GRPA All-Star Baseball Rules

The Georgia Recreation and Parks Association manages leagues for both adult and youth sports throughout the state. The organization is broken into seven districts, divided geographically, and offers multiple sports. Its youth baseball program has rules specific to player eligibility and also to the rules of the game, both for regular-season contests and postseason all-star play.

  1. Divisions

    • GRPA baseball is broken into six different divisions, organized according to the age of the players. May 1 is the cutoff date for establishing playing age. The Flea Division serves 7- and 8-year-old players, and its rules use a pitching machine during games. The 10-and-under Mite Division has a pitching machine level for less experienced players and a division in which the players pitch for the more advanced athletes. The Midget Division is for players who are 12 and under, the Junior Division is designed for 14 and under, and the Senior Division serves players up to age 17. Players are allowed to play up in an older age group, but they have to stay the entire season at that level once they make the move.

    Teams and Players

    • GRPA baseball teams are capped at 15 players per team, and each district gets one representative into the state tournament. Players are required to participate for the team in their own county of residence but are not allowed to play for their school baseball team and the GRPA team at the same time.

    Pitching Eligibility

    • Pitchers are eligible to pitch in no more than 16 innings during any level of tournament play in GRPA competition. That number of innings is decreased to 14 for the Mite and Midget levels of tournament play. Additionally, pitchers are limited to 10 innings per day in Junior and Senior play, nine innings on a day at the Midget level, and seven innings in Mite division play. A pitcher must have a full calendar day of rest after throwing three innings in a Mite or Midget game or four innings in a Junior or Senior contest.

    Playing Field

    • The bases in the Flea, Mite and Midget divisions are set 60 feet apart, and the pitching plate is set at 46 feet from home plate for Mite and Midget play. The pitching mound is to be no higher than 6 inches above the height of the field. For the Junior division, the bases are increased out to 80 feet and the mound pushed back to 54 feet, with a maximum mound height of 8 inches. Seniors play on a full-sized baseball diamond with 90-foot base paths and a mound that is 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate. The mound cannot be higher than 10 inches.