Kearny Mesa Little League season is coming to a close. To wrap up the season, we will be hosting a Home Run Derby sponsored by T-Mobile at our Closing Day Celebration, Saturday, May 20th.
Our HRD will begin shortly after our Closing Day Ceremony around 1pm PST.
Divisions
The official T-Mobile Homerun Derby allows for 9-year-olds through 12-year-olds to participate. However, Kearny Mesa Little League will host our own 6-, 7-, & 8-year-old division following the same rules with a shorter distance fence (75 ft) for determining a home run for the younger age group.
Each division will be scheduled for May 20, 2023.
Sign Up
To sign up your player, please register with our Kearny Mesa T-Mobile Home Run Derby form here.
We are required to collect Participant Release forms as well. You may print and sign ahead of time or we will have copies printed out for you to sign day of the event.
Official Rules
Visit the Official https://littleleaguehomerunderby.com/official-rules/ page for more information. Download a printable copy here
Equipment
Equipment should be inspected prior to the start of the competition.
Bats
Prior to the start of the competition, participants must declare any bat they might use, and all bats should be inspected by a competition judge to ensure that they meet the requirements listed below:
Baseball Rule – The bat must be a baseball bat which meets the USA Baseball Bat standard (USABat) as adopted by Little League. It shall be a smooth, rounded stick, and made of wood or of material and color tested and proved acceptable to the USA Baseball Bat standard (USABat).
Non-wood bats may develop dents from time to time. Bats that have cracks or sharp edges, or that cannot pass through the approved Little League bat ring for the appropriate division must be removed from play.
If the certification mark/s on a bat are not legible, that bat cannot be used and shall be removed from competition.
Use of an illegal bat will result in disqualification of the participant from the competition.
Balls
The balls used must be licensed and meet Little League specifications and standards. Baseballs shall weigh not less than five (5) ounces nor more than five and one fourth (5 ¼) ounces, and measure not less than nine (9) nor more than nine and one-fourth (9 ¼) inches in circumference. A 12” Little League licensed softball must be used for the softball competition. The ball shall be not less than eleven and seven-eight (11 7/8) inches nor more than twelve and one-eight (12 1/8) inches in circumference and shall weigh not less than six and one quarter (6 ¼) ounces nor more than seven (7) ounces.
Participant Eligibility
Only chartered Little Leagues are eligible to host a local competition.
Participants must currently be registered and meet all eligibility requirements within their chartered Little League for the 2023 season.
The Baseball competition is open to athletes league age 9 – 12 years old.
All Participants are required to submit the Participant Release signed by their legal guardian prior to participating. Any participant that is found to have not submitted their Participant Release or other required documents prior to participating in their Local Home Run Derby will be disqualified and their results will not be accepted.
There is no minimum number of participants.
Operations
Field Dimensions: Baseball: Fence Distance 170’. To create a shortened fence distance, draw a chalk line through the outfield 170’ feet for baseball.
Judges: At least three evaluators must be stationed near the outfield fence to judge if ball landed over or on chalk/cones.
Pitching:
Adult pitcher(s) to be designated by the League Host. Where possible, the same pitcher should be used for a minimum of five (5) batters in each round before rotating pitchers.
The pitcher must be positioned and pitching from behind an L-Screen for the baseball competition or square screen for the softball competition.
The screen is to be positioned no closer than 30ft from home plate for the baseball and 20 ft for softball competition.
Live arm pitching is preferred. Pitching machines may be used if necessary. The use of side toss is not permitted. The same pitching method should be used for all participants.
Dates & Timing: Local Home Run Derby date and times must be submitted, updated if weather delay, and finalized within the Home Run Derby portal two-weeks prior to the Local Home Run Derby taking place.
Results: Results must be submitted within one (1) week of the local contest taking place and no later than June 25, 2023 (date subject to change). Results will be submitted by Local Little League Host via online portal at LittleLeague.org/HomeRunDerby.
The Local Host of the local T-Mobile Home Run Derby agrees to upload a photo of the Champion to official website. Local Host will be asked to complete the following steps to ensure a successful photo submission:
Take photo of champion in front of event banner after the event concludes
Log in to the online portal at LittleLeague.org/HomeRunDerby
Drop photo into the designated area on league dashboard
Click “Submit”
Event Structure
1st Round
All participants receive 1:30 to hit as many home runs as possible.
Any fair ball that lands over the fence in fair territory is a home run. A ball that lands on the chalk/cone line is NOT counted as a home run
At the end of the 1st Round, the 10 participants with the most home runs will advance to the 2nd Round (*if event has less than 10 participants, all participants advance to 2nd round)
2nd Round
The 10 participants receive 1:30 to hit as many home runs as possible.
Batting order will be determined by number of Home Runs hit in first round with the lowest total number hitting first.
Any fair ball that lands over the fence in fair territory is a home run. A ball that lands on the chalk/cone line is NOT considered a home run
At the end of the 2nd Round, the 5 participants with the most total home runs (combined totals from 1st and 2nd rounds) will advance to the Final Round (*if event has less than 5 participants, all participants advance to the Final Round)
Final Round
The 5 participants receive 1:30 to hit as many home runs as possible.
Batting order will be determined by total Home Runs hit in first and second rounds with the lowest total number hitting first.
Any fair ball that lands over the fence in fair territory is a home run. A ball that lands on the chalk/cone line is NOT considered a home run
At the end of the Final Round, the participant with the most total home runs (combined totals from 1st, 2nd, and Final rounds) is the league’s T-Mobile Little League Home Run Derby Champion.
Tie-Breakers
Should there be a tie between two participants at the end of any round that would determine advancement to the next round or the final champion, the following tie breaking procedure will be used:
In the event of a tie at the end of the first, second, or final round, there will be a swing-off between the participants who are tied that will determine which participant advance (after 1st or 2nd rounds) or wins (after final round). Each participant will receive three (3) additional swings at a time, the contestant with the most home runs after the three (3) additional swings will advance or be crowned the champion. The additional swings will repeat until the tie is broken. Tie-breaking home runs do not count towards total home runs.
Advancement
In order to be eligible to advance to a regional competition, the participant must have won their local competition. (WINNING A LOCAL COMPETITION DOES NOT IMMEDIATELY QUALIFY A PARTICIPANT FOR ADVANCEMENT)
If there are any ties based on local competition results, a random lottery system will be used and conducted by the Competition Agency (Position Sports, Inc.).
Regional Competitions: The two (2) participants in each sub-region defined below with the most home runs hit during their local competition will advance onto their respective regional competition.
Should there not be adequate participation from any sub-region, the next highest score from the overall region will be used to complete the competition field for Regional events.
Regional Competition locations are TBD and will be announced at a later date
Championship: The four (4) participants with the most total home runs hit in their respective regional competitions will advance onto the championship in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Sub-Regions
East
Region 1: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont
Region 2: Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island
Region 3: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C.
Region 4: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
Region 5: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio
West
Region 6: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Region 7: Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Region 8: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
Region 9: Arizona, California, Hawaii
Region 10: Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming
Regional Finals/ Championship Rules & Regulations
For the Regional Finals and Championship, there will be a separate set of rules & regulations that will be released prior to the events taking place.
*T-Mobile, Little League and the competition agency reserve the right to alter, update, and modify these rules prior to these events taking place.