Little League Baseball Rules on Subbing Players

Little league baseball has specific rules regulating the amount of time each player is required to play in a game and how substitutions can be made. These rules ensure that each player gets to play in a full game. The rules also protect the health of the players. Coaches are limited to how often a pitcher can be used and the number of pitches he can throw, protecting the muscles of a young developing pitcher in little league.

  1. Mandatory Play

    • Little league baseball requires that each player on the team plays at least a portion of the game, unless the game is shortened from the standard seven innings. Littleleague.org indicates that each player must either get one official at-bat during the game, or play in the field for three outs during the game. If the game is less than seven innings because of weather or a team leading by more than 10 runs after an inning, there is no penalty for players not playing.

    Switching Players

    • When substituting a player in a game, the player that was substituted for, may only re-enter the game to substitute for the player that replaced him. As an example, according to littleleague.org, if John replaces Joe during the game, Joe can not be used to substitute later in the game for any player other than John. Joe may only replace John if John has played at least three outs defensively or had one official at-bat.

    Pitch Count Rules

    • LIttle League baseball protects pitchers from throwing too many pitches at a young age and injuring their arms. To do this little league baseball limits the number of pitches a pitcher can throw in a game, according to momsteam.com. Pitchers under the age of nine must be removed after throwing 50 pitches. This limit increases to 75 pitches for children ages nine and ten. The limit increases gradually according to momsteam.com, based on age, up to 105 pitches for 17 and 18-year-old pitchers. Little league baseball requires each team has a scorekeeper designated to count the pitches his team's pitcher throws.