General Bylaws
All Bylaws enacted by the Mid-City Little League (hereafter “MCLL”) will be reviewed and revised prior to each Spring little league baseball season and will be in addition to the MCLL League Constitution as well as all rules and regulations established by Little League International (hereafter “LLI”). Should a conflict between bylaws and LLI and MCLL Bylaws, LLI policy will be adhered to.
All MCLL Bylaws shall be posted and publicly available for all league members on the MCLL website.
Membership on the MCLL Board of Directors will be considered and voted on during the December pre-season meeting. However, membership may be considered and voted on during any MCLL Board meeting.
All league rules, to include any changes from the previous year, will be evaluated and recommended changes will be made during the December and January pre-season meetings by the MCLL Board of Directors. All rule changes and league policies and bylaws are subject to a majority vote of the MCLL Board of Directors either in person or by proxy and may be revised at any point during the season should a need arise requiring such amendment.
Any changes to team rosters or movement of players from one league to another after rosters are finalized by the MCLL Player Agent and President is strictly prohibited without authorization from the MCLL Board of Directors and just cause. Any coach who takes it upon themselves to change rosters without league authorization and approval will be subject to discipline from the league ranging from suspension up to being banned from coaching in the future. Any MCLL Board Member that takes it upon themselves to change rosters without league authorization and approval will be terminated from the MCLL Board.
Should a coach quit in-season without just cause, that coach shall be banned from coaching in MCLL for a minimum of one calendar year or two (2) baseball seasons, Spring and Fall.
Should a coach and/or player’s parents/spectators cause a disturbance and/or communicate threats to any umpire, league member, or spectator(s), that coach, as well as the individual who caused the disturbance or communicated the threat, shall be suspended for a minimum of one week of games up to a ban from MCLL activities for one calendar year. Should a threat of violence occur, the proper authorities will be notified, and a ban of any duration from MCLL league activities may be implemented by the MCLL Board of Directors.
All coaches and assistant coaches are subject to a background check per LLI Regulations to participate in MCLL activities including coaching during games and/or occupying a team dugout.
At least one league approved coach, or representative, shall be present at all team activities to include team meetings, practices, and games.
All coaches are expected to be knowledgeable of, and adhere to, LLI playing rules and regulations, including, but not limited to, mandatory playing time and pitch limits.
All coaches shall maintain MCLL issued equipment and return in good repair at the conclusion of the season. If repair or replacement is needed, coaches should report those needs to their respective league coordinator.
All batters shall wear a batting helmet affixed with either a facemask or a C-Flap cheek and jaw protector. Although this is not required by LLI Standards it is required to play in any Midland Junior Baseball Association (MJBA) Little League of which MCLL is a member league in accordance with our league insurance policy.
All injuries requiring medical attention sustained by a MCLL player, coach or spectator during an official MCLL event should be reported to the respective league coordinators within 24 hours. Any damage to MCLL property should be reported to the respective league coordinators as soon as the damage is discovered.
Use of alcohol, tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and/or profanity at any MCLL league event is prohibited.
All coaches and team managers shall be selected and approved by the MCLL Board of Directors.
All coaches and team managers are expected to be present for the official pre-season workday. If the coach is unable to attend, it is the expectation of the MCLL Board of Directors that the coach be represented by another individual, or individuals, from their respective team. It is important to remember that this workday is used to restore the fields to the best possible condition of play for the upcoming season.
It is the responsibility of each team to participate in the maintenance and repair of the field they are playing on, (this includes, but is not limited to, raking, watering, picking up trash, dumping trash, etc.).
A representative, from each team, shall be responsible for checking the field for hazards prior to the start of each game and shall be responsible for the cleaning of their team’s dugout and bleacher area after each game.
The Third (3rd) Base Dugout will be used by the Home Team for each game.
League specific playing rules will be publicly posted on the MCLL website.
Payment and Refunds
On-time registrations must be paid online, and in full, at the time of registration.
Late registrations will be placed on a waitlist for which payment is not required, unless the player is placed on a team. Registration will not be allowed if there are not enough coaches to allow for waitlisted players to be placed on a team.
Waitlist registrations must not be paid until those registrations are pulled off of the waitlist. Once pulled off of the waitlist, those registrations must be paid in full within 24 hours.
If a registered player withdraws prior to being placed on a team, a refund minus processing fees may be granted at the discretion of the MCLL Board of Directors.
If a registered player withdraws after being placed on a team but prior to uniforms being ordered, a partial refund minus processing and league administrative fees may be granted at the discretion of the MCLL Board of Directors.
No refund will be granted to any player who withdraws after team placement and uniform orders.
Draft and Team Placement
Player tryouts are conducted in February for the Spring Little League season.
