This column is not about running specifically but running as part of playing baseball. With the good seasons the Bobcats and Rattlers had this year and now watching the College Men’s NCAA World Series, baseball is on my mind. I recalled playing baseball in my youth. Today, most of the baseball is organized with teams and coaches from T-ball to coach pitch to drafts for regular baseball. Our teams were composed of kids in the neighborhood. One kid would go to the Recreation Department and get a sign-up sheet. He would bring it back and the kids in the neighborhood would sign it. It is hard to imagine having 10-year-old kids sign a sheet to play baseball with no parental consent signature required. No coach either, just kids playing the position they thought they would be good at.
Since there was no TV, no cell phones, I-pads or video games we had to play outside to entertain ourselves. Playing baseball had some variations depending on how many kids were available. If we had 11-12 players, we played a game called “work-up.” Two or three batters and nine in the field. When one of the batters was put out he went out to right field. Right field went to center field, center field to left field, left field to third base, third to shortstop, shortstop to second base, second base to first base, first base to pitcher, pitcher to catcher, and the catcher became a batter. The best part was every kid got to play every position one or more times during the game.
When we only had five players we played “One O’cat” — one batter, a pitcher, a catcher, one infielder and an outfielder. The batter had to tell the outfielder what field he was going to hit the ball too. If he said, “left field” and hit it to right field, he was out. The batter would hit the ball and run to first base and back again. If the fielders could get the ball back to home plate before the batter got back from his run to first and back, he was out. He then went to the outfield and everybody moved up a position. It did teach us to hit the ball to different fields, which helped when we did play Little League.
