Unorganized Baseball Part 3
March 11, 2010Today I’m going to bring this Unorganized Baseball Series in for a landing by looking at some reasons why we’ve drifted away from pick up games (free play) and explore the possibility of bringing them back. I’ll then end on a positive note by giving a bunch of pick up game options for the kids in the hood.
WHY ARE PICK UP GAMES VANISHING?
Whether or not you share my enthusiasm for unorganized baseball, you have to admit there are some benefits. And if there are legitimate benefits (that don’t cost money) why are all the open fields empty? How come the modern kid doesn’t know the rules for “3 flies up?”
One reason is because most parents have unrealistic goals. Instead of viewing sport as a vehicle for personal growth, they see it as a stepping stone to stardom. By training them and enrolling them in every travel ball team in the universe, they mistakenly think they’re giving the child his best shot. I disagree. I think they might be just creating another robot prone to burn out.
Yes, to be the best in the world (in any field) you have to have participated and practiced more than just about everybody. There’s simply no substitute for the repetitions. So let’s go strictly by the numbers. A kid in the Dominican might go home after a day of pick up ball with 20 at-bats under his belt. While the kid in the States playing Little League goes home with 4. Assuming each kid plays 3 days a week, one kid is finishing a month with 48 AB’s and the other with 320…without the wear and tear of playing under pressure and the risk of burn out. And we’re surprised that the best players in the world are coming from a tiny little island?
I thought another reason might be because kids are inside more – playing computer or video games; however, this statistic made me reconsider…
Time-analysis studies done at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research provide the best picture of the trend: From 1981 to 1997 the amount of time that children aged three to twelve spent playing indoors declined by 16 percent. The amount of time spent watching TV declined by 23 percent. Meanwhile, the amount of time spent studying increased by 20 percent and the amount of time spent doing organized sports increased by 27 percent.
While inside play might still be a factor, now I think this stat tells more of the story. In 1981 the association U.S. Youth Soccer had 811,000 registered players. By 1998 it had nearly three million. Yes, soccer in the States has grown in popularity over the last couple decades, but I think this stat might just speak to organized sports in general. Kids are simply involved in more leagues.
The last factor I can think of for the disappearing pick up game is fear. I hear people say all the time that this is just a different, more dangerous world than we grew up in. As a result, parents rarely let kids venture out alone. Well, I would argue yes and no. While I realize we don’t live in the “go out and come back when the street lights come on world” anymore, I would have to agree with Mike Lanza in his blog Playborhood…
“kids who are driven around to organized activities are at greater risk of death than those who roam close to home. As for the concern about sports-related injuries, kids today are less likely than kids decades ago to break bones and are more likely to develop “overuse” injuries (e.g. torn rotator cuff) due to the shift from pickup sports to organized sports.”
I don’t know about your neighborhood, but the reality in and around mine is that I DO see kids outside playing alone. I see them riding bikes or skateboards or playing in the park. But I rarely, if ever, see them in packs larger than two. I think the chances of getting more than two together at one time with no scheduling is next to impossible. The idea that a whole pack of nine kids might have enough free time to meet in the park and play is out of the question. You’ve got a better shot getting the President to take time out of his busy schedule to come over for dinner at your house.
SO WHAT HAPPENS?
Unfortunately, probably nothing. It’s kind of like eliminating performance enhancing drugs or the hole in the ozone. It’s probably not gonna happen. But all is not lost. As a parent, you can step out of line a little bit, look at the situation honestly, and make some adjustments. I’m not advocating eliminating organized sports, but how about limiting it to just during the baseball season?
How about taking the time and money allocated to off season travel ball and spend it trying to find parents with similar interests? Then make it a priority to keep the kid’s schedules open and make sure they spend the time outside of the house. Like magnets, they’ll come together. And if you’re neighborhood isn’t safe, maybe one parent can be present at the park just to be present (on the outskirts). Making sure not to resolve or judge anything.
