What pickle ball did for tennis and ping pong is what former Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., 60, is hoping sluggball will do for baseball.
Amaro Jr., along with his brother David, is launching the new 4-on-4 team sport on May 10 in New Jersey’s Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
“We just felt like there was no opportunity for people who had played competitive baseball, either in high school or college, to go on after they finished to have some type of residual activity involving baseball,” Amaro Jr. told The Epoch Times.
While pickle ball is a cross between tennis and ping pong, sluggball combines situational batting with the objective of hitting a baseball to specific areas of the field, including the pull side, the middle, the opposite field, and around the horn.
But without any catching, fielding, or running.
“It is not a home run derby-type situation,” Amaro Jr. said. “What we are trying to emphasize is bat control and it’s really about the art and talent of being able to drive the ball to certain areas of the field.”
Other game days are scheduled for June 14 at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio; July 13 at the Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio; Sept. 13 at the SIUH Community Park in Staten Island, New York; and Oct. 11 at Crushers Stadium in Avon, Ohio.
Tickets to the game are free, but participants in the game play for cash prizes in a tournament-type format and are required to buy in.
“We'll see how those events go, and if they go positively, we’ll expand and try to work across the country—hopefully in more major league venues,” Amaro Jr. said. “Right now, the tournaments are all in minor-league venues.”
Although sluggball involves some elements of baseball, it differs in how scoring is achieved and recorded.
For example, in the first round, a baseball must be hit to the right field with some authority and accountability as to where and how it lands.
“When you’re not successful in putting the ball where it’s supposed to go, that is an out and you have a certain number of pitches and limited time to be successful at making contact with the baseball to the right area,” Amaro Jr. said. “The premise of successfully using and controlling the bat is an art form.”
Former Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles scout Michael Gossner, former D1 college baseball player Greg Olenski, and experiential sports properties co-owner Ken Byck are co-founders of the sport while Major League Baseball (MLB) Players managing director Evan Kaplan and retired MLB six-time all-star Kenny Lofton are advisers.
“Sluggball gives players a unique opportunity to return to the field and embrace the best parts of the game,” Lofton told The Epoch Times. “With its focus on hitting in a fun, competitive atmosphere, Sluggball is unlike anything else in baseball.”
Brand collaborators include the MLB Players Alumni Association, Victus Sports, and Blast Motion.
While retired professional players might miss the dugout’s camaraderie, Amaro Jr. believes his new sport bridges the gap.
“Sluggball is more than a game, it’s an experience that brings friends, family, and former teammates together to reignite their love of hitting,” he added. “We’re excited to offer a fun, competitive game that celebrates baseball and the bonds it creates.”
Amaro Jr. knows baseball like the back of his hand because he played professionally for three major league teams, including the California Angels, the Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1998, he traded in his baseball uniform for a business suit.
“I moved into the front office as an assistant general manager,” he said. “My boss made me quit playing cold turkey. Baseball was in my blood, but it wasn’t in the cards for me anymore.”
In 2016, he went back to the field as a Boston Red Sox coach and subsequently a New York Mets coach before retiring to work in sports broadcasting.
Currently, Amaro Jr. is a broadcaster with the MLB Network and the Philadelphia Phillies.
“It’s great to be back with my buddies playing and competing together,” he said. “That part is what struck me as far as the overall experience of sluggball is concerned.”
