Hit Batter Rule

Question
I Coach a Little League Team of 9-11 year olds, at our game on Saturday one of my Pitchers Hit a couple of Batters and the Umpire came to the dugout and stated that if he hit one more batter I would have to remove him from the Game, then he stated it was a Green book rule, I looked thru my Rule Book and I can't find anything that says you have to pull a Pitcher after so many Hit Batters, what is your take? Thanks  

Answer
Hi Steve:

Thanks for your question.  There is no rule in the official rule book that states that a pitcher must be removed after hitting a certain number of batters.  The only rule that references the removal (ejection) of a pitcher, is if he / she is intentionally pitching at a batter.

However, you should ask your local league umpire-in-chief if there is a local league rule about this.  Some leagues choose to implement a rule about this that applies to their league only.  But, since the umpire in your case referred to a "Green book rule" (Baseball Rule Book?), I doubt this is a rule at all; just a frequently repeated myth.

I hope this answers your question, good luck with the rest of your season!

Cheers,
Gareth