Official Constitution And Bylaws Of The Greater Toronto Baseball League
Edited and updated for the 2023 season.
Article 1: Name and Affiliation
- The name of the league shall be the GREATER TORONTO BASEBALL LEAGUE (GTBL), herein after referred to as “The League”.
- The league shall be affiliated with the governing body of the Metro area, the TBA, through which it will also be affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian governing bodies that succeed the Metro area.
Article 2: Objectives
- To promote senior baseball in the Greater Toronto area.
- To promote fellowship among players, teams and others associated with the league.
- To operate a league for its participants under standardized and approved rules of baseball.
- To carry out competitions for the league championships, and to co-operate and participate in any OBA or Provincial championships.
Article 3: Membership
- Membership in the league shall be comprised of such affiliated members who agree to abide by, and comply with the rules and expectations of the league.
- Those seeking membership into the league must apply in person, at the Annual General Meeting, and provide information in regards to park availability, player roster, and past success in order to be considered for entry. Proper release information must also be presented in order to be considered for GTBL play.
- Voting on new member clubs is by a majority vote of the governing body who are in good standing at the time of the application.
- Newly approved members will operate on a one year probationary period. This trial period of membership will be reviewed by the governing body at the annual meeting of the subsequent season. The governing body shall vote on whether or not to accept that team as an affiliated member. The governing body may choose to extend the probationary period for an additional year and thereby postpone the affiliation vote until the next annual meeting.
- Membership in the league may be suspended or removed if a member club fails to perform and or fulfill any of its league obligations. These obligations include, paying league dues in full, before July 1st of the current season, submitting team’s statistics and nightly game reports in a timely fashion, completing as much of the schedule that weather and park permits allow, and defaulting any scheduled league games.
- Teams not satisfying their requirements in the above grouping, can be considered “not in good standing”, and can be in jeopardy of losing both their team bond money, and or affiliation/voting rights. Teams who have not paid their league fees by July 1st of the current season, will default all scheduled games until the fees are received by the league Treasurer. Such suspension or revoke of bond money, will be a majority vote of the leagues executive members, after the league president makes a presentation of the violations by said club. Further to this, there will be a ten dollar fine issued to any team not submitting game sheets to the league statistician within 72 hours of a home game, unless other arrangements have been made.
Article 4: Meetings
- The league President shall create the agenda, and chair all meetings throughout the season. The Vice President shall assume the President’s duties, should the President be unable to attend a meeting, or finish the elected year in the position.
- The annual meeting shall be held during the month of January each year.
- Additional meetings will be convened throughout the year, including a scheduling and wrap up meeting. The league wrap up meeting will be held within sixty days of the championship game.
- Every team shall have at least one representative attend each of the scheduled league meetings, failure to attend will result in that team not having an opinion or vote on any issues discussed or voted upon during said meeting.
- An official league meeting will consist of any properly scheduled meeting of which a minimum of three executive members attend, and must include a minimum of five separate voting members, in order to change or amend any current league legislature.
Article 5: Executive Officers of the League
The executive officers of the league shall be:
1) President
2) Vice President
3) Secretary
4) Treasurer
5) Commissioner
These officers are to be elected and reaffirmed at the Annual General meeting.
The President is the deciding vote on any issue that results in a tie after all votes are tallied.
One representative from each affiliated member team in good standing will have a single vote at all meetings, as well as the annual meeting.
1) President
2) Vice President
3) Secretary
4) Treasurer
5) Commissioner
These officers are to be elected and reaffirmed at the Annual General meeting.
The President is the deciding vote on any issue that results in a tie after all votes are tallied.
One representative from each affiliated member team in good standing will have a single vote at all meetings, as well as the annual meeting.
- The executive committee may, with just cause, suspend or expel any league executive member by means of a majority vote. This expulsion process may be enacted at any meeting properly called by the President (or Vice President if the President is under scrutiny) during the year. Any executive member who fails to fulfill their responsibilities, or who misses two league meetings, shall be contacted by the league President who will determine the appropriate actions that are required. This action may include the replacement of this member. The person named to replace this person shall be voted on by all member teams in good standing.
