World Series Of Beep Baseball Continues In Minnesota

“Are you blind?” That’s a favorite term hurled from the stands at umpires, but it would take on a completely different meaning in Rochester, Minnesota this weekend, where the World Series of Beep Baseball is taking place - that’s a variant of baseball, played by the blind and partially-sighted. I don’t know about you, but when I heard that, my first thought was, “Wait... What?” Here’s how it works.

The baseball contains a buzzer, allowing its flight to be tracked by both sides. The batter, pitcher and catcher are all on the same team, and the pitcher calls, “Ready... Pitch,” to let the batter know when the ball is coming - obviously, timing and consistency of pitch location is vital. If contact is made and it’s a fair ball, the batter has to reach one of two bases (which also make noise), before one of the six fielders grabs the ball. If they do, a run is scored.

That’s the basics, but the more I read about the game, the more intriguing it sounds. For instance, each team has one or two sighted spotters in the outfield, to guide the fielders - however, they can only call out one number, to get them going in the approximate direction. After that it’s all up to the fielders. And to allow blind and partially-sighted players to compete on level terms, blindfolds are worn by all players.

The World Series has taken place annually since 1976, with the West Coast Dawgs winning both in 2008 and 2009 - they’re actually from all over the country and can only practice together for a few days a year. However, they are facing a tough challenge this year, with the Taiwan Homerun coming in to town. Through Wednesday lunchtime, they were 5-0, while the Dawgs were 4-1, having lost to the Kansas All-Stars by a single run. Play continues in Rochester through the weekend.