LEAGUES OVERVIEW

Baseball Alberta oversees and directly manages a variety of leagues across the province, offering opportunities for players of all ages and skill levels. These leagues are organized into Provincial, Regional, and Community-Based categories, ensuring broad access and development across Alberta.

LEAGUES MANAGED BY BASEBALL ALBERTA

Baseball Alberta directly handles league administration, scheduling, and umpire coordination for the following leagues:

Provincial Leagues

• Baseball Alberta Provincial League (BAPL):

  • Age Groups: 11U, 13U, 15U, 18U, and 22U

  • Description: Alberta’s premier competitive league, featuring the Baseball Alberta Elite League (BAEL), 22U League and Provincial AAA, AA, and A divisions. The BAPL showcases the province’s top talent and concludes with a year-end Provincial Championship tournament.

• Baseball Alberta Girls League (BAGL):

  • Age Groups: 9U, 12U and 14U

  • Coverage: Regional across Alberta, focusing on development and competition for female athletes.

Community-Based Leagues

• Central Alberta Baseball League (CABL): Serving communities throughout Central Alberta.

• County Union Baseball (CUB) League: A recreational league promoting skill development.

• Edmonton Rural Recreational Baseball League (ERRBL): Supporting teams in rural areas near Edmonton.

• YEG-A League: A community-focused league in the Edmonton area.

• Fall Ball: A seasonal league designed for skill maintenance and development.

LEAGUES NOT MANAGED BY BASEBALL ALBERTA

In addition to Baseball Alberta’s leagues, several other leagues operate across the province. Some are sanctioned by Baseball Alberta, while others are managed by separate organizations.

Senior Leagues

• Sunburst League: Competitive play for senior-level teams across Alberta.

• Powerline Baseball League (PBL): Based in Central Alberta with a strong senior presence.

• Alberta West Central Baseball Association (AWCBA): Focused on senior teams in West-Central Alberta.

• North Central Alberta Baseball League (NCABL): A long-standing league for senior-level teams in North-Central Alberta.

Community-Based Leagues

• Lakeland Minor Ball League (LMBL): Regional league supporting minor baseball in Northeastern Alberta.

• Calgary North Baseball League (CNPL): Focused on teams in the Calgary area.

The Baseball Alberta Provincial League (BAPL) is the top level of baseball in Alberta, featuring the province's best players. It includes the Baseball Alberta Elite League, 22U JR League all AAA, AA, and A divisions, which finish with a year-end Provincial Championship tournament.

BAPL OBJECTIVES

BAPL FORMAT & SCHEDULING

RAIN OUTS & SCHEDULING

Teams must provide Baseball Alberta with at least 2 weeks' notice of tournaments, graduations, or any other circumstance where their team is unavailable to play. If inadequate time (less than 2 weeks) is given to Baseball Alberta, the team may be forced to take a forfeit loss. Failure to complete league-scheduled games could result in the team's suspension for Provincial Championship play at Baseball Alberta's discretion.

Games should only be canceled for weather if the field is unplayable or if playing would be unsafe due to conditions. If games must be canceled due to poor weather, the host team is responsible for notifying the umpire crew (if their phone numbers have been provided) or the Umpire Assignor (listed on www.baseballalberta.com).

Teams are responsible for making up games and must coordinate the date/time/place, forwarding the details to Baseball Alberta by 4 pm at least 4 days prior to the anticipated game. If four days' notice is not possible, the Umpire Assignor will do their best to assign umpires. Baseball Alberta will then forward the request directly to the Zone Umpire Assignor, who will confirm with the team if umpires are available.

Any games not made up by the end of the round will either be struck from the schedule (if there was no possible way to make up that game due to timing/weather) or result in a loss assigned for the team(s) unable or unwilling to replay the game. No team will receive a win for a game not played. Any team refusing to travel to play a game may be disciplined further through suspension.

