BABE RUTH LEAGUE, INC. 
BIRTH CHART FOR 2023 – BASEBALL DIVISIONS

   All player ages are determined by the birth chart shown above. May 1 in any year shall be the deciding date.

Season of 2023: 

Cal Ripken – Any player born prior to May 1, 2019 and on or after May 1, 2010 will be eligible for Cal Ripken Baseball League competition.
Any player that turns 4-years-old in the months of May, June or July of 2019 is eligible to participate in the Cal Ripken T-Ball Division

First, to determine your child's "baseball age," please refer to the Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken Baseball Age Chart above. 

St. Matthews Baseball has eight divisions:

·       T-Ball - ages 4 & 5 (combined) & 6 (by request)

·       Coach Pitch- ages 5 (with one year of experience) & 6

·       Rookies (Machine Pitch) - ages 7 & 8 (play separately in your age group)

·       Minors - ages 9 &10 (combined)

·       Majors - ages 11 & 12 (combined)

·       Babe Ruth - ages 13-18 (13-15 combined,16-18 combined) - subject to having enough players and/or coaches to form team(s)

When will practices be held? 

Once teams are formed, your coach will give you a schedule of practices and let you know additional details about the league schedule. 

Practices in the younger divisions (4-6) are usually informal and are up the head coach. Some hold one practice a week, some hold a short 15 minute practice before games, and some use the games themselves to coach the fundamentals of baseball. At this age, and it not being competitive divisions, practices are informal and will focus on teaching the basics of baseball. 

Practices in the older divisions (7-12) are more formal, and coaches usually select one night a week devoted to practice. Again, your head coach will be in touch once the practice schedule is formalized and practice day/time has been selected

When will games be played? 
Opening day is typically the first Monday after Spring Break for most schools in Louisville. The final schedule will be released once completed, which is usually a week or so before games begin.

4-6 yr olds: games are played Monday – Thursday, with some games on Friday evening and/or Saturday morning or afternoons as well throughout the season. One to two games a week is typical.

7-12 yr olds: games are played Monday, Tuesday or Thursday evenings, and some Saturday morning or afternoons. One game a week is typical but on occasion to accommodate scheduling, there is the possibility of two games being scheduled in the same week or in multiple weeks. 

Can I play with my friend? (Spring Seasons Only)

4-8 yr olds: may request to be on the same team as friends and classmates. The more information that you can provide about team mates the better we can honor your request. Also, the earlier you register the better the chance for your request. Please be sure to have your friends sign up early also.

9-12 yr olds: must go through a draft. Siblings will be placed together. We are sorry but due to the number of requests and to ensure the integrity of the draft and team assembly, transportation and other requests can not be considered.

When will we be notified of our team placement?

Wee (4), Tee (5), Coach Pitch (6), and Machine Pitch (7) and (8) divisions, you will hear from your coach and team mid-March. Please remain patient as it takes some time to get the various coach and teammate requests sorted in these age groups, but you will be contacted!  

Minors (9-10) and Majors (11-12) tryouts will likely be held the first week of March. Exact dates, times and locations will be sent to you once confirmed. Once tryouts and drafts are complete, you will hear from your coach and team around mid-March.

What equipment do I need for my player?

4-6 yr olds: a glove and bat are the only required pieces of equipment. Baseball pants, cleats, helmets, or batting gloves are optional. 

7-12 yr olds: a glove, bat, batting helmet and baseball pants are required. Cleats are optional but recommended. Please no metal cleats. Batting gloves are optional. While the league does have catching gear for most teams, it is strongly encouraged that catchers who have their own equipment bring it with them to practices and games.

What kind of bat can my child use?

As of January 1. 2018, the new USA Baseball Bat standard was implemented.  Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth have adopted this standard. Bats must contain the USA Baseball marking. In Cal Ripken, the maximum barrel size is "2 5/8". Please click on this LINK for additional details to ensure your child is using an approved bat
. 

When will the season end? 

4-6 yr olds: the season will end sometime around the second week of June. The end date is determined by the number of teams in each division.

7-12 yr olds: the regular season will end the second week of June. An in-house tournament will be played the following week.

How is All-Star post-season eligibility determined and when is it? 

Anyone is eligible to play in the recreation league at St. Matthews, regardless of what zip code they live in or which school they attend.

St. Matthews is a part of Cal Ripken Baseball; we participate in their annual post-season tournament trail (All-Stars) following the finish of the St. Matthews recreation regular season. For All-Star post-season tournament trail purposes, Cal Ripken Baseball assigns St. Matthews Baseball a defined list of zip codes.
 

