Code of Conduct

Basic Code of Conduct Overview  

The board of directors of Saratoga Little League has mandated the following Code of Conduct.  All coaches and managers will read this Code of Conduct and sign in the space provided below acknowledging that he or she understands and agrees to comply with the Code of Conduct.  Tear the signature sheet in the Manual Addendum and mail to the SLL Safety Officer in the enclosed envelope.

Saratoga Little League Code of Conduct:

No Board Member, Manager, Coach, Player or Spectator shall:

  • At any time, lay a hand upon, push, shove, strike, or threaten to strike an official, player, coach or spectator.
  • Be guilty of heaping personal verbal or physical abuse upon any official for any real or imaginary belief of a wrong decision or judgment.
  • Be guilty of an objectionable demonstration of dissent at an official’s decision by throwing of gloves, helmets, hats, bats, balls, or any other forceful unsportsman-like action.
  • Be guilty of using unnecessarily rough tactics in the play of a game against the body of an opposing player.
  • Be guilty of a physical attack upon any board member, official manager, coach, player or spectator.
  • Be guilty of the use of profane, obscene or vulgar language in any manner at any time.
  • Appear on the field of play, stands, or anywhere on the SLL complex while in an intoxicated state at any time.  Intoxicated will be defined as an odor or behavior issue.
  • Be guilty of gambling upon any play or outcome of any game with anyone at any time.
  • Smoke while in the stands or on the playing field or in any dugout at any time.  Smoking will only be permitted in designated areas which will be 20 feet from any spectator stands or dugouts.
  • Be guilty of discussing publicly with spectators in a derogatory or abusive manner any play, decision or a personal opinion on any players during the game.
  • As a manager or coach, be guilty of mingling with or fraternizing with spectators during the course of the game.
  • Speak disrespectfully to any manager, coach, official or representative of the league.
  • Be guilty of tampering or manipulation of any league rosters, schedules, draft positions or selections, official score books, rankings, financial records or procedures.
  • Shall challenge an umpire’s authority.  The umpires shall have the authority and discretion during a game to penalize the offender according to the infraction up to and including removal from the game.

Any inappropriate behavior by a Fan may be cause for the suspension of a game by the Umpire.  Game suspension may continue until such time as the Fan leaves the park.

The Board of Directors will review all infractions of the SLL Code of Conduct.  Depending on the seriousness or frequency, the board may assess additional disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the league.

Saratoga Little League Game Ejection Guidelines

Overview

Ejection of a Participant in a Little League baseball game is a serious matter that can adversely affect the Participant, the Teams that are playing and the image of our Saratoga Little League.  This document will attempt to provide a means for an Umpire or Manager to evaluate the situation in the hopes of minimizing the subjective nature of this process.

For the purposes of this document, a Participant is defined as an Umpire, Manager, Coach, Player, or Fan.  A Youth Participant is defined as a Participant under the age of 18 years.  An Adult Participant is 18 years and older.

A Three Strike Ejection Warning shall be reached when a Participant has been issued the third warning regarding an Ejection Infraction as defined in this document.

Guidelines for Ejection:

A Manager may only eject a Player on his/her Team from a game and only if the Three Strike Ejection Warning has been reached.

An Umpire may eject a Participant from a game and only if the Umpire has followed the guidelines outlined in this document.

An Ejection Warning shall be issued in the following instances:

  • An Umpire shall issue an Ejection Warning if the Participant uses foul or abusive language towards a Manager, Coach, Umpire or Spectator.
  • An Umpire shall issue an Ejection Warning if the Participant makes a premature judgment call prior to the Umpire making his/her call.  This shall include both on-base judgment calls and calls pertaining to home plate pitching calls.
  • An Umpire or Manager shall issue a Player Ejection Warning if the Player’s conduct is adversely affecting the continuation of a game or the other Players on the Team.  A Manager may only issue Ejection Warnings to Players on his/her team.

An Ejection shall occur in the following instances:

  • If a Participant physically harms another Participant they shall be immediately ejected and a Code of Conduct Report issued.
  • If an Adult Participant uses foul or abusive language against a Youth Participant they shall be immediately ejected and a Code of Conduct Report issued.
  • If a Participant has been previously warned and has reached the Three Strike Ejection level the Participant shall be immediately ejected.

 

Ejection Report Filing:

Prior to ejecting a Participant from a game the Umpire or Manager shall clearly inform the Ejected Participant as to the specific violation that has been used as the basis for his/her ejection. 

Upon the completion of the game, the Umpire or Manager must file a written report with the Chief Umpire and with the Safety Officer detailing the circumstances surrounding the ejection.