- Only one executive position may be held by any one member team.
Article 6: Duties of the League Executive Officers
- President: The President or his designate shall preside at all meetings, and be the official league representative to all governing bodies. The President shall attend all relevant OBA or TBA meetings, and call, plan and organize all league meetings. It is the duty of the President to inform the league managers and the umpire in chief of any changes to the league rules, disciplinary procedures, penalties and or league/provincial regulations. The President, in conjunction with the league statistician shall be responsible for coordinating the league trophies and awards, and any outside approved expenses. At the annual meeting, the President will give a report based on the previous years activities both on and off the field.
- Vice President: The Vice President shall perform all of the duties of the President in the event the President is unable to attend a meeting, or fulfill his term. The Vice President is also responsible for serving as the playoff chairperson. These responsibilities shall include the scheduling of playoff games, their location, times and dates. He is required to send this information to the Website administrator, for posting to the league website in a timely manner. He will also rule on various appeals and other constitutional violations as laid out within.
- Secretary: The Secretary shall maintain an accurate record of all proceedings of league business. He shall maintain a record of attendance at all meetings, and record any changes in the constitution or bylaws as they are amended or approved. The secretary will email, all affiliated members the minutes of each league meeting, and make available to the league President any changes to the constitution that need to be made. The Secretary will also keep, update, and distribute an accurate league contact list, with no less than two complete contacts (email and phone number) per each affiliated member club.
- Treasurer: The Treasurer shall handle the finances for all league undertakings and shall keep an accurate and itemized record of all monies received and dispersed. The Treasurer shall prepare and distribute a yearly budget for each team, clearly listing the league fees due, and the items which led to said figure. The Treasurer will inform the President of any monetary issues in relation to teams or missing funds, at his discretion. He shall issue receipts for all payments, and shall disperse all payments by league cheque. He shall also be the sole signing officer on all cheques issued by the league.
- Statistician/Website: The Statistician will be responsible for the organization of all duties that deal with league rosters, team to team player transfers, the collection of game results, tabulation of league stats and awards, and timely posting and updates on the official league website (gtbl.ca). He shall inform the President of any affiliated member teams which are in default of the league requirements, and any collected fines in relation to statistic shortcomings, will be added to his year end league payments. The Statistician is required to inform all league managers of any statistical or roster information he is missing in order to properly complete his job, and also inform all managers of their roster limits, should a team become close to the allowed maximum players for a single season. The league Statistician/Website coordinator will have a backup administrator in place should he not be able to complete his assigned tasks for any period of time. It is the sole responsibility of the Statistician to have a replacement at his disposal, failure to upkeep in the league responsibilities could result in a partial or complete withholding of any monies the Statistician is entitled to. The Website administrator will only post information relating to GTBL business or activities on the league website. Anything which is not related directly to GTBL news must be approved by the league President before being posted to the official site.
- Commissioner: The commissioner of the GTBL shall be the head of the discipline committee, and the ruling voice behind all league suspensions, whether in season or off season, on field or off field. He will work closely with the umpire in chief to determine disciplinary actions, and report findings to the league President. The Commissioner will also be responsible to update and maintain the GTBL ejection log, which needs to be kept up to date in order to be able to reference when needed. He will be expected to attend the yearly AGM and second meeting, in order to stay aware of league changes and issues under discussion. The Commissioner and members of the discipline committee are to have no current affiliation with any GTBL club.
- Umpire in Chief/Umpire Administrator: A representative of the umpire association may attend, and take part in the discussion process at any GTBL meeting, but will not receive a vote in any league discussions.
- Affiliated Team Representatives: Each league member team shall appoint one representative to attend all meetings on behalf of that team. This rep will be responsible for his team’s discussion with all matters that are properly tabled at official league meetings. This rep will have a vote at all meetings and also must make himself available to perform any duties the league executive may designate.
