Divisions

The division structure identified below shall be in place unless the number of players will not support such a break down. The Board of Directors reserves the right to change or modify the below structure to suit the needs of the league.  The division structure is subject to available players. A full description of MCLL Divisions of Play can be found here. This document applies to both baseball and softball Divisions unless otherwise noted.

1. Division Breakdown:

   1. Seniors (league age 13-16; 60/90 ft diamond)

   2. Juniors (league age 12-14/(15 waivered); 60/90 ft diamond)

   3. Intermediate (league age 11-13; 50/70 ft diamond)

   4. Majors (league age 10-12; 46/60 ft diamond; assigned based on skill level)

   5. Minor League “AAA” (league age 9-11; 46/60 ft diamond; advanced kid pitch)

   6. Minor League “AA” (league age 8-10; 43/60 ft diamond; beginner kid pitch)

   7. Minor League “A” (aka Coach Pitch) (league age 7-8; 60 ft bases)

   8. Rookie Ball (league age 5-7; 60 ft bases; beginner Coach Pitch (w/Tee Rescue)

   9. T-Ball (league age 4-6; 50 ft bases)

   10. Softball Seniors (league age 13-16; 43/60 ft diamond)

   11. Softball Juniors (league age 12-14; 43/60 ft diamond)

   12. Softball Majors (league age 10-12; 40/60 ft diamond)

   13. Softball Minors (league age 8-10; 35/60 ft diamond)

   14. Softball Coach Pitch (league age 6-8) (35/60 ft diamond)

2. Fall Divisions

   1. Depending on enrollment, Minors AA and AAA may be combined in the fall.

   2. Depending on enrollment Coach Pitch and Rookie Ball may combined in the fall

   3. There is no Baseball Seniors league in the fall

3. Division Age:

   1. League Age for baseball is based on a child’s birthday as of August 31 of each calendar year.  

   2. League Age for softball is based on a child’s birthday as of December 31 of each calendar year.  

   3. A player's League Age can be determined by visiting Little League’s League Age Calculator.   

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   4. Little League requires that all 12 year-olds play in the Major League Division. If circumstances dictate that a 12 year-old player is not ready for play in the Majors Division, in conjunction with the parents, the MCLL Player Agent will process a waiver with the District 2 Administrator to place the player on a Minor League team. This is something that is rarely granted due to player safety issues with a 12 year-old playing against nine year-olds.

   5. Other League Age Exceptions:  Upon approval of the Player Agent, and in consultation with the Safety Officer (and with proper waivers filed with D2 as necessary), MCLL may grant other age exceptions as otherwise permitted by Little League rules or as it deems in the best interest of the player..

Rules 

1. A  Rules Committee will be named by the Board of Directors. 

2. MCLL division play will be governed by the rules set forth by “Little League Baseball Official Regulations, Playing Rules, and Policies”, except as otherwise modified by the Board of Directors (i.e., Local Rules) and as necessary approved by Little League.

3. Local Rules for each Division will be evaluated by the Rules Committee on an annual basis and adopted by the Board of Directors and posted on the MCLL website prior to the spring season (no later than March1 of each calendar year) and any revisions prior to the start of the fall season (no later than August 15 of each calendar year).

Evaluations

Purpose of evaluations is to provide an objective assessment of players to provide proper placement of players into the correct division level and to aid in the creation of balanced teams.

1. An Evaluation Committee will be named by the Board of Directors. 

2. Prior to each spring season the Evaluation Committee will adopt all processes by which players will be evaluated and will train all evaluators.

3. During player evaluations, MCLL will utilize volunteers selected by the Evaluation Committee at each station to obtain a fair weighted average score for each player. 

4. All players league age 8 and above, regardless of the Division for which the player registers, and all players that registered for Minors and higher must attend player evaluations.  Based on the evaluation the league may recommend the player be placed in a different Division from which they registered.  

   1. Upon the recommendation of the Evaluations Committee and approval of the Board of Directors, registered players in certain divisions (e.g., softball and divisions Intermediates and higher) that would otherwise be required to be evaluated under IV. may be deemed exempt from evaluations. 

5. Majors Player Evaluations

   1. All Majors players must attend a player evaluation in order to be drafted. If an individual does not make the evaluations and has never played in the Majors division, he/she must apply for a waiver and will only be considered for the Majors Division at the discretion of the President and Player Agent.

