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Ghost runners and pitchers hand........forgotten?

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ Ghost runners and pitchers hand........forgotten?
T

thavoice

Senior Member

14,376 posts
May 3, 2011 3:31 PM
Was playing some baseball/whiffle ball with kids this weekend. They are baseball types so not some nerds who couldnt tell the diff between an onion and baseball like some kids these days....

..and I said we wiil use ghost runners and pitchers hand.


...and they were clueless.


Do kids play whiffleball and such anymore?

We always played it......usually 3 on 3 was the lowest amount we would use (and we batted lefthanded as to not ruin our baseball swings!)
May 3, 2011 3:31pm
N

Nate

Formerly Known As Keebler

3,949 posts
May 3, 2011 3:33 PM
Played those 2 rules as well.
May 3, 2011 3:33pm
Raw Dawgin' it's avatar

Raw Dawgin' it

Just Ain't Care

11,466 posts
May 3, 2011 3:35 PM
i am familiar with ghost runners but not pitchers hand
May 3, 2011 3:35pm
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
May 3, 2011 3:38 PM
Ghost runners were a given.
May 3, 2011 3:38pm
B

BR1986FB

Senior Member

24,104 posts
May 3, 2011 3:41 PM
Raw Dawgin' it;758356 wrote:i am familiar with ghost runners but not pitchers hand

Same here.

If it's not on Xbox, Playstation or Nintendo Wii, they aren't getting their lazy asses up and leaving the house for it. Shorter answer, no...kids probably don't play wiffle ball anymore.

We would usually wrap a wiffle ball tight with electrical tape and use real bats. Sometimes would play the conventional way.
May 3, 2011 3:41pm
september63's avatar

september63

Senior Member

5,789 posts
May 3, 2011 3:42 PM
Raw Dawgin' it;758356 wrote:i am familiar with ghost runners but not pitchers hand

Same here.
May 3, 2011 3:42pm
Raw Dawgin' it's avatar

Raw Dawgin' it

Just Ain't Care

11,466 posts
May 3, 2011 3:44 PM
BR1986FB;758363 wrote:Same here.

If it's not on Xbox, Playstation or Nintendo Wii, they aren't getting their lazy asses up and leaving the house for it. Shorter answer, no...kids probably don't play wiffle ball anymore.

We would usually wrap a wiffle ball tight with electrical tape and use real bats. Sometimes would play the conventional way.
I didn't play a lot of wiffle ball. More basketball and street hockey.

Totally agree with the video games though, i'll still take pick up games over the xbox when it's nice out any day of the week.
May 3, 2011 3:44pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
May 3, 2011 3:48 PM
Pitchers hand. If the ball gets to the pitcher before you reach base you are out.
May 3, 2011 3:48pm
J

jmog

Senior Member

6,567 posts
May 3, 2011 3:48 PM
I had to explain ghost runners to my kids when we first played wiffle ball and/or kick ball. However, my boys were 6 and 4 at the time. They are typically now explaining it to their friends since my kids are the ones playing outside all summer long while the other kids are playing video games.
May 3, 2011 3:48pm
B

BR1986FB

Senior Member

24,104 posts
May 3, 2011 3:49 PM
Raw Dawgin' it;758371 wrote:I didn't play a lot of wiffle ball. More basketball and street hockey.

And that's probably part of the reason for less wiffle ball. More kids playing sports like football & basketball which might be considered more interesting to them. MLB has exactly done a stellar job of marketing their product.
May 3, 2011 3:49pm
OneBuckeye's avatar

OneBuckeye

Senior Member

5,888 posts
May 3, 2011 3:51 PM
justincredible;758373 wrote:Pitchers hand. If the ball gets to the pitcher before you reach base you are out.

Whaaa, never heard of it but used ghost runners extensively

Of course the arguement was always did the ghost runner on second score on a single? Or did the ghost runner on first score on a double? We normally went Yes, No. However it was very annoying when playing with baseball retards because they would never agree to the first.
May 3, 2011 3:51pm
THE4RINGZ's avatar

THE4RINGZ

R.I.P Thread Bomber

16,816 posts
May 3, 2011 3:54 PM
Ghost runners advance the same number of bases the hitter does. Period.
May 3, 2011 3:54pm
OneBuckeye's avatar

OneBuckeye

Senior Member

5,888 posts
May 3, 2011 3:56 PM
THE4RINGZ;758383 wrote:Ghost runners advance the same number of bases the hitter does. Period.

Then why call 2nd base scoring position?
May 3, 2011 3:56pm
THE4RINGZ's avatar

THE4RINGZ

R.I.P Thread Bomber

16,816 posts
May 3, 2011 3:59 PM
OneBuckeye;758384 wrote:Then why call 2nd base scoring position?

With a full compliment of players second base is scoring position. With ghost runners you have to limit their advancement to the number of bases the batter achieved or the whole system breaks down. Trust me, I have had this argument hundreds of times.
May 3, 2011 3:59pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
May 3, 2011 4:01 PM
OneBuckeye;758384 wrote:Then why call 2nd base scoring position?

