Draft:AWA Wiffle Ball

The American Wiffle Association is the most viewed professional Wiffle® Ball league as of 2022. It was established by Jack Blahous in Edmonds, Washington in 2020 after a rebrand from the original Edmonds Wiffle® Ball League started in 2015. The league consists of eight teams: Northern Nighthawks, Southern Stingers, Eastern Enforcers, Western Wolf Pack, Central Cyclones, Pacific Pilots, Atlantic Aces, and Metropolitan Mojo. The league broke onto the scene in August 2022 by becoming the first Wiffle Ball league to play on ESPN. As well as being featured on ESPN's First Take.

Rules
The AWA Wiffle® Ball league has slightly different rules than other leagues.


 * 1) 3 Strikes, 4 Balls per at-bat. A strike is recorded if the ball hits any part of the rectangular strike zone, the batter swings and misses the ball, or a foul ball is hit. A ball is any other pitch including if it hits the batter. There are no foul outs.
 * 2) Bunts are not allowed. There is a no-bunt line 8 feet from home plate; if a hit does not make it past this line, it is ruled a foul.
 * 3) Four players are allowed on the field. Positions are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and pitcher. If a team has more than 4 players, the 5th player will be a designated hitter.
 * 4) AWA has a 60 MPH speed limit for pitchers. Any pitch above the limit is counted as a no pitch.
 * 5) There is no catcher at home plate. To throw out a runner at home, a fielder must throw and hit the 14' by 7' backstop behind home plate which ends as a dead ball and runners can no longer advance. If the ball crosses home before the runner, it is an out. If overthrown, players advance one bag. If there is no force at home, but a runner on third crosses the no-bunt line, they cannot return to 3rd base.
 * 6) There is no pitcher's poison. Players must throw to the forced bag for an out.
 * 7) Hits are fair if the return to in-play bounds before the first or third base. This happens often in wiffle ball.
 * 8) Any overthrown ball by a fielder to first or third that goes out of play, results in runners advancing 1 bag.
 * 9) Fielders can throw and tag live balls at runners for an out while they are not on base.
 * 10) Infield fly rule is in play when there is a force at third and there is less than 2 outs.
 * 11) Home run is a hit that goes over the fence. If it hits a tree, it must hit above the yellow line.
 * 12) No stealing or leading off bases.
 * 13) No balks for the pitcher.
 * 14) No challenges in this game, all plays are ruled on the field by the ump.
 * 15) If a ball is hit in-play but gets stuck, goes foul, bounces over the outfield wall, or is no longer easily retrievable, it is the umpire's discretion to call it a ground rule double.
 * 16) There is a 6 run limit per inning except for the third inning.
 * 17) Each game consists of 3 innings. A typical series is 3 games.

Field
AWA Field is located in Edmonds, WA. It is larger than typical Wiffle® Ball fields and features real grass, sloped pitching mound, artificial turf batters box, and padded tree obstacles in the outfield.


 * Pitchers mound is set anywhere from 36.5 - 38 feet from home
 * First and Third bases are 45 feet from home plate
 * Second base is 40 feet from both Third and First Bases
 * Foul lines are angled at 75 degrees and intersect 4 feet behind Home Plate
 * Farthest fence is 105 feet in left center field with an 8 foot wall in left field.

Media Appearances
AWA Wiffle Ball has been seen on a few major platforms. Most notably, ESPN 2 The OCHO in August 2022 where AWA played in All-Star Game in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

AWA gained local news attention during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 on Seattle King 5 News as a way to play sports while still being socially distanced and masked.