Teams that meet in tournament play may elect to use that game for Provincial League results but must agree before the game and must provide an Official Scorekeeper to fill out all necessary game reports and sheets (must follow rules for pitching and use of affiliates/eligible players). Any team/host site that must cancel a game (other than for weather reasons) must provide notice by 4 pm at least 2 days prior to the game, or the team canceling the game will be charged full umpire game fees for the scheduled game.

All rainout games and rescheduled games must be completed 5 days before the scheduled Provincial Championship weekend for each competition level.

TEAM RANKING & TIEBREAKING GUIDELINES

The following order will be utilized to rank teams and break ties following each round of league play as well as Provincial Championship play. Once a team is removed from a tie, the remaining teams will continue from that point forward through the remainder of the rules to break any remaining ties:

1. Winning Percentage (per Round(s) of Play or Round Robin portion of Championship)

2. Head-to-Head Game(s) Result (between tied teams)

3. Runs Formula from Games Between Tied Teams (Total Runs For Divided by Offensive Outs Minus Total Runs Against Divided by Defensive Outs)

4. Defensive Runs Formula from Games Between Tied Teams (Total Runs Against Divided by Defensive Outs)

5. Runs Formula from All Games in Round(s)

6. Defensive Runs Formula from All Games in Round(s)

For the Competitive Division, teams will be ranked according to Team Ranking and Tiebreaking Rules after each round of play, then seeded into the appropriate Division for Round 2 and the appropriate Tier for Round 3.

The following change will impact the following categories Provincial Championships: 11U A, 13U A, 15U A, 18U A, 11U AA All Tiers, 13U AA Tier 2+, 15U AA Tier 2+ and 18U AA Tier 2+. These categories and tiers of A/AA Provincial Championships will no longer have Tie Break Games on the schedule and instead, solely rely on the Baseball Alberta Tie Breaker Guidelines to settle ties amongst teams in the standings. 

AAA/13U AA Tier 1/15U AA Tier 1/18U AA Tier 1 Provincial Championships will continue to schedule Tie Break Games if needed. 

The Baseball Alberta Tie Breaker Guidelines will be applied as follows:

AAA/13U AA Tier 1/15U AA Tier 1/18U AA Tier 1 Provincial Championships

Two Way Tie for First Place - Head to head record between the two teams will be used to determine 1st and 2nd place.

Two Way Tie for Second Place - Tie Break Game between the two tied teams to determine 2nd place.

Three Way Tie for First Place - The Tie Break Guidelines will be used to determine the 1st place team, the remaining two teams that are tied will play a Tie Break Game to determine 2nd place.

Three Way Tie for Second Place - The Tie Break Guidelines will be used to determine the 4th place team to eliminate them, the remaining two teams that are tied will play a Tie Break Game to determine 2nd place.

A/11U AA/13U AA Tier 2+/15U AA Tier 2+/18U AA Tier 2+ Provincial Championships

Two Way Tie for First Place - Head to Head record between the two teams will be used to determine 1st and 2nd place.

Two Way Tie for Second Place - Head to Head record between the two teams will be used to determine 1st and 2nd place. There will be no Tie Break Game.

Three Way Tie for First Place - The Tie Break Guidelines will be used to determine the 1st place team, the remaining two teams that are tied will have their Head to Head record between the two teams used to determine 2nd place. There will be no Tie Break Game.

Three Way Tie for Second Place - The Tie Break Guidelines will be used to determine the 2nd place team. There will be no Tie Break Game.

TEAM MOVEMENT

'AAA' Team Moving Down to 'AA'

An application for a 'AAA' team wishing to move down to the 'AA' division must be submitted to the Baseball Alberta Office by the end of the final Round 1 play weekend for the age category. Any movement between 'AAA' and 'AA' will be at the discretion of Baseball Alberta, which reserves the right to review the competitiveness of 'AAA' teams to ensure the integrity of our league.