Article 7: Voting Rights
- A simple majority vote will decide all matters properly tabled at any and all GTBL official meetings.
- Each affiliated team representative in attendance will have one vote.
- The President shall not vote, unless the voting process ends in a tie.
- The President may request at his discretion that any and all voting at league meetings be done by way of secret ballot.
- Any member may abstain from casting their ballot on any issue. There shall be no penalty for choosing to withhold from the voting process.
Article 8: Annual Meeting
- The annual meeting shall be held in January of each year, on a date set by the league President.
- Nominations for the league executive must be received by the President ten days prior to the annual meeting. The President will make all voting members aware of any and all candidates interested in executive roles, no later than seven days prior to the annual meeting.
- League executive members who plan to relinquish their position in the following year, should make the league aware of their desire to do so at the end of year wrap up meeting, thus allowing the league to prepare for the upcoming opening in the executive slate. This opening must be filled in the following annual meeting.
- Any amendments, alterations, additions or deletions to the constitution shall be raised at the AGM, and voted on, at the second league meeting of the year.
- Any changes to the constitution or bylaws at the league’s second yearly meeting shall be by majority vote, with the league Secretary preparing a follow up email to all affiliated members clearly stating the constitutional amendment.
Article 9: League Playoffs
- The GTBL shall host a league playoff for each and every season of competition.
- The playoff structure shall be decided by the member clubs at the second yearly meeting.
- No team shall be eliminated from contention in the GTBL playoffs.
- League roster rules apply to the league playoffs. Junior players from within an affiliated member’s home club are allowed over and above the approved roster limit.
- Umpire fees for any year end tournament playoff format will be covered by the league through the GTBL league fees. Any prize money awarded to the league champion will also have been generated from league fees, and budgeted accordingly by the league Treasurer.
Article 10: Disciplinary Code- Players
- Players in the GTBL are subject to the following code, regarding game ejections and serious violations to the general sportsmanship attributed to baseball.
- For a first offence (general umpire ejection) the offending player is subject to a one game suspension, which is to be served for the next scheduled game for that player’s team. This suspension is not negotiable, and there is no appeal process. For any suspension, the player must show up, and “check in” with the opposing manager in order to have served his penalty.
- For a second offence in the same season, the offending player is subject to a three game suspension, however the Manager and player may make a formal appeal to the league discipline committee for review.
- For a third offence in the same season, the player will be subject to a conduct review by the league discipline committee, which will determine the length of suspension, or possible expulsion of said player.
- For a major offence that includes physical violence, or large scale ejection (Umpire report issued/failure to leave field in timely fashion after ejection/confrontation with umpires after game or off field), the player is subject to a suspension that will be decided upon by the league discipline committee, the length of which will be decided upon a case by case basis. The suspension may be appealed by the offending player’s manager.
- A second major offence in the same season, will automatically render that player ineligible for any GTBL play, until a hearing with said player, manager and league discipline committee can determine said player’s future with the league.
- When suspended, a player may take part in any pre game activities, but must be off the field thirty minutes before start time, and out of uniform before game time. A suspended player may not sit on the team bench or loiter in the team bullpen, but can watch the game from the stands. A suspended player should not argue with umpires or make any comments from the stands, as he will not be judged as a fan but rather a player who is subject to the league disciplinary code while a GTBL game is in progress. A suspended player, may take part in his teams exhibition games that may be scheduled over the time of the suspension.
- A player ejected from a tournament game will be subject to a possible suspension by the league discipline committee if the tournament convenor submits a report to the league president or any executive member following that players ejection.
Article 11: Disciplinary Code- Managers and Coaches
- Managers and coaches in the GTBL are subject to the following code, regarding game ejections and serious violations to the general sportsmanship attributed to baseball.
- Managers and coaches are governed under the same guidelines as Baseball Ontario sets forth for discipline. There is no automatic one game suspension for a manager or coach, there is only a suspension if the ejection is deemed overly lengthy, extremely obscene or adjudged a major on field infraction. The commissioner will review any umpire report and rule on a case by case basis. Numerous ejections in a single season will be looked at as suspendable.
