Baseball (card game)
Baseball is a card game simulating the sport of baseball, played with special cards and a diagram of a baseball diamond. The game was created by Ed-u-Cards Manufacturing Corporation, New York.
The deck
The deck consists of 36 cards representing a variety of base hits,, balks, stolen bases, a hit-by-pitcher, balls, strikes, and a variety of outs.A typical deck from the late 1950s or early 1960s consists of:
- 10 balls
- 10 strikes
- 2 foul balls
- 2 fly outs
- 1 foul out
- 2 singles
- 2 doubles
- 1 triple
- 1 home run
- 1 balk
- 1 stolen base
- 1 hit-by-pitcher
In some editions from the 1960s, strikes and outs are color-coded orange, balls green, and all cards that advance a runner, blue, while in late-1950s editions, strikes and outs are green, balls blue, and cards advancing a runner, red. The cards are illustrated with line drawings of the action represented by the card; in the 1960s, a New York Mets edition included Mr. Met as the principal figure in the illustrations, and a Mets logo as the back design.
The play
The game is playable by any arbitrary number of players. The cards are not dealt; instead, whichever player is "at bat" turns over cards from a freshly shuffled deck until put out three times, following the actions named on the cards:- Strikes are collected, with three strikes becoming an out.
- Balls are collected, with four balls becoming a walk.
- Outs are collected until the third out ends the player's turn. If the out is marked "double play at first," and a double play at first is possible, then it counts as a double play.
- Base hits, walks, and hit-by-pitcher are placed on the diamond diagram, with any cards already on the diagram advancing appropriately. A base hit clears the balls and strikes.
- Balks and stolen bases advance runners according to the instructions on the card, and actual baseball rules.