Fuzzball (sport) facts for kids

Fuzzball is a fun bat-and-ball street game. It's a lot like baseball, but it's usually played casually. You can find Fuzzball games in different parts of the United States. It's especially popular in St. Louis, but also in places like Chicago (where it's called "strikeout"), Florida, and South Carolina.

To play Fuzzball, you need a bat and a tennis ball. The tennis ball is special because its fuzzy outer layer is often burned or worn off. This makes the ball faster! The rules are similar to baseball, but they can change depending on where you play. For example, rules might be different if you play indoors or outside.

You can play Fuzzball with as few as two players. In St. Louis, there are even organized leagues like the Bevo Area Fuzzball League. There's also the St. Louis Metro Fuzzball League and a yearly tournament called the Kearns Park Fuzzball Tournament of Champions. Outside of these leagues, it's mostly a "pickup game." This means people just gather and play for fun. Some areas, like Philadelphia and Northern California (San Jose and Santa Cruz), have also started their own player leagues. St. Louis also has official indoor fuzzball leagues.

Many people in St. Louis think Fuzzball is a good way to practice for another game called corkball.

How to Play Fuzzball

Fuzzball rules are generally like baseball rules. However, the smaller details can change a lot depending on where you play. The biggest difference is that Fuzzball uses a tennis ball instead of a baseball. Players might or might not use a baseball glove when they are fielding.

Playing Indoors and Outdoors

Indoor Fuzzball is usually played inside a large net. When playing indoors, there are no base runners. Outdoor Fuzzball can be played on paved school playgrounds. These are often marked for games like kickball. You can also play on a baseball or softball field.

Serious players sometimes burn the felt off the tennis ball. They use a cigarette lighter or a blowtorch to do this. Burning the felt makes the ball much faster when it's pitched!

Fuzzball Bats

Bats for Fuzzball can be different types. Players might use broom handles, baseball bats, or corkball bats. There are also official Fuzzball bats. These are made by companies like Markwort Sporting Goods in St. Louis, Missouri. Markwort also makes an official Fuzzball for games.

Getting Outs and Scoring Runs

In Fuzzball, a batter can be out after one, two, or three strikes. This depends on the local rules. A batter can also "walk" (get to first base automatically) after three, four, or five "balls." If a pitcher hits a batter with the ball, it might count as two balls. Or, the strike count might be reset. Again, these rules vary by region.

If a batted ball lands far away, it's usually a home run. This includes balls that land behind a fence, on a roof, on a porch, or break a window. In some versions of Fuzzball, especially where there isn't much space, hits are decided by how far the ball travels. In these games, players don't run the bases. This is similar to corkball.

Using Ghost Runners

If only a few players are on a team, they might use "ghost runners." A ghost runner takes the place of a player who is on base. This allows the real player to go back to home plate and bat again. Ghost runners move the same number of bases as the batter's hit. For example, if a ghost runner is on second base and the batter hits a double, the ghost runner scores a run.

Game Length

The length of a Fuzzball game can also change a lot. This includes how many innings are played and how many outs are in each inning. A popular version of Fuzzball in the western Summit, NJ suburbs has nine innings. Each inning has two outs. There's also a "mercy limit" of twenty runs. This means the game ends if one team gets ahead by 20 runs.