Rule 4.01

Rule 4.01
Unless the home club shall have given previous notice that the game has been postponed or will be delayed in starting, the umpire, or umpires, shall enter the playing field five minutes before the hour set for the game to begin and proceed directly to home base where they shall be met by the managers of the opposing teams. In sequence—

(a) First, the home manager, or his designee, shall give his batting order to the umpire-in-chief, in duplicate.
 
(b) Next, the visiting manager, or his designee, shall give his batting order to the umpire-in-chief, in duplicate.
 
(c) As a courtesy, each lineup card presented to the umpire-in-chief should list the fielding positions to be played by each player in the batting order. If a designated hitter is to be used, the lineup card shall designate which hitter is to be the designated hitter. See Rule 6.10(b). As a courtesy, potential substitute players should also be listed, but the failure to list a potential substitute player shall not make such potential substitute player ineligible to enter the game.
 
(d) The umpire-in-chief shall make certain that the original and copies of the respective batting orders are identical, and then tender a copy of each batting order to the opposing manager. The copy retained by the umpire shall be the official batting order. The tender of the batting order by the umpire shall establish the batting orders. Thereafter, no substitutions shall be made by either manager, except as provided in the rules.
 
(e) As soon as the home team’s batting order is handed to the umpire-in-chief the umpires are in charge of the playing field and from that moment the umpire-in-chief shall have sole authority to determine when a game shall be called, suspended or resumed on account of weather or the condition of the playing field. The umpire-in chief shall not call the game until at least 30 minutes after he has suspended play. The umpire-in-chief may continue the suspension so long as he believes there is any chance to resume play.

Rule 4.01 Comment: Obvious errors in the batting order, which are noticed by the umpire-in-chief before he calls “Play” for the start of the game, should be called to the attention of the manager or captain of the team in error, so the correction can be made before the game starts. For example, if a manager has inadvertently listed only eight men in the batting order, or has listed two players with the same last name but without an identifying initial and the errors are noticed by the umpire before he calls “play,” he shall cause such error or errors to be corrected before he calls “play” to start the game. Teams should not be “trapped” later by some mistake that obviously was inadvertent and which can be corrected before the game starts. 

The umpire-in-chief shall at all times try to complete a game. His authority to resume play following one or more suspensions of as much as 30 minutes each shall be absolute and he shall terminate a game only when there appears to be no possibility of completing it. 

The Major Leagues have determined that Rule 4.01(e) does not apply to any Division Series, League Championship Series or World Series games or for any additional Major League championship season game played to break a tie.


DISCUSSION
Opposing managers meet with umpire crew at home plate to exchange lineups.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=11262477

Home team manager is upset when umpire crew suspends game on account of weather. This game was later called.
Video: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=15201747
Box: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2011/B05250CHN2011.htm