| Age: | Under 10 (with birth date cut offs defined by national rules) |
| Philosophy: | The Cal Ripken Minors Baseball Program is a developmental and competitive program that plays in a Dane County league and has both state and national affiliations. This program requires a major commitment by players, coaches, and parents. Cross Plains typically has two (2) teams in the age group. …..Director with the support and approval of Cross Plains Baseball. Teams play 15 – 20 games including 3 weekend tournaments. All 9 & 10 year olds interested in playing baseball with a more competitive program can choose for an evaluation to play on a Cal Ripken (minors) team. Those players who are selected will play Cal Ripken (minors); if cuts need to be made, those players should apply for the Cross Plains Village League. |
| Season: | The season begins in mid-May. Games are typically on Tuesday and Friday evenings beginning at 5:30 p.m. Game times are tentative and may change after the league scheduling meeting. Home game times will be 5:30 or 7:30 p.m. All games are played at Baer Park on the small diamond. The Dane County league is completed around the 2nd weekend in July. There is a State Tournament for 10 (and under) year olds and for 9 (and under) year olds that takes place after the season. It is expected that Cross Plains will send at least one team to both tournaments. Coaches for League Teams and for the Tournament teams will be selected by the Commission. |
| Team Composition: | All players 10 and under are eligible to tryout / sign up for the Cal Ripken (minors) program. Players are selected through an evaluation which may combine a series of workouts as well as any previous experience that a player has had in the Cross Plains Baseball program. All teams will be selected in a draft held by the coaches selected to participate in the program. It is the intention of the Cross Plains Baseball program to form as many teams as possible while maintaining the competitive level in the league. Evaluations for the Cal Ripken program are held as soon as coaches can get out on the fields (typically early April) in order to meet state and national deadlines for submitting rosters. All interested players are encouraged to attend the evaluations to maximize their opportunity to make a team. Teams will have a maximum of 15 players per team. The number of teams in the Cal Ripken (minors) program will be determined each year by both the number of interested participants as well as the number of qualified coaches interested in participating in the program; typically two (2) teams. Teams are organized based on the results of the evaluation. League teams are divided equally with a similar number of 9 and 10 year olds on each team. Each team is projected to have the same number of participants. This approach promotes the development of all players better than if one team was stacked for a “win it all” approach. State Tournament Team composition will be determined by the League Director with the assistance of the Baseball Subcommittee. During the selection process the League Director with input from the coaches will select the most talented 10 year old group and the most talented 9 year old group. If the number of participants is sufficient in any given year then the 10 year old tournament team will consist of only 10 year old players and the 9 year old tournament team will consist only of players 9 and under. These teams will play in the end of year State tournament. |
9/10 YEAR OLD LEAGUE
- Games are played on Tuesday and Friday typically
- Any player kicked out of a game is suspended for the next game
- Games not played count as ½ win ½ loss. Must have 9 players to start game
- 10 run rule after 4 innings
- Will be using the full Cal Ripken / Babe Ruth website for scheduling and reporting scores
- 9 year old state tournament
- 10 year old state tournament
- Cal Ripken patches are required on left arm of jersey
- Certifications for managers and coaches are required
- Background checks for all levels – Babe Ruth League, Inc. programs nationwide are required to annually conduct a background check on all managers, coaches, board of directors’ members, as well as any other persons and volunteers, who provide regular service to the league and/or have repetitive access to, or contact with, players or teams
- April 30th is the cut-off date for age
- Pitching Limitations – 6 innings per week (maximum of 3 innings per game)
- 1 Manager and 2 Coaches only in the dugout
- Anyone warming up a pitcher must have a mask including coaches
- Umpires, Managers, and Coaches – no cell phones on the field
- Contact Rule – If a runner attempts to reach homeplate or another base intentionally and maliciously runs into a defensive player in the area of homeplate or a base, he will be called out and ejected from the game.
- Fake Bunt/Slash Bunt – A batter is out for illegal action when the player fakes a bunt and then takes a swing, thus eliminating a player from fake bunting the ball. Penalty: batter is out, ball is dead, and no runner may advance