Registered players shall attend tryouts and will be evaluated on fundamental baseball skills to include hitting, fielding, throwing and running. Registered players who do not attend tryouts can not be drafted, but will be placed on an age appropriate Coach Pitch, Texas League or American League team roster at the conclusion of the draft through a blind drawing. The MCLL Board of Directors reserves the right to exempt the children of Coach Pitch, Texas League and American League coaches from participation in tryouts.
Player rankings are conducted by each coach using methods unique to that coach. There are no defined ranking standards supported by the MCLL Board of Directors. No player rankings shall be tracked or published.
Coaches will draft teams following tryouts each Spring season for all MCLL leagues: Coach Pitch through National League. No player will be eligible to compete in the National League level of play if they do not participate in the tryout process for that specific season.
The draft order and format are as follows:
o National League Division
o American League Division
o Texas League Division
o Coach Pitch Division
The number of players drafted to each league is dependent on the number of teams in that respective league for that respective season depending on the number of volunteer coaches. MCLL shall not carry over rosters from the previous season for any division of play, therefore the draft procedure will follow LLI Operating Policy Plan A – Serpentine Draft Plan.
All teams will be balanced as closely as possible with the same number of players across all teams within a given division. However, National League teams shall have no fewer than 11 and no more than 12 players.
Each player is drafted based on individual player performance and no player is guaranteed a roster spot in any division despite where that player may have played in a previous season. However, if a player was registered and participated in the last preceding MCLL Spring baseball season, that player shall not be moved down a division without approval of the MCLL Board of Directors.
During the Coach Pitch, Texas League and American League drafts, the coach for each team may be assisted by his MCLL Board approved assistant coach. The head coach and assistant coach shall place their children in selection spots as agreed upon by the respective division at the time of the draft on their draft sheet. If the head coach and assistant coach combined have more than two children who will be playing on their team, the remaining children of the coaches will be ranked according to a vote of the head coaches of the division and slotted into the draft order accordingly. If the head coach and assistant coach combined have less than two children, then all remaining roster spots on their team shall be filled in the draft. Assistant coaches for National League teams will be selected by the head coach for each team at the conclusion of the draft.
All-Star Team and Coach Selection for Post Season Play
Post-season eligibility for all players is subject to a strict review process that includes various forms of identification, address and/or school certification, and more, as dictated by LLI. Players must meet all eligibility standards in order to be considered for All-Star team selection.
All-Star Managers and Coaches will be selected from eligible league officials or active coaches that participated in MCLL regular season from the American and National League divisions.
Coaches that win their regular season of play by finishing first in their division’s standings will not receive automatic placement as an All-Star Manager or Coach. They are subject to the same selection criteria as the rest of the candidates.
Coaches from the regular season who are interested in being considered for a Manager or Coach position of an All-Star team can make it known to the Board. All candidates will be interviewed, discussed, and voted on for placement by the League’s Board. All-Star Manager and Coach candidates are subject to a thorough review of conduct, coaching ability, team management ability, and other character traits in order to ensure MCLL will be represented with integrity at the post-season level at all times.
Teams will be selected by vote, conducted by the regular season coaches from each division of play (American League and National League). Votes and discussions regarding votes shall remain confidential between coaches and league officials. Violations of this confidentiality may result in disciplinary action by the MCLL Board of Directors.
American League coaches will vote for the 10YO All-Star team. National League coaches will vote for the 11YO and 12YO All-Star teams and discuss any potential 10YO players that participated in the National League for that season.
Prior to All-Star player selection, the guardians of potential player candidates shall be informed of expectations around practices, tournaments, player and parent behavior, availability, eligibility requirements, and more.
Coaches will vote for who they consider to be the most skilled players from the pool of approved player candidates in the division the coach is allowed to vote.
The players who receive the highest number of votes for their age division will be slated to their respective All-Star team. All teams are subject to Board review and will be approved by a majority vote of the League’s Board. Player’s will be discussed for their playing abilities, their character, and their capability to represent Mid-City Little League on a higher platform prior to final vote.
The All-Star teams will be selected and approved PRIOR to All-Star Managers and Coaches being approved and assigned. This is setup to prevent any perceived bias in the selection process and to ensure each team starts in a fair position through the optics of the league in general.
All MCLL officials and coaches, as well as MCLL players and their families, shall abide by LLI rules regarding the release of All-Star rosters. At the discretion of the MCLL Board of Directors, violation of these rules may result in disciplinary action including removal of a Coach or player from an All-Star roster.
The MCLL Board of Directors is committed to the health and safety of its members and will consult with and adhere to all guidance provided by the City of Midland, State of Texas and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding any and all health threats currently impacting our community.
MCLL Vision
The MCLL Board of Directors strives to foster a positive and enjoyable environment for baseball players at all skill levels to learn and grow the game of baseball in the Midland community while supporting strong citizenship and sportsmanship standards. The vision of the MCLL Board of Directors is to accomplish this through encouraging competition, hard work and commitment to both team and individual success while instilling strong baseball fundamentals in each player.