- When suspended, a Manager or coach may take part in any pre game activities, but must be off the field thirty minutes before start time, and out of uniform before game time. A suspended manager or coach may not sit on the team bench or loiter in the team bullpen, but can watch the game from the stands. He should not give any instruction to any team members during game play. A suspended manager or coach should not argue with umpires or make any comments from the stands, as he will not be judged as a fan but rather as a manager or coach who is subject to the league disciplinary code while a GTBL game is in progress.
- Any manager or coach who knowingly violates any part of this constitution, in order to gain an advantage, or skirt any league rules, is automatically suspended indefinitely until a hearing with the league discipline committee can rule on the future of said team official.
- The team manager must realize he is responsible for any and all actions of his players, and can be held accountable for violations of his team under this constitution, should the league discipline committee feel compelled to impose any penalty regarding a major offence. (Not controlling players/escalating of situation/involvement in beanings)
- Managers and coaches are forbidden from recruiting players that are signed by other GTBL teams. Before speaking with any players regarding a team change, the incoming manager must contact the preceding manager and inform him of his desire to sign said player. Violation of this rule will result in a meeting with the league discipline committee to determine the future of said manager or coach with the league.
Official Bylaws Of The GTBL
Bylaw 1: Fees
- Each affiliated member team shall pay their annual league fees in TOTAL, by July 1st of the current season. Any team that is in violation of this bylaw and in default of the payment, will default all scheduled games, will be suspended from the playoffs, and lose affiliation rights until they comply and the money is received by the league Treasurer.
- Each affiliated member team must have a performance bond on deposit with the league at all times. The current fee per team, to be considered “in good standing”, is two hundred dollars. This money will be used to reimburse defaulted game costs, and or constitutional infractions. All expenditures from this money will be handled by the league Treasurer, and the offending team will re-establish the full amount of its bond upon notification by the President.
- Each team will pay an annual fee to the league statistician/website administrator. Fee will include, league roster approval and processing, posting of all team results, stats and player profiles to the league website, photograph of all rostered players for league website, awards tabulation and arranging/presentation of league trophies, and all website/Facebook live responsibilities.
- Teams using an umpire administrator, are also subject to an annual fee. Fee includes all booking, and arranging of umpires for the regular season and playoffs.
Bylaw 2: Rosters and Player Signings
- Any player wishing to play in the GTBL must sign an OBA or team registration card, for purposes of insurance, and be approved by the OBA/TBA.
- Any player desiring to move from one GTBL team to another, must first obtain an official email to the league Statistician and President, from his current manager. This email shall serve as an inter-league release, clearly stating that there is no outstanding monies or equipment due to the player’s current club. Upon receipt of this, the Statistician will inform the new manager that the player has been cleared, and is now considered “eligible”. Player movement is not permitted after June 1st of any current season. No team may add any player to its active league roster after June 30th of the current GTBL season. We will also, in an agreement with BASEBALL ONTARIO, enforce the money/uniform owed policy as per their official playing constitution.
- If a member team folds or is suspended after June 15th , the President and Vice President shall rule on the eligibility of all players involved.
- Special exceptions to the June 1st signing rule can be made if the incoming player was inactive due to injury, vacation, or other special circumstances. Any attempt to add a player after the signing date, must be done by way of application to the league President.
- Each member team is responsible for submitting to the league Statistician, a minimum of fifteen days before the start of the season, a team roster with any and all information requested by the league. Failure to do so will result in a ten dollar fine for each day late the official roster is not submitted.
- The maximum number of players allowed to be used in one GTBL season is 30. This does not include Junior call ups or coaches, who are clearly marked on the team lineup card. Any violation of this rule will cause all games that any extra players participated in, counted as a default loss. The offending team will also be charged a 100 dollar fine, to be taken from their performance bond.
