House Rules
Eight team rules, loosely enforced and fully endorsed. The league's actual rulebook is below it, for anyone who shows up confused.
Show up.
On time is a stretch goal. Showing up is the rule. The lineup waits for no one, but it remembers everyone.
A cold one before first pitch.
Hydration is a team value. Interpret freely. Warmups at Lou's, the rest at the park.
Run it out.
You do not have to be fast. You have to look like you tried. The one time you do not is the one time it matters.
Talk is encouraged.
Backing it up is preferred. Chirp all you want, then go put one over the fence to keep it honest.
The cooler is a shared resource.
Bring your share or carry the bats. The squad runs on contributions, not freeloaders.
No moping after a loss.
One beer of sulking, maximum. Then we reload and move on. Reloading, not dwelling.
What happens at the field goes on the channel.
Wear the glasses, get the clip. The Metas are always rolling, so govern yourself accordingly.
Respect the umps, mostly.
Disagree quietly, lose gracefully, and thank them after. Free agency for umpires is real and we are not making the list.
Win or lose, we close the night together.
That is the whole point. The Player of the Game drinks free and the side bets get settled.
Violations are punished by a round for the squad. Repeat offenders buy two. Amendments pass by majority vote, held exclusively at Lou's.
How We Play
The City of Phoenix adult softball rules that actually affect us on the field, in plain English. The official rule book always wins, this is just the cheat sheet.
The 60-Second Version
- 7 innings, but no new inning after 55 minutes. The umpire's clock is the only clock.
- Every at-bat starts 1 ball, 1 strike. After two strikes you get one foul to waste, then you are out.
- 7 runs max per inning through the 4th. The 5th inning opens up: score until three outs.
- Mercy rule: up 20 after 3, 15 after 4, or 10 after 5 and the game is over.
- 8 players to field a team, 10 max on defense. Show up.
- Ties stand in the regular season, counted as half a win and half a loss.
Game Format
- A regulation game is 7 innings. No new inning starts after the 55 minute mark (50 if we use the 5 minute grace period). Innings already in progress finish out, unless the home team is already ahead.
- Umpires are the official timekeepers. Confirm the start time with them.
- A game is official once the 4th inning is complete: top of the 4th if home leads, bottom of the 4th if the visitor leads.
- Grace period: 5 minutes, and only if we are short the minimum players. It comes off our 55 minutes, so being late costs us playing time.
- Pitcher gets 5 warm-up pitches before the first inning and 3 between innings. No batted infield warm-ups, no swings against the backstop or fencing.
Scoring and Mercy
- Accelerated count: every batter starts at 1 and 1. One foul to waste after two strikes, then you are down.
- 7 run cap per inning for innings 1 through 4. Hit 7 and you are on defense.
- 5th inning on is the open inning: unlimited runs until three outs.
- Run rule (mercy): 20 ahead after 3 innings, 15 after 4, or 10 after 5 ends it.
- A legal pitch arcs at least 6 feet and no more than 12 feet. One that lands on the plate or the strike mat is a called strike.
Home Runs, The One-Up Rule
- Over the fence is a trot-free run. Nobody has to run the bases.
- One-up rule: once both teams have hit a homer, either team can go one homer ahead. The other team can match to tie, then either can go one up again.
- Anything over the fence beyond the one-up limit is a dead ball and an automatic out. Translation: do not get greedy until the other side has gone deep.
Lineups and Players
- Minimum 8 to start or keep playing. Drop below 8 and it is a forfeit.
- Up to 10 on defense. You can bat the whole roster as long as they are there at game time and listed in the order.
- Late arrivals come in under standard substitution rules and go to the bottom of the order.
Borrowed Players
We can borrow rostered players from another team in our league, with strings attached.
- Tell the onsite director first so they can confirm the player is eligible.
- Max 2 borrowed, up to 10 total, and only enough to match or stay below the other team's count.
- Borrowed players bat in the last two spots and play catcher and right field. Put them anywhere else and the other team can have it corrected.
- When our real player shows up, the borrowed player comes out.
- In the playoffs we cannot borrow from teams already knocked out, unless the onsite director allows it.
Baserunning
- No mandatory slide rule. Slide if you want, at your own risk.
- No runner safety lane. Stay on the bag until the ball is hit, or you are out.
- Courtesy runner: one per inning, usually the last out or a rostered non-player. Use it wisely.
Equipment
- Bats: USA approved only, nothing rolled, shaved, repainted, or doctored. Show up with an altered or banned bat and you are ejected, and the team eats a penalty.
- Shoes: no metal spikes. Hard plastic or poly spikes that act like metal are out too.
- Balls: men hit the 12 inch ball. The home team brings the backup ball.
The Beer Reality Check
We love a brew. The city does not love you bringing your own.
- No outside beer or alcohol inside the three complexes that sell it: Rose Mofford, Papago, and Desert West. No coolers either.
- No alcohol on the field or in the dugout during a game, ever, borrowed players included.
- None in the parking lot. Violators can get cited.
- Translation: drink where it is allowed, keep it out of the dugout, and save the real celebration for after.
Don't Get Tossed
Get ejected and you leave the park for the night and sit your next game too. Fast ways to get there:
- Throwing equipment, abusive or vulgar language, or getting in an official's face.
- Any contact with an official is a different universe of trouble: suspensions and bans.
- Hitting the ball up the middle with intent to harm a fielder, or bringing music into the complex, are both code-of-conduct violations.
- Only the manager talks rule interpretations with the umpire, and only before the next pitch.
Roster Basics
- Up to 20 players, 18 or older by the first game, one roster per player per league.
- Rosters freeze at the first pitch of the 5th game.
- Signatures on file before you play. Do not fake them, that gets the whole team suspended.
City of Phoenix Adult Softball Rules, Rev. 09/23
phoenix.gov/parks/sports/softball