Youth baseball can give a youngster an opportunity to play an organized sport with supervision and coaching. This can help a young player to improve rapidly. The rules are supposed to help give youngsters the chance to get on the field regularly and also do it in a safe manner.
Playing Opportunities
The idea behind minor youth baseball like Little League is to give players the opportunity to get out on the field and play to have fun and get better. Coaches cannot simply play their best players in an effort to win. Players must play at least two innings in youth minor league baseball and must get at least one at bat. In many minor leagues the minimum that a youngster will play is three innings.
Protective Equipment
All batter who come to the plate must wear a protective batting helmet. The helmet must be made of hard plastic and must have foam padding inside. The helmet must cover both ears. A face mask is not required, but it is encouraged. If the batter reaches base, he must continue to wear his helmet as long as he is on the base path. The batter must have his helmet on from the moment he leaves the dugout and goes to the on-deck circle.
Pitching Limitations
Pitchers cannot pitch more than three innings or 65 pitches in a game. If a pitcher throws between 46 and 65 pitches in a game, he must rest for three days. If he pitches between 26 and 45 pitches in a game he must rest for two days. If the pitcher throws between 1 and 25 pitches, he must rest at least one day before pitching again.
About this Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Football — The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