To be eligible for All-stars, a player must either live in OR attend a school located in one of the following zip codes: 40025, 40059, 40205, 40206, 40207, 40220, 40222, 40223, 40291, 40242, 40243, 40245, or 40299. Each player’s eligibility will be reviewed and approved by the Cal Ripken Baseball state office. Players will self-nominate for All-Stars in May with selections completed in early June. All-Star practice and tournaments typically run from mid-June through the third week of July. 

How are rainouts determined?

Rainout is determined by field playability and player safety. We do our best to make a call by 4:00 pm on a game day. Occasionally a later cancellation occurs if rains comes in late. Parents and coaches will be notified by email if games are cancelled or delayed, and for which fields and times. Coaches should also notify players when  games are canceled. 

Do you still offer softball?
While we have been able to offer softball in previous years, with decreasing enrollment and not having someone to successfully run the program, we no longer offer softball unfortunately. However, all of our baseball divisions are co-ed. 

Who is eligible to play Babe Ruth?

Any player born prior to May 1, 2010 and on or after May 1, 2007 will be eligible for Babe Ruth 13-15 League competition. Please also check the Babe Ruth Age Chart above to make sure your player qualifies.

We encourage any eligible player to sign-up and tryout, even travel ball players. We will endeavor to rotate all players available for each game to give them reps and game time. Players do not need to be available for every game to participate in the Babe Ruth League.

Do you offer 16-18U Babe Ruth?

Unfortunately, we do not currently offer a 16-18U Babe Ruth League given low interest and enrollment. However, if enough players to field a team are interested, and a coaching staff is willing to coach the team, we would welcome and encourage you to reach out to us to discuss further.

When is the season?

Tryouts and practice start around the beginning of April. The first games do not start until the end of April, and last until the end of June.

Where are the games?

Depending on other league participation, games are played in Jefferson County at Germantown, Fairdale, Highview, Okolona, Beechmont, Fern Creek, Mount Washington, J-Town, or St. Matthews. St. Matthews games are played on Voll or McCandless Field.

What times and length are the games played?

Weekday games start at either 6:00, 6:30 or 8:00pm (depending on location). Sunday games start at 4:00 or 6:00pm. The games are 7 innings long. The game time cannot exceed 2 ¼ hours.

How are team(s) formed?

Depending on the number of players who register, the head coaches will place the players on a team consisting of at least 12-15 players.

Are there any restrictions or suggestions on bats?

Yes. Babe Ruth League only allows USA stamped bats to be used during games. You must get Babe Ruth approved bats, which generally have a lower differential than Little League bats or travel team bats. Most high school approved bats are also Babe Ruth approved bats. All wooden bats are approved for Babe Ruth. You may use a wooden bat at any level.

The bat may not exceed 34” in length, and the bat barrel may not exceed 2 5/8” in diameter.  All aluminum/alloy barrel bats and all composite handle (only) aluminum/alloy barrels are allowed.  Only composite barrel bats certified and marked BBCOR .50 will be allowed.  Wood barrel bats conforming to the specifications of Official Baseball Rule 1.10 are allowed.

Bat Guidelines

(www.usabaseball.com/bats/guidelines)

2023 Approved Bat List

(www.usabat.com)

Will the age/talent be balanced between the teams or will there be an A and B team?

If enough players register and coaches volunteer will determine if more than one team is formed. The ages and talent will be balanced as evenly as possible between multiple teams. It is not our intention to create an A and B team, nor to have one team comprised of older players with the other comprised of younger players. Younger players gain knowledge from the older more experienced players while older players feed off of the excitement of the younger players, so we will do our best to balance the teams to be competitive and fun. Additionally, for this season we are planning to rotate rosters so that everyone has a chance to play with every other St. Matthews player throughout the season. The coaches will explain this further at tryouts.

Do we need to register with the league prior to the tryouts?

Yes, St. Matthews will open registration on its website prior to tryouts, usually by the middle of January for the coming season. After tryouts players will then be drafted to one of the teams, assuming multiple teams are being fielded. Once that happens, the coach will email you with instructions for practice schedules.

What is the costs for registration?

It will be the same as last year, $185. This will provide your player with a jersey and ball cap for the season. You will need to provide pants, socks and the remainder of their personal equipment your player needs to participate (helmet, bat, glove, etc). Catchers typically provide their own gear, but if your player needs gear, please let the coach know and they will work with you to get the appropriate gear.

What shoes can I wear?

While the Babe Ruth league allows metal spikes to be worn during game play, we cannot wear them on synthetic field turf. In other words, they cannot be worn on the fields at St. Matthews.

Will there be a make-up tryout day in the future?

We will do our best to hold a make up tryout, but strongly encourage players to make the regularly scheduled tryout as this is the best opportunity for coaches to evaluate players.