A little carry over from the Bugs & Cranks days, the Indoor Four Contest is about to embark upon us once again.

Take it Rafiki…

To the uninitiated, the Indoor Four is the most unique (and dare I say fun) baseball contest on the interwebs, and here’s how it works.

Each month you pick one eligible player with the idea that said player will make the Splendid Sprint (otherwise known as an inside-the-park home run).

Fret not if they don’t, because you accumulate points for triples, which translates to choosing players who possess not only speed but some pop as well (see scoring system below). Whichever contestant ends the regular season with the most points gets a $100 Best Buy gift card.

Minnesota’s Jake Wanek took it down last season behind the strength of one particularly fantastic month from Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario.

Anyone can do it at any time. Especially if your player could potentially hit the ball to Yoenis Cespedes. Seriously though, we’ve awarded prizes thanks to Indoor Fours made by Kevin Youkilis and Joe Mauer. In a literal sense, any player can make it happen. So go traditional or get creative, but pick someone!

On to the obligatory rules:

Spitter staff members are ineligible.

Each contestant is limited to one selection per month.

Selected players are eligible for that day’s games if they were selected before the first game of said day. If picked after games have begun, they will be eligible the following day.

If your nomination is injured during the month, you can choose a replacement, but must stick with that replacement player for the duration of said month even if your original choice returns from the disabled list. Should your replacement player go on the DL, you can again pick a replacement.

Only officially scored inside-the-park home runs are accepted, no creative scoring where a bunt and sniper-like throws lead to a trek around the bases.

How the scoring works:

First contestant with an Indoor Four for the month: 5 points

Inside-the-park home run: 4 points

Triples: 1 point

Monthly points leader: 1 point

Greg Gagne Special (two Indoor Fours in one game): 10 points

Ichiro Special (All-Star Game Indoor Four): 5.1 points

Send your selections to indoorfour@yahoo.com

(Please include whatever username you’d like to utilize for the leaderboard, which will be posted here)

A $100 shopping spree on The Spitter’s dime hangs in the balance, so as Harry Caray once said, “Let me hear ya!”

Make your choice, good luck and thanks for playing!

LEADERBOARD FOR APRIL

PLAYER (Triples for April) [Overall points for April]

Mookie Betts BOS (2) [2]

Jackie Bradley, Jr. BOS (2) [2]

Dee Gordon MIA (2) [2]

Charlie Blackmon COL (1) [1]

Byron Buxton MIN (1) [1]

Coco Crisp OAK (1) [1] 

Adam Eaton CWS (1) [1]

Randal Grichuk STL (1) [1]

Kevin Pillar TOR (1) [1]

Gregory Polanco PIT (1) [1]

Carlos Correa HOU (0) [0]

Delino DeShields, Jr. TEX (0) [0]

Billy Hamilton CIN (0) [0]

Kevin Kiermaier TB (0) [0]

Roughned Odor TEX (0) [0]