15U
TABLE OF CONTENTS
AGE REQUIREMENTS
For 15U the player must be turning 14 or 15 in the calendar year of play.
GENERAL RULES & REGULATIONS
League Overview
15U AAA
Baseball Alberta League specific rules for the 15U 'AAA' play category.
ROSTER SUBMISSION
All roster submission dates can be found here. Initial rosters must be completed via the Spordle platform. All changes and adjustments are to be made by each association that has entered teams into Baseball Alberta specific leagues.
LEAGUE STRUCTURE
The Baseball Alberta Provincial 15U ‘AAA’ Baseball League will be split into two tiers for Exhibition Games and League Play with Associations self declaring their Tier at the time of registration.
Exhibition Weekend
*NEW FOR 2024*
Beginning in 2024, the 15U AAA Development Round will be reduced to a single weekend of exhibition games before League Play begins. Exhibition games will not count in the regular season standings.
Developmental approach with eased rules for player development.
Consideration of travel distances between teams when creating league schedules, depending on the number of teams entered.
League Play - Total Points
Teams will be split into province wide tiers for the League Play schedule.
Total Points (2 points per win and 0 points per loss) from league play games will determine final standings for Provincial Championships.
League play continues through July, with the number of teams in the Tier I Provincial Championship and the Tier II Provincial Championship dependent on the number of teams registered in that division/category.
Provincial Championships
*NEW FOR 2024*
Beginning in 2024, Baseball Alberta will run 15U AAA Tier 1 and 15U AAA Tier 2 Provincial Championships.
15U AAA Tier 1 Provincial Championship - will consist of a maximum of eight (8) teams from the 15U AAA Tier 1 League based on regular season standings. The ninth (9th) place and lower teams in the 15U AAA Tier 1 League will not participate in a Provincial Championship.
In the event that the 15U AAA Tier 1 Provincial Championship Host Team finishes in ninth (9th) place or lower, they will be given the eighth (8th) seed at the 15U AAA Tier 1 Provincial Championship and teams who finish in the top seven will be seeded 1-7 in the tournament. The remaining teams who finish eighth (8th) and lower will not qualify for the 15U AAA Tier 1 Provincial Championship.
15U AAA Tier 2 Provincial Championship - will consist of a maximum of eight (8) teams from the 15U AAA Tier 2 League based on regular season standings. The ninth (9th) place and lower teams in the 15U AAA Tier 2 League will not participate in a Provincial Championship.
In the event that the 15U AAA Tier 2 Provincial Championship Host Team finishes in ninth (9th) place or lower, they will be given the eighth (8th) seed at the 15U AAA Tier 2 Provincial Championship and teams who finish in the top seven will be seeded 1-7 in the tournament. The remaining teams who finish eighth (8th) and lower will not qualify for the 15U AAA Tier 2 Provincial Championship.
Post Provincial Championships
Baseball Canada Ray Carter Cup - Alberta will be represented by the 15U AAA Tier 1 Provincial Champion
Western Canada Baseball Association (WCBA) 15U AAA Championship - Alberta will be represented by the 15U AAA Tier 1 Provinicial Finalist
15U AAA EXHIBITION WEEKEND RULES
Baseball Canada rules (including pitching restrictions/limitations) except for the following:
Unlimited Substitution
Every player present will be placed on the line-up card in the batting order and will all bat in order; players are allowed to move in/out defensively without restrictions except that if the pitcher leaves the mound to play another defensive position, that pitcher may not return to the mound or catch in the same game; any player who becomes injured or must leave the game will be skipped in the batting line-up with no penalty.
Participation Rule
All players listed on the official lineup card play a defensive position for 3 of their team’s defensive outs and receive 1 plate appearance.
Mercy Rule
In effect (10 run differential when the losing team has completed their 5th offensive inning).
15U AAA LEAGUE PLAY AND PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Baseball Canada rules apply for the 15U division (limited substitution/re-entry rule, please see examples in general rules) including a pitcher may not return to the mound if removed from the mound or the game, except for the following:
Participation Rule
Except for the Provincial Championship, all players listed on the official lineup card will play a defensive position for 3 of his/her team’s defensive outs and receive 1 plate appearance.
Mercy Rule
In effect (10 run differential when the losing team has completed their 5th offensive inning).
In the event that a player is ejected or injured and no substitute is available, the last player substituted for may re-enter the game, and thus, there will be no forfeit (unless the injury/ejection leaves the team with 8 players remaining).
Designated Hitter Rule
The designated hitter may be utilized at the 15U ‘AAA’ League Play. The designated hitter rule is not permitted during the Provincial Championship. Regarding the use of the Designated Hitter with limited re-entry rules, the termination of the Designated Hitter in the game also eliminates the re-entry for the starting Designated Hitter.
15U AA
Baseball Alberta League specific rules for the 15U 'AA' play category.
ROSTER SUBMISSION
All roster submission dates can be found here. Initial rosters must be completed via the Spordle platform. All changes and adjustments are to be made by each association that has entered teams into Baseball Alberta specific leagues.
15U AA LEAGUE STRUCTURE
The Baseball Alberta 15U ‘AA’ Baseball League will be split into 3 rounds of play in May, June, and July.
Round 1 - Developmental Round:
Developmental approach with eased rules for player development.
