INDIANAPOLIS --- The Baseball Rules Committee reaffirmed its position on regulation games and focused on the strike zone and defined the warning procedure by umpires at its annual meeting July 12-15 in Boston.  All rules proposals will be reviewed by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in September.

The committee spent a considerable amount of time discussing the definition of a regulation game.  After last season’s allowance for many early-season games played at warm-weather tournament sites that were not consistent with the rules as written, the committee decided to clarify its rules book and reaffirm its stance.

"Last season certainly opened our eyes to a larger issue and problem,” said Chris McKnight, chair of the committee and head coach at Frostburg State University.  “It remains our belief, however, that the game should be nine-innings if it a single game.  We want consistency with how our game is played.”

Doubleheaders – the source of much of the confusion last season – were discussed at length.  Many early-season tournaments in the past have used the provision to play two seven-inning games; however, in many cases, the games were not between the same two teams – a violation of the rule.  The committee clarified the language in the rules book and added several typical examples and interpretations collected over the past year.

"We want to get this information out as soon as it is approved so coaches and tournament directors can adjust accordingly,” McKnight said.

The committee also approved a provision that allows all conferences to establish a travel policy, when commercial air travel is required.  Provided the contest meets the established criteria of a regulation game, the committee feels that returning to campus and reducing missed class time is a valid reason for ending a contest.

"The committee wants to be clear that conferences must have a policy in place,” McKnight said.  "This is not an issue that occurs very often, but we do feel it is important to reduce missed class time and reduce expenses without losing the integrity of the full contest.  We feel this accomplishes that goal.”

The strike zone was discussed at length by the committee.  While improvements have been made, the continued focus on the high strike is needed.  Additionally, there was some concern about pitches that are well off the plate are being called strikes.

"We have asked Dave Yeast, our national coordinator of umpires, to continue to focus on improving the strike zone nationally and to build on the positive changes we’ve seen,” McKnight said.  “We realize this is a large task, but this is one area that truly affects the way our game is played.”

Working in conjunction with Yeast, starting this season, will be a national coordinator for Division III umpires.  In the near future, a Division II coordinator will be hired.  This will assist the committee to communicate with the umpiring community and, the group hopes, continue to improve the enforcement of the strike zone and other areas of the rules book.

Finally, the committee altered the pitching rules relating to the wind-up.  Now, any portion of the non-pivot foot must be behind the back edge of the pitching rubber and a line extended in the wind-up position.  The committee has noticed pitchers gaining an advantage with different angles and also deceiving runners by disguising the wind-up as a set position.

"This will be a pretty big change for a handful of pitchers,” McKnight said.  “The majority of pitchers start with their feet together in the wind-up, as we traditionally think of this position.  But, we’ve started to see pitchers using the non-pivot foot in front of the rubber. That isn’t the intent of the original rule.”

A full listing of rules changes, once approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in September, will be sent to all head coaches and conference administrators and posted on the NCAA Web site.

Other changes:

• The committee clarified Rule 1-12-b, which notes that when a player uses a bat that is later determined to be out of round, the batter is out and no runners may advance.  The committee feels in many cases, bats may change during play and a player should not be ejected automatically, unless the bat was clearly altered.
• The group decided to alter Rule 1-13-c, to note that the pitcher’s glove may be any combination of colors except white or gray.  The committee realizes that there are many two-toned gloves on the market and the group does not believe any advantage is gained by a pitcher using these gloves.
• An approved ruling was added to the ejection definition in Rule 2 to assist administrators and umpires in dealing with ejections that occur after a game is officially completed.  In these situations, the ejection shall be enforced as a suspension from the next contest.
• The group’s proposal from its 2004 annual meeting will go into effect dealing with tobacco use.  Beginning this season, the penalty for tobacco use remains ejection for the offending individual; however, the head coach of the offending team will also be ejected this season.  Additionally, in Rule 3-11, the committee added that an umpire’s jurisdiction with regard to this rule begins upon the umpire’s arrival on the field in uniform.
• The committee altered Rule 6-2-d (1), deleting the word “interference” and adding wording to cover situations where the normal follow-through of the batter touches the catcher.
• The provision that instructs an umpire to forfeit a contest in Rule 3-6-d was revised to make this action a last resort.
• In the designated hitter section (Rule 7-2-c-A.R. 3), the committee addressed the situation where a pitcher and designated hitter both enter the game on defense at the same time.  In this case, the coach must designate the positions in the batting order of the new pitcher and the previous pitcher.
• The group clarified the umpire’s mechanics for declaring play to indicate that the ball is live.
• The committee recommended that Gary Vaught, head coach at the University of Indianapolis, to be the new chair of the committee, replacing McKnight.