Here is a concept, mix it up baseball. In this idea, we do mixed martial arts (MMA) style competition, but rather than seeing which martial art can defeat which, we see which type of baseball can defeat which. So we have baseball, softball, stickball, cricket, and probably more that I can't remember or have never even heard of before. So how would it all work?
How it would work: Obviously you set up the field like normal with 3 bases and a home plate. You have the standard configuration of a man guarding each base and a pitcher. What would need to be confirmed is how far apart each base is going to be in comparison to the other sports that are similar to baseball. I do not know for certain if stick balls bases are closer of farther apart, and things like cricket have different variations of itself. So a standard, with a happy medium between all the sports involved, will need to be developed.
Bat wise, the player gets to choose which bat they will want to hit the ball with. So they can choose a cricket bat, baseball bat of any make and model, a stick ball bat or even a classical bat from the history of these sports. This will cause the pitcher on the other team to change balls accordingly to suit the bat (for the sake of fairness). However, the pitcher may throw the ball in any way he/she pleases. So a pitcher can throw a curve ball, a fast ball, or even an underarm swing like in softball. Basically this is to counterbalance the batters choice on which bat they are allowed to use.
The number of players will also have to be decided. Some variations of these sports have more players than a typical baseball or softball team. Others may have fewer players. So another medium will be needed to decide which is best for the overall competition. My guess is that a regulation size team from softball or baseball should fit the bill however.
Why play like this?: Well it comes down to the why not scenario. MMA was an informal way of looking if a karate guy could defeat a sambo guy, a kick boxer, or a military martial artist. Here it is the same deal, but with respect to baseball. It's all about that "what if" this type of team, went up against that type of team. We could even have exhibition matches as a test with using the most similar of these sports to see who would win in a head to head battle using these modified rules. From there it is all about the fun of seeing which group would win against which in a fun and surprising ways as a player chooses a cricket bat, while the pitcher throws him off with a typical curve ball from baseball. It is this kind of what if that is fun and exciting to watch.
Conclusion: These kinds of what ifs are fun an exciting. It causes debate and fervor as the different teams go head to head and maybe even learn from each other. Sportsmanship from each team and traditions from each sport will intermingle and these unpredictable scenarios become exciting. Some may be asking, why, just why would you suggest this kind of idea? Well my answer to you is why not?
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