PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sluggball, a 4-on-4 baseball competition co-created by Ruben Amaro Jr., who was formerly the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, is set to launch in May and will tour minor league stadiums this season.
Sluggball is dedicated solely to situational hitting, requiring neither fielding nor running.
David Amaro and his brother, who was the general manager of the Phillies during their three consecutive NL East title wins, co-founded Sluggball. Sluggball’s advisers comprise Kenny Lofton, who is a six-time MLB All-Star, and Evan Kaplan, who serves as the managing director of MLB Players Inc.
Teams of six to eight players in Sluggball bring their own pitcher and compete in 4-on-4 situational challenges using wooden bats. Events ensure that each team plays two four-round matches, with championship teams vying for cash rewards.
The four directional hitting rounds in Sluggball consist of pull side, up the middle, opposite field, and around the horn.
The baseball tournament kicks off on May 10 at the Trenton Thunder Ballpark in Trenton, New Jersey, and features stops at stadiums in Ohio and New York.
Lofton stated, “Sluggball provides players with a distinctive chance to step back onto the field and celebrate the game’s greatest aspects.”
In September, former Phillies manager Larry Bowa and Phillies announcer Tom McCarthy participated in a Sluggball pilot program in New Jersey.
From 1980 to 1983, Amaro served as the Phillies’ batboy before eventually playing for the franchise during the 1990s for five seasons. After the Phillies’ 2008 World Series victory, he became GM upon Pat Gillick’s retirement, having served for 10 seasons as assistant general manager. During Amaro’s tenure as the person in charge, the Phillies achieved several milestones: they won the 2009 NL pennant, secured three division titles, and recorded the most victories in franchise history (102) in 2011.
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