Expert: John McInnis - 5/6/2006

Question
I am wondering if it's legal to intentionally walk a batter in the 9-12 year old Major League Division of Little League.  I looked in the Rules and Regulations and saw where it says that in the Junior, Senior and Big Leagues you can intentionally walk a batter by instructing the umpire of the intent.  The umpire will then instruct the batter to first base and the ball is dead.  Since it doesn't say that the Major division can do that does it mean that an intentional walk in our division is not a legal play?  Thanks for you help.

Answer
Hi Robert,

it's a part of baseball and should be permitted in your league.

In our league, the catcher simply lift's his glove to indicate a ball is being pitched out and then step's out from behind the plate to catch it.  The catcher does not have to tell the umpire if one or all pitch's are to be this way.  

I suppose when the catcher lift's his glove up and out of the strike zone...this is the signal of intentional balls.

If a rule is not written, at least in our division, the rule of the governing league is then applied.

So, if you see rules applied to older children and it is not mentioned in your category...you can assume it's the same (de facto).

Regards,

JohnMc