   2. MCLL will use the same assessment scoring system for all players and provide an overall rating for each player to Majors Managers prior to the Player Draft. Managers should consider this to be confidential information and it should not be shared with anyone else (especially players.) 

Division Formation Process

1. Each Division Commissioner in consultation with the Board of Directors will determine the number of teams and the number of players per team that will be fielded in each Division before the team formation process begins.  Team formation will be conducted as laid out below and consistent with the Draft/Team Formation Bylaw. 

2. Majors Division Formation

   1. Majors teams return from the previous season as the basis for the following season.

   2. Little league dicates that there are no more than eight 12-year olds per team.

   3. The number of Majors teams will be determined by the League President and Player Agent based on the number of 12 year olds and the number of qualified candidates to choose from. As a general rule, the number of Major Division teams will be based on the number of registered 12 year-olds and divided by 8 (since that is the maximum number allowed per team.)

   4. Little League rules dictate that the number of players per Major League team must be at least 12 and no more than 15 players.

   5. If the number of teams for Majors differs from the previous season then teams will be folded or expanded as necessary.

3. Coaches

   1. The President, in conjunction with the Division Commissioner, will assign a Manager to each team. The Manager is generally responsible for all activities related to his/her team.

   2. The President, in conjunction with the Division Commissioner, will assign two Assistant Coaches to each team.

   3. Children of the Manager and Assistant Coaches are automatically assigned to the team for which the Manager and Coaches are coaching.

Team Formation Process

1. MCLL will draft teams within one week after final Player Evaluations are conducted or as otherwise set forth pursuant to the season schedule established by the League.

2. See Team Draft/Formation document

Regular Season

1. Game schedules will begin on or about April 1 and will end by school end (including league playoffs), unless otherwise approved by the Board of Directors..

2. Practice fields will be provided by the league up to two weeks prior to the season, subject to permit availability.  

   1. Based on permit availability coaches select practice days/times. 

   2. Each team will be provided one practice field permit per week.  Majors and AAA levels may request one additional practice field permit subject to availability and only after teams in all other Divisions have been assigned a practice field permit.    

3. No games will be played during MCPS Spring Break (Monday-Monday or as otherwise set by MCPS), Memorial Day weekend (Saturday-Monday), and Labor Day weekend (Saturday-Monday) unless otherwise approved by the Board of Directors and agreed to by the competing teams.

4. The Board shall designate one weekend day in June, prior to the end of the school year, as MCLL Day. 

   1. The League will hold divisional (internal) All-Star games for Majors and Minors (AAA, AA, and A), and player competitions that day along with other family friendly events.

   2. Regular season and or playoff games maybe played on MCLL Day as needed to meet minimum games played requirements set forth by LLI or as approved by the Board of Directors.

Game Scheduling (Baseball and Softball)

1. Seniors Division

   1. There is no  minimum number of  games in the spring for players to be tournament eligible. 

   2. In the spring and fall season we schedule 10 games, plus a playoffs depending on the number of teams in the league.

   3. Game Makeups:

      1. In both spring and fall, while we strive to makeup all canceled games for weather and field closures, rescheduling games are based on the number of cancellations that occur, time left in the season, and field availability. 

   4. Seniors schedule will be developed in conjunction with other District 2 and Maryland Little Leagues as necessary.

2. Juniors Division

   1. Teams must play a minimum of 12 games in the spring for players to be tournament eligible.  We will schedule 10 games in the fall. .

   2. Juniors schedule will be developed in conjunction with other District 2 Little Leagues as necessary. 

   3. Game Makeups:

      1. In spring, all canceled games will be made up to the extent necessary to obtain the minimum required games to ensure players are tournament eligible. 

      2. In fall, while we strive to makeup all canceled games for weather and field closures, rescheduling games is based on the number of cancellations that occur, time left in the season, and field availability. 

   4. There will be a District 2 Tournament of Champions at the end of the season.

3. Intermediate Division

   1. Teams must play a minimum of 12 games in the spring for players to be tournament eligible. We will schedule10 games in the fall.

   2. Game schedules play on Wednesday and Sunday to avoid overlap with Majors. This allows players to play both.

   3. Most leagues only play Sunday as part of the Sunday Select program.

   4. Game Rescheduling:

      1. In spring, all canceled games will be made up to the extent necessary to obtain the minimum required games to ensure players are tournament eligible. 

