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A mostly lost art in the game of baseball is being revived in an innovative way this year, and one former Major League Baseball star is happy to advise.
Sluggball is a reimagined way to play the sport, and it is being viewed by six-time MLB All-Star Kenny Lofton, who serves as an advisor for the company, as something similar to a recreational version of another sport.
“This is almost like the Top Golf of baseball,” Lofton told FOX Business Digital over the phone. “It’s a competition, and you get guys who play the game and want to have fun with this.”
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A hitter readies a swing during a “Sluggball” tournament. (Sluggball / Fox News)
Sluggball was co-founded by a Philadelphia-based partnership group that includes former MLB player and Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and his brother, David Amaro. The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, Victus Bats and Blast Motion are also collaborators with the brand, while Evan Kaplan, managing director of MLB Players, Inc., serves as an advisor alongside Lofton.
The premise of the reimagined version of baseball is to reignite situational hitting in a fun format that allows players of all ages to compete in 4-on-4 competitions at various minor league parks in New Jersey, Ohio and New York this year.
Situational hitting is an aspect of today’s big-league game that is not a priority like it was in Lofton’s time playing the game. It hurts the former high-average outfielder to see power as the main component behind hitting, which is why he hopes Sluggball’s format can bring situational, contact hitting back to the forefront.
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“I think my favorite part about this whole thing is that you can have the smaller people be a part of the game, and it was more about, for me, situational hitting,” Lofton, who played 17 MLB seasons and amassed 2,428 hits over 2,103 games, said. “I think that’s what I saw, and I felt like how important that was to the game, and it resonated with me because I wasn’t a power hitter. This game is so set up with power, power, power. I’m like that is not the only part of what makes this game so special. Just to have the opportunity for guys who played college ball, high school ball in this Sluggball to have an opportunity to get back into the game again because they love it.
“You don’t have to be the most power hitter, but you can still know how to handle the bat and Sluggball puts guys in that situation to put a little team together and go out there and do something and have this competitive edge like a lot of guys want to get back to.”
The rules for Sluggball are simple. First, teams of six to eight players are registered to their respective event this year with their own batting-practice-style pitcher brought to the stadium. The team’s lineup for their games – two four-round games are guaranteed upon entry – will have four hitters, and at-bats are limited to eight swings or 35 seconds.
A hitter prepares to swing during a “Sluggball” tournament. (Sluggball / IMAGN)
Each game consists of four rounds of situation hitting, when points are scored by hitting the ball in accordance to each round’s situation. That would be the pull side, up the middle, opposite field and around the horn, depending on which side of the plate the hitter is on.
A batted ball only counts if it is hit to the outfield on the side the round is in and remains in fair territory. Most total team points in the round wins that round, and there is no need for running or field – only hitting.
Sluggball hosted an invite-only pilot event at the Trenton Thunder Ballpark in September 2024, when Phillies legend Larry Bowa was the onsite MLB ambassador, who spent time signing autographs and interacting with the participants. The event saw a great reception from the players and those who attended with them alike, leading to optimism heading into 2025.
“A guy who’s 65 years old who knows how to work the bat, he can score points in this situation,” Lofton said, referencing one of the pilot event player’s age. “You can hit the ball up the middle, you can hit the ball to left field, right field when it’s your time to do it. That’s what excited me.
“We know it’s BP, but again, I always say you got to learn how to work the bat. …Maybe Sluggball can get that opportunity to say, ‘Hey, this is also part of the game that’s important that got pushed away because of analytics and the Ivy League people.’”
Sluggball currently has six events available for registering, with “Opening Day” at the Trenton Thunder Ballpark on May 10. Fees are $1,795 per team, and it includes a two-game guarantee with a chance to play in the championship game for a $3,000 cash prize.
Players also get on-field team apparel, including UnderArmour shorts and a shirt and a hat from Branded Bills. Catered lunch and cash bar, post-event player performance analytics, signed memorabilia from the guest MLB alumni and more is in store for each team’s experience.
So, much like Top Golf, those still in love with the game can get those competitive juices flowing alongside others who want to do the same.
Team Cleveland’s Kenny Lofton swings at a pitch in the 2019 legends and celebrity softball game at Progressive Field. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / IMAGN)
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While Sluggball is looking to bring back that lost art, it is also expanding the camaraderie the game of baseball naturally has.
“That’s one thing I miss about the game – the camaraderie to go out there every day and have fun with the guys because you guys are all like-minded,” Lofton said. “You got people who are like-minded and want to enjoy the game the way it is. Again, you don’t have to be the most athletic. You just have to know how to swing the bat and put the ball in different areas of the field and not worry about putting it out of the ballpark.”
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