The 74-year-old Heald, a retired bat designer for Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., said manufacturers donate much of the equipment. Contributions from benefactors help purchase additional gear.

One of the largest Batter's Up programs is starting this summer in Dallas, where more than 2,000 kids at a Boys and Girls Club will participate.

Batter's Up might be as close as anyone gets to reviving the old-fashioned sandlot game.

Michigan State's Gould laments the demise of pickup baseball games. The 56-year-old spent much of his youth on the sandlots of upstate New York, and he said kids learned more than baseball when they played among themselves.

They could make their own rules, like closing right field when there weren't enough players. Anyone who hit to right would be out.

They could learn negotiation skills. Was it a ball or strike? Was he safe or out? Was it fair or foul?

They learned organization skills, such as how to pick teams equitably or how to reconfigure the team......