National Beep Baseball Association
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The National Beep Baseball Association NBBA was organized in 1976 for visually impaired adults to play baseball. Each year the NBBA coordinates local, state, and regional tournaments, not least among them the Indy Invitational in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Bolingbrook Beep Ball Bash (one of the first tournaments to offer a cash award) outside Chicago, Illinois, and in some cases a round robin tournament in Columbus, Ohio, and, more recently, a round robin tournament in the Philadelphia area. In August of each year the NBBA sponsors a national and international invitational tournament. Interestingly enough, the 2007 World Series, as the August invitational is known, will be held, for the first time in memory, in a city which boasts no beep baseball team, namely, Rochester, Minnesota. More recently, the World Series has been held in Columbus, Ohio in 2004, Houston, Texas in 2005, and in Cleveland, Ohio in 2006. The World Series was even held in Taiwan in 2000.
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[edit] Basic Rules
[edit] Setup
Beep baseball is played on a grass field with 6 fielders (generally a first-baseman, third-baseman, shortstop, left fielder, right fielder, and center fielder, though two-four defensive sets are not unheard-of. and 1 or 2 "spotters" from one team, and the pitcher, catcher, and batter from the other team. Fielders and batter are blindfolded. There is also a D.H. and D.F. (designated fielder). They must also be legally blind in most cases. Catcher, pitcher, and spotters do not wear blindfolds and are usually sighted, although there have been a few who are partially blind. The ball beeps and is a modified, and oversized, softball. The bases are blue, nearly 5 feet tall, and have mostly foam interior with the electronics that cause it to buzz steadily when a switch is thrown. They are each placed 100 feet from homeplate and are in the equivalent positions to first and third bases in regular baseball.
[edit] How a run is accomplished
When the batter hits the ball, a base operator turns on one of the two bases (first or third) for the batter to run to. If she or he touches the base before one of the fielders can pick up the ball, his or her team scores a run. It takes 4 strikes for a batter to be out. If the ball goes beyond the two base lines or doesn't travel at least 40 feet, it is foul and counted as a strike unless it is the potential fourth strike, when the batter just swings again. If the ball ceases to beep and becomes a "dead ball" the strike count is reset and the batter swings again. A dead ball must not be touched. If it is, it is said to be back in play and the runner must be put out.
[edit] Spotting
The spotter or spotters call out a number to signify which part of the field a ball is travelling towards. Generally, the middle of the outfield is labeled 6, and either side, left and right, is numbered one to five in a mirroring pattern. The spotter must not say anything beyond the numbered region on the field, and two spotters cannot make a call on the same play. If either case occurs, the run scores. The fielders head towards that section and listen for where the ball is specifically, often diving to the ground to get it. When one picks up the ball before the batter reaches the base, she or he is out. The spotter must also watch to ensure that nobody collides.
[edit] Innings
Beep baseball generally has 6 innings. If one team is up by twelve or more runs, the other team has the opportunity to have short innings in which the losing team bats every inning and the winning team fields. This is known as the twelve-run rule, and when it occurs, one team is said to "twelve-run" another. If the other team makes up the difference, then the team that had been winning gets back all their missed at-bats.
There are no age or gender-based restrictions in permitting visually impaired individuals to play this innovative new sport. Also, people as old as age seventy and as young as twelve have played beep baseball.
[edit] Teams
Several teams currently playing are the Indianapolis (Indiana) Thunder, the Columbus (Ohio) Vipers, the Boston (Massachusetts) Renegades, the Cleveland (Ohio) Scrappers, the West Coast (California) Dawgs, the Bayou City Heat (Houston, Texas), the Taiwan Homerun, the Austin (Texas) Blackhawks, the Chicago (Illinois) Comets, the Pennsylvania Wolfpack, the Oklahoma City Bombers, the Kansas All-Stars, the Tyler (Texas) Tigers, the Long Island (New York) Bombers, the Stockton (California) Sting Rays, and the Colorado Storm.
[edit] External links
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