High School Baseball Rules

Here’s a typical scene on a sunny afternoon at Maine’s high school baseball match. The pitcher is ready to pitch, and then he pitches, and the guy on the bench shouts “balk!” A little annoying sometimes, but admit it, little knowledge is dangerous. In high school baseball you don’t just play by your pitching, running, batting or sliding skills, above all, you must play by the rules. Now, do you have much know-how about high school baseball rules?

In June of 2007, the officers and the baseball rules committee of the National Federation of State High School Associations or NFHS convened at Indianapolis to discuss the issues about balk. What implications does balk bring in and will it serve good for high school players, specifically the pitchers.

In the high school baseball rule book, Rule 6, 1, 1 was recently changed. It now determines the time when a pitcher can actually twist his shoulders to the position of the position of the base runners while being on the baseball mound. Before, it was not legal for the pitcher to face towards the base runner in order for him to see if the runner has contact on the plate of the pitcher and if he is based on the right position. Now, it is legally allowed by the book of rules.

Balk, however is called when the pitcher faces toward the base runner on a windup position. And another instance, if the pitcher is turning his shoulders following a stretch or when he has already brought his hands together, then a balk has just happened.

High school baseball rules have always been changing, but to some people changes may only give disadvantages instead of benefits. One of the officers of the National Federation of State High School Associations said that the balk ruling is not helpful. He added that using the pitcher’s shoulder in turning while he has already set position is definitely not advantageous.

Speaking of advantages, another recent change of ruling, specifically in the Rule 1, 4, 6 of the official high school baseball rules book, states that high school baseball players can now wear helmets with protective facemasks. The rule change further stated that the player may have a guard or facemask in the helmet either as built-in or as add-on. NOCSAE standards will screen and will determine if the facemask is allowed or not. This ruling however is still considered optional. The advantage or disadvantages of wearing facemasks along with helmets are yet to be studied and discovered on actual plays.

High school baseball rules are not just for players too, they are for coaches who seem to be yelling at the players most of the time. Now, a new Rule 3, 2, 1 says that coaches must wear their uniform anytime, anywhere during the game. This was seen after several coaches were found out to be not wearing proper uniforms. If a coach is discovered not wearing appropriate uniform, his involvement in the game will be limited, he will also be dugout and may only be allowed in the field if any team player is wounded.

The new Rule 3, 1, 1 also states a change regarding illegal high school baseball players. Once an umpire discovers an alien player, that player will be limited to the bench, or worse he could be dugout from the game.

The recent 2007 high school baseball rules changes had caused many protests. To some, however, the changes are nothing but for the benefits of those involved in high school baseball. Change is always constant; so, a good advice for high school baseball players is to keep yourselves updated of the latest rule changes.