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Stoopball (Baseball Rules)
The "modern" version of stoopball uses a baseball format. Instead of standing
in front of the stoop and catching what you throw, you stand alongside, wind
up, and really fire the ball. If the fielders catch it on the fly or if the
ball goes foul, it's an out. If you miss the entire stoop, you're out, but
also suffer the minor embarrasment of looking like a dork (the city equivalent
of missing the side of a barn).
Imaginary lines, or physical landmarks (garbage cans, lamp posts, parked cars)
delineate fair/foul territory. A line drawn a few feet from the stoop shows
the minimum distance that was accepted as fair. The number of bounces a fair
ball took (one to four) determines the type of hit.
The game is played with two teams, usually one or two on a side. You can have
more players per team, and they might agree that only two or three can take
the field at a time (perhaps can alternate), but whether or not they play the
field, all players can "bat." This works well on those long hot summer
afternoons when you have lots of guys and you can all takes turns within a
relatively mellow game.
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