Take your kid to the open field and teach him or her the games you used to play in your youth. Encourage them to be creative and change the rules to suit the new surroundings or needs. Maybe some of these games will jar your memory…please write in and share your variations.
PICK UP GAME RULES
Here are some games that I used to play when I was younger. Just about all of them followed the general rules of baseball (3 outs, baselines, pop fly caught is an out, etc.) The ball could be anything, from rolled up socks, to a ball of tape, to a tennis ball or real baseball. The bat could be a real bat or a tennis racket or a stick. Gloves were optional. Rules were important and much of the time was spent figuring them out and making them adapt to the surroundings. Depending on the field, there were certain places you couldn’t hit the ball. Picking teams was an art and feelings got hurt because the worst players aways get picked last, that’s life. Bending the rules for the new kid happened. Arguments happened. Lost balls happened. Broken windows happened. Ghost runners existed. Spitting was perfected, grass stains on the knees…you get the picture.
Pepper - the batter stands about 15-20 feet away from a fairly straight line of fielders. Batter hits grounders to the fielders, fielders field the ball and pitch it back to the hitter and on and on. Many rule options. Hitter can loose turn if he lines out or fouls off more than a couple balls. Fielder can become the hitter by catching a pop out. Fielder can be eliminated by making an error. You might include a game of “flip” into pepper by making a rule that the fielder must field the grounder cleanly then flip it to another fielder and down the line. This is a great game for bat control, fielding, throwing strikes, etc.
Three flies up – a simple game where either someone pitches to a hitter or the hitter just tosses the ball to himself and hits until someone in the field catches 3 pop flies. That fielder then becomes the hitter. A variation might be to give certain point totals for fielding different balls. For example 10 points for a fly ball, 5 points for a ball on one hop, 2 points for a grounder. First fielder to a certain number wins or gets to hit. This can also get as rough as you want, often turning into a hybrid of rugby and baseball depending on how much contact the fielders allow.
Over the line – a field is set up with an area for the hitter, then a straight line is established about where second base would be, then another where shallow right field would be. The width of the field is determined by how many people are in the field. The hitter either tosses the ball to himself or hits a pitched ball into the confines of the field. If it lands to the left or right of the boundaries he’s out. A ball that makes it passed the first line on the ground is a single. If it lands in between the first and second line in the air it’s a double. If it goes over the deepest fielders head, homer. Outs are made by fielding any grounder in front of the first line or catching a ball in the air. Three outs switch.
Over the line variation – this one comes from Don Weiskopf. Referred to also as Line Ball, this is a favorite playground, school and yard game. With two teams 30 feet apart and perhaps 6 players on a team, the object is for the batter to drive a ground ball through the other team. Each team has a bat. The first player tosses the ball up and tries to bat it across the other team’s goal line. The ball must hit the ground between the two lines. The other team tries to field the ball and then attempts to bat it back across the opponent’s goal line. Each member of each team gets a chance to bat. One point is scored for each ball that crosses the other team’s goal line. Another variation is for the players to throw rather than bat the ball.
First to ten – my son and I play this game all the time. It’s fun and excellent for concentration and control. It’s a simple game of catch. Get a decent distance away from each other. The receiver stands perfectly still and holds the throw from the thrower exactly where he catches it. A ball that would’ve hit him in the head is worth two points, a throw that would’ve hit him in the body area (above the knees though) is worth one. First man to ten wins.
Wall Ball – Here’s another one I used to play a lot of on the outdoor racquet ball courts. Again, I’m going to let Don Weiskopf explain the rules. One or more players stand about 20 to 40 feet from the wall, preferably concrete. The game begins by having each player throw a ball against the wall. The player other than the thrower has to field the ball and the “pitcher” can vary the type, speed and difficulty of throws. Rules can be established as to catching the ball on a fly or a bounce. The players can keep score and the one who has the most points will win. Another game involves a pitcher pitching an imaginary game against the wall. He keeps the count, outs, innings and score. To make this an even more competitive experience, two pitchers can oppose each other, alternating innings and keeping score.
