WBSC Official Rules of Baseball: New edition published for 2025/2026 season
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) published an updated version of its Official Rules of Baseball, which are to be applied for all the WBSC Baseball Tournaments across the 2025 and 2026 season.
The Official Rules of Baseball consists of four chapters and five appendices:
- Chapter One - Introduction
- Chapter Two - Glossary
- Chapter Three - Baseball Rules
- Chapter Four - Scoring
- Appendix One - WBSC Baseball World Cups Rules
- Appendix Two - Umpire Video Review Protocol and Regulations
- Appendix Three - Game Management and Clock Regulations
- Appendix Four - Diagrams
- Appendix Five - Cross-references between the WBSC Official Rules of Baseball and the Official Baseball Rule
The following are the main changes to the Official Rules of Baseball compared to the previous edition:
- Chapter Three - Rule 12.7 (Obstruction), specifically Type B Obstruction (when the runner is obstructed while no play is being made on that runner). The updated version includes the addition of case 12.7.8: "The runner cannot be visually obstructed by a fielder."
- Chapter Four includes an update about the minimum pitching coefficients considered for the individual awards.
- Appendix One includes a clarification of Rule 7.2 (Wooden Bat Regulation) on wood types (7.2.5) and colours (7.2.6).
- Appendix Three includes relevant additions. Pitchers not respecting the clock's limitations won't receive a warning. The umpire will apply sanctions upon the first violation.
- Except for the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, the time allowed for pitching changes and the breaks between innings will increase from 90 to 120 seconds.
The WBSC Official Rules of Baseball in English are available for download here. The Spanish version will be uploaded soon.