2025 Competitive Division Rules

Born in the 2022 Fall Baseball Season, our Major League Competitive Division now has five full seasons in the books.  We’re happy to report that everyone who’s played has had a great time and the Major League Competitive Division will continue again in the 2025 SPRING Baseball Season.  We’re also launching a first-ever Cactus League Competitive Division this Spring with two expansion teams, the Orioles and the Tigers!

PLEASE NOTE, FOR THE SPRING 2025 SEASON:  The Major League Competitive Division plays every Friday at 5PM. This is so we can now play a full (6) innings, or a 1 1/2 hour game, whichever comes first. The Cactus League Competitive Division for our younger players plays every Saturday at 5PM.

Our Cactus League teams, the Tigers and the Orioles, will use the standard Miracle League foam balls and foam bats.  Every Cactus League player will have a “Play-Assist” Buddy (unless by pre-game agreement, a player wants to try playing on their own):

  • The Play-Assist Buddy is permitted on the field on their team’s defense and must position themselves next to their player. The Play-Assist Buddy is permitted to field a ground ball (only), hand it to their player, and provide verbal coaching instruction on where to throw the ball. The emphasis is on the player’s preference – if a player wants to try fielding ground balls, the Play-Assist Buddy will respond accordingly. A Play-Assist Buddy is not permitted to field a fly ball, except to knock down a line-drive in the interest of safety.
  • Volunteers can sign-up to be a Play-Assist Buddy in the same way as all Buddy volunteers sign-up, but look for the labeled Play-Assist Buddies option (SATURDAYs, 4:45pm-6pm) when signing up.

Our Major League teams will continue to use the Easton “Incrediball”, and will continue to experiment with the use of wooden bats, in addition to using our normal Miracle League foam bats.  Needless to say, the Bat-Throwing Rule will be strictly enforced, and we will monitor games closely to insure that the use of wooden bats does not become a safety issue.  We need a volunteer for each Major League Competitive Division game to pitch:

  • The Major League Competitive Division game Official Pitcher should be able to pitch overhand or underhand (batter dependent) from the Miracle League mound (approx. 30’ to the plate) and get the ball over the plate consistently. The Official Ball is an Easton Incrediball. The pitcher’s job is to give every hitter good pitches to hit in every at bat. The pitcher is expected to and must be able to field the position adequately, and in the same way for both teams, but must always throw to a base.
  • Volunteers can sign-up to be a Major League Official Pitcher in the same way as all Buddy volunteers sign-up, but look for the labeled Major League Official Pitcher option (FRIDAYs, 4:45pm-6:30pm) when signing up.

REMINDER:  These Competitive Division games are all about our players!  The primary objective is to have fun, and to develop skills at a pace that is comfortable for each player.  Pure and simple, we want to be responsive to our players that want a more competitive game (IMPORTANT!  see the RULES and FIELDING DIAGRAM below), but to do so in a way that is appropriate for each player’s abilities and desire.

Interested in taking a closer look at the Competitive Division?

PLEASE Click Below to READ THE RULES CLOSELY to make sure this is a good fit for your player!  

If, after reviewing the RULES and PLAYER CRITERIA, your player is interested in participating in this Competitive Division in the future, please send an email to Robin at: [email protected] with your player’s name, age, and the words: COMPETITIVE DIVISION.