Whiffle Ball

[Chisoxfn]

Pickle was a classic game. I used to PWN NOOBs at that all day long.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Come on fess up... you were the "kid" weren't you.

 

Shut up that's why!

[FlaSoxxJim]

Pickle was a classic game. I used to PWN NOOBs at that all day long.

 

When we'd play at block parties and family picnics it would get to the point where there were like 10 little kids running at the same time, all running back and forth into each other and you're just praying you don't make a bad throw and nail one of them in the back of the head.

 

[FlaSoxxJim]

I just remembered an important corollary to the "Get off my father's apple tree" gool rule. If the It person was too close to gool and you'd just be a sitting duck when you took your hands off gool, then you could call"wagon space" and It would have to take three steps back to give you a chance.

 

Also, you couldn't just take your hands off of gool and then put them right back on. They had to be off for there seconds before you could put them back on gool.

[Texsox]

 

We had a kid on the block who either got stuck being It and we'd all pretend to hide but would really just leave and let him keep looking, or if he was a hider, we'd all pretend to be hiding or seeking but would just take off and let him keep hiding to think he had a really sweet spot. To the kid's credit, he would hole up and hide for a good hour or so before popping his head out.

 

"Guys. . . hey, Guys. . . ?"

 

Wow, were we a-holes or what?

 

 

That's basically how I babysat as a teenager. Let's play hide and don't seek, I'll start counting 1 . . . 2 . . . 3

[Texsox]

I think the expression was supposed to be "All-eee All-eee All in free" ... but it got corrupted to Ocean free and Oxen free where I grew up because kids just said things like that when they weren't sure what to say.

 

Smarty pants.

 

 

That was a pain because the ball would richochet all over the place when it hit the corners of the steps.

 

We played a game where we bounced a big playground ball off the steps and ran the bases. My house was on a hill and the ball could go a long way. Running the bases was a challenge with the hill. We had a line where the ball had to go past on the fly.

[Texsox]

Pickle was a classic game. I used to PWN NOOBs at that all day long.

 

Do you mean monkey in the middle or running bases?

[StrangeSox]

Yep, but tie goes to the runner. And don't bobble it.

 

And hits to RF are outs if you only have a handful of people to play (I wonder if that's what the Sox offense thinks the rules in MLB are sometimes!).

 

I worked at a summer camp for a couple of summers in college a few years ago . The kids knew a lot of these games (or some variant) or we taught them. Imagine 40+ kids playing running bases in three "lanes" side-by-side-by-side at the same time.

Edited July 11, 2008 by StrangeSox

[FlaSoxxJim]

Do you mean monkey in the middle or running bases?

 

pickle was running bases.

[southsider2k5]

Shut up that's why!

 

[takes ball and goes home]

[Chisoxfn]

When we'd play at block parties and family picnics it would get to the point where there were like 10 little kids running at the same time, all running back and forth into each other and you're just praying you don't make a bad throw and nail one of them in the back of the head.

A lot of times we'd use a tennis ball so that you could chuck the s*** out of it.

[Chisoxfn]

Do you mean monkey in the middle or running bases?

Monkey in the Middle is different. That was multiple people trying to keep the ball away from others, while pickle involves having two bases and running in between both bases (getting into a pickle and trying to be safe). Typically in pickle you'd either start on the base or in the middle and than keep going from there and once you got the balls you'd get out into the middle and make your break.

 

Another game I always loved, despite the pure simplicity of it, was freeze tag (we had a huge park by our house that was essentially designed like a castle and we'd scale walls, hop fences and everything).

[The Critic]

The sharp decline in people over the last 20 years alone is astonishing. I can, but don't want to imagine what it will be like in another 20.

 

Took the train downtown today and lost my phone. When I got back I had to call for a ride and I asked 4 people at the station if I could use their cell, even offered money. Shockingly, no one had one! Except 5 minutes later one of them was outed when his 43498 decibel symphony of a ringtone went off. I looked at him, shook my head and just walked home.

 

Somewhere (I think Maryland) recently a guy was hit by a car in the street. People saw it, but no one stopped to help. Cars actually drove around him. And of course, the woman dying in the ER waiting room and everyone looks the other way. Well, not really. They looked directly at her. One employee even walked over to nudge her with her foot.

First thing I thought when I read this was that you should have said "hey, your dick must be ringing....you know, since you have no phone...."

[dasox24]

A lot of times we'd use a tennis ball so that you could chuck the s*** out of it.

