# Law 20: Official WBSC Events (Official Baseball Rules)

Baseball · Law 20: Official WBSC Events · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/baseball/laws/law-20-official-wbsc-events/)

Appendix 1: innings and the designated hitter at each World Cup, extra innings with runners on base, run difference, suspended games, bats, pitch counts and other tournament rules.

## 20.201 Innings and Extra Innings

Game length per event, the designated hitter, runners on first and second, and the run difference rule.

### Test 1: Innings, extra innings and run difference

- The designated hitter is accepted at every WBSC tournament except the U-12 Baseball World Cup. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.1)
- U-15, U-18, U-23 and women's World Cup games are seven innings; U-12 is six and the Premier12 nine. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.2)
- Each team starts every extra inning with a runner on first and a runner on second and nobody out. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.4.2.3.1)
- In six-inning U-12 games the runners on first and second begin with the seventh inning. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.4.2.1.1)
- The placed runners count as the starting pitcher of the inning's runners, and their runs are always unearned. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.4.2)
- In U-12 play a game ends at 15 runs after four innings batted, or at 10 runs after five. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.4.1.1)
- The run difference rule does not apply to the World Championship game, though it does apply to the bronze medal game. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.4.1.2)
- The line-up continues as usual, and the visitors still bat first in each extra inning. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.4.2.2)
- A home-run hitter may not be touched until he has passed home plate: a warning first, then a fine and the manager's ejection. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.5.2)
- The two batters before the one due up take the bases: the one just before him on first, the one before that on second. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.4.2.3.2)

## 20.202 Suspended Games and Bats

Regulation and suspended games, the rain wait, light failure, and the bats each event allows.

### Test 1: Suspended games and bats

- Before a game is regulation it is not official, so it is resumed later at the exact point of suspension. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.6.1.1)
- Once it has become a regulation game, a stopped game is ruled complete. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.6.1.2)
- A regulation game stopped with the score tied, or with the visitors ahead in an unfinished inning, is suspended and played to a finish. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.6.1.3)
- Umpires at WBSC events wait from sixty to ninety minutes before deciding whether to call the game. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.6.1.6)
- For U-18, U-23 and the Premier12 the bat must be made of wood and comply with Rule 3.2. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.7.1.3)
- A U-15 bat may weigh no more than three units less than its length, so 33 inches means at least 30 ounces. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.7.1.2)
- Any solid colour may be used, two at most, but white is not allowed on the bat apart from lettering and logos. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.7.2.6)
- When the lights fail during a play, the game is suspended and later resumes as things stood when that play began. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.6.1.7)
- The maximum bat length is 33 inches at U-12, 34 inches at U-15 and 36 inches at the Women's Baseball World Cup. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.7.1)
- At the Women's Baseball World Cup bats may be up to 36 inches long and 2 3/4 inches across. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.7.1.4)

## 20.203 Pitch Counts and Conduct

Daily pitch limits and rest days, forfeit scores, phones, and the U-12 headfirst slide.

### Test 1: Pitch counts and other matters

- The daily maximum is 85 pitches at U-12, 95 at U-15 and 105 at U-18. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.8.2)
- At U-18, 41 to 55 pitches mean one day of rest. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.8.3)
- A pitcher who reaches the limit during an at-bat may finish that batter but is removed when the at-bat ends. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.8)
- A pitcher on mandatory rest may not pitch but is allowed to play as a position player. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.8.2)
- Pitch count limits apply to the U-12, U-15 and U-18 World Cups, not to the U-23 and women's events. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.8.4)
- A forfeit is scored 7-0 in seven-inning World Cups, 6-0 at U-12 and 9-0 at the Premier12, whatever the score was. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A2.1)
- Electronic devices are forbidden during games, except an approved phone between the dugout and the bullpen. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A3.1)
- For the pitcher's safety the game is stopped and he is replaced; the manager is ejected and suspended, and the federation fined. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.8)
- Each band of pitches at U-18 adds a day of rest, up to four days for 91 to 105 pitches. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.8.3)
- At U-12 no headfirst slide into home is permitted: the runner is out, and the ball is live until play stops. (Source: WBSC ORB 2025-2026, Appendix 1, A1.5.3.1)

Sources: WBSC Official Rules of Baseball 2025-2026, Appendix 1 (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the Rules, not reproduced)

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