SEC. 4. Should the ball become out of shape, or cut or ripped so as to expose the yarn, or in any way so injured as to be--in the opinion of the Umpire--unfit for fair use, the Umpire, on being appealed to by either captain, shall at once put the alternate ball into play and call for a new one. THE BAT. RULE 13. The Bat. SEC. 1. Must be made wholly of wood, except that the handle may be wound with twine or a granulated substance applied, not to exceed eighteen inches from the end. SEC. 2. It must be round, except that a portion of the surface may be flat on one side, but it must not exceed two and one-half inches in diameter in the thickest part, and must not exceed forty-two inches in length. THE PLAYERS AND THEIR POSITIONS. RULE 14. The players of each club in a game shall be nine in number, one of whom shall act as Captain, and in no case shall less than nine men be allowed to play on each side. RULE 15. The players' positions shall be such as may be assigned them by their Captain, except that the Pitcher must take his position within the Pitcher's Lines, as defined in Rule 5. When in position on the field, all players will be designated "Fielders" in these rules. RULE 16. Players in uniform shall not be permitted to seat themselves among the spectators. RULE 17. Every Club shall be required to adopt uniforms for its players, and each player shall be required to present himself upon the field during said game in a neat and cleanly condition, but no player shall attach anything to the sole or heel of his shoes other than the ordinary base ball shoe plate. THE PITCHER'S POSITION. RULE 18. The pitcher shall take his position facing the batsman with both feet square on the ground, one foot on the rear line of the "box." He shall not raise either foot, unless in the act of delivering the ball, nor make more than one step in such delivery. He shall hold the ball, before the delivery, fairly in front of his body, and in sight of the Umpire. When the pitcher feigns to throw the ball to a base he must resume the above position and pause momentarily before delivering the ball to the bat. THE BATSMEN'S POSITION--ORDER OF BATTING. RULE 19. The batsmen must take their positions within the Batsmen's Lines, as defined in Rule 9, in the order in which they are named on _the score_, which must contain the batting order of both nines, and be submitted by the Captains of the opposing teams to the Umpire before the game, and when approved by him THIS SCORE must be followed except in the case of a substitute player, in which case the substitute must take the place of the original player in the batting order. After the first inning the first striker in each inning shall be the batsman whose name follows that of the last man who has completed his turn--time at bat--in the preceding inning.