Weird rules

[Alcott]

Most of us, I'll dare to say, played a few games as kids when it was a lot easier to 'get up a game' after school on the playgrounds or in abandoned lots when we didn't even know who the owner was. That's not so easy for kids today, with "Authorized Play Only" signs on schoolyard fields, and being fenced off most other places. But anyway, when we did get up a few games like that, what kind of weird rules did you play by?

I remember when we only had 3 or 4 or 5 players to a baseball team, one rule was "no stealing bases except when forced." That meant if you moved toward the runner with the ball, he could 'steal' the next base. It ended up meaning the runner could walk almost all the way to the next base, but could not touch that base unless the pitcher, or another player holding the ball, moved toward him. So a single was then a double, a double was a triple, and so on. The only problem for the runner was if the batter hit a popup he had to get back the previous base before it was caught.

Another baseball rule, really stupid, was if any player was no good as a hitter, he could name somebody to "take his last strike." The original batter just had to run the bases if the one taking the last strike hit the ball.

In football, we usually played all-pass, and the only way to make a first down was to make 3 completions in series of down. So sometimes after one completion in a play, we allowed a 'pitch back' to complete another pass on the same play. And more often than not (if I remember right), a touchback and a safety meant the same thing. That is, if you caught the kickoff beyond the goal line-- 'in the end zone'-- you had to run it out or the other team gets 2 points; and if you 'down the ball' they get 2 points anyway. And penalties-- it seems every one was argued over with cussing and threats. Sometimes we may have spent more time over those than in playing the games.

Is my experience typical, or were things much same everywhere 3, 4, or 5 decades ago?

 

[agedman]

Gatorball was a favorite in my home town.

Tackle football with no shoes, not pads, just a ball and bathing suite.

Out of bounds was less than ankle deep and waist deep.

Anything in-between was fair game play.

No piling on was allowed - obviously.

It was one way to chase the real gators out of the area we were swimming.

 

[InTheLight]

Played a lot of pick up games of baseball with only 3 or 4 guys on the team. This meant a pitcher, a SS, and one out two outfielders. For right-handed batters any hit to right field or the right side of second base would be an automatic out. for left-handed batters any hit to left field or the shortstop side of second base would be an automatic out. So the fielders would play SS and LF for right-handed batters, and then shift and play second base and right field for left-handed batters.

Since there was no first baseman the "pitcher's hand" rule was used, meaning the batter could be thrown out if a fielded ball was thrown to the pitcher before the batter reached first base.

Imaginary runners, or "ghost runners" were used if there were not enough players to fill the bases.

We usually played slow pitch with tennis balls on the schoolyard ball field (no outfield fence) which was smallish. Using tennis balls was safer and guaranteed no one could hit it very far. Three balls was a walk. Offensive players not on base would be the catcher and were expected to try to get runners out at the plate if there was a play there.

If all offensive players were on base the batter would catch pitches he didn't want to swing at with his bare hand. If there was no catcher, as soon as a runner scored he was expected to grab a mitt and get ready for any possible play at the plate.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

 

[Reynolds]

Played a lot of pick up games of baseball with only 3 or 4 guys on the team. This meant a pitcher, a SS, and one out two outfielders. For right-handed batters any hit to right field or the right side of second base would be an automatic out. for left-handed batters any hit to left field or the shortstop side of second base would be an automatic out. So the fielders would play SS and LF for right-handed batters, and then shift and play second base and right field for left-handed batters.

Since there was no first baseman the "pitcher's hand" rule was used, meaning the batter could be thrown out if a fielded ball was thrown to the pitcher before the batter reached first base.

Imaginary runners, or "ghost runners" were used if there were not enough players to fill the bases.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

Yeah, we had a few fights over whether or not the ghost man beat the tag out.

 

[InTheLight]

Yeah, we had a few fights over whether or not the ghost man beat the tag out.

Oh yeah! I think we got around that by putting the ghost runner on the base furthest from scoring position, usually first base, and then arguing about it if, say, the subsequent batter got a double.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

 

[just-want-peace]

When I was a kid we mostly played football. Played in a cow pasture that we had to force the cow to the sideline so the field would be open.
Always interesting to go out for a pass, and have to use all sort of "eyeballing" to 1) look for the pass, 2) look out for cow pattys, and 3) make sure the cow hadn't wandered back on the field since the last check!!
Occasionally some poor guy would broadside the cow, and that was always a hoot.
Usually had to stop the game for a few minutes as we all were convulsed w/laughter.