- Any player who owes funds to a GTBL club that is active, or folded(and funds declared) must pay all funds in order to be considered eligible for GTBL play. The GTBL also honours outside affiliated leagues, and monies owed to those member clubs.
Bylaw 3: Playing Rules
- The league will play under the rules of professional baseball, as adapted by Baseball Canada. The designated hitter rule is in effect, and any designated runner rules are not.
- All single regular season games shall be scheduled for nine innings. If a double header is to be played, the game shall be seven innings in length. There will be a three hour time limit on all nine inning games, and a two hour fifteen minute time limit on seven inning games. If an inning runs into the curfew time, the inning must be completed if the visiting team is winning. If the home team is winning when curfew is reached, they shall win the game at that point if hitting, or when they retire the visitors in the top half of the inning. All statistics from the partial inning will count, and the game will end due to curfew.
- If a regular season game ends in a tie after the curfew, it shall remain a tie and each team will receive a point in the league standings. A playoff game that ends in a tie after curfew will be rescheduled and played over.
- A mercy rule will be implemented in all regular season and playoff games. In a nine inning game the rule will be enforced when one team is leading the other team by ten runs after seven innings of play. In a seven inning ball game, the rule will apply when one team leads by ten runs after five innings.
- Runners are instructed to slide or attempt to avoid making contact with a fielder. A player who maliciously or with full intent runs into another player is to be declared out (unless he has scored a run prior to the infraction) and is to be automatically ejected (whether or not declared out). Contact shall be considered malicious if: 1) The contact is the result of intentional excessive force. 2) There is direct intent to injure. The umpire shall determine whether the contact was unavoidable and excessive.
- Any Junior player dressed for a Senior game must be indicated as such, both on the official lineup card and game sheet. All junior aged players must adhere to the Baseball Ontario pitch count rules, even if signed as a full time Senior player.
- A legally signed senior baseball player does not have to participate in any number of regular season games to be eligible for the league playoffs.
- The "Ohtani" rule is adopted by Baseball Ontario, and legal for GTBL play.
- GTBL teams will exhibit sportsmanship, and shake hands after each game played in the regular season and playoffs.(First game of double header is excluded)
Bylaw 4: Protests, Appeals and Fines
- A team protest will be entertained by the league President and Vice President only if they are based on one of the following: 1) Misinterpretation of the official playing rules, 2) Use of ineligible players, or 3) Violation of regular season or playoff regulations.
- Protests of this nature must be lodged verbally with the plate umpire, as per rules the game of baseball. The protest must also be noted in the nightly game report from the home team manager.
- Member teams have twenty four hours after the date of the incident to submit their protest, in writing to the league President. The protest is subject to a fifty dollar fee, to be taken from the protesting team’s performance bond money, should the protest be denied. Any collected protest fees will be credited to the league bank account.
- Managers will be able to appeal a player suspension (no fee), within twenty four hours of being notified of his player’s impending suspension. The manager/player may be required to attend a hearing to determine the result of the appeal.
- A disciplinary meeting may be called at the discretion of the league office for incidents including but not limited to: 1) Verbal or physical abuse of a league official, umpire, player, manager, coach or a fan. 2) Repeated or excessive use of foul or profane language or gestures, repeated throwing of equipment, or smoking on the field of play. 3) Any conduct that could affect the credibility or is detrimental to the league or its members. 4) Cyber-bullying or online threatening.
- Player ejection records will be logged and saved for their entire GTBL career. While general ejections will return to zero each season, a history of behaviour can be brought into play during any discipline hearings regarding said player.
- Any team which defaults a GTBL game, shall be subject to a 100 dollar fine, which shall be paid to the league treasurer before said team’s next scheduled game, and is uneligible for any tie breakers towards the league standings.
Bylaw 5: Game Conditions
- Default time for all games shall be fifteen minutes after the scheduled time. Should a game start later than the official start time, the curfew will be moved to the new time of first pitch.
- The home team must relinquish the playing field to the visiting team twenty minutes prior to the scheduled start time. The visiting team must be off the field five minutes prior to the scheduled start time. The visiting team will not be permitted to have batting practice.
