Baseball Insurance for Youth and Adult Teams and Leagues
If you are associated with the below programs, click associated link below to find out more information:
Insurance policies needed by typical baseball leagues
- Excess Accident with a medical limit of at least $25,000, preferably higher. This policy is a type of no fault insurance that pays medical bills on behalf of injured participants regardless of who was at fault. The coverage is excess or secondary which means that family health insurance, if any, must first respond.
- General Liability with an each occurrence limit of $1 million. It best to consider a $2 million option since many field owners require the higher limit. This policy covers certain lawsuits that allege bodily injury to a player or spectator or property damage.
- Directors & Officers Liability with an each claim limit of at least $1 million. This policy covers many types of lawsuits that are not covered by General Liability, such as wrongful termination or suspension of league administrators or players, allegations of discrimination, and failure to follow your own rules.
- Crime Insurance with a limit of at least $25,000 to protect against employee and volunteer embezzlement or confiscation of equipment or theft of cash by outsiders.
- Equipment Insurance with a limit to cover the replacement cost value of your equipment against certain perils such as theft, vandalism, wind, and fire.
In addition, some larger leagues with additional exposures may need to consider Property Insurance on buildings, Auto Insurance, and Workers’ Compensation.
For a detailed description of each policy, see our report entitled 7 Critical Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Sports Insurance.
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Programs Others Have Purchased
- Individual Baseball Instructors Insurance
- Event Cancellation Insurance
- Baseball Camps & Clinics Insurance
- Baseball Tournament Insurance
- Baseball Training Facility Insurance
What Our Clients Have to Say about Our Baseball Insurance Programs
- Thank you for providing a quality baseball insurance product at an affordable rate for our league- having insurance provided peace of mind for our players as well as our field owners. Also, it opened the opportunity for more fields for our men’s baseball league. When we were in a time crunch, your ability to provide our coverage and certification documents in a timely manner allowed us to get our season started on time. We really appreciate the responsive customer service! This is the 3rd year that we have purchased coverage, and we have been very pleased by the sales experience. When a player was injured earlier this fall, we were able to promptly provide paperwork to cover his medical costs. –Central Texas Baseball League TX
- I was referred to you by a friend who had used you on more than one occasion. I was extremely pleased with the ease in obtaining a baseball insurance quote and the efficiency when binding the coverage. –Taylors Baseball SC
- I have used Sadler Sports Insurance for the past (4) Seasons in our baseball program. The price was reasonable for the coverage we needed. Also the customer service people I contacted were eager to help and answered all my questions satisfactory. Would recommend Sadler Insurance to leagues and schools alike no matter the sport. –Seymour Baseball TN
- Sure, Sadler was easy to get a firm quote on and purchase baseball insurance. As our league grew Sadler was also able to adapt to our needs quickly and with fair pricing. –Algonquin Hawks Travel Baseball Assoc. IL
- I have been very pleased with the performance of Sadler Sports for the team’s insurance needs. I am in charge of handling all the insurance issues for the team and I have found your prices to be very fair and your staff very responsive and courteous. There were several times throughout the season where I had to have updates made because of tournament requests and I was able to do this quickly and easily via email. I do most of my communications with your staff by email and they have always been helpful and pleasant to deal with. Thanks to you all for making this job a lot easier. –Colts Select Inc NJ
- We’ve been using Sadler for as long as I can remember for baseball insurance. I like it because I’m volunteering for the position I have with our Association, and like to deal with things that are easy and turnkey. –Springville Youth Association AL
Baseball generates a significant number of minor to medium severity injuries arising from being struck by pitched balls, thrown balls, batted balls, contact with ground, contact with bases, collision with opponents, and non contact injuries while running. Most of these injuries are bruise/contusions, joint sprains, or fractures.
In addition, baseball can generate catastrophic injuries resulting in death and permanent disability. These primarily result from spinal cord injuries from sliding head first or being struck in the head or chest by line drives. Commotio cordis is a rare but often fatal injury that results from being struck in the chest at the exact instant that interferes with the heart’s electrical system.
Youth baseball players are also subject to the injuries that occur when there is a lack of supervision at the lower age levels. Examples are injuries that arise from roughhousing or swinging bats when others are too close.
Proper throwing mechanics
It’s critical that pitchers learn how to properly position their throwing arm in the pitching motion. Injury can result if positioning is incorrect during different phases of the pitching motion.
Excessive pitching
Baseball suffers from an epidemic of overuse elbow and shoulder injuries due to pitchers throwing too many pitches over the time period of a game, a week, or an entire season. Adolescent arms are still developing and pitching puts strain on joints and tendons. To avoid injuries to wrists, elbows, rotator cuffs, ligaments, and tendons can result from excessive pitching but can be largely avoided if players and coaches follow a few simple guidelines:
- Most leagues follow rules regarding the number of pitches kids can throw in a game. (See table below).
- All players should take at least 3 months off per year from overhead arm movements.
- If pitchers feel persistent pain in their throwing arm, they should not be allowed to pitch again until the pain goes away.
