Ahead of Sluggball’s debut in May, here’s everything you need to know about baseball’s version of Topgolf

Twelve years after his first, and only, All-Star honor, former Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown stepped up to the plate at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. With his hat turned backward, his left foot planted firmly on the batting mat, his gloves gripping the bat, Brown stared at the pitcher through the lenses of his glasses.

“Pull,” a worker yelled out as the ball made its way over home plate. Transferring his momentum into his front foot, Brown swung the bat with perfect timing — making contact with the ball and hitting his pull-side target. Quickly getting back into his stance, with less than 30 seconds on the clock, Brown heard the familiar voice yell, “middle.” He repeated the same thing — but this time aimed up the middle.

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This was just one round of Sluggball that Brown participated in as four teams competed against one another ahead of the sport’s debut on May 10 in Trenton.

“Being able to be out here with my buddies and grab some drinks and some food and media here, it’s unbelievable,” Brown said. “All of us still love baseball, but there’s just not a game around that we can play like this other than Topgolf, and I’m getting tired of that. So it’s great to have a baseball game where we can work on getting in some fundamentals and have some fun with our friends.”

Sluggball is a new team baseball game designed for former players to partake in competitive four vs. four hitting. Each team, consisting of five to eight players, brings its own pitcher as teams compete in four rounds of situational hitting with timed at-bats.

Each round has a different goal, focused on hitting the ball to different areas of the field. This includes pull side, up the middle, opposite field, and around the horn. Former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is one of several cofounders.

“Sluggball basically is something we developed because we thought it was important for people, not just people who want to hit home runs, but for people to have something to do with baseball after they play competitive baseball,” Amaro said. “Along the same lines as Topgolf and things like that, we felt like there was an avenue or a place for these players to play.”

Jeff Riccardo, 53, joined Brown at Monday’s event. Though his team lost, the Downingtown native, who coaches at Bishop Shanahan, still had a fun experience.

» READ MORE: Former Phillies phenom and flame-out Domonic Brown has found himself, finally | Mike Sielski

“I loved it,” Riccardo said. “The thing that deteriorates most is your legs when you get older. So when you don’t have to run and you can hit, it’s great.”

But one main question surrounds Sluggball: Can the average person who has never swung a bat before play the game?

“Yeah, absolutely,” Riccardo said. “I mean on our team, we had two guys from the media that played with us, and the guy hadn’t picked the bat up in 35 years and he scored a couple points. That being said, anybody can come out and play.”

But if you struggle with hand-eye coordination, this may not be the game for you. Even a former major leaguer like Brown, 37, admitted that the game wasn’t easy.

“I think [the average person] have no idea on what to expect because that was pretty challenging for me,” Brown said. “Especially being a power guy to make sure that I’m hitting balls at certain targets and all that stuff.”

Despite the challenges for people new to the sport, Sluggball serves as an outlet for former ballplayers to continue their passion. It is meant to appeal to people who love the sport, people like Amaro.

“I love baseball. I always have,” Amaro said. “It’s been a part of my life. I think that there’s people who have grown to love baseball over the years who have not had a chance to play it after they play high school ball or Little League or whatever the case may be — in college and even professionally.

“I think that once you’re out of the game, you don’t really get a chance to play the game. No one’s going to get together and grab nine players or 18 players and go play baseball — but you can play Sluggball because it’s set up such that you don’t have to worry about all the rest of the parts, just worry about hitting.”

Sluggball will tour four minor league stadiums this season: Trenton Thunder Ballpark, Huntington Park (Columbus, Ohio), Eastwood Field (Niles, Ohio), SIUH Community Park (Staten Island, N.Y.), and Crushers Stadium (Avon, Ohio). You can register to compete — or attend as a fan — on the Sluggball website.