Pony Baseball, the "other" kid baseball league

I personally prefer the age breakdown in the Pony League. At the Mustang age, the younger children are far less mature than the children in the Bronco division. This difference is intimidating to a 9-yr-old players, not only in maturity but in size. The 12-yr-old boys are much bigger and stronger. Their skill level at this age is much greater.

Pony baseball breaks down the age groups as:
Foal (Mini T-Ball) - 4U
Shetland (T-Ball) - 6U
Pinto - 8U
Mustang - 10U
Bronco - 12U
Pony - 14U
Colt - 19U
The "U" stands for under.

Little league ages breakdown as:
4-6 Tee Ball, coach or machine-pitch Minor League
7 - 8: Tee Ball; Minor League
9 - 12: Minor League; Major League
13 - 14: Junior League; Senior League
14 - 16: Senior League
16 - 18: Big League

The Pony League has done extensive research on the abilities of the ages in each group. The diamonds are scaled to provide the optimum distances within the physical capabilities of the children. Pony also allows children in the Mustang Division to lead off and steal bases. The base and pitching dimensions for Pony baseball are:

* 50ft bases for Shetland 5 & 6 year old
* 55 ft bases and 38ft pitching for Pinto 7 & 8 year old
* 60 ft bases and 44 ft pitching for Mustang 9 & 10 year old
* 70 ft bases and 48 ft pitching for Bronco 11 & 12 year old
* 80 ft bases and 54 ft pitching for Pony 13 & 14 year old

The Little League distance between bases is:
Little League - 60 feet
Major League - 90 feet

The distance from the pitcher to home plate is:
Little League - 46 feet
Major League - 60 feet, 6 inches

Cutest and most fun of all the teams to watch. The pictures shows two of our future major league players. These children hit from a "T". Children are taught to run the bases, make catches and throw the ball. The rules are not strictly enforced as the thought is that they just need to have fun. The games are no longer than 30 minutes. Parents must be on the field with their child but are not allowed to impede the play.

The is the division where the children learn the basic skills.
Games are 5 innings or 1 hr and 15 minutes, whichever comes first.
These games are umpired and the home team is responsible for supplying the umpire.
In Shetland, bunting is not allowed.
Any ball that is batted that does not go more than ten feet from the plate is considered a foul.
Double and triple plays are not allowed.
Players must keep one foot on the base until the next player hits the ball. Players can't lead-off.
12 players are allowed on the field, 6 infield and 6 outfield.
Players must rotate to all positions during the game and play at least two inning infield.
3rd base is the home team side.
No sliding is allowed.
All players must bat.
Base runners can only advance one base on a hit unless it reaches the outfield and the child can take two bases. They are not allowed to run on an overthrow.
The inning is over if there are three outs or five runs have come in.
Coaches are allowed on the field to help teach defensive moves.
Full uniforms are required on the field, including hats.

At this level, the leagues defer to the Pony League rules and regulations. However, each league can override some of the rules. For instance, our league is allowing the children to slide. All of the other leagues in our division already allow it and our children were lacking in that skill.

The inning is over when there are 3 outs or 5 runs have scored.
Games will be six innings.
The home team is the one closest to the third base.
Coaches may only be in the coaching boxes when their teams are up at bat.
Home team is responsible for keeping score.
Coaches must provide a line-up and notify the scorekeeper of any changes.
All players present at the start of the game will be included on the line-up.
Injured players can be removed from the line-up without a penalty.
Batters will be allowed 5 pitches from the pitching machine.
Bunting is not allowed.
If a ball is hit and an infielder holds it up, the play is stopped. Any running beyond the halfway mark between the bases is allowed to continue to the next base.
Four outfields are allowed.
Pitchers must stand to the side of the pitching machine.
Full uniforms are required on the field.
All batters and base runners must wear helmets.
Metal cleats are not allowed.
Sliding is allowed.

These closely follow the Pony League requirements but each league may make changes.

Runners may not collide with a fielder to knock the ball out of the glove.
Pitcher cannot throw curve balls.
Pitchers may intentionally walk a batter.
The dropped third strike is still in effect.
No limit on how many batters can bat in an inning.
All batters must bat in the assigned order.
No player can be added to the lineup after the original lineup has batted.
Players must play at least three innings.
Metal spikes are not allowed.
Pitchers cannot pitch more than four innings over two consecutive day.

Many children this age play high school baseball and are not allowed to play both. However, we still have teams for those who are not interested in high school baseball. The rules are very close to Major League Baseball so will not be detailed here.