Total Baseball Development

The 2023 TBD Fall League - Here's How It Works:

Photo by Jenny Myers at J-M Photography

(712) 490-0646 / jennymyers09@gmail.com

The TBD Fall League - Here's some answers to some common questions:

• T-shirt/jerseys - Each player will get one before the first game at their field and or unless your coaches pick them up ahead of time.
• We assign numbers to each player.
• Players can wear whatever color or style of baseball pants they want. 
• Players can wear whatever color or style of baseball hat that they want.
• Teams provide their own coaches.  With mixed teams we talk with the parents to see who is comfortable in this position.
• We do not generally assign coaches to teams unless teams are "All-Star" teams of players comprised of three or more high schools.
• For special requests we may assign coaches to teams, however there will be no guarantees.
• Our coaches, instructors, helpers, assistants, and in some cases are current college baseball players from local and area colleges.
• We do not offer official practices for your individual team or players.

The TBD Fall League - Here's How It Works:

• Games will start on Sunday, 10 of September.
• Rosters will come out by the week of Monday, September 4, if not before.  These rosters will be posted on the website.  They will NOT be emailed, except to your fall coaches and your high school coaches.
• All players playing must be registered.  Rosters can be verified at any time and will be verified on Championship Sunday for the top seeded teams competing.
• Schedules will be posted during the week of September 5 after FINAL rosters have been posted.  These schedules will be posted on the website.  They will NOT be emailed to anyone.
• Players that have signed up as individuals or small groups will be assigned to created teams.
• All individuals and small groups that have signed up will have teams to play for.  We do our best to match grades and positions to have balanced teams.
• Players that have signed up as a team will play for the team they signed up with.  We get lots of lists from coaches.  We confirm all of the players with those coaches and their lists starting already and through the time the rosters are posted as final.
• This has been our process for 18 years now and we do our best to accommodate all sign ups and players wanting to play fall baseball.  This wait can be frustrating for the early or mid-August signups or anyone wanting to know their rosters and schedules when they want to know them, HOWEVER in an effort to have all players play that want to play, and with people signing up right through the deadline, we would rather be LATE AND ACCURATE than EARLY AND MAKE LOTS OF CHANGES.

The TBD Fall League - Why does it work this way:

• The rosters are submitted by full teams signing up and or created by TBD with individual and small groups that sign up. 
• Each High School team is ranked based on Grade levels, and 4th-5th and 6th-7th Grade Divisions are ranked by collective players ages. 
• Then the schedules are set up using these rankings. 
• So until all signups come in we can not create rosters.   
• Until there are ranked rosters there can not be schedules.
• THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR PATIENCE ON THIS PROCESS. 
• So from the advice from others that run large tournaments and leagues, we inform everyone to be prepared to play at either 12:00 noon or 3:15pm on the first Sunday, until the final schedule for the first Sunday comes out during the Week of September 5.
• The schedules for all subsequent weeks after Week 1 come out after Sunday's games by that following Monday at midnight.

The TBD Fall League - After Week 1:

• The schedules for all subsequent weeks after Week 1 come out after Sunday's games by that following Monday at midnight.
• These schedules, like all schedules, will be posted on the front of the website.
• This is tournament & championship style scheduling with like records playing like and or similar records as much as possible with all kinds of variables so that they games are to be competitive.
• This competitive scheduling usually allows itself for competitive and balanced games.
• This scheduling continues on throughout the fall until Week 5 where all teams play.  Teams in each division have an opportunity to play in Championship games.
• Depending on how many teams there are there are separate age level teams that are based on rankings, and then divided out into separate divisions.
• Each division plays for hardware!!!  Trophies or medals, t-shirts, and also for the high school guys there is . . . fake champagne.  And everyone is always playing for bragging rights!

The TBD Fall League - SATURDAYS:

• DATES AND FORMAT FOR PITCHING CAMP TBA. 
• DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR hitting camps conducted by Bill Krejci.  Since 1996; Krejci has been traveling the world with USA Baseball and Team USA of all ages in international competitions, and has coached and managed Major League baseball players Joe Mauer, JJ Hardy, Freddie Freeman, Manny Machado, and Bryce Harper when they played on Team USA, just to name a few.
• Times, locations here in northwest Iowa, and details to be announced.
• Please keep posted to our website for all details & keep posted to our Social Media sites as notifications go out when we post new items!
• And lastly on Saturdays, please be on the lookout for information for TBD's new Saturday program for those players who can not get enough baesball!!!

CONTACT:

For questions and for more information on all TBD Fall League grade divisions and TBD fall activities and any age group at all locations.....

Please call, text, or email Bob Protexter at: 712-490-7199 / protexter.tbd@gmail.com

Total Baseball Development

Rules - High School - TBD Fall League - 2023

The TOTAL BASEBALL DEVELOPMENT Fall League for High School baseball players is governed by the baseball game playing rules of the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Baseball game playing rules.  The TBD Fall League since 2005 has set its own additional guide of coordinative and structural rules that are implemented for increased development and maximum participation.