Oh yeah, we always used a tennis ball for those purposes.

[BigSqwert]

Anyone ever play "pinners"?

[RockRaines]

This thread turned into something great. Just wanted to say that, lots of nostalgia for me

Im going to go ahead and take credit for bringing up the games.

 

I just cant fathom all these young kids I see just wailing away at their PSP's or fighting with their parents, or even just watching TV. I used to get PISSED at my parents if they would let me outside, let me ride my bike, let me catch toads or play tag. Shoot, anything I could do outside, I wanted to do.

[RockRaines]

Also we played the s*** out of kickball in my back yard.

 

Anyone else have their school outlaw Red Rover?

[IlliniKrush]

We always used to play "tennis ball" at ages 10-12. Played with multiple tennis balls and a metal bat.

 

3 players if you could, otherwise 2.

 

You each pick an MLB team and play as them for all 6 innings. When you were up, you had to bat the same handedness as the player at bat. So if you're a righty and a lefty is up...yup, you gotta learn how to hit left handed.

 

When you hit the ball, no one runs or fields. The pitcher and hitter decide what the hit was, or if it was an out. Fairness was key here, and after a while you almost always agree on what hit it was. The hit also depended on your player. A rocket shot by a 3 hitter could be a home run, where as a rocket shot by a leadoff guy could be a double.

 

If you had 3 players, one was the catcher for the entire game, which made it much more fun and moved it along faster. He also called strikes and balls. However, for any kids reading, the catcher needs a mask. We found this out the hard way when I foul tipped a ball into my friends nose and he bled for like 10 minutes all over the grass.

 

This game was tons of fun and had you learn the baseball lineups of the teams, as well as learn to bat both ways (to some degree).

 

[Kyyle23]

Also we played the s*** out of kickball in my back yard.

 

Anyone else have their school outlaw Red Rover?

 

I think a lot of schools did this because kids were breaking wrists and arms. Kind of like how the game chubby bunny was outlawed.

 

It sucks when stuff like that happens, because I had a great time playing games like that, but as the title of the thread suggests, people are sue happy anymore.

 

 

 

Did any of you guys used to play baseball in the backyard with a tennis ball and a wiffle ball bat? We used to use the red "fat" bat as the power bat, and the yellow skinny "hard" bat as the contact bat. We would take the bats and wrap the sweet spot with duct tape to make it last as long as possible. I will tell you what, those red bats could really make the tennis ball take off because of the trampoline effect you would have hitting the ball. We never used gloves because it was a tennis ball, and because we could never field full teams(most of the time it was 4 on 4, sometimes even 2 on 2) we would have pitchers hand out, ghost runners, right field out, all the fun stuff. We would play all summer, until the first snow, and even sometimes with snow on the ground.

Edited July 12, 2008 by kyyle23

[YASNY]

Smarty pants.

 

 

Just trying to spread a little knowledge.

 

This is a great thread.

[YASNY]

If you're talking about what we called "pickle," then yes. That game was awesome. I dominated...

 

How about Smear the Queer? We used to play that a bit, but I never realized how politically incorrect that name is. haha

 

Seriously though, I love what this thread has turned into. Brings back a lot of great memories. I'm only 20 but I played all these games (ghosts in the graveyard, kick the can, etc.), but I feel like kids even a few years younger than me did not. Truthfully, I feel really fortunate to have those experiences b/c I don't think kids play these games anymore. Or maybe I just don't know it b/c I live in an older neighborhood now and there are about zero kids.

 

Smear the Queer. We used to call that "Kill the guy with the ball". It was usually a football.

[knightni]

[takes ball and goes home]

Awwww Mawwwwmmm!

 

Tex won't share!

[santo=dorf]

There is no "h" in wiffleball

[lostfan]

You each pick an MLB team and play as them for all 6 innings. When you were up, you had to bat the same handedness as the player at bat. So if you're a righty and a lefty is up...yup, you gotta learn how to hit left handed.

I batted right-handed in little league and high school, but when I was a kid I tried to learn to bat left-handed to mimic Ken Griffey Jr.'s batting stance/mechanics/swing. It's a lot harder than it looks, but he makes it look so easy.

[Chisoxfn]

Also we played the s*** out of kickball in my back yard.

 

Anyone else have their school outlaw Red Rover?

Yeah, after a few kids busted shoulders and noses that game was barred from all schools in my district. Fun game.