FARM AAA

AGE

Players ages 8-9  play Farm AAA  (League Age).

SKILLS AND DIVISION EMPHASIS

·         Players begin to focus on proper fielding and hitting techniques

·         The games become more competitive as compared to AA

·         There is a focus on the defense executing put-outs.  Scoring runs is not the focus in this division

·         Innings end after 8 batters have had an at-bat in an inning

·         Players hit coach pitch while at bat.  If they are unsuccessful after 8 pitches, they are called out.

·         New players to baseball enjoy success in this division.  Prior experience is not required.  There are players of all skill levels in this division

·         Base distances are 60 feet

·         Game scores are kept in this division.  The winning teams are those that execute the most put-outs during the games

·         Team standings are maintained and there is an end of season playoff

HOW ARE TEAMS DETERMINED?

·         The league’s staff selects the teams based on the players’ various requests

·         Players may request specific friends or coaches

·         Coaches may request certain players

·         If there are no specific requests, players are aligned by schools or neighborhoods

·         The league does a “best efforts” to meet the family requests.  No guarantees are made

HOW MANY GAMES AND TEAMS ARE THERE?

·         AAA usually has 7-8 teams in the Spring and they play 12 games, plus the playoffs

WHEN AND WHERE ARE THE GAMES AND PRACTICES?

·         Practices for all divisions are generally held at the Tempe Sports Complex; however, some coaches choose to have practices at the local parks or schools.  

·         The coach has discretion to select the specific times, days and locations of the practices

·         Games are on Monday nights at 5:30pm and Saturday mornings at 8:30am or 10:30am

·         Practices are generally on Monday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings

SIGNIFICANT RULES

·         Ten players are in the field defensively

·         Players rotate defensively between infield and outfield positions

·         Players do not sit out defensively for two consecutive innings

·         Teams bat 8 players each inning

·         Coaches throw 8 pitches to each batter, after the last pitch, the batter is out

·         No new inning can start after 1 hour and 30 minutes, Drop Dead time is 1 hour 45 minutes

·         Runners remain on the bases, regardless of the number of outs

·         Batters and runners who are “put out” leave the bases

·         Runners advance bases one base at a time, however, runners may continue running on balls hit to the outfield until an infielder controls the ball