Article 3: All Players in a team’s line-up shall be visually impaired.
May 26, 2016 9:59 AM   Subscribe

In Beep Baseball (length 4:48), there are two bases, the pitcher is with the hitting team, batters are allowed 4 strikes, and the ball beeps. Oh, and all of the hitters are visually impaired.

Beep Baseball is a relatively new take on baseball that is playable by people with blindness or low vision. Players use the beeps of the ball and the buzzing of the bases to know where to move. The history of Beep Baseball is a brief one that includes the 1964 invention of the first beeping baseball by Telecom Pioneer Charles Fairbanks. John Ross, Director of the Braille Sports Foundation, used an improved version of Ross's invention to formalized the first ruleset in 1975. Since then, the sport has grown immensely. Currently, over 30 teams are registered with the NBBA.

The National Beep Baseball Association World Series will be held from July 24 through July 31, 2016 in Ames, Iowa, USA, home of the Iowa Reapers.

Watch More:
E:60 Beep Ball (length 9:50), ESPN, 2013.
Read More:
2015 NBBA World Series Champions: Austin Blackhawks. The Championship title has been hotly contested in recent years among the Austin Blackhawks, the Homerun team from Taiwan, and the West Coast Dawgs.

Results of previous NBBA World Series.

Beep, Beep! Baseball Coming Through. John Christie, 2012, Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind.

Crowd Quiet for Beep Ball. Steve Moore, 1990, NewsOK.
posted by nicodine (2 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Nice post!

We watched the medal finals in 5-a-side (aka blind soccer/football - blindfolds are worn so that players with different visual impairment classifications - B1, B2, or B3 - all compete in the sane event) at the Parapan games in Toronto last year. There were penalty kicks that would blow your mind. And it was a highly physical game - players have more leeway on physical contact during play as collisions are just part of it, and you can bet as highly competitive athletes they push the hell out of tgat envelope.

It was also an amazing contrast in noise - the gold medal final was between Brazil and Argentina, and with all the crowd support rowdiness you'd associate with a matchup like that. Except during play - some constrained "umph" grunts and groans in the crowd during play, and racous cheering on a goal or missed goal, but the crowd generally respected the STFU rule so the players could hear the ball (it's a jingle-equipped ball).

Looking forward to digging through the links.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:38 PM on May 26, 2016 [2 favorites]


Previously on beep baseball. I'm glad to have more to read about the sport, thanks!
posted by asperity at 6:48 PM on May 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


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