Whack-A-Mole Baseball

This is baseball. BUT, every time the ball is hit into play, the first fielder who touches it has to kneel down after the play. He has to stay down and can only crawl for the rest of the inning, OR until another fielder throws him the ball and "wakes him up". But note! these "wake-ups" can only be done during live ,fielded balls; not while the pitcher has the ball; not during a foul ball; not when there are no base runners.

So, while the first hit to shortstop might result in a throwout to first base, the second hit to shortstop will probably go right past him, and score a base hit.

As mentioned, downed players can be "woken up", but to do so costs time and may allow the runners to continue around more bases. Players will need to learn more than one field position, because they will often have to cover for other teammates who have already been used.

The game will call for additional strategy; such as: - When a fly ball is hit between two fielders, the two should aim for the least important player to touch it. This may well depend on who is next up to bat; where is that player more likely to hit the ball? Managerial signals and gestures from the coaches to the outfielders will abound.

- Judgment will become valuable; for example; suppose the second-baseman fields the ball and the shortstop is already down. Should he just throw the ball to first base and get the out? Or is there time to throw to shortstop, wake him up, and let *him* throw to first base?

Note: The pitcher and catcher are exempt; they never have to kneel down or be immobilized.

More than 9 fielders might be required for this game to work optimally.