7 Games To Play During A Boring Baseball Game

How to pass time during America's favorite pastime.

Baseball is the national sport. Unfortunately, at times, it can also be a painfully slow sport to watch. And while some of us are perfectly content with a bag of peanuts and a scorecard, others need a little more than that to make the game more exciting. So with that in mind...

1. Mound Ball

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All participants put a dollar into a hat (or empty cup) at the start of every half inning. The game begins with the top of the first inning belonging to the person closest to the aisle.

At the end of the half inning, a player from the fielding team or the umpire will toss the ball towards the mound; if the ball stays on the mound, the person collects the money. If the ball doesn't land on the mound, the hat is passed onto the next person and everyone throws in another dollar.

At the end of the game, any money remaining in the cup is returned to the players equally.

2. Predict The Pitch

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This one's pretty self-explanatory. Before the pitcher throws the ball, you have to guess what pitch it will be (fastball, curveball, slider, etc.).

If you're in a particularly boastful mood, you can get more specific with the pitches and call the location ("fastball, low and away").

If you're rich, this can be a betting game. If you're poor it can be a way to act like you know a lot about baseball.

3. Guess The Pitch Speed

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Before the pitcher throws the ball, you have to guess how fast the pitch will be, as noted by the speed tracker in the stadium. If your stadium doesn't have a speed tracker, then your team is terrible at baseball, and you should leave immediately.

Note: All guesses must be in MPH; this is America.

4. Call The Play

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The goal of this game is to correctly predict the outcome of the at bat before the player steps up to the plate. Every prediction must be a specific call ("pop fly to right field"), and anything up for debate will be voted on by the participants.

Depending on how many participants there are, you can switch the calls to every batter, every inning, or just yell it out without any sort of order whatsoever.

5. Ground Ball/ Fly Ball

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This is a simplified drinking version of "Call The Play." Participants choose a side (fly ball or ground ball), and whoever gets it wrong has to drink. If the at bat results in a strikeout, everyone drinks. If the batter gets walked, no one drinks.

Another variation of this is choosing whether the batter will safely reach base or get out. Tentative title: "Out or Not."

6. Pass The Hat

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All participants put a dollar into a hat at the start of an inning. One person holds the hat when the inning begins and passes it in a clockwise fashion after each hitter completes his at bat. The person holding the hat when the last out is made wins the pot.

7. Mini Fantasy Baseball

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Participants randomly get assigned a number (or play rock-paper-scissors) to determine a draft order. And much like fantasy baseball, everyone picks a player (from each team) to be on their "team."

Points are based on how well their players perform at the plate, with a single earning one point, a double earning two points, and so on from there. A strikeout results in a one-point deduction.

Note: Any changes to the point system must be agreed upon before the game begins.

Let us know in the comments if you have any games that we may have missed!