The Big Lead

What would '3 on 3 for baseball' look like? One MLB All-Star thinks he has the answer

By J.P. Hoornstra

Jun 19, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians former members Charlie Nagy, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, Mike Hargrove, Julian Tavarez and Chad Ogea during a pre-game celebration for the 1995 Indians team before the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field.
Jun 19, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians former members Charlie Nagy, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, Mike Hargrove, Julian Tavarez and Chad Ogea during a pre-game celebration for the 1995 Indians team before the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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"Sluggball" isn't a household word, let alone in any standard English dictionaries. Kenny Lofton would like to change that.

The seven-time All-Star outfielder appeared on MLB Network this week to promote a "beer league softball"-friendly version of baseball that is coming to minor league parks across the U.S. this year.

No fielding or running is required, per Sluggball's official rules. Games consist of 4-on-4 situational hitting challenges — pull side, opposite field, up the middle, etc. — using wood bats. Teams are comprised of six to eight players and use their own pitcher throwing to their own hitters.

The game will debut at minor league stadiums in New Jersey, Ohio and New York beginning in May.

"I felt like this is something that can show that the game of baseball is not just all about hitting home runs," Lofton told MLB Network. "This is just something — because again, baseball needs that type of 3-on-3 like basketball. We needed something for baseball. And people like to hit."

According to the Associated Press, former Phillies executive and player Ruben Amaro Jr. founded Sluggball with his brother, David. Former Phillies manager Larry Bowa and Phillies announcer Tom McCarthy were part of a Sluggball pilot program in September in New Jersey.

Sluggball seeks to occupy the same niche of recreational sports like pickleball, TopGolf and 3-on-3 hoops that appeals to recreational players while preserving enough of the skill of its derivative sport to feel authentic.

More than a game of home run derby, Sluggball appears to be a game of bat control — a skill that MLB teams rewarded more in Lofton and Amaro's era that the present.

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