I am going to do a series of posts regarding kids simply getting outside and playing baseball.  Playing is going to consist of many different activities, some which will be actual baseball games and other that my friends and I made up or learned from the older kids.

Today we are going to talk about a game we play called “Off The Porch”.  This game was amazingly simple and it was also a blast.  The first step is to pick three big league players to put in your line up.  Once you have your three favorite players you flip a coin for home or away, if you do not have a coin you can just play rock, paper, scissors to see who goes first.

What you need: A tennis ball, and a house with a front porch.  Side or back porch could work as long as you have enough room to field.  No gloves.

Once you have the field picked out, go ahead and set up rules regarding what constitutes a hit and an out.  I will tell you how we did it and if you like it give it a try.

How do you get a hit: Anything on the ground past the fielder was a single.  We then put out either cones or any other object we had to mark areas on the ground for doubles, triples, and home runs.  Anything other then a single had to reach the spot on the field in the air.  Runners on base can only move as many bases as the hit, so if you have a guy on first and you hit a double, you now have a guys on second and third.  No arguing about the speed of the runner.

What the batter does: takes the tennis ball in his throwing hand and whips it against the porch as hard as he can in hopes of it flying over the fielders head.  Revert to the section above for scoring.  If the fielder catches the ball in the air it is an out.  Since the ground ball is pretty prevalent the batter gets three ground balls before an out is recorded.  Ground balls that do not get past the fielder do not advance runners. There are no double plays either.

Try this game out and if you like it let me know, if you think it stinks the get creative and tell me your game.

For optimal distance find a porch where the end of the steps are rounded.  I will find pictures of this game and upload them for you as well.

If you think this activity is a waste of time you will be surprised at what you can learn from this game, so grab a friend, your mom or dad will also work but just get outside and play.