This year, the Majors Division will be playing on a 50/70 versus 46/60 diamond.   This means that the pitcher's mound is 50' from the plate versus 46' and the distance between the bases is 70 ' versus 60'.  To put it simply, they'll be playing on a slightly bigger diamond.  This will affect the rules as base runners can take a lead before attempting to steal and the balk rule will be in effect for the pitchers.  In other words, for the most part, they'll be playing by regular baseball rules.

We are moving to 50/70 for several reasons.  

1. The high tech baseball bats used today allow hitters to hit the ball harder and farther than wooden bats.  The larger diamond provides additional time for the pitcher and fielders to react to the ball and make more plays.  The added time to react also provides an additional margin for safety.

2.  Up until now, after Majors, players moved to a big league diamond which is 60/90.  This is a huge jump from 46/60. The 50/70 provides an intermediate step allowing players to adjust to a larger field and different rules.

3.  Both Ripken and Little League are moving to 50/70.  And, four other towns in our Ripken district will be playing 50/70 this year.

In order to play on a 50/70 diamond, Majors will be playing their games at Kiwanis Beach this year.  A side benefit to this move is that both Majors and Minors teams will be able to play more games which is in keeping with area towns.  Also, the  Summer Ripken 12 year old team will be playing in both the District and State 50/70 tournaments regardless of their record.

Please note that although we are playing on a bigger diamond, unlike AAU where you can use larger bats, the bat size is limited to 2 1/4".