Scrub – Another one from Don…One player is at bat, with a catcher, pitcher, first base and other fielders. All players are numbered: the batter is scrub; catcher, one; pitcher, two; first base, three; fielders, four and up. The batter hits a ball pitched to him, and runs to first base and back. If he is put out by being tagged at first base or home, striking three times, hitting three fouls or having a fly ball caught, he goes to the field and takes the number of the last fielder. Each player moves over one position and number, first base to pitcher, pitcher to catcher, and catcher to batter (scrub). If the batter gets home safely, he will bat again. Each batter is allowed to make three runs before taking to the field, provided he is not put out.
CONCLUSION
So that’s it. I hope you enjoyed this series on Unorganized baseball. Hopefully it didn’t offend anyone but opened some eyes and shifted some perspectives. Hopefully it helped more than it hurt. I look forward to your comments and perspectives. Also please, please write in and share your versions and rules of different pick up games you played or play. I’d love to create a big library. Until then, good luck, have fun, and keep your eye on the ball.
I REALLY like the attention you’ve called to “informal baseball”, Brent. I couldn’t agree more. And until my kid can get his own friends together for some pick up games, you’ve given me a few new games he can play with his Dad.
Here’s a great link to a set of “official rules” for Indian Ball provided by Chris O’Leary. Looks similar to the rules for “Over the Line” above.
http://chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Coaching/Documents/IndianBall_OfficialRules.pdf
Don’t be put off by the length of the “rule book”. The Indian Ball rules themselves are pretty short and simple, but Mr. O’Leary provides a lot a good commentary on the intent of each rule, which will make the entire document seem a bit lengthy to many folks.
Wow Gerry, that is a really cool link. Thank you for sharing. When I first looked at the diagram it reminded me of the “WhackBat” clip. I just had a chance to skim through it…why is it called Indian Ball?
Great games.
We developed something similar to wall ball in my neighborhood we called “curb ball.”
The field was any stretch of street with a curb opposite a driveway. Played with a racketball, the batter stood in the street facing the curb–maybe three feet back from the curb while the fielder positioned himself in the opposite driveway on the slope between the street and sidewalk.
The batter then threw the ball against the curb with the rebound headed back towards the driveway/field of play. Any ball outside the mouth of the driveway was foul, while any ball fielded cleanly was an out. A grounder that got through was a single, a liner a double, and a fly that hit the garage a homer. Double plays could be turned by the fielder who cleanly snagged a grounder and then threw to the curb and caught that rebound as well.
Hope that made sense–anyway, great way for a couple of 12yr olds to burn a lazy summer day.
We played a lot of back-yard baseball when I was growing up. Our field was narrow, so the angle between 1st-home-3rd was somewhat less than 90 degrees. I always blame that field on my inability to pull the ball as I got older. We had hedges and trees all over the place. Many years later, when my parents and neighbors tore up the hedges, they must have found 20 moldy, rotten baseballs that we had lost over the years.
We also played 500 (50 points for a caught fly, 20 for a 1-hopper, etc.). I think that’s one of the reasons I still have such a fondness for baseball is that we had so much fun playing it on our own.
Great series of posts, Brent; I’m digging the blog.
We called it Indian ball. Yeah, I know it’s not PC but this was a few years ago.
We used the fence surrounding the tennis/basketball court at the park. It was about 50 feet long.
That was the outfield wall. An arbitrary point was picked for home. You could go with a pitchers park or a hitters park, depending on where the plate was located. A line went from home to the left corner of the fence, and to the right corner of the fence. Those were the foul lines.
There were no runners, just hitters and fielders, and a pitcher. Fielders player anywhere in fair territory behind the pitcher.
Scoring was simple:
Anything caught in the air (to include foul territory) was an out.