American Sports Medicine Institute pitching guidelines for youth:
| Age in Years | Pitches per Game | Pitches per Week |
| 9-10 | 50 | 75 |
| 11-12 | 75 | 100 |
| 13-14 | 75 | 125 |
| 15-16 | 90 | 2 games per week |
| 17-19 | 105 | 2 games per week |
Parents of youth baseball pitchers on independent travel and all-star teams competing in independently-operated tournaments should take extreme caution if there are no rules on pitch limits and rest. Parents may have to track their child’s pitch counts to insure recommended limits aren’t exceeded.
Coach qualifications
Lack of supervision and lack of instruction are two of the leading causes of lawsuits arising out of youth baseball. Specific supervision is one-on-one interaction between a coach and a single player or a small group of players. Elements of proper supervision include the duty to stop roughhousing, being close enough to adequately observe and intervene if necessary, and proper ratio of adults to youth. Proper instruction requires coaches be knowledgeable in baseball specific techniques and game and safety rules, and that these all of these topics are covered with the athletes.
Your child’s baseball coach should be knowledgeable in proper throwing, batting, sliding and catching techniques. Headfirst sliding for young players should be prohibited and batters should be taught how to get out of the way or turn away from a pitch aimed directly at them. The coach should be trained in first-aid and have an emergency medical plan for treatment of injuries in place at all practices and games.
Coaches and umpires should enforce the league’s severe weather policy. Policies for practices and games in extreme heat and when lightning is observed should be established in advance of the season.
Youth coaches and umpires should be certified or trained through an organization such as National Youth Sports Coaches Association (NYSCA), which provides an appropriate education on the emotional needs of youth, the role of winning vs. having a positive experience, and the basics of safety and risk management.
Sliding into the bases
Sliding is base running strategy, but learning proper techniques of different slide styles is the key to preventing injuries. The video below illustrates how to slide safely and effectively.
Equipment safety
Proper use and fit of equipment is just as big a factor in minimizing the risk of injury. More than half of all organized sports-related injuries occur during practices, so make sure your child wears all required safety gear every time he or she plays and practices. Players should wear the following:
- Helmet. A properly fitted certified helmet should be worn when batting, waiting to bat, and running the bases. Batters’ faceguards are optional safety equipment that should be seriously considered. These devices protect from the risk of a serious dental, facial and eye injuries from being struck by pitched balls. See our detailed study on the effectiveness of batters’ faceguards. (Anna link to our blog on this topic)
- Protective eyewear. Players who wear glasses should obtain protective eyewear from an eye-care professional knowledgeable of sports-safety standards.
- Catcher’s gear. Catchers must always use a catcher’s mitt and wear a helmet, face mask, throat guard, chest protector, and shin guards.
- Molded cleats. Shoes with steel spikes are usually prohibited and leagues recommend molded cleats. Make sure the shoes fit properly, allowing for side-to-side movement. Avoid hand-me downs because they will probably fit poorly and worn down cleats.
- Mouth guard. A mouth guard protects the teeth, lips, cheeks, and tongue and can even reduce the risk of head and neck injuries as concussions and jaw fractures.
- Cups. Catchers and infielders should wear protective cups.
Field safety
- Prior to play, the playing field should be inspected for holes, glass and other debris.
- Break-away or slide-over safety bases have been proven to reduce sliding injuries resulting from contact with base by a significant percentage.
- Weather conditions should be assessed prior to play and a delay/cancellation plan in place in the event of severe weather or thunderstorms with lightning.
Lightning safety and the 30/30 rule
Outdoor athletic events should be halted or postponed if a thunderstorm is six miles or less away from the site. Use the 30/30 rule for estimating how far away a storm is. Measure the elapsed time from the flash to the bang. A count of five seconds equals a distance of one mile, so a count of thirty seconds equals a distance of six miles. You need to be indoors if, after seeing lightning, you can’t count to 30 before hearing a clap of thunder. Stay indoors for 30 minutes after hearing the last clap of thunder. In most cases, when you can hear thunder, you are no longer safe.
We have a lightning fact sheet that offers more information on lightning precautions, myths, and safety tips.
Auto safety
We recommended that sports organizations that transport high school aged and younger children should require parents to transport their children whenever feasible. We also advise that 15- and 12-passenger vans should never be used when renting or borrowing vehicles to transport athletes. These vehicles have a high rollover rate. School buses, 7-passenger minivans, or passenger cars, are the preferred vehicles for team travel.
Baseball risk management content
Sadler Sports Insurance offers free risk management content for baseball leagues, including articles on important injury topics, legal forms such as waiver/release agreements and medical consent, sources for criminal background checks, sex abuse and molestation risk management programs, general ballpark safety risk management programs, awareness training videos on sex abuse and molestation protection, and how to identify and respond to safety hazards at the ballpark.
In addition, excellent baseball specific safety and risk management articles and position statements have been published by the Medical and Safety Advisory Committee of USA Baseball.