NABF rules were revised by the Board of Directors and Delegates on November 12, 2022, at the Annual Meeting. Four of them were altered and one was new to the rule book. Below are each of the updated rules and the pages they appear on in the 2023-2024 NABF Consitution, By-Laws, and Tournament Rules.
Article VII Rules and Interpretations
Section 1. Playing Rules on page 14. The playing rules of the National Association of Professional Leagues shall be the official rules of this Federation and tournament play, except when they may conflict with Federation rules. The interpretation of playing rules shall be that as defined by the 2022 Official Rules of Major League Baseball.
4.00 – Certification of Players
4.07B Limit of 27 Players–Junior, High School, Senior, College and Major Divisions Only on page 23. Teams participating in NABF Junior, High School, Senior, College, and Major tournaments shall be limited to twenty-seven (27) players, which shall not include more than six (6) extra players from their respective league.
9.00 – Playing Rules
9.06 Determining Home and Visiting Teams on page 38. Before all NABF tournament games, the home team and visiting teams must be determined by a toss of the coin. Except in the Rookie, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, High School, and Senior Divisions the quarterfinal, semi-final and championship game, the higher seed shall be the home team.
9.13 Pitching Guidelines for 22 Years of Age and Younger on page 40. The NABF will follow MLB/Pitch Smart/USA Baseball’s recommendations on pitch count limits and required rest as found on MLB’s website (www.mlb.com/pitch-smart/pitching-guidelines).
No pitcher shall appear in a game as a pitcher for three (3) consecutive days, regardless of pitch counts in the Freshman and Rookie Division.
Penalty for Violation of Rule 9.13: Manager is removed from the game and the remainder of the tournament. The game where the violation occurred is forfeited.
9.17 Player Re-entry on page 42:
(A) Any player in the starting line-up who has been removed for a substitute may re-enter the game one (1) time in the Rookie, Sophomore, Junior, High School, and Senior Divisions.
(B) The starter shall return to their original place in the batting order. No substitutions may be made that shall alter the original batting rotation of any of the starting or substitute players.
(C) If a starting pitcher is removed from the game and is not in the original batting order, he becomes a substitute and can pinch hit or be a defensive substitute for anyone in the line-up. The starting pitcher cannot assume the pitcher position once removed from the game as a pitcher.