The new sport of Baseketball was created by David Zucker in the 1990's. It's a combination of basketball and baseball, it was made famous in the 1998 movie "BASEketball". You have to try and "psych out" the other players so that they miss.
These following rules were submitted by Sal Luna of LA, USA in Nov 2014. The rules were noted from on screen. Although it was made for a movie, no one has yet to have any actual games. He would like to get the ball moving on this. The actual rules are known to the creator of this game, director David Zucker.
Description
The layout of the field
- For the pitcher's mound you have a basketball hoop
- There are four bases, as there are in baseball, but the distances between them are shortened, as there is no pitcher.
- There are nine squares radiating from the hoop: three single squares (small, yellow), three double squares (medium, red), and three triple squares (large, blue wedges).
- Instead of hitting a ball to right field, you shoot from the single, double, or triple square on the left side of the infield.
- Instead of hitting a ball to left field, you shoot from the single, double, or triple square on the right side of the infield.
- Instead of hitting a ball right down the middle, you shoot from the single, double, or triple square along the middle.
- There's the home run circle, with home base at its center. Instead of hitting a home run, you shoot a home run from there.
- There are two orange circular steps, one on each side of the garage door. These are used for short shots, aka bunts.
- Each side has a dugout instead of a bench.
- The roots of the game are remembered in the garage façade supporting the basket and in the sidewalks next to the dugouts. But other teams can substitute other buildings for the garage. The San Antonio Defenders, for example, have the Alamo as their façade.
Shooting
- The square you shoot and score from determines what kind of hit you're going for. Ex. A shot from one of the three double squares indicates a double. Any players ahead of you also move two bases.
- If you fail to hit the basket or the backboard, you're out. If you hit the backboard or the basket, the opposing team gets to rebound and try to shoot a basket for a double play. If they succeed, you'll be out, and so will the player closest to home plate.
- You get a second shot - a conversion - at the ball if you miss and the opposing team misses the next two shots when it tries a double play against you. If you make that shot, the original shot attempt holds - if you were shooting for the home run in your first shot, but score in the conversion, you get the home run shot. If you miss, you're out.
- You shoot for the cycle. If you start with a single, you can't shoot a single again until you've attempted the double, triple, and home run first, in that order. It's a rare inning that allows your team enough chances for you to have a second shot at a triple.
- Scoring depends on how many men cross home plate (runs shot in), not how many shots you successfully score (hits).
- If you want to bunt, you shoot from one of the orange steps. The bunt advances the runners already on base, but give the shooter an out. No psych-outs are used there.
- In the event the bases fill up, the first shooter, now on third base, can call upon one of the other players in the dugout to take his spot on third as he returns to home plate to shoot the fourth shot. This way, you have four players on offense, but only three shooting.
Defending
- Defending is similar to that in basketball, but you have greater liberty in how you defend against the shooter. The three defenders are present at all times.
- There's no tagging out of players. There are no triple plays.
- You can force a shooter out by psyching him out. This means you can do just about anything, use just about anything, to make the shooter miss. Anything from a simple line to an elaborate setup involving dwarves and spinning plates to grotesque faces coupled with beastly sounds. You can even mimic a player in a mocking way in order to get him out. Double-teams are permitted.
- If the umpires deem a psych-out in bad taste and the shooter misses, the shooter gets his shot (like a walk in baseball).
Officiating
The umpires make sure the rules are being followed and put potholders on squares that have been used in shooting, to prevent shooting from that square again until a cycle is completed. Once the home run shot is taken, the potholders are removed from the squares the shooter used, or removed from all squares when the third out is called.
Length of play
The teams take turns like they do in baseball - visitors first, home team second. There are nine innings, like in baseball, and a seventh inning stretch. Since all the games are indoors, no games are ever called on account of rain. The seventh inning stretch also serves as hafltime, so there's halftime entertainment at this time. Overtime follows if there's a tie at the end of nine.
Length of season
There's no telling how many years a baseketball season can last. The playoffs themselves can go for nine months. By comparison, a basketball season lasts for seven months, the playoffs for two months. A baseball season lasts for six months, the playoffs for one month. The baseketball season, if calculated from the two seasons just mentioned, can last from 32 months (2 years, 8 months) to 54 months (4 and a half years). This means a new cup every four or five years. By comparison, major-league soccer has a new world cup every four years. There's no way baseketball can have a nine-month playoff season and still have a cup every year. :D
Loyalty
No players are traded, no teams can move to new cities. Once a team is created, it stays put until it decides to close. Its bosses can change, though.
Equipment Required
Bases, basketball stand, or play on a half court, and a basketball made to look like a baseball
Note
Related Pages
- Other New Sports
- Complete list of unusual sports
Disclaimer