Neighborhood Games

I came across this post at Sports Dad Hub, about a game called Hotbox. When I was a kid, we called it Pickle - a simple neighborhood game where you have two bases, a fielder at each, and runners that try to steal as many bases as possible. The only hitch is that the fielders can't leave their bases and have to make quick throws to get the runners.

This reminded me of another game we played called Roller Bat. In Roller Bat, there is a batter, who tosses the ball to himself to hit to a group of fielders. If the batted ball is caught in the air by a fielder, that fielder becomes the batter. If the ball is fielded off the ground, the batter lays the bat down square to the fielder and the fielder rolls the ball toward the bat. If the ball hits the bat and then the ground, the fielder becomes the batter. If the ball misses the bat, or it hits the bat and pops up into the batter's hands, he gets to keep hitting.

Simple games, loads of fun. Good stuff to pass on to the next generation. There is always Wiffle Ball too...