West Tampa Little League - Minor B Division - Baseball
Our Minor B Division is for Players aged: 6, 7, 8 and in some cases, players aged 9 with limited baseball experience.
Players League age 6 should have at least one season of Tee Ball and at least one Season of Coach Pitch completed to tryout for 8U Minor B
The goal of Minor B is for the development of players so that they can continue to develop hitting and throwing. This division is geared toward players who are now ready to pitch to live batters, from a distance of 42 feet. The pitching rules are Hybrid where there are no walks, if a player cannot throw strikes, the offensive coach will finish the remaining strikes in the at-bat. The next division up at West Tampa is Minor A, Minor B is a competitve division, where score is kept.
To qualify for Minor A baseball, your child shall tryout and must be selected to a team.
Minor B Baseball Rules - West Tampa Specific
• Prior to the beginning of the game, the manager must declare if he is going to use the method below. Innings can proceed as follows to help speed up the game;
o 1st inning-coach pitch
o 2nd inning-player pitch
o 3rd inning- player pitch
o 4th inning- coach pitch
• Player-pitch innings: 3 strikes, whether swinging or called, will result in an out. There will be no walks. Once a player throws 4 balls, the coach will finish pitching the at-bat. The batter will assume the same number of strikes when the coach takes over. The coach will have up to 4 additional pitches; if the batter does not put the ball in play by the 4th coach pitch, they are out.
• Coach Pitch-only innings: 3 strikes, whether swinging or called, will result in an out. There will be no walks. The coach will have 7 total pitches; if the batter does not put the ball in play by the 7th pitch, they are out.
• For player and coach pitch, a foul ball will not end an at-bat, regardless of the number of pitches (unless the foul ball is caught in the air by the defense)
• The Time Limit for Minor B games will be 1 hour 45 minutes. No new inning may begin after the Time Limit, but the inning in progress may be completed, unless a regulation game has already been reached.
• An inning ends when a team scores 5 runs or 3 outs are made, whichever occurs first. There is no open inning.
• Minor B games should have an umpire, whether paid or volunteer. In the event there is no umpire available, the offensive coach will call outs, balls and strikes.
• When a ball is hit to the outfield, runners can advance multiple bases. Once the ball is thrown into the infield and controlled by a defensive player, play is halted. Runners past the halfway point may continue to the next base with the chance of being put out. If they are not past the halfway point when the ball is controlled by a fielder, they must return to the previous base. If the infielder throws the ball after it is in their control, the runners may continue to advance.
• There is no stealing during coach pitch.
• During Player pitch, runners may steal second or third base only on a passed ball or wild pitch when the ball travels at least 4 feet beyond the catcher. Stealing will not be allowed on pitches dropped by the catcher that land within their reach.
• There is no stealing of home.
• Official Little League leather baseballs should be used for games.
• Bats: Non-wood and laminated bats used in the Little League Minor divisions shall bear the USA Baseball logo signifying that the bat meets the USABat – USA Baseball’s Youth Bat Performance Standard. All BPF – 1.15 bats are prohibited. The bat diameter shall not exceed 2⅝ inches and it shall not be more than 33 inches in length.
• Coaches are not allowed on the field during the team's defensive half of the inning.
• 2 coaches are allowed to coach from the 1st and 3rd base coach boxes during the team's offensive half of the inning, but there must always be a coach in the dugout.
• 9 defensive players are allowed on the field.
• Continuous batting order will be used.
• There is no on-deck batter allowed.
• Pitching distance: Minor League pitching distance is 46 feet. For Minor B games at West Tampa Little League, the portable mound may can alternatively be placed at a distance of 42 feet, provided both coaches agree to this prior to the start of the game.