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A note from the League Director

We get many questions on the benefits of joining the Pete Kokinis Baseball League, here are just a few:

• Founded in 1946, first as the Jaycee-Courant Baseball League, most recently as the Vantis Life Baseball League.
• Summer baseball in three age divisions, 14U, 16U, 19U, and fall ball in 13U, 15U, and 18U.
• Our League Director, Pete Kokinis, who played and coached in the league has run the league since 1975. He was inducted in the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012.
• Experienced staff averaging 10 years with the league.
• A dedicated director for each age group. Every division has a dedicated supervisor.
• Regular organizational meetings covering registration updates, league rules, scheduling, rosters, background checks, and insurance
• Summer schedule is 16 games, plus playoffs, through June and July.
• Summer championship games at New Britain Stadium.
• Fall schedule is 14 games, plus playoffs, through September and October.
• Assigned umpires from the local state-affiliated board.
• Registration includes insurance for your team, or you can bring your own.
• Easy to navigate website that is full of information for you, your players, and your parents.
• Affordable cost plus we include 5 dozen game balls at no extra cost.

Please visit our site, kokinisbaseball.com, where you will find our rules, age charts, and starting January 1, our registration program. All our directors and supervisors are ready to answer your questions. See the end of this newsletter for our staff directory.

Pete

Age determination change for 2023

Baseball age is now determined as of September 1. This aligns our age chart with Little League.

Note the overlap in ages. Our age ranges give teams more flexibility as to where a player can be placed in our league.

Umpires now paid on the field

Umpires will now be paid on the field by the home team. We have adjusted our registration fees accordingly and we will no longer reimburse teams for umpire costs. The league will continue to work with the Boards to schedule all umpires.

Game balls included in your registration fee!

We will provide 60 ProNine game balls to every team, included in your registration fee.

Summer team registration January 1 through April 20

Team registration for the 2023 Summer season opens on January 1 on our website, kokinisbaseball.com. There is a $200 per team deposit required to hold your place in the league, and we are offering a $100 discount if you register your team by January 31. The regular season is 16 games, and every division will have playoffs concluding with the Championship Game at New Britain Stadium on July 29.

We accept payment via Venmo or by check. If paying by check, please make checks payable to “Pete Kokinis Baseball League”. Instructions will be in the receipt you receive after registering your team.

2023 Summer team registration includes 20 tickets to Pete Kokinis Night at the Bees and 60 game baseballs!

On-line Player and Coach Registration

Player and coaches must register on our website after the team has registered. For players new to the league, a parent or guardian must register first (if the player is under 18 years of age) and upload the player’s birth certificate, which are securely stored on our site. League and COVID waivers will be electronically signed. Players who have registered for our league in previous seasons only need to log in, select a division, register for the team, and accept the waivers.

Players MUST register before their first game. The last date to add players to the roster is July 1.

Coaches MUST register and submit a background check before their first interaction with players (see below).

Insurance

All teams must be covered by insurance. Teams may provide their own or purchase insurance from the league. Our insurance is supplemental, and covers players and coaches for practices and games, including games outside our league. The liability limit on our insurance policy is $3,000,000. This is to better protect the league and our teams against lawsuits. We recommend teams providing their own insurance purchase a $2,000,000 policy, but the choice is up to the team. Teams providing their own insurance must submit a certificate to the league before your first practice.

PKBL Night at the Bees and 2023 Championship Games at New Britain Stadium

We are happy to let you know that we will once again hold Pete Kokinis Baseball League Night at the Bees and our Championship Games at New Britain Stadium. As part of your registration fee, you will receive 20 tickets to Pete Kokinis Baseball League Night at the Bees on June 23.

Our Championship Games will be held at New Britain Stadium on Saturday July 29, with rain date Sunday, July 30.

Uniform rule changes

This year we have made the league patch optional. We also are not requiring adult base coaches to wear helmets, but we strongly recommend it. Coaches are still required to wear baseball pants and a team shirt.

Administrative Rule Highlights

• Our standings point and tiebreaker system is as follows:

1. Points, awarded as follows:

3 points for a win

2 points for a tie

1 point for a loss

No points for a forfeit loss

2. Wins
3. Head-to-Head
4. Runs Against
5. If still tied, a coin flip will determine playoff seeding. If three or more teams are tied, seeding will be determined by lot.

Note our website will rank teams only on the first three criteria. Runs Against is displayed in the standings table but the table will not rank the fourth factor.