- Umpires must be cancelled a minimum of one hour (60 minutes) before the scheduled start time, or the umpires shall be entitled to a full game fee.
- If in a double header one of the two games is rained out, the umpires are entitled to one and a half game fees. If the first game of a double header is rained out and the teams are able to play a single game later in the day, it will be a nine inning ball game.
- Rawlings, ROML, will be the official ball to be used in all GTBL games. Failure to use approved baseballs, is a protestable violation of the league regulations.
- Make up games that are played in the elimination tournament are subject to a coin flip to determine the home team of said game. If games are being made up in other OBA tournaments, there will be no coin flip for home, the team which was to be home in the regularly scheduled league contest will retain the right to remain as the home team. Teams will inform the tournament convenor to ensure the proper replacement of said game.
- Games that need to be rescheduled must be "put on the schedule" before the Provincial Elimination tournament, failure to do so will result in the loss of the game on the GTBL schedule. Postponed games after the Elimination Tournament must be rescheduled within 72 hours.
Bylaw 6: Players From a Lower Age Series
Teams will be allowed to use players from a lower age series provided that ALL of the following conditions are upheld.
- Only players from the Junior age category are used, or others permitted by Baseball Ontario.
- League teams may only use players from club teams they have working affiliations with.
- Permission from the Junior manager must be obtained prior to the use of their players.
- At no time can there be more than thirty players dressed for any game, regular season or playoffs.
Bylaw 7: League Standings
- League standings will be calculated and represented on the league website in terms of a point system, not win/loss percentage. This ensures no team has an unfair advantage by playing less games. In the event of a tie in the league standings, the tie breaker will be as follows:
- Head to head matchup.
- League wins
- Defensive runs allowed
- Coin flip
- The yearly "pennant winner" will receive a $500 cash prize which is built in to the annual GTBL league fees.
Bylaw 8: Statistics and Reporting Responsibilities
- Each home team will keep, a clear and legible game sheet, complete with first initial and last name of all players who enter the game on both offense and defense.
- Completed game sheets must be sent to the league Statistician no more than seventy two hours after the completion of the game for entry to the league website. Failure to send sheets results in a ten dollar per day team fine, which is drawn from the team’s performance bond.
- Upon completion of a home game, it is the manager’s requirement within one hour of completion to send the following game recap information to the league statistician: 1) Final score, 2) Winning and losing pitcher, 3) Save, 4) Homeruns, 5) Other highlights as deemed necessary, 6) Ejections, 7) Protests. Failure to submit timely or inaccurate reports will result in a ten dollar fine.
- In order to be considered for league awards or all-star selections, 1) A hitter must have a minimum of sixty plate appearances, and 2) A pitcher must have a minimum of either twenty one innings pitched or six appearances.
- League awards and all star teams, will be voted on at the end of the regular season. Managers will have the ability to add three players to the all star ballot within 48 hours of its distribution for voting. The playoff MVP shall be voted on by the managers who take part in the year end playoff tournament only, after each finalist nominates two players from their own team for consideration.
Bylaw 9: General Information
- Each team in the GTBL must be dressed uniformly, including the field manager and coaches. During pre-game workouts and on field activities, teams shall wear proper team attire. This is to create credibility for the entire league. There is to be no variations from this league policy, players and coaches must be in team attire, whenever on the playing field. Team coloured shorts are allowed during pregame, and on the team bench, but coaches or players must not enter the field of play when dressed in anything other than baseball pants.
- Whenever the constitution and bylaws of the GTBL are silent or do not cover any particular situation, the league President shall consult the bylaws of the TBA/OBA ( if necessary), and then exercise executive discretion in order to come to a decision on the issues before him. The President has the authority to rule on any matter not specifically outlined within the constitution and bylaws in current existence. If this decision is to be appealed by any aggrieved party, it may only be done so at the next annual general meeting, when proper legislature can be put into place.
Updated and re-confirmed by Nolan Revin, GTBL President 2023
