Opening Day of the Maui Adult Baseball League Spring 2020 season is set for January 26. The day is full of intriguing match-ups as the Central Rays host the new-look Lahaina Warriors at 10:00am, followed by a rematch of the Championship Series when the West Maui Brewers face the La Perouse Pirates at 1:15pm in Lahaina. In Kihei, the Pacific Hurricanes, with new additions of their own, will face the Upcountry Dirtbags at 10:00am, with the Kihei Centipedes hosting the Makena Royals at 1:15pm.
Following a week off for the Super Bowl, games will resume on Sunday, February 9. Check out the first 10 weeks of the schedule here.
Rule changes for the Spring 2020 season are listed below. These are the result of the MABL Board Meeting held earlier this month; you can view the full meeting minutes here.
- Forfeits:Teams must field 8 players to play an official MABL game, at least 7 of which must be rostered players. If a team fields less than the required number of players the game will be considered a forfeit. To respect umpires’ liabilities, no games will be played “for fun” unless self-officiated.
- Mercy Rule: Any team leading by 15 runs after 5 innings, or 10 runs after 7 innings, receives the victory. This is a change from the previous rule (12 runs after 7 innings).
- Playoff Eligibility: Only players who have appeared in 5 of their team’s 14 games are eligible to appear in playoff games. No exceptions will be granted.
- Pinch Runners for In-Game Injury: A player who is not designated as needing a courtesy runner but requires a runner due to an in-game injury must be removed for the remainder of the game.
- Pool Players: When a team has less than 9 players, they must first request to borrow players from the opposing team; if this request is declined (by choice or due to a lack of available players), any MABL player may be recruited to fill in. Pool players may not pitch and must hit at the bottom of the lineup. Pool players may not be used during playoff games.
- Umpire payment: Umpire fees incurred due to extra innings will now be split between both the home and away teams. The home team retains the responsibility of paying for the rest of the game.
- Championship Series Game Length: All games of the Championship Series will now be 9 innings in length, including the second game of a potential doubleheader. Other playoff series are unaffected.