 

Saratoga Little League Code of Conduct Policy

Overview:

The Saratoga Little League is concerned about the safety and well being of the children participating in Little League Sports Activities.  This includes both the Physical and Mental well being of each participant.  Managers, Coaches, Parents and Fans need to have a positive influence on our players and will be evaluated accordingly.

The Saratoga Little League Board of Directors has instituted a Code of Conduct Policy that will help enforce an acceptable Code of Conduct for all participants in Saratoga Little League activities.  A Conduct Review Committee will evaluate each reported incident to determine the appropriate action to be taken.   A Code of Conduct Incident Form may be filed by any Manager, Coach, Umpire, Board Member or Game Monitor.  This method of reporting infractions should remove the subjective nature from evaluating a Code of Conduct Incident.

Conduct Review Committee:

The Conduct Review Committee will be comprised of the President, Safety Officer and three other nominated board members. If the President or Safety Officer has a conflict of interest with an issue under review, they shall be not be allowed to vote and an Alternate must vote in their place.  Commissioners and Managers may not be nominated to the Conduct Review Committee.  The Conduct Review Committee will be nominated and accepted by the Saratoga Little League Board of Directors at the beginning of each season.   Upon receiving a Code of Conduct Incident Report, the Safety Officer will contact the members of the Code of Conduct Committee to meet in person or via email depending on the severity of the incident. 

If either the President or Safety Officer is unavailable for more than a 7 day period, the Vice President may substitute for the absent party.

Three Strike Policy

All participants in the Saratoga Little League will adhere to the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” principle.  The Conduct Review Committee will assign Strikes according to the severity of each incident.  Depending on the incident, an infraction can carry more than one Strike as determined by the Conduct Review Committee.  Figure 2 is a guideline for assignment of Strikes by the committee.   Strikes may only be filed against an individual if a majority of the Conduct Review Committee determines that an infraction has been committed.  All decisions made by the Review Committee are at their discretion and all decisions are final.  Strikes are cumulative each season and will not carry over into the next season.  Assigned Strikes will be used by the Board in evaluating and accepting Volunteer Positions each year.

Evaluation Procedure:

A Code of Conduct Incident Form may be filed by any Manager, Coach, Umpire, Board Member or Game Monitor.  Game Monitors will be sent out to monitor and evaluate games throughout the season.  The Game Monitor will file a Game Report Summary via the SLL Web site for each game he/she attends.  

A Code of Conduct Incident Form may be filed if the Game Monitor feels that a Manager, Coach, Umpire, Fan or Player has not adhered to the Code of Conduct as outlined in Section B.  A Game Monitor may not use a game that his/her son/daughter participates in for evaluation purposes.

If there is an issue regarding Board Members, Managers, Coaches or Umpires that is potentially harmful either mentally or physically to a child, the President and Safety Officer are immediately notified and a written Code of Conduct Report will be filed.

If any Board Member, Manager, Coach or Umpire is under review by the Code of Conduct Committee for the above mentioned item (i.e. mental or physical harm to a child), they shall be temporarily suspended until the issue is resolved or they receive an email from the President and Safety Officer stating that they can continue with their duties.

Notice of Infraction:

 The Conduct Review Committee will send via the United States Post Office a Notice of Conduct Infraction to the offending party with a description of the resulting penalty.  Examples of applicable penalties are included in Section D below as a reference.

Conclusion:

As Board Members, Managers, Coaches and Volunteers we are entrusted with the well being of the participants in the Saratoga Little League.   It is critical that each child have a positive experience with his/her participation.  Umpires, Volunteers, Parents and Players all must be educated in Code of Conduct expectations and enforcement.  The Conduct Review Committee must consistently enforce this policy to provide a healthy playing environment for all participants in the Saratoga Little League.

Section A:  Reference Charts and Documents

Figure 1 - Action to be Taken based on Strikes

Strike One

Strike Two

Strike Three

Suspension for 1 - 3 games depending on severity

Manager to step down to lesser Volunteer Position

Suspension from League for remainder of year

 

Coach will step down

 

 

Board Member to leave Board Position

 

 

Player to be suspended for 2 weeks.

 

 

 

 

Figure 2 - Examples of Strike Assignment

 

Assign 1 Strike

Assign 2 Strikes

Assign 3 Strikes

Manager, Coach, Umpire or Fan criticizing an Umpire in a foul or abusive manner.

Manager, Coach, Umpire or Fan verbally abusing an individual Player or Child Umpire.

Physical Abuse or fighting of any kind.

Abuse of Saratoga Little League or other people’s Property

A Board Member, Manager, Coach or Umpire creating an unsafe physical or mental environment for a Player

 

Player verbally abusing another Player

 

 

 

 

 

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