      2. In fall, while we strive to reschedule all canceled games for weather and field closures, rescheduling games is based on the number of cancellations that occur, time left in the season, and field availability. 

   5. Intermediate schedule will be developed in conjunction with other District 2 Little Leagues, as necessary.

4. Majors Division

   1. Teams must play a minimum of 12 games in the spring for players to be tournament eligible. We will schedule 10 games in the fall.

   2. Two games per week, one weekend (Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday) and one weeknight (Monday-Thursday) (subject to daylight/availability of lighted facilities)

   3. Game Rescheduling:

      1. In spring, all canceled games will be made up to the extent necessary to obtain the minimum required games to ensure players are tournament eligible. 

      2. In fall, while we strive to reschedule all canceled games for weather and field closures, rescheduling is based on the number of cancellations that occur, time left in the season, and field availability. 

   4. There will be a single or double elimination tournament (weather and schedule dependent) at the end of the Spring regular season to determine the team that will represent the league at the Maryland District 2 Tournament of Champions (TOC) and the Dave Fogle Classic tournament (Fogle).  If an end of season tournament is not held, the regular season standings will be used to determine who represents MCLL at the TOC and Fogle. 

5. Minors “AAA” Division

   1. Teams must play a minimum of 12 games in the spring for players to be tournament eligible. Will schedule10 games in the fall.

   2. Two games per week, one weekend (Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday) and one weeknight (Monday-Thursday)(subject to daylight/availability of lighted facilities)

   3. Game Rescheduling:

      1. In spring, all canceled games will be made up to the extent necessary to obtain the minimum required games to ensure players are tournament eligible. 

      2. In fall, while we strive to reschedule all canceled games for weather and field closures, rescheduling games is based on the number of cancellations that occur, time left in the season, and field availability. 

   4. In the spring season there will be a single elimination tournament at the end of the regular season  to determine the AAA Minors Champion.

6. Minors “AA” Division

   1. Will schedule 12 games in the spring season and 10 games in the fall season.

   2. Two games per week, one weekend (Friday night, Saturday or Sunday) and one weeknight (Monday-Thursday) (subject to daylight/availability of lighted facilities)

   3. Game Rescheduling:  We strive to reschedule all canceled games for weather and field closures.  However, rescheduling games are based on the number of cancellations that occur, time left in the season, and field availability. 

   4. In the spring season there will be a single elimination tournament at the end of the regular season to determine the AA Minors Champion.

7. Minors “A” Baseball Coach Pitch

   1. Will schedule 10 games in spring and 8 games in the fall. 

   2. At least one game per weekend (Saturday) and occasional weeknight games (subject to daylight).  

   3. We strive to reschedule all canceled games for weather and field closures.  However, rescheduling games is based on the number of cancellations that occur, time left in the season, and field availability. 

8. Minors A Softball Coach Pitch

   1. Will schedule 10 games in spring and 8 games in the fall. 

   2. At least one game per weekend (Sunday) and occasional weeknight game (subject to daylight).  

   3. We strive to reschedule all canceled games for weather and field closures.  However, rescheduling games are based on the number of cancellations that occur, time left in the season, and field availability. 

   4. There will be no end of season tournament.

9. Rookie Ball

   1. Will schedule  8 games in the spring and 8 games in the fall.

   2. At least one game per weekend (Saturday) and occasional weeknight game (subject to).  

   3. Game Rescheduling:  We strive to reschedule all canceled games for weather and field closures.  However, rescheduling games is based on the number of cancellations that occur, time left in the season, and field availability. 

   4. There will be no end of season tournament.

10. Tee-Ball Division

    1. Will schedule 8 games in both the spring and fall seasons.

    2. One game per week on Saturdays.

    3. Game Rescheduling:  We strive to reschedule all canceled games for weather and field closures.  However, rescheduling games are based on the number of cancellations, time left in the season, and field availability.  In the event of frequent cancellations in order to meet the target number of games teams may have to play on weeknights There will be no end of season tournament. 

11. MCLL will offer accommodations to play on a different weekend day than provided above for all Divisions as able based on registration and request for such a team.

Little League Tournament Teams

1. See Tournament Team Selection document