Give and Take

In the early days of TGQ, I’d volunteer with Cardinal Glennon a few times a year. Once the pandemic hit, those opportunities went away and when they returned, I didn’t have it in me to go help. Today I gave a few hours to the National BEEP Baseball Association and I received much more in return for the hours I gave.

This year’s program for BEEP Baseball World Series.

I was invited to volunteer by fellow gym member, Andy. Our conversation began one day when I noticed his MindsEye t-shirt. MindsEye is a great organization in Belleville, Illinois that builds a more inclusive community by translating vision into audio for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. My mom was legally blind from macular degeneration and MindsEye had great resource for her. I continue to support them financially today, but that day in the gym I learned about their participation in adaptive athletic programs. This year the NBBA World Series is held in St Charles, MO and they needed some volunteers. I’ll admit I went into this blind (pun intended). I had an idea of how the game was played from our first conversation and didn’t have time to research. I was blown away watching these athletes “play ball” today.

READY . . . SET . . . PITCH!

In many ways the game is the same, but slightly modified for blind and low vision players. For example, the ball beeps, hence the name, and the bases buzz, only six innings are played and four strikes are allowed before the batter is called out. Sighted players assist the players and verbal cues are used. There’s no talking or cheering when a batter is at the plate. They rely on their hearing to play this game. The batter has assistance coming up to the plate, the ump calls for each of the two bases to buzz and the batter will point or nod in the direction of the base to indicate they know where to run to if they get a hit. “READY . . . SET . . . PITCH” is heard next as the first ball is pitched to them. It’s a member of their team who pitches to them. They closely watch during their warm-up swings in order to know where to throw the ball. The goal isn’t a strike, the goal is a hit! If the batter swings and misses, the pitcher tells them how to adjust. Once contact is made, the player in the field nearest to where the ball was hit will hear their name called, direction ball is going, and they dive. Play stops when the player has full control of the ball, holding it up in the air. Below a couple pictures of an at bat.

Above left, a batter is getting his bearings at the plate and above right, the batter has swung at her pitch.

I was so impressed by their “all in” mentality. Just like any major league player, they get their stance, they dive hard for a play, but often they trip or fall and they just quickly adjust, listen for calls of which way to turn, how many steps up or back to take (if a batter hits deep or shallow). I tend to be frustrated if I make a mistake, not these guys, they adjust and keep playing. Good lesson for me and maybe many of us.

The volunteers who were keeping score and handling the BEEP balls at my field have been doing this since the late 80’s. I can see why they keep coming back. Baseball is America’s past time and here it is adapted in a way the blind and low vision people can participate. I loved seeing the grit of a player, digging in for his at bat, the joy at the crack of the bat and watching them run for the base. These teams all worked hard to get here and they were playing hard to move forward in the tournament. Below are a couple photos of the team telling each other “good game”.

The top photo has the Bandit’s pitcher turning in some information to the scorekeeper as the teams approach each other and bottom photo has the logo for NBBA with the team shaking hands after the six inning game.

One difference from a conventional game is the teams coming together after saying “good game” and forming a circle. They started holding hands, then linking arms, then coming in tight and concluding with a prayer. Now that’s good sportsmanship!

The teams have assistance in forming their circle and linking arms (top photo). Next they tighten their circle and cheer (middle photo). Finally, they pray. I couldn’t hear the prayer, but the AMEN was loud and clear! (bottom photo).

What I saw with these players and those who assisted them was passion and drive. The players were dealt a tough hand, but they’re playing it so well. Playing a game they love by making some adjustments, asking for and accepting help and having fun. At some point we will all be dealt a tough hand, the key is in how we play our hand. The choice is yours, choose wisely.

This video will explain the game and beauty of it much better than I can, have a view:

https://youtu.be/6wFdxuJCB8k