Beep Baseball

Recently, I have created a presentation on beep baseball and I have learned a lot of interesting information about the game such as:

Background Information

Beep baseball is baseball for the blind.  It began in Colorado in 1964 when a man named Charley Fairbanks invented the very first version of the beep baseball using old telephone parts and a softball.  Today, beep baseball is governed by the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA).  There are 34 teams total under the NBBA: thirty-one teams from the United States, one team from Canada, one team from the Dominican Republic, and one team from Taiwan.

Equipment:

The game utilizes beep baseballs, beeping bases, and blindfolds as modifications.  The beep baseball is a 16-inch softball that contains an implanted electronic device that provides a beeping sound when the pin is pulled out to allow the batter or fielder to locate the ball.  The beeping bases are towers made of foam that include an implanted buzzer, which makes a different sound than the ball, and are covered with a reinforced vinyl tarp attached with a Velcro fastener.  The blindfolds are used so that no player has an advantage over another, since some players may have partial sight and others may have no sight at all.

Modified Rules:

      In a game of beep baseball, there is no second base, just first and third.  When a player hits the ball, the base operator is to choose which base to activate and the batter must then run and locate the base before the ball is fielded by the other team.  A run is scored if the batter reaches the base before the ball is fielded.
      For the fielding team, there are six defensive players allowed on the field at one time.  Each defender is assigned a playing zone (1-6).  Outs are earned by fielding the ball.  The ball must be in hand, away from the body, and off of the ground before the batter reaches the base to be considered an out.  A caught ball is worth three outs; however, less than half-a-dozen have been caught in the history of the sport.
     The only sighted individuals on the team are the pitcher and catcher on the batting team and the spotters on the fielding team.  The pitcher and catcher play for the batting team and are only allowed to say two words to aid the batter hitting the ball, "ready" and "pitch/ball."  The pitchers job is to place the ball so that the batter has the best chance of hitting the ball.  In the field, the two spotters are not allowed to aid the fielders in anyway except by saying one word once the ball is hit and that word is the zone that the ball is in.
      Lastly, all batters and fielders, minus the pitcher, catcher, and spotters, must wear blindfolds so that no players have an advantage over others.

In addition, I have had the pleasure of partaking in a game of beep baseball during a demo day for my disability sports class.  I can honestly say that the game is very enjoyable to play.  I think that it is wonderful that by making a few fairly simple modifications, individuals with visual impairments can now enjoy the sport of baseball.

References:

• "1976 Beep Baseball World Series Report."  1976 Beep Baseball World Series.  N.p., n.d., http://www.nbba.org./history/1976.html.
• "Beep Baseball in a Nutshell."  National Beep Baseball Association, 2016, www.nbba.org/nutshell.doc.
• "History of Beep Baseball and the NBBA."  The NBBA Hall of Fame-History.  N.p., n.d., http://www.nbba.org/halloffame/history/index.htm.
• "National Beep Baseball Association, Rules of the Game."  The National Beep Baseball Association-Rules.  N.p., n.d., http://www.nbba.org/rules/index/htm.