MAJOR (22U & SENIOR)

Major (SR) Category of Play for Players 19 and Older (19+)

For Minor (22U) the player must be turning 19, 20, 21 or 22 in the calendar year of play.

There are no pitch count regulations in the Major Category of Play for 22U, Senior AA or Senior AAA League Play or Provincial Championship play

GENERAL INFO

1. Roster submissions are due by May 31st. No roster changes can be made after July 1st.

2. The maximum roster size is 20 players. Teams can hold additional roster spots for the first two weeks of play to make necessary cuts.

3. Players aged 19-22 are eligible to participate. Teams can apply to have overage players (one-year overage only) through Baseball Alberta.

4. Only two overage players are permitted in the lineup at the same time.

5. 22U players are allowed to appear on both a single 22U and a single Senior roster.

6. Overage 18U players can appear on both a single 22U roster and a single 18U A, single 18U AA or single 18U AAA roster.

7. Players must have made appearances in four scheduled league games (one at-bat, three defensive outs, or an appearance as a pitcher) to be eligible for the Provincial Championships. Coaches are responsible for retaining lineup cards for verification purposes.

8. Minor category aged players are not eligible for Major Categories, with the exception of overage 18U players.

LEAGUE FEES

$50 per team; $10 per player or coach

$75 per umpire per game

Any umpire mileage is the responsibility of the host team

22U LEAGUE PLAY RULES

Baseball Canada Official Rules of Baseball will be used (including DH) except for:

1. Mercy Rule in Effect – (10 run differential when the losing team has completed their 5th offensive inning)

2. Courtesy Runners - A courtesy runner may be used for catchers when they are on base with 2 outs in an inning for all regular season league games.

3. Extra Innings - Games will need to go into extra innings to finish the game. The extra inning at 22U 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. 

4. Only wood or wood composite bats will be permitted.

5. Rawlings ROML or ROMC baseballs are to be used at all games.

6. The winner of the 22U League Provincial Championship will be given the right to represent Alberta at the Western Canada Association Championship the following season.

ROSTERS

• Maximum roster size of 25 players. Only players registered on the GameChanger roster before the game are eligible to play.

• Initial roster must be submitted to the League President by May 1st.

• Final rosters must be submitted to the League President by August 1st.

• No changes to the roster will be permitted after August 1st unless a team’s roster falls below 15 players. In that case, the team will have the opportunity to roster replace.

• All rosters must be approved, and any changes approved by the League President.

• Players can only be on one Senior level Provincial Roster. 22U players are permitted to be on one 22U Provincial roster and one Senior 'AAA' Provincial roster.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY

• Compliant with Baseball Canada player requirements and be an Alberta resident as of July 1st.

• Must be of amateur status or be removed from professional baseball for the current year.

In order to be eligible for Sunburst Playoffs/Provincials, players must meet the following criteria:

• Have an appearance in 35% of games for the team they’re rostered on.

An appearance is defined as:

• 1 plate appearance

• 3 defensive outs played

• An appearance as a pitcher.

• Teams must make a reasonable effort to make up games as required in an effort to not abuse the 35% rule.

• In case of injury causing a player to fall below the minimum requirement, the team with that player must request an exemption from the league. Other teams will vote, with the League President being a tiebreaker. A doctor’s note on the injury must be provided.

• If a game isn’t completed prior to a delay (due to darkness or playing condition), all players on the lineup card are credited with an appearance in the game. Managers must come together to confirm/agree on players at the game and retain the lineup cards for verification.

• Players playing in multiple leagues must meet the same eligibility requirements for playoffs.

• WCBL/WCL players can only have a maximum of 10 appearances in those collegiate leagues (Appearances are defined the same as in the Sunburst League; 1 plate appearance, 3 defensive outs, or an appearance as a pitcher).

• Only players who are in uniform and present at the game can be placed on the lineup card. Coaches are to retain lineup cards from all games for verification of player eligibility.

• If an ineligible player is used, that team will forfeit all games in which the player was used. (Players must be on the GameChanger roster). Any new players added to the GameChanger roster when the season starts must be confirmed by the League President.

LEAGUE PLAY RULES

Baseball Canada Official Rules of Baseball will be used (including the Designated Hitter).

• All games will be 7 innings.

A regulation game is:

• 5 innings have been completed

• 4-1⁄2 innings have been completed, and the home team holds the lead.

• Mercy Rule - 10 run differential after the losing team has completed their 5th offensive inning. Losing team can elect to continue play regardless of the mercy rule (however, the game is officially final regardless of whether the losing team comes back and wins or not).

• Wood/wood composite bat only.

• Courtesy runner is permitted for the catcher when they are on base with 2 outs (not permitted during playoffs).

• Forfeits will be scored as a 7-0 loss, one run for each inning of a standard game.

  • If a forfeit occurs in the middle of an official game in which the forfeiting team is losing, the score will be recorded as it stands at the point of forfeit.

LEAGUE PLAY AND CHAMPIONSHIPS

• The league schedule will consist of an equal number of games against each team.

The League President must be notified of any rescheduled games as soon as possible so umpires can be arranged.

• The regular season Sunburst League games will determine the seeding for the Sunburst Championship playoffs.

The top four teams will make the playoffs, with the last-place team being eliminated.

• Playoff series will be a best of 3 semi-final followed by a best of 4 Championship Final.

• Playoffs will occur if each playoff team plays at least 15 regular season games.

• The winner of the Sunburst League Championship will be given the right to represent Baseball Alberta at the Baseball Canada National Championship the following year. If a Sunburst team is hosting the National Championships and wins the preceding year, the runner-up will represent Alberta.

If each playoff team doesn’t play a minimum of 15 games per team, the previous year’s winners will represent Alberta.

Additional rules and regulations can be found in the Sunburst League Rulebook.

• Payments for team and player fees must be sent to the Baseball Alberta office on or before July 10th. Teams not paid in full by this date will not be permitted to participate in Provincial Championships.

• Rosters

A. Deadline to submit rosters to Baseball Alberta is July 1st.

B. Roster Size: max. 25 players.

C. All players on the roster must be:

i. Compliant with Baseball Canada player requirements and be an Alberta resident as of June 1st.

ii. Must be of amateur status or be removed from professional baseball for the current year.

iii. Players who sign amateur contracts as “fill-ins” for professional teams must provide contract details to Baseball Alberta prior to the roster being approved.

D. Roster Sizes must drop below 16 players to make any changes to the original roster after July 10th.

E. Any changes to a team’s roster will be dealt with by the Baseball Alberta Registrar.

F. Players can only be on one Provincial roster unless approved by the Registrar. 22U players are permitted to appear on both a single 22U roster and a single Senior ‘AA’ roster.

G. No pick-ups will be allowed in the Junior & Senior Divisions.

H. All coaches must be Online Initiation trained. All coaches must have completed these requirements by July 10th, or they will be removed from the roster.

• Provincial “seedings” will be based on the previous Provincial Championship results (where necessary). All new entrants will be placed below those teams that competed in the previous year.

• All Baseball Alberta Senior Division Provincial Championships are wood/wood composite bat tournaments.

• The winner of the Senior “AA” Provincial Championship will be given the right to represent Alberta at the Western Canada Senior ‘AA’ Championship the following year.

• Rules of Play: Baseball Canada Rules.