2024 Spares/Substitute Process May 3, 2024
Spare – person who has registered to be a spare
Substitute – player from the bye team
The purpose of the substitute / spare process is to avoid a team consistently improving thru the selection of a substitute player,
Players who have registered as a spare only, should have priority over players from the bye-team.
ESSA will maintain a list of all registered spares. All registered spares will have a rating and ranking. (E.g. B category/15) established after evaluations are completed.
Team captains must get a spare whenever the team can only field 10 or less players. The captain must use the player rating sheet to select spare players
A team can choose to play with 10 players, but an automatic out will be registered at the bottom of the batting order each time that position is up to bat. This is to avoid a team from having a shortened stronger batting order.
On game day, if a team finds they are missing a player and to avoid an automatic out
They may be able to pick up an equivalent player from the bye-team who is at the park
If the opponent has more than 11, the opposing team can lend any player that is agreed upon to the short team
When picking up a spare to replace a player, captains must find a spare or substitute of an equivalent or lower rating.
If a team is missing a pitcher, they may pick up a pitcher from the spare or bye-team. equivalent rating is not required.
Spares must be requested from the spare list before any players are contacted from the bye-team.
Whenever a spare is requested and available, the spare must play for the team requested. They cannot choose the team they want to play for.
A team should make every effort to select different spares and should not use the same spare consistently.
There should be ongoing communication between all captains at the beginning of each week to indicate when spares are needed.
All spares shall have their ratings reviewed throughout the season and captains should pass on any pertinent information ie hitting, running, fielding etc.
When a player has spared or substitute is used, the captain should ensure the rating is appropriate.
CAPTAINS ARE TO EMPHASIZE TO THEIR PLAYERS, THAT COMMITMENT AND COMMUNICATION IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF TEAM PLAY. TEAM PLAYERS SHOULD LET THEIR CAPTIAN KNOW ASAP THAT THEY ARE NOT AVAILABLE SO THAT SPARE PLAYERS CAN BE CONTACTED AND ARRANGED