Baseball (card Game) - The Deck

The Deck

The deck consists of 36 cards representing a variety of base hits, (mostly singles, but only one home run), balks, stolen bases, a hit-by-pitcher, balls, strikes, and a variety of outs.

A typical deck from the late 1950s or early 1960s consists of:

• 10 balls
• 10 strikes
• 2 foul balls
• 2 fly outs
• 1 foul out
• 2 singles
• 2 doubles
• 1 triple
• 1 home run
• 1 balk
• 1 stolen base
• 1 hit-by-pitcher

Earlier decks omitted the balk, stolen base, and hit-by-pitcher, in favor of an additional ball, an additional double play, and an additional single.

In some editions from the 1960s, strikes and outs are color-coded orange, balls green, and all cards that advance a runner, blue, while in late-1950s editions, strikes and outs are green, balls blue, and cards advancing a runner, red. The cards are illustrated with line drawings of the action represented by the card; in the 1960s, a New York Mets edition included Mr. Met as the principle figure in the illustrations, and a Mets logo as the back design.