How to Play Bean Bag Baseball

Bean Bag Baseball

• 1

  Use sidewalk chalk to draw a 1 yard by 1 yard square on a sidewalk or driveway. Still using the chalk, separate the square into nine equal squares, 1 foot by 1 foot each.

• 2

  Use the chalk to mark the nearest three squares, from left to right, "ball," "second base," and "foul." Mark the middle three squares as "strike," "home run," and "strike." Mark the furthest three squares as "first," "out" and "third."

• 3

  Use the chalk to make a short, straight line, parallel to the bottom line of the big square, at least 9 feet from the square itself. This is your tossing line. No player can cross it when tossing a bean bag.

• 4

  Designate one person as your scorekeeper. The scorekeeper may be a player as well, if desired. The scorekeeper should use a pencil and paper not only to keep track of points, but also to keep track of positions as the game is played (see Steps 5 and 6).

• 5

  Divide into teams. A player from the first team should step up to the tossing line, holding a bean bag. The player should toss the bean bag into the square. The object is to get on base (by having the bean bag land on either the "first," "second," or "third" squares) or by getting a home run (by having the bean bag land on the "home run" square). If the bean bag falls outside of the large square or on a line, the player is automatically out. If the player lands on a "strike" or a "ball," the player gets to toss again, just as a batter would get another chance to swing in regular baseball.

• 6

  Keep playing until the team has suffered three "outs," just as in regular baseball. Points and positions are followed and recorded by the scorekeeper. For example, if a player lands on "second," then the next player lands on "third," the team has scored one point, since the first player would obviously have had to make it home in order for the second player to reach third base. In this way, a real baseball game is visualized through the results of the sidewalk-drawn game.

• 7

  As in regular baseball, play nine innings. The team with the most points, or runs, wins. Play ball.