by
posted 07/04/2008
ABYB has revised the age eligibility rules for the fall season registration, which opened on July 1. These changes affect players enrolling in Majors and Babe Ruth divisions. This was done in response to several requests made by members, and to implement the Babe Ruth swing rule, which was approved at the June ABYB board meeting. The swing rule allows players turning 13 between May 1 and August 30 to have the option of playing either Babe Ruth or Majors. Previously, these players, who are typically younger seventh graders, could only enroll in Majors.
The following table highlights these changes and also shows the age requirements for the Spring 2009 season. The information shown in
green represents changes.
| |
|
Fall 2008
Previous |
Fall 2008
Revised |
Spring 2009 |
| Majors |
Youngest Grade |
5th Grade |
5th Grade |
5th Grade |
| |
Oldest DOB |
5/1/96 |
9/1/95 |
5/1/96 |
| Babe Ruth |
Youngest DOB |
4/30/96 |
8/30/96 |
8/30/96 |
| |
Oldest DOB |
5/1/93 |
5/1/92 |
5/1/93 |
These changes are described in more detail as follows:
- The oldest date of birth for Majors was changed from 5/1/96 to 9/1/95 for the fall season only. However, the oldest DOB in the spring will be set to 5/1/96, which follows the same rule as the past.
- The youngest DOB for Babe Ruth was changed from 4/30/96 to 8/30/96 for both spring and fall. This is the implementation of the Babe Ruth swing rule mentioned above.
- The oldest DOB for Babe Ruth was changed from 5/1/93 to 5/1/92 for the fall season only. This provides older players enrolled in Babe Ruth this past spring one last season of ABYB baseball.
Note that for the fall season, players born between 9/1/95 and 8/30/96 (typically 7th graders) are eligible to play in either Majors or Babe Ruth. The decision of which age division to choose must be carefully considered based on the player’s skill, experience, and physical maturity. Playing on the larger diamond used in Babe Ruth represents quite a jump from playing on the Little League diamond. Some players will not be ready to make this jump, while others will look forward to it.