Regional seeding round; each region will play a double round robin within their region. This round will be used for coaches to determine their team’s ability to play in either Division I or II for the following round.
Baseball Alberta will still require game summary sheets to be emailed in and will aid Baseball Alberta in placement of teams for Round 2.
Coaches' input will also be taken into account when determining the Division of play for Round 2.
Round 2 - Division I/II Seeding Round:
Each Division will play either a single or double round robin (depending on the number of teams) in June to determine who will qualify for Tiers I, II, III, and IV.
Division I teams will be tiered into either Tier I, II, or III, and Division II teams will be tiered into remaining Tiers at the age category (see Team Movement for exceptions).
15U AA RULES OF PLAY
15U AA ALL TIERS - ROUNDS 1 AND 2 RULES
Baseball Canada rules (including pitching restrictions/limitations) except for the following:
Unlimited Substitution
Every player present will be placed on the line-up card in the batting order and will all bat in order; players are allowed to move in/out defensively without restrictions except that if the pitcher leaves the mound to play another defensive position, that pitcher may not return to the mound or catch in the same game; any player who becomes injured or must leave the game will be skipped in the batting line-up with no penalty.
All players who are present for a game and in uniform (unless injured and unable to play or suspended for that game by the league or team) must be listed on the batting order/line-up card -- any coach who sits a player to gain a competitive advantage will be subject to discipline by Baseball Alberta.
Participation Rule
All players listed on the official lineup card play a defensive position for 3 of their team’s defensive outs and receive 1 plate appearance.
Mercy Rule
In effect (10 run differential when the losing team has completed their 5th offensive inning).
Game Time Limit
*NEW FOR 2024*
No new inning to start after 2 hours and 15 minutes of play, unless the game is tied. The start of the game begins when the first pitch is thrown.
15U AA ALL TIERS - ROUND 3 AND PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP RULES
Except for the following, Baseball Canada rules apply for the 15U division (limited substitution/re-entry rule, please see examples in general rules) including a pitcher may not return to the mound if removed from the mound or the game, except for the following:
Participation Rule
All players listed on the official lineup card play a defensive position for 3 of their team’s defensive outs and receive 1 plate appearance.
In the event a player is ejected or injured and no substitute is available, the last player substituted for may re-enter the game, and thus, there will be no forfeit (unless the injury/ejection leaves the team with only 8 players remaining).
Mercy Rule
In effect (10 run differential when the losing team has completed their 5th offensive inning).
Game Time Limit
*NEW FOR 2024*
No new inning to start after 2 hours and 15 minutes of play, unless the game is tied. The start of the game begins when the first pitch is thrown. For Tier 1, the Game Time Limit rule will extend into Round 3, however AA Tier 1 Provincial Championships will operate with no game time limits. Tier 2+ will have a Game Time Limit of 2 hours and 15 minutes for Round 3 and Provincial Championships.
15U A
Baseball Alberta League specific rules for the 15U 'A' play category.
ROSTER SUBMISSION
All roster submission dates can be found here. Initial rosters must be completed via the Spordle platform. All changes and adjustments are to be made by each association that has entered teams into Baseball Alberta specific leagues.
LEAGUE STRUCTURE
Teams will be separated into regional areas for play in early July, with every team qualifying for the Provincial Championships in an appropriate tier based on results during the first two weekends of play. The Baseball Alberta Provincial 15U ‘A’ Baseball League will consist of three weekends:
1st Weekend of July (League Play)
2nd Weekend of July (League Play)
3rd Weekend of July (Provincial Championships)
15U A RULES
Baseball Canada rules except where identified for the following:
Unlimited Substitution: Every player present will be placed on the line-up card in the batting order and will all bat in order; players are allowed to move in/out defensively without restrictions except that if the pitcher leaves the mound to play another defensive position, that pitcher may not return to the mound or catch in the same game; any player who becomes injured or must leave the game will be skipped in the batting line-up with no penalty.
All players who are present for a game and in uniform (unless injured and unable to play or suspended for that game by the league or team) must be listed on the batting order/line-up card -- any coach who sits a player to gain a competitive advantage will be subject to discipline by Baseball Alberta.
Participation Rule: A player may not sit more than 2 consecutive defensive innings (one pitch constitutes an inning sat)
Mercy Rule: In effect -- 10 run differential when the losing team has completed their 5th offensive inning/at bat
Maximum 7 Run / Half Inning Rule - for 15U A once the 7th run of a half inning is scored the inning automatically stops no matter how many outs there are and that half inning is over. This rule will apply to 15U A League Play and Provincial Championship play.
Game Time Limit **NEW FOR 2024** - No new inning to start after 2 hours and 15 minutes of play, unless the game is tied. The start of the game begins when the first pitch is thrown.
Number of Innings: All games are of seven innings to be completed, if time and weather permits. However, four and a half (4-1/2) innings constitute a regulation game if the home team has more runs than the visiting team.
Games cannot end in a tie - Games will need to go into extra innings to finish the game. The extra inning at 15U is played with each team beginning the extra inning (and any subsequent necessary extra innings) with a base runner on first and second, no outs. The batting order of the extra inning or any subsequent innings will be determined by how the previous inning ended. See examples found in the General Rules of Play for more clarification.
Completion of Games: All games must be completed, even if the run differential exceeds the Maximum 7 Run / Half Inning Rule.