Ripken touts modified game for youth

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball and USA Baseball are promoting a modified version of the game for youth that picks up the pace and gets players more active with fewer innings, batters and pitches.

Hit and Run Baseball is part of MLB’s Play Ball initiative announced Tuesday. Hall of Famer and special adviser Cal Ripken is leading the cause.

“When we were kids, we had a chance to be creative in how to play,” Ripken said. “There is a little creative opportunity in the structure of this game. Nowadays, everything is structured for our kids.”

MLB said Hit and Run Baseball is designed to encourage youth organizations to use “alternative formats” for games, practices and tournaments. The recommended rules for ages 8-and-under players include: six-inning games; four batters per inning; three swings per batter, with no balls or strikes called on taken pitches (if no contact is made in three swings, a tee is used or a coach can side toss to the batter); six players rotating positions each inning, with no outfielders (the center fielder roams behind the infield); no catchers, with coaching catching pitches.

“It’s not trying to teach kids how to play the game faster,” Ripken told AP Tuesday as he made the rounds from ESPN to MLB Network to pitch Hit and Run. “It’s a way to get more reps. To present the game that’s more fun. To get to make it more interactive for kids. It’s a teaching opportunity. There’s a lot of value in there.

“You get to learn the game better. You get to practice all aspects of the game. Even if you’re not getting any hits, you still can participate in the baserunning and different defensive positions.”

Hit and Run’s recommendations encourage coaches to add scoring bonuses for properly executed defensive plays and reward teams with an extra batter when players hustle out to the field in 20 seconds. There’s no stealing bases, and runners are placed on base in the third inning.