Little League’s new continuous batting rule not a universal hit

In the final inning of Bollinger Canyon’s deep postseason run — one that included knocking off District 52 champion Hillsborough in the Northern California tournament championship — Wong’s team got caught in the crosshairs of a new rule implemented in Little League All-Stars play this summer, the continuous batting rule. So, due up for Bollinger Canyon in the sixth and final inning, trailing by two runs, was the bottom of its batting order — the No. 10, 11 and 12 hitters.

“If you have your ace (pitcher) up there, you should be able to move through two innings without any type of damage,” Wong said. “So, it turns it into a four-inning game, so to speak.”

Little League Baseball instituted the continuous batting rule — meaning every player on a team’s roster must be included in the starting lineup — in an effort to speed up games. It has been used throughout the nation since the start of the district tournaments.

The reasoning was simple. Constant in-game substitutions — with the previous nine-batter format requiring myriad substitutions, as all players still had to bat at least once, and play two innings of defense in the field — were time consuming. Many coaches who weren’t versed in the rules, or adept at execution substitutions, often relied on umpires to keep track of minimum-play requirements for players.

Coaches who knew the rules, and knew how to execute substitutions, were rewarded with controlling the flow of a game. The continuous batting rule, however, has removed that advantage, giving less skilled coaches equal footing with the tactically savvy ones, San Mateo American president Jeff Gilbert said.

“Now what you’ve done, you’ve created an unequal competitive balance,” Gilbert said.

With Little League teams allowed to carry between 10-14 players on roster, continuous batting means a starting lineup could include as many as 14 players, batting in order, with no reserve players to pinch hit.

Continuous batting isn’t a new concept. A majority of District 52 leagues on the Peninsula, such as San Mateo American, use the rule during the regular season.

“I love that for regular season because Little League is truly — it’s a recreation league, it’s not travel ball,” Gilbert said. “This is for, everyone plays, everyone has an opportunity, regardless of your skill level, everyone should bat, everyone should play in the field.”

However, Gilbert said he doesn’t agree with the continuous batting rule being used in Little League All-Stars tournaments. And he isn’t alone.

The new rule not only changes in-game strategy, but how All-Star rosters are constructed from the start. The days of carrying a speedy pinch-running option, or a defensive whiz, are gone. Now, with every player having to bat in a fixed spot in the order, every player on the team needs to have, to some degree, a developed hit tool.

“It definitely changes the way you’re thinking about drafting your team,” Wong said. “Now you’re looking for hitters ... and the kids you get, now you’re teaching them to hit, and you have a very short time to do that.”

Gilbert said the rule change took many by surprise. When Little League International held its annual nationwide meeting late last year, District 52 administrator Jono Gibbs wasn’t informed of the continuous batting shakeup, Gilbert said.

“[Gibbs] came back from that and this did not exist,” Gilbert said. “It wasn’t brought up, it wasn’t discussed, it wasn’t voted on. You’d think something like this would have been discussed among all the different administrators from all the different Little Leagues. It wasn’t even a discussion.”

Instead, Gilbert said he was informed of the rules change in the spring, prior to the selection of All-Stars teams. He said he was flabbergasted.

“This was their edict and they didn’t care,” Gilbert said. “And the reason they’re doing this is they’re appeasing the lowest common denominator, in my opinion ... because they were dealing with so many issues in games that they just didn’t want to deal with that anymore.”

Wong’s Bollinger Canyon team managed to turn over the batting order in its sixth-inning last stand against El Segundo. No. 11 hitter Drew Obara worked a one-out walk, and No. 12 hitter Kenji Bradley kept the game alive after hitting a ground ball that saw Obara retired at second base, with Bradley hustling to beat the return throw to first.

When Mikey Wong lofted a fly ball to medium-deep right field for the final out of the game, however, it was just the third time Bollinger Canyon’s leadoff hitter batted in the game. All the other players, 2 through 12, batted just twice.

“Went through our lineup twice,” Phil Wong said, “and, once again, it’s tough.”

The focus on hitting due to the continuous batting rule also shortened rosters. Last year, when the San Mateo American 10s team won the Northern California championship, the team carried 13 players on roster. This year, as 11s, the team limited its roster to 12 players, as not to have to bat 13 players per game.

“It eliminated a kid through every roster from every team across the country, essentially,” Gilbert said.

Of the benefits of the new rule, Phil Wong said he sees it as helping motivate players, ones who may have been limited to utility roles, to want to play again in future seasons.

“One thing I do like about that rule: if a kid comes out and only gets one at-bat, it makes it a little rough on the families,” Phil Wong said.

It looks like Little League will have the chance to find out.

“Sure seems like [the rule] is going to stay,” Gilbert said.