Hitting and Defense:

• Teams are to be set with twelve-man rosters for High School teams and eleven-man rosters for 4th-5th and 6th-7th Grade Divisions.
• Thirteen player maximum for High School and tweleve player maximum for 4th-5th and 6th-7th Grade Divisions is allowed ONLY with approval of TBD and those team's coaches.
• All players hit in the lineup.
• Free substitution on defense, with the exception of pitchers re-entering as a pitcher after they have been replaced on the mound with another pitcher.  (For more on pitching see: Pitching)
• No bases will be awarded for hitters that walk, are hit by a pitch, or have catcher’s interference until the second occurrence for that player in one trip to the plate, at which point the result will be the result, and the batter will take his awarded base.  Until that second occurrence that batter will stay at home plate and hit again with a new count.  The player making the last out, when at all possible, will take his place at first base for that teams awarded base.  Exceptions for ‘last out’ runners are catchers and the pitcher at that time where then the next last out will run.
• Courtesy runners can and should be used for catchers and pitchers with one or more outs.
• Courtesy runners are to be used for catchers and pitchers with two outs.
• The home team of the first game will be the visiting team in the second game.
• The ON-DECK hitter at the end of GAME ONE will be the LEAD OFF hitter in GAME TWO.
• Lineups stay the same from game one to game two.
• The home team is allowed to hit in the bottom of the last inning of the second game REGARDLESS of score, if time and pitching allows.  If the home team is winning before that bottom starts and has won the game already, then that game score STANDS as the final score before that bottom half begins.
• As time allows for the session after the second game ends, teams can play as many innings as possible.

Pitching:

• Pitchers will be limited to THREE INNINGS of work total and or a SIXTY PITCH, pitch count total for each Sunday.
• A THIRTY PITCH, pitch count will be used PER INNING.  Umpires are to notify the pitcher when he is at twenty-five or more pitches.
• A pitcher can exceed thirty pitches in an inning only when the pitch count is less than thirty when an at-bat begins.  The pitcher then completes that at-bat. 
• The base umpire will keep the pitch count and communicate with the pitcher on pitch count, and is to announce when the pitcher is within 5 pitches of per inning limit and 5 pitches of game limit.
• If there are less than three outs when the pitcher hits his thirty pitch, pitch count; then the inning will then either:
• --- Roll over if that pitcher will be returning to the mound the next inning (Roll Over means that the inning stops where it is at and the next inning starts with same base runners in place and ZERO outs.
• --- A reliever will be used (if that pitcher is done pitching for the day then the next scheduled pitcher will begin his appearance and his pitch count and inning count begins immediately with every out equaling 1/3 of an inning)
• --- A ringer (coach/instructor may be used if/when available) will complete the inning, and the pitcher who left, if he has not exceeded his limits, can return the next inning and or another pitcher can start the next inning.  Umpire discretion used. 
  
• The only way a pitcher can pitch in Game 1 and Game 2 is that the pitcher must be the last pitcher in Game 1 and the starting pitcher in Game 2.  This is also in accordance with inning and pitch count rules, which carries over from Game 1 to Game 2.
• NOTE: Free substitution on defense does not apply to pitching.  Once a pitcher has been replaced with another pitcher, then that pitcher’s pitching appearance has ended for the day, with the exception of using a ringer.

High School Game session:

• The three-hour game sessions will be played in five inning double headers fashion, and ten minutes in-between games.  There are NO time limits to Game 1.
• The less the break the more the baseball!  The more you hustle on and off the more baseball! Do not leave innings on the field!
• After the 1ST pitch of the Game 1 for each session the umpire will record the START TIME and communicate this with each dugout. 
• No new inning in any session will begin in the 2nd game of that session with less than fifteen minutes left in that sessions three hour time frame, other than the last session of the day when applicable and when agreed upon by both dugouts and the umpires.
• Delay of game tactics to run out the clock will be dealt with appropriately by the umpires.

Tie Breakers:

• If GAME 1 is tied after five innings, then the sixth inning of the 1ST game will start with a runner (the last hitter from the previous inning regardless of position) at second base.  If then GAME 1 is tied after six innings, then the game result will be a tie.
• The same tie breaker situation will be applied to the 2nd game for the 6th inning.  Then as time permits, the 7th inning will start with runners at second and third base, being the last two hitters from the previous inning regardless of position.  The 8th inning will start with bases loaded with the last three hitters from the previous inning as base runners.  All innings after the 8^th inning in a tied ball game will begin with bases loaded.

Results:

• Each Sunday teams will receive a win, loss, or tie for each game.  This equals two results per Sunday.
• Any 2nd game with at least one complete inning will count as a final game result towards the team’s standings
• The home plate umpire will record the final score of both games after the 2nd game on a TBD Recipe Score Card.
• At the completion of the umpires working day as an umpire, this umpire will take a photo of this card and send to the Umpires WhatsApp Group.  This card will be given at the end of the day to that location’s game day administrator.
• This score card must list Team Names, SPECIFIC TEAM COLORS, Field Name, Umpires Name, and Final Score in scoreboard fashion with 5 innings or total innings played for each game and showing for each game.
• The home plate umpire will confer these scores with each head coach of that day before submitting those score cards as final.
• For Designated PLAYOFF games and CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES there are no time limits and there must be a result that is not a tie.

4th-5th & 6th-7th Grade ~ Total Baseball Development ~ Fall League Rules ~ 2023

4^th-5^th Grade Division ~ Rules Adjustment ~ Two 3 inning games ~ 1 hour and 45-minute time frame total for both games:

• Home plate is CLOSED = NO RUNS SCORED ON PAST BALLS.
• NO dropped 3^rd strike rule.  Batter is out with the result of the strike out.
• No lead offs.  Runners can only lead off after the ball crosses the plate.
• 5 run innings.
• Pitch Count Rules = TBA

6^th-7th Grade Division Rules Adjustment ~ Two 4 inning games ~ 2 hour and 15-minute time frame total for both games:

• Home plate is OPEN = RUNS ARE ALLOWED TO BE SCORED ON PAST BALLS.
• YES dropped 3^rd strike rule.  Defense must convert this out by throwing to 1^st base for the force out.
• Lead offs as Regular baseball allows
• 5 run innings.
• Pitch Count Rules = TBA