The Game - played with the WIFFLE perforated plastic ball

As stated above, the WIFFLE ball was designed for use in congested areas. Because the ball will not travel far when solidly hit, ball chasing and base running have been eliminated. An ordinary broom handle can be used if a WIFFLE bat is not available. The size of the playing field is optional, but we recommend a minimum dimension of 20 feet in width at the home run markers (approx. 8 paces) by about 60 feet long (approx. 23 paces) from home plate to each home run marker. The field is laid out with foul lines and markers for singles, doubles triples and home run areas. See sketch of suggested playing field.

The minimum number of players required to play a game with the WIFFLE ball is two – the pitcher and batter – one player per side. The maximum number of players that can complete are ten – five players to a side. If a full team is playing, each side will consist of a catcher, pitcher, double area fielder, triple area fielder and home run area fielder. Fielders cannot move from one area to another when a full team is playing. When more than two players are playing, captains for each side are picked and they choose their respective teams alternately. As in baseball, the game is played with one team at bat and one team in the field. The batting order of the team at bat shall be Pitcher, Catcher, Double Area player, Triple Area player and finally Home Run area player. The rules of play are similar to baseball, however there is no base running. Three outs to retire a side, per inning, nine innings per game. In case of a tie, additional innings are played. For a complete inning, both sides must bat.

An out for the batter can be made in three ways:

1. The batter can strike out only if he/she swings at a pitched ball and does not foul tip the third strike. Foul tips count as a strike for the first two strikes only. A foul tip caught in back of the batters box does not count as an out.
2. Fly balls caught in fair or foul territory
3. Ground balls caught while the ball is in motion, in fair territory. Bunting is not allowed and the batter cannot obtain a base on balls.

Copyright 1954, 1982, 1999 The Wiffle Ball, Inc.