NUMBER OF PLAYERS

OBJECT OF THE GAME

SEQUENCE OF PLAY

HOW ARE HITS AND OUTS MADE?

WINNING THE GAME

EXTRA INNINGS

USING THE ROUND TIN TO COLLECT BALLS

SHOULD A PLAYER TOUCH A MOVING BASEBALL?

SHOULD BALLS BE LEFT ON THE FIELD?

NUMBER OF PLAYERS
One or more players can have fun with Ballpark Classics. With 2 or more players, form teams and take turns batting and pitching. To play alone, pitch and bat from the pitching side of the game.

OBJECT OF THE GAME
The object of the game is to score runs when it’s your team’s turn at bat, and to prevent your opponent from scoring runs when it’s their turn at bat. The team that scores the most runs by the end of the game wins.

SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Game play is divided into innings. An inning consists of each team having a turn to bat while the other team pitches. The batting team’s turn lasts until there are three outs. One team is designated the “home” team and the other is the “visiting” team. The visiting team takes the first turn at bat. An official baseball game lasts nine innings, but players can agree on any number of innings to play.

HOW ARE HITS AND OUTS MADE?
A batted ball that comes to a stop on the field in fair territory (between the white lines) is an out.  It does not matter what the ball hits, the important thing is where the ball stops. A batted ball that is hit through a gate in the fence is scored as marked: single, double, or triple. A baseball hit back up the pitching pipe and over the fence is a home run.

WINNING THE GAME
If the visiting team is ahead after the home team’s turn at bat in the last inning, the visiting team wins. If the home team is ahead after the visiting team’s turn at bat in the last inning, or if the home team takes the lead during its final turn at bat, the home team wins. Note that if the home team is ahead after the visiting team’s turn at bat in the last inning, the game is over and the home team need not take its final turn at bat.

EXTRA INNINGS
If the score is tied after the home team’s final turn at bat, teams play extra innings until a winner can be declared. In extra innings, the visiting team wins by taking the lead during its turn at bat and preventing the home team from tying or taking the lead during its next turn at bat. The home team wins by taking the lead during its turn at bat. If the score remains tied after the home team’s turn at bat, teams continue playing extra innings until the game is decided.

USING THE ROUND TIN TO COLLECT BALLS
The screw top metal tin that your baseballs and inning peg came in is used to collect the baseballs from the ball return during the game. Slide the tin under your game beneath the large hole under the ball return cover behind home plate. When the ball is pitched, the ball return collects the ball and it drops into the metal tin. Slide it back out to give the pitcher a new supply of balls, as needed. If playing on a hard surface, you can nest the tin in its lid. If playing on a thick carpeted surface, slide only the lid under your game to collect the baseballs. (The original Ballpark Classics games have an automatic ball return function, so please disregard this feature.) 

SHOULD A PLAYER TOUCH A MOVING BASEBALL?
No. Players may not interfere with a batted or pitched baseball while it is in motion. In Ballpark Classics, where the baseball finally comes to rest is important in determining the result of the play. For this reason, always play Ballpark Classics on a level surface.

SHOULD BALLS BE LEFT ON THE FIELD?
No. To prevent interference with a batted baseball, players must clear the fair and foul areas of the playing field of baseballs by picking them up or sweeping them into the ball return before every pitch. Balls may be left behind the fences.