The For the Thrill Tournament will be held on Saturday, September 15, 2018 at Coffee Grounds in Southgate, MI. The first game will be at 11 AM. For the Thrill is a throwback to our glory days: a tournament with random bats and odd rules to liven things up and bring out the fun in the game. Teams can consist of 3-5 people, and you can play with whomever you like. No caps, no drafts, no waivers. Get your squad together and let's have some fun! The final tournament schedule will be announced when the number of teams is set.
Format and Rules
I. Games will be 5 innings in length with a new bat a new bat upgrade introduced every inning:
1st INNING: Official 32" Yellow Bat
2nd INNING: 28" Champion Lightweight Plastic Bat
3rd INNING: 33" Easton Pro Stix or Lousiville C271
4th INNING: 35" Moonshot STiK
5th INNING: 35" LocoBat or 30" Screwball Bat
II. In the event of a tie after 5 innings, one player from each team will take one swing at a ball soft-tossed by a teammate. Furthest hit ball wins the game. In the highly improbable event both balls go the same distance, a second player from both teams will reattempt.
III. Home team for all games will be determined by a closest to the bucket challenge. One player from each team will toss one ball. In the unlikely event both make it in, a second player from each team will reattempt.
IV. Mid-pitch only from the 45' mound.
V. The fielding alignment will be 2 fielders behind the pitcher.
VI. There will be no baserunning. Full rules covering the rules for hits and outs in all scenarios are available
here.
VII. After ball 5 the batter may choose to take the walk or swing away with a teammate offering up one soft-toss attempt.
VIII. If a batter takes any strike looking, they must randomly select a modifier for the rest of their plate appearance. If the looking strike is a strike out, the modifier will apply to both the following batter and that batter's next plate appearance. The modifiers that will be among the options include:
- Racket: Racketball racket used as the bat. No one-handed swings rule is waived.
- Cricket: Plastic cricket bat (thanks, Zadams) used as the bat. Pitcher must bounce the ball in.
- Dizzy: In lieu of Louisville Chugger since we're in a public park. Batter will stand the bat on their ground, place their head on the upper end, and spin around 8 times before immediately entering the box to swing. After 3 pitches with no swing, the batter will repeat the spins 5 times.
- Switch Handed: A right-handed batter will bat left-handed; a left-handed batter will bat right-handed.
- Secrets
IX. Fielders will have the option to use one of two "scoops."
Outs made cleanly using only the scoop will count as two outs. Any interference from the fielders free hand or any part of their body will void the double out possibility.
