Sandlot ball

Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is often less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot.[1]

Sandlot Ball
Origin1850s
Characteristics
EquipmentWhatever can be used
VenueEmpty or vacant lot

History and origins

The term sandlot dates all the way back to the 1870s, originating in the city of San Francisco.[2][3]

This in-town park and empty lot became a place where various sports could be played.

Sandlot baseball is a classic pastime. However, throughout the years, the culture surrounding it has changed and evolved.

Towards the beginning of its creation, sandlot ball revolved greatly around spontaneity, a lack of supervision, and a long, hot summer day. It maintained a casual nature, and rules were subject to change game-to-game or lot-to-lot.

Now, the sport is not as prevalent or casual as it once was. It is as though the traditional aspects of sandlot baseball are slowly but surely changing. This could be in part to several things, such as: the changing of the family structure in the United States, increasing technology (video games, cell phones, tablets, devices, television, etc.), and parents' fear of crime.

Sandlot baseball teams still exist in the 2020s despite its decline, with at least 110 teams since 2006, 21 of which formed in 2022.[4]

Competition

Sandlot baseball creates opportunities for children to enjoy a competitive experience and enhances competition when there is extensive action, personal involvement, and close scores.[5]

It encourages players to think outside-of-the-box and think critically when there aren't enough players. It allows them to learn negotiation skills when deciding if a pitch was a strike or a ball, if a player was safe or out, or when a ball was fair or foul. It teaches them how to get along with one another, and permits them to work on organizational skills.[6]

Media

Sandlot ball is as well-known and widespread as it is today because of the influence of media and the film industry.

A film titled The Sandlot was released in 1993. A coming-of-age comedy set in the 1960s, the film follows a rag-tag group of pre-teen boys growing up in California. These boys spend their days playing baseball on a sandlot and finding themselves in a variety of adventures and mishaps. The film follows narrator and main character Scotty Smalls who is new in town. At first he is turned-down by this local group of boys whose lives wholeheartedly revolve around the sport, but as his knowledge of sandlot ball grows he begins to assimilate into the group well.

See also

References
  1. "SANDLOT BASEBALL - Definition and synonyms of sandlot baseball in the English dictionary". educalingo.com. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  2. Tampony, Peter (1968). "Sandlot Baseball". Western Folklore. 27 (4): 265–269. doi:10.2307/1498125. JSTOR 1498125.
  3. "The No Place Project: San Francisco". no-place-project. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  4. "Sandlot baseball is about having fun and building community — and everyone's a winner". NPR. 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  5. Burton, Damon; Gillham, Andrew D.; Hammermeister, Jon (2011). "Competitive Engineering: Structural Climate Modifications to Enhance Youth Athletes' Competitive Experience". International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. SAGE Publications. 6 (2): 201–217. doi:10.1260/1747-9541.6.2.201. ISSN 1747-9541. S2CID 53560288.
  6. "Sandlot ball going the way of wooden bats". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
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