host Sites with Balls and Umpires. Your Teams just show up and play!
Awards provided for finalists and finals MVP.
Payment, Rosters (certified from your League Commissioner), COI, and Waivers will be processed through League Apps.
Host Sites: Northern, Central, and Southern NJ
rules
Town Travel Baseball Association – Tournament Rules and Regulation.
All tournaments will be played according to the Official Baseball Rules and Babe Ruth Rules and Regulations.
We will use Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Rules for our Tournaments which can be found on Babe Ruth Website, however the below Amendments have been made for Town Travel Baseball Tournaments.
Approved Bats 8U – 12U
1. 8U Division Only - USA Stamped Bats Only
2. 9U – 12U Divisions
a. USA Stamped Bats
b. USSSA Bats permitted.
c. Barrel size must be between 2 ¼ - 2 ¾. Players may use BPF 1.15, BBCOR, or USA Baseball designations.
Mercy Rules:
Ten (10) and Fifteen (15) Run Rules for any TTBA Division Tournament game must be terminated immediately once becoming regulation (3 ½) or four (4) innings if one team is ahead by ten (10) runs or more and has had equal times at bat, or the home team is leading Any TTBA Division Tournament game must be terminated immediately if one team is ahead by fifteen (15) runs or more after two and a half (2 ½) or three (3) innings and has had equal times at bat, or the home team is winning.
Tournament Pitching Rules 8U – 12U
Town Travel Baseball has a key focus on player safety. Below is a breakdown of our Pitching Rules, all rules are PER TOURNAMENT, not Game.
A pitcher can only pitch 6 Innings throughout the Tournament. This is the case with 1 Day and 2 Day Tournaments.
One Pitch = 1 Inning
Ex:
Game 1 – Pitcher A throws a pitch in inning 1 and a pitch in inning 2. He would have 4 Innings remaining in the remainder of tournament.
Official Inning Count will be verified by Head Coaches and Home Plate Umpire. Umpires will notate Pitcher Inning at end of inning.
No Fake Bunt, then Swing (Slash Bunt) Rule – When a batter is called out for a slash bunt, the ball is dead and no runners can advance.
No Dropped 3rd Strike in 8U-10U
Infield Fly Rule – Only in 8U-10U there’s no Infield Fly Rule in this bracket. 11U and 12U Infield Fly Rule Applies
Trips to the Mound: Trips to the mound shall be limited to one (1) per inning per pitcher. The second trip in the same inning will result in removal of that player as a pitcher. Any effort to circumvent this rule will result in a trip to the mound being charged by the umpire.
Time Limit for Pool Play and Bracket Games:
8U-12U – 1:40 Minutes from completion of Ground Rules
No TIME LIMIT IN Championship Game
Pool Play Seeding and Advancement:
With 2 Teams Tied:
Win/Loss Record
If Tie will go Head-to-Head
If Still Tied will go to Runs Allowed
If Still Tied will go to Runs Scored
With 3 or More Teams Tied:
Win/Loss Record
If still tied, Head-to-Head if all Teams have played each other.
If all Teams have not played each other, Runs Allowed will be next tie breaker.
At this Point – Team with lowest amount advances, remaining teams will go back to Tie Breaker 2 – Head to Head and will follow the Tiebreaker process till all teams are seeded.
Pool Play Home and Away Team:
Home and Away Team will be randomly selected during scheduling for Pool Play Games. Each Team will be Home for one pool play game and one away game seeding.
Bracket and Championship Game – Higher Seed will be Home Team
Substitution Rule:
Teams can bat their full lineup. If they bat their full lineup then they will have free defensive substitutions.
If Team does not batt full lineup, normal substitution rules will apply.
• Starter can be removed once and added back in to the same spot of the lineup.
• Substitutions can only enter one time.
All Players on Roster must play at minimum one at Bat and one inning in the field unless player is out for injury.
Courtesy Runner for Pitcher and Catcher
Substitution for Pitcher and Catchers at any time but mandatory for Catcher with 2 Outs. Last batted out would be the courtesy runner.
Base Stealing:
Runner can steal all bases and can only leave their base after the ball crosses the plate.