Beep Baseball World Series Comes to Ames! Photos By Bob Kelly

I had never heard of Beep Baseball, and chances are most of you reading this have not either, so here is a quick overview illustrated by photos as well.  It is a modified baseball game for the blind or vision impaired, and they use a large softball that "beeps" as it is thrown or goes into the outfield.  

The team that is at bat has their own team mates serving as pitcher and catcher, that ARE sighted, and have practiced with the team members. The ball is slowly pitched, beeping as it goes and the batter tries to hit it and run to the equivalent of first or third base.  The batter only runs to either first or third base, and does not run around the bases as in a conventional baseball game.  Batters go to either of the bases which are selected randomly just before the first pitch.  

The bases have a large foam pylon cylinder sitting on them which contains a speaker making a homing noise for the runner.  If the ball is hit, the runner goes in the direction of the homing signal, and if he or she gets there before the ball is grounded by an opposing team member, the runner is safe.  If the beeping ball which goes into the outfield is stopped by an opposing team member, they hold it up in the air for umpires to see, and if the do that before the runner gets to the pylon, then the runner is out.  A batter gets four strikes before being called out, and after three outs from a team, they change sides and start all over again.  There are also sighted assistants in the outfield to assist players in getting oriented when they take their places, and also to assist them in getting back off the field when they go to bat.

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In these photos the ball is being pitched so the batters may hit it, and many of them DO!  There is an excellent system of support and encouragement, and it is a  joy to watch these people having fun playing baseball in this way.

 Runners who hit the ball rush to the pylon that is making the loud noise and touch it as fast as they can.  Some dive for it and crash in a fun way as if they are tackling a football player, and there is much excitement as they do so!!  The team members have varying degrees of visual impairment from being totally to partially blind, so all team members wear eye coverings so everyone is playing on a level basis.

 The sighted team member (number 4) is assisting a player in getting situated prior to the first pitch, and helping him understand where his team mates are.  The beep baseball team members make all of this look amazingly easy!

 The high point for a team member on the field, is to hear the ball beeping as it comes towards them, and field it so it can be held up, and hopefully get the runner out!

 There is a large shaded tent for the service dogs that assist all of the team players when they are not playing baseball!  They are cared for by volunteers which feed and water them, move about with them for exercises, and the lucky ones get to splash in wading pools, which would feel good for any dog, or any person for that matter, on a day like those during the week of the tournament.

The World Series for Beep Baseball is being held in Ames from Monday, July 23 through Saturday July 28.  You can go see them for free at the intramural softball fields east of Jack Trice Stadium.  There are 17 teams participating in this world series, and each team is comprised of about 20 people that are team members, managers, and sighted assistants, making a total participation level of about 350 Beep Baseball participants.  There is one team here from Taiwan, and the others are from various cites across the United States.  The three web links below will give you more background information on this exciting and motivating way in which visually impaired persons can enjoy the thrills of baseball!

More  here,  here and here