Minors AA welcomes 8 & 9-year-old boys and girls (Little League Age) generally as a progression from Minors A. Minors AA is where young players build on the fundamentals they have been taught and begin to develop more advanced skills.
In Minors AA, the game is split between machine and kid pitch. This allows the players to continue to grow as hitters as they see consistent pitches at a higher velocity from the pitching machine and learn to adjust their swing as they see pitches from the opposing teams players. The player is given the opportunity to begin developing the fundamentals of pitching. The position of catcher starts to play a role in the game. Defensively, the players is allowed more opportunities to develop fundamental fielding skills as they are moved around the field and get experience at different positions.
Team rosters are usually limited to a maximum of 14 players but can exceed this number if registration counts exceeds the number of volunteer Managers.
Games are 6 innings. Early in the season, 4 innings are machine pitch and 2 innings are kid pitch. Around the half way point in the season, the games become 3 innings of machine pitch and 3 innings of kid pitch. Pitch count limits are set to ensure the new pitchers do not experience arm fatigue.
A pitcher must be removed from the mound if they exceed the single inning maximum of 20 pitches for an 8 year old or 25 pitches for a 9 year old. Once removed, the player cannot return to the position of pitcher that game. A pitcher can be used for additional innings if they do not hit the per inning maximum. An 8 year old cannot exceed 50 pitches in a game. A 9 year old cannot exceed 75 pitches in a game.
The umpire will call balls and strikes during the kid pitch portion of the game. Players will be awarded 1st base after 4 balls are called or a player will be called out after 3 strikes occur. As this is most players first experience pitching, it should be expected that walks will occur and the coaches will work with their players to develop the proper mechanics to allow them to limit walks as they develop. It is not uncommon to have to use multiple pitchers in an inning due to the per inning pitch count limits.
Minors AA pitchers are just beginning to develop their arm strength. For this reason, the mound can be placed 40 feet from home plate. When a portable mound is present, it can be moved up to this distance. If the player is on a field with a permanent mound, they can pitch from in front of the mound instead of from the rubber.
Offensively, Minors AA uses a continuous batting order. All players are given the opportunity to hit and no players are left out of the batting order. The teams portion of the inning ends after 3 outs or when 5 runs have been scored. The next inning begins with the next batter. When the pitching machine is in use, a batter is given 5 hittable pitches to attempt to hit. The umpire can declare a pitch unhittable and that pitch does not count. Umpires do not call strikes off the machine. A strike can only occur if the player swings and misses or fouls off strike 1 or 2. If the player fails to put the ball in play after 5 hittable pitches the at-bat ends as an out. The coaches can decide prior to the game if they want to allow all players to have 5 hittable pitches or if they want 3 strikes to be considered an out. This must be decided before the game and both coaches must be in agreement. If they cannot agree then 3 strikes will end the at-bat.
There is no leading or stealing in Minors AA. On deck batters are not permitted at any level within the organization. All batters must remain in the dugout until it is their turn to hit.
Defensively, each team will field 10 players at a time. When the pitching machine is in use, a player will be placed near the machine to field the position of pitcher. Minors AA uses 4 outfielders. All 4 outfielders must remain on the outfield grass. A player cannot move in to act as an extra infielder.
Players are typically rotated around to different positions throughout the game to gain experience as both an infielder and an outfielder. This rotation is at the coaches discretion and safety of the player has to be taken into consideration.
A play is considered over when the ball is possessed by a player in the infield and they are no longer attempting to make a play and get an out. If the runners are less than ½ way to the base when the ball gets into the infield they are returned to the previous base.
In the event of an overthrow, the runner is allowed to advance 1 base and 1 base only. Should there be additional overthrows on that play, the runner cannot advance any further. This is to encourage a fielder at this level to attempt to make a play instead of teaching them to hold the ball to prevent another mistake.
The game ends after 6 innings or when the trailing team is no longer able to score enough runs to come back and win/tie the game. A minimum of 4 innings are played. If a team is down by 11 after 4 innings or 6 after 5 innings the game ends.
Teams typically play 2 games per week, one on a weekday and one on Saturday. Make up games are scheduled for rain outs so there are occasions where more than 2 games are played in a week.
Game results are reported to the league supervisor and standings are kept at this level. The team with the best record at the end of the season will be declared regular season champion. Tie breakers are used if multiple teams share the best record.
The regular season standings are then used to seed the Minors AA End of Season Tournament. The tournament is typically split into a Gold and Silver bracket based on standings. The top half of the teams compete in the Gold bracket and the remaining teams compete in the Silver bracket. This is a single elimination tournament and a champion will be awarded in each bracket.