The ole bovine generally would just raise her head, give a short "M_O_O_O" & continue to graze.

'Tis a shame that we can't keep the good from "THEN" with all the advantages of "NOW", but-----!

 

[OnlyaSinner]

A lot of ITL's #3 rings true, though we mostly used rubber-covered baseballs, as the stitched ones were quickly uncovered on the rough ground, and became friction-taped black balls.
We did not have the RH/LH opposite-field automatic outs. Also, RF ended in a tall embankment that would quickly bring hits back to the fielders, kind of a "brown monster" (though living near NYC, we weren't Red Sox fans.) However, that reminds me of how Cleon Jones (best hitter on the '69 Miracle Mets) became one of the few lefties who batted from the right side. He said that the field where he usually played as a kid had a short RF fence and no access to the land behind, so a ball over the fence ended the game unless someone had another, which was rare. Being a strong kid, he'd ended several games that way and, wanting to play more, switched sides so his drives wouldn't lose the ball. That soon became his more comfortable way to hit.

 

[InTheLight]

A lot of ITL's #3 rings true, though we mostly used rubber-covered baseballs, as the stitched ones were quickly uncovered on the rough ground, and became friction-taped black balls.
We did not have the RH/LH opposite-field automatic outs. Also, RF ended in a tall embankment that would quickly bring hits back to the fielders, kind of a "brown monster" (though living near NYC, we weren't Red Sox fans.)

Oh yeah! You just reminded me of a feature of the schoolyard field we played on. In "deep" left field there was a brick wall about 12 to 15 feet tall and maybe 25-30 feet wide. This brick wall was the end of a wing of the elementary school I attended. We called it the "orange monster" and the field was named Femway (not a typo). Playing bounces off the wall was tricky and hitting a home run on top of the roof was a real accomplishment.

We also used the orange monster as a back stop for pitcher's duels, where a batter would stand next to the wall and a pitcher would throw pitches and attempt to strike out the batter. (Again, tennis balls were used.) We got pretty good at throwing junk, like curves, sinkers, and knuckleballs because you really can't throw a tennis ball very fast and besides we were pretty good hitters so junk was necessary.

Thanks for jogging that memory.

 

[InTheLight]

As an adult I coached both my son's traveling baseball teams. To make these teams there are tryouts held and only 12 kids make the team. These were some of the top players in our suburb and we played other teams in the surrounding area, even some teams from Wisconsin.

A friend of mine from my elementary school that played at Femway (and that played Little League with me when we were kids) and I still keep tabs with each other. He also coached his kid's traveling team. During our coaching years we would frequently compare notes. Sadly, we both concluded that pretty much any Little League team from our era and our area could have destroyed these traveling teams our sons played on. When we were kids we literally lived and breathed baseball. Besides the pickup games we played at Femway, we played pickup games at the Little League ballpark, we played "hot box", which was basically kids practicing rundowns between the bases, we played "rally", which was four or five guys in a circle of about 75 foot diameter where we would catch and rapidly throw to another kid across the circle. If someone dropped the ball they were rally-killers. We played 500 in the street (catch a fly ball it's worth 100 points, a one-bouncer was 50 points, etc.) We'd hit towering pop flies using a tennis ball and a tennis racket and shag them. (I used this technique on my kids--they loved it.)

Kids nowadays rarely form pickup games and play just for the fun of it. When we were kids we had a training regimen back then and didn't even know it. We were simply having fun.

 

[OnlyaSinner]

We played 500 in the street (catch a fly ball it's worth 100 points, a one-bouncer was 50 points, etc.)

Kids nowadays rarely form pickup games and play just for the fun of it. When we were kids we had a training regimen back then and didn't even know it. We were simply having fun.

We called (unimaginatively) that game "Flies and grounders." When we were younger, say about 9, catching a fly was an adventure, so while it took 3 muff-free grounders fielded to become the batter, one fly catch triggered the switch. Later the quotas would be 3 and 3.

"...we literally lived and breathed baseball."
Same here. We'd play touch football when the weather turned really cool, but otherwise it was baseball. Even after I learned that I couldn't hit the curve (and could do quite well on the offensive/defensive line), I still liked baseball best.