Baseball, a Return for Scrub?

With summer and the baseball season soon upon us, what better time to think about bringing back the old game of scrub.

What is scrub, you might ask? Many may not remember the game and others may not have even heard of it. For those, I will explain. It's a cousin to the game of baseball. The variation is that you don't choose up sides. There are no teams and you can play with as few as four or five players or as many as you can gather together for an afternoon of fun. You still need a baseball diamond, a bat and ball, and hopefully everyone who joins in has their own baseball glove (catching a fast flying ball in center field with your bare hands is not recommended).

The rules of the game are very simple. The first person to touch home plate of the ball diamond will be the first batter up. The second person will be second batter, the third back catcher, the fourth the pitcher, the fifth first baseman, and so on. The batter can continue batting as long as he isn't put out, either by striking out, being tagged out while running the bases or by having a fly ball caught (just as with the regulation game of baseball). Should one of the batters be out, everyone rotates inward by one position and the batter then takes the last place out in field. It can often be a very fast paced game.

The other difference to regular baseball is that no scores are taken. There are no innings. You continue to play until either every player has had a chance at batting or until time dictates that the game is over (that being that you have to either get back to classes or go home for supper).

There are so many benefits to playing scrub over regular baseball. You don't have to be good at the game, or any sport for that matter. It's played for the sheer fun of it. It's also great exercise and allows for camradery amongst your friends and peers. No one is left as the last man standing, only to feel dejected because they weren't chosen for a particular team, nor do they have to endure the shame of being the very last to be chosen. Scrub is not about popularity and being the best athlete. Everyone gets a chance to play and enjoy the game of baseball.

Everyone gets a chance to play all the positions of the game as well, no matter what your athletic capabilities are, giving you a chance to hone your skills at each one. Even if you're not the best pitcher, back catcher or first baseman, you still get a chance to play those coveted positions.

Although there is an element of competition with scrub, always trying to keep your position of batter for as long as you possibly can, there is still a sense of fairness. Scrub offers an equal standing with the other players, which by the way includes both boys and girls on the diamond.

Another great advantage to playing scrub over regular baseball is that there are no huge costs to the parents. There are no uniforms to purchase, no fees to pay, or fund raisers to worry about, as there is with league ball. All the kids need is a ball diamond in the neighborhood, their own baseball glove and perhaps a bat and ball. What could be simpler!

I remember playing scrub as a child. We just couldn't wait until the final bit of snow disappeared in the spring and the ground started to dry up. It would be our cue to dig out the bat, balls and gloves and make a bee-line to the ball diamond in the school yard. I always had a bit of an advantage over the other children as I lived only steps away from our school. I remember rushing through my lunch so that I could be one of the first to get out on the field and touch home plate. Usually I was one of the first batters. Being a girl, I will admit though, that I didn't always hold that position for very long, not being the best at bat, but still, I had a great time playing the game. Just about every kid (boys and girls alike) in the neighborhood participated and we all got along with each other. Scrub was the great equalizer.

I would very much like to see the game of scrub be brought back into the school curriculum as a gym course. If the game were to catch on once again, we might see our children out on the ball diamonds of every neighborhood as an after school or weekend activity, getting exercise, having fun and getting along with their peers. It would surely be an improvement over them sitting in front of a video game or television set for hours on end, all because they don't feel good enough to play sports.

Scrub, by far, has got to be one of the fairest games that I have had the pleasure of playing. It doesn't matter if you're a boy or girl, whether you're great at sports or not, whether you're the class genius or the class clown, scrub puts every kid on an equal playing level with all the other children.

I would certainly hope to see the game of scrub make a come back. Never have we needed it more than for the children of this generation!