2020-09-25

WBSC publishes new Baseball5 rulebook for the 5-on-5 urban game

24/09/2020
The WBSC has published the 2021 edition of the Baseball5 rulebook for the fast-paced five-on-five Youth Olympic discipline.
Baseball5 Rulebook 2021 - English Version
Baseball5 Rulebook 2021 - Spanish Version
The main Baseball5 rule change concerns hitting. A modification to the hitting rule now states that a batter/hitter has to raise "the hand he/she intends to use" while entering the batter's box. The ball "must be hit/slapped either with a palm or a fist" and have "enough momentum to reach the outfield fence" or, in the case of the U-15 category, "the outfield (passing the line that connects first-second-third base).
The rules consider "illegal behaviour", and the batter is consequently out, if a hit ball, not touched by any defender, doesn't reach the outfield fence or if a player slides to avoid a tag. Sliding is now forbidden in Baseball5.