Foul balls (not caught) were strikes.
Three strikes for an out – swinging, not called
No walks
Any ground ball fielded by the pitcher was an out.
A ground ball that touched the ground before the pitcher that was cleanly fielded by any other fielder was an out
Any ball hit past that pitcher in the air that hit the ground and was fielded was a single
Any ball that rolled to the fence and hit the fence was a double
Any ball that hit the fence on the fly was a triple
Any ball that cleared the fence was a home run.
A dropped ground ball error was one base
A dropped fly ball error was two bases unless it hit the fence then was three
The field could be adjusted for a short left or right field, if desired.
We had perfect games and no-hitters, and epic Wrigley Field blowouts.
You could have as little as 2 per team, or as many as 5 or 6.
I didn’t read the previous comments before I wrote mine, so I didnt see the one about Indian Ball. I wasn’t able to open the link, so I’m not sure if we’re talking about the same game or not.
If so, apologies for double dipping.
Brent, great post. I found your blog from Fear and Faith in Flushing. As a father of a 3-1/2-year-old, I’m looking forward to showing him more of baseball, but I hope he does develop a taste for play on his own with his friends down at the park in our small city.
I remember playing base-tennis as a kid (baseball in a parking lot, but with a tennis racket and tennis ball; pitcher had to deliver the pitch on one bounce to the batter), and also playing pick-up softball with my neighborhood pals as a young teenager. The growth of league sports for kids has its pros and cons, of course — it’s fun to have a uniform and team and all that, but that freedom of play, that joy of play, is a bit lost. Unfortunately, in our often-fractured society, the only way to get a bunch of kids together to play only happens within the confines of an organized league. Here’s hoping that won’t be the only way in the future.
Your points about over-organizing our kids remind me a bit of Lenore Skenazy’s blog Free-Range Kids, which I suspect is a bit like Playborhood (thanks for introducing me to that blog). Lenore’s blog is worth a read if you have the time.
I look forward to reading more of your posts.Best regards.
Thank you all for the responses, different games, and links. This turned out to be a really fun project.
Brent,
I grew up on a farm about 30 miles North East of KC and have loved watching the Royals for over 30 years. My love affair with baseball started watching those great early Royal teams. My brothers and I (4 of us only 5 years separating oldest and youngest) didn’t have that many other kids around so we played our own games and listened to the games on 980 at night.
We played a lot of 500 (much like the one you called three flies up and then some games for either one or two players.
Mainly it was me and one other brother. One we made up was called “First-Third.” The two players face each other about 60 or 90 feet apart. The 1st baseman throws a grounder and tries to fool the thrid baseman into an error. If the 3rd baseman cathces it, he throws it back to 1st for an out. Three outs and the sides change. We would play for hours. We would make up team names and have whole seasons over the summer.
We also played catch moving farther and farther out to see how many times in a row we could catch it.
BTW our favorite player on those old Royal teams wasn’t George Brett. That would have been too obvious. We liked the greatest fielding 2nd baseman of all time, Frank White, much better. We both played the middle infield in high school.
We enjoyed watching you also, but the team wasn’t the same by then.
Gaines
BTW you should think of this topic for your next book. Loved the first one. I bought it for my nephew who plays catcher for his high school in Arkansas.
Thanks Gaines…good stuff.
I coach a high school team in Florida and about once a week we finish practice with a game of Scrub. I like it because it forces kids to play different positions and learn where other players will be during a game. The kids like it because it never stops. We play it with four outfielders, so that if someone is slow getting out to the outfield, there are always enough fielders to make a play. We also use a variation of rules that say if you catch a pop-up you switch positions with the batter — and also that if you drop a pop-up (or are involved in a fight over a pop up which results in a drop) that you go directly to the back of the fielding rotation farthest away from batting. Batters get in to the box with a 1-1 count in order to speed up the game. Walking a batter sends the pitcher (who is next to bat) to the back of the rotation.