• Double rostering – we allow double rostering between divisions as follows:
  • Up to five 16U players may be double rostered on a 19U team.
  • Up to five 14U players may be double rostered on a 16U team.
  • A player may not be double rostered on teams within the same Division.

Playing Rule Highlights

• Rule Book
  • We use the 2023 NFHS Baseball Rule book, amended with our own rules sheet.
• Designated Hitter/Extra Hitter
  • You can now use a Designated Hitter as well as an Extra Hitter! The extra hitter does not bat for a defensive player. Your lineup can have 10 batters.
• Mercy Rule
  • We follow the CIAC mercy rule for regular season games. The game shall end when the visiting team is behind ten (10) or more runs after 4½ innings or after the fifth inning, if either team is 10 runs behind and both teams have had an equal number of times at bat. The mercy rule is also be used in playoff games.

• Equipment
  • Bats - all divisions follow the NFHS rule: bats that are not made of a single piece of wood must meet the BBCOR performance standard and must be marked “BBCOR .50”
    • The 14U division may also use -5 bats.
  • Chest Protectors - Catchers must wear chest protectors that meet the NOCSAE standard at time of manufacture. The SEI/NOCSAE mark is required on all body/chest protectors that meet the NOCSAE standard at the time of manufacture.
  • Baseballs – The league is now providing 60 baseballs included in your registration fee. The Playing Rules document, available on our website, contains a list of accepted baseballs.
• Lineup Cards
  • Lineup cards must contain first and last name, and uniform number, and on the reverse, the names of players ineligible to pitch that day.
• Coaches Uniforms
  • The League no longer provides shirts as we found most coaches wear team shirts. All on-field coaches must wear a uniform. Baseball pants and a team shirt or pullover/jacket are required. Please see the Playing Rules document for complete information.
• Electronic Scorebooks
  • An electronic scorebook may be used. Any scorebook, electronic or paper, must be made available for inspection by League officials upon request.

Background Checks

The League will again require yearly Background Checks. They are confidential and administered by Protect Youth Sports.

As a youth-serving organization, The Pete Kokinis Baseball League considers the safety and well-being of the youth in our program a top priority. Therefore, we continue to require a yearly background checking program to include all team personnel that meet players.

Prior to a team’s first game, a background check will need to be performed on every Team Representative, Manager, Coach, Assistants, and volunteers. Your failure to participate will make you unavailable to coach and interact with League players. If, on game day, no team personnel have had a background check performed, the game will be forfeited. The check may take up to 48 hours to process so please do not wait until the day of your first game to submit for your background check. The check must be performed using the League’s service. Background checks made by your organization cannot be accepted.

See the Background Check page on our website for a link to Protect Youth Sports.

What you need:

Full Legal Name, Current and past addresses, Date of Birth, Social Security Number, and Driver's License Number.

Fee:

The fee for the background check is $14.95 which will be charged to your Debit or Credit Card. The Pete Kokinis Baseball League is not responsible for this fee and will not reimburse anyone ordering a background check.

The Process:

When you are ready to submit your information, click on the link below. You will be redirected to our provider’s site. When completed, the results will be provided to the Chair of the League’s Background Check Committee, who will log your completion. He and only he will have access to your results.

Should there be an issue that requires follow-up information; The Chair of the Background Check Committee will contact you personally.

Please see the table below for a list of general suggestions of people who should submit to a background check. This list is not inclusive. Use your best judgment.

If you are or do the following, submit for a background check:

Team Representative

Head or Assistant Coach

Scorekeeper

Dad that throws batting practice

Interns

Anything that puts you in a private setting with a player

Some positions that, depending on their level of involvement with your team, might not need a background check:

PA Announcers

Writers

Statisticians

Concession Workers

Groundskeepers

2023 Schedule (subject to change):

Registration Opens – Sunday, January 1

Registration Ends – Saturday, April 22

Scheduling Meetings – Wednesday, May 3 (via Zoom)

Rules Meeting – Wednesday, May 24 at Goodwin University

CIAC Finals – Friday and Saturday, June 9 & 10

Opening Day – Monday, June 5

League Night at the Bees – TBD

Last Day to Change Rosters – Saturday, July 1

End of Regular Season – Thursday, July 20

Playoffs Begin (all divisions) – Saturday, July 22

Championship Games at New Britain Stadium – Saturday, July 29

Rain date for Championship Games – Sunday, July 30

Do you need more information about our League? Contact any of our staff. The League Directory is below.