*NEW FOR 2025* AAA PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS SEEDING

Teams will be seeded in Tiers based on the Team Ranking and Tie Breaking Guidelines using the Regular Season standings. The number of teams in each Tier will be set as follows:

• Tier 1 AAA Provincial Championships = maximum 8 teams

• Tier 2 AAA Provincial Championships = maximum 8 teams

In the event that a AAA League consists of more than sixteen teams, teams ranked seventeenth and lower based on the Team Ranking and Tie Breaking Guidelines will not participate in a AAA Provincial Championship.

AA TEAM MOVEMENT

*NEW FOR 2025* At the end of each Round of play, if the last place team in a Division has lost all of the games in the round with an average runs differential (total runs scored less total runs scored against, divided by the total number of games played) of -7 or worse, that team will be placed in a lower division/tier for the following Round if a lower division/tier is available.

*NEW FOR 2025* At the end of each Round of play, if the last place team in a Division has lost all or all but one of the games in the round with an average runs differential (total runs scored less total runs scored against, divided by the total number of games played) of -5 or worse, that team will be given the option to play in a lower division/tier for the following Round if a lower division/tier is available. 

*NEW FOR 2025* At the end of each Round of play, if the top team in a Division wins all games in the round with an average runs differential of +7 or better, that team will be placed in a higher division/tier for the following round if a higher division/tier is available.

*NEW FOR 2025* ROUND 3 (JULY) SEEDING

Teams will be seeded into Tiers based on the Team Ranking and Tie Breaking Guidelines using the Round 1 and Round 2 results. The number of teams in each Tier will be set to allow the top two teams at the end of Round 3 standings to move up a Tier for the Provincial Championships. This includes teams being moved between Tier 3 and Tier 4.

*NEW FOR 2025* AA PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS SEEDING

Teams will be seeded in Tiers based on the Team Ranking and Tie Breaking Guidelines using the Round 3 standings. The number of teams in each Provincial Championship Tier will be set as follows:

• Tier 1 AA Provincial Championships = maximum 8 teams

• Tier 2 and lower AA Provincial Championships = maximum 6 teams

Teams may be moved between Tier 3 and Tier 4 from Round 3 to the Provincial Championships.

GENERAL TEAM MOVEMENT

Team registration into a specific Division at the start of the year does not guarantee placement within that same Division for Provincial Championships.

Tournament game and exhibition game results will not be taken into consideration for team movement and seeding in Baseball Alberta AA Leagues or AA Provincial Championships.

*See exception in Rainouts & Scheduling Section: Teams that meet in tournament play may elect to use that game for Provincial League results but must agree before the game and must provide an Official Scorekeeper to fill out all necessary game reports and sheets (must follow rules for pitching and use of affiliates/eligible players). Any team/host site that must cancel a game (other than for weather reasons) must provide notice by 4 pm at least 2 days prior to the game, or the team canceling the game will be charged full umpire game fees for the scheduled game.

Host teams for Provincial Championships will be determined by Baseball Alberta based on applications and results. In the event that a host site is needed for a Tier, a host may be asked to host a higher Tier or a lower Tier compared to their place in the standings. Non-host teams may be moved accordingly as a result to ensure the appropriate number of teams are in each tier.

RELEGATION/PROMOTION GUIDELINES (BAEL/18U AAA Only)

In an effort to protect the competitiveness of the Baseball Alberta Elite League presented by Rawlings and the 18U AAA League, Baseball Alberta has developed the following guidelines for relegation and promotion between categories. Baseball Alberta league play standings will be used only. There will be no consideration for Tournament, Exhibition or Provincial Game results to calculate Win Percentage and league finishes for promotion/relegation purposes.

Relegation From BAEL to 18U AAA

A) Last place finish in the BAEL regular season standings - relegation takes effect the following season

B) Season Win Percentage below .200 at the end of BAEL regular season play, even if not in last place - relegation takes effect the following season

Promotion From 18U AAA to the BAEL

A) First place finish in the 18U AAA League regular season standings - promotion takes effect the following season

Relegation From 18U AAA to 18U AA

A) Two season combined Win Percentage during the regular season that is below .300 - relegation takes effect the following season