Who Made Last Out?

How many times has that question been asked in the last 200 years?  Now we know the answer: the person with a Joker card on the table in front of them.

Technically, Kardball does not use the Jokers in a deck of standard playing cards. However, the use of a Joker to identify which batter retired his side from offense was suggested by John, during a memorable June game in Montello, WI. For some reason, there was only one Joker floating around that night.  (Mustangs vs. Unicorns, 4-4 tie.)

Fast forward to July, and Jennifer makes the brilliant observation that there are two Jokers in the deck, and eureka: two teams in Kardball.

We have made it our house rule to park the Joker in front of the batter making the third out.