In a 9 person baseball game they'll probably score from second. It's a lot easier to get a single in 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 so that's why we always did the ghost runners gotta be on third to score on a single.
May 3, 2011 4:01pm
THE4RINGZ's avatar

THE4RINGZ

R.I.P Thread Bomber

16,816 posts
May 3, 2011 4:04 PM
lhslep134;758391 wrote:In a 9 person baseball game they'll probably score from second. It's a lot easier to get a single in 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 so that's why we always did the ghost runners gotta be on third to score on a single.

You can't throw a ghost runner out trying to leg it home from second on an outfield single that fact alone would nullify the second base being scoring position in a game involving ghost runners.
May 3, 2011 4:04pm
E

enigmaax

Senior Member

4,511 posts
May 3, 2011 4:06 PM
THE4RINGZ;758383 wrote:Ghost runners advance the same number of bases the hitter does. Period.

Yes.
justincredible;758373 wrote:Pitchers hand. If the ball gets to the pitcher before you reach base you are out.

Rarely played this way because it is dumb. If you can't cover the bases, you have the option of hitting the runner with the ball. No need to make up lazy, wussy rules.
May 3, 2011 4:06pm
V

vball10set

paying it forward

24,795 posts
May 3, 2011 4:07 PM
we used to play pitcher's mound was out--made it a little tougher
May 3, 2011 4:07pm
THE4RINGZ's avatar

THE4RINGZ

R.I.P Thread Bomber

16,816 posts
May 3, 2011 4:08 PM
Of course both of these rules only apply to games where you are using old license plates or bucket lids for bases.
May 3, 2011 4:08pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
May 3, 2011 4:12 PM
THE4RINGZ;758398 wrote:Of course both of these rules only apply to games where you are using old license plates or bucket lids for bases.

Of course.

Was anyone really good at throwing nasty curving wiffle balls? I know they curve naturally a little but my friend Matt's curveball sometimes was downright unhittable it would move 3 feet at the batter.
May 3, 2011 4:12pm
1_beast's avatar

1_beast

Senior Member

5,642 posts
May 3, 2011 4:14 PM
We had thhe infamous "water bomb"...a wiffle bat filled with water and duct taped......this launched the duct taped ball.....kinda like a corked bat. But it had to be used with decoys...that way the defense didnt know when you were breaking out the juice.

Pitchers hand = out...didnt play. However, you couldnt advance bases once the pitcher had the ball. Otherwise there would be the ongoing game of trying to advance and pitcher trying to peg your ass.

Ghost runners...just as 4ringz stated.

EDIT: also if you could tag 2nd, 3rd or home on a force out before batter reaches 1st...ghost runner is out
May 3, 2011 4:14pm
sherm03's avatar

sherm03

I go balls deep.

7,349 posts
May 3, 2011 4:17 PM
We used to play some pretty intense 2-on-2 stickball games in the neighborhood. We played pitcher's hand, but only on plays at first base. Second, third, and home you could either bean the runner or had to tag him out. With only a pitcher and one fielder, and we didn't want someone to just dribble ground balls down the third base line and keep racking up singles.

Ghost runners were a must, and we also played that the ghost runners moved the same number of bases. Our rule was that the ghost runner was the biggest fattest guy on the bench, and was too slow to score on a single.

Those were some absolutely amazing times. I miss those stickball games.
May 3, 2011 4:17pm
Sykotyk's avatar

Sykotyk

Senior Member

1,155 posts
May 3, 2011 4:20 PM
I never played wiffle ball. Always used tennis balls when I was younger (did less damage to houses/cars than a baseball and didn't get obliterated into dozens of pieces like a wiffle ball). Always played ghost runners. Never heard of playing 'pitchers hand'.

Some other rules: if you tag the next base, the guy on the previous base is out automatically (forced to run, basically). If he's on second (no one on first), and you tag third on a grounder, he's out. On a fly, he still has to tag his base, which you could get if he didn't get back in time. But, he didn't HAVE to advance on a fly. Also, if you nailed him with the ball (a la kickball) while running the bases, he's out.
May 3, 2011 4:20pm
Z

Zoltan

Senior Member

1,003 posts
May 3, 2011 4:21 PM
This thread is breaking down just like a neighborhood games should. They always ended in some sort of dispute about fair/foul, safe/out, ghost runners, etc.
But we were always right back playing the next day.

We used both ghost runners and pitchers hand.
May 3, 2011 4:21pm
OneBuckeye's avatar

OneBuckeye

Senior Member

5,888 posts
May 3, 2011 4:23 PM
Sounds like we need to get a backyard baseball game going. Anyone have a baseball field in their backyard, or a large yard in which to create one? I'm good to go in NE Ohio.

Edit: this could be used as the first post in the new personals forum.
May 3, 2011 4:23pm