WHAT IS BEEP BASEBALL?
Beep baseball is a form of baseball adapted for the visually impaired. The game is played with standard softball bats, a 16-inch circumference ball which emits an audible beep tone, and two bases (48-inch pylons) which emit an audible buzzing sound. A beep baseball team consists of six players, all of who are blindfolded to equalize each player's degree of visual impairment. In addition, each team may use two sighted spotters when playing defense and a sighted pitcher and catcher when batting.
A beep baseball game consists of six innings in which each team is allowed three outs. An "out" consists of four strikes or an occasion where a fair ball is struck by the batter, but the ball is fielded prior to the batter reaching base. A "run" is scored if the batter hits a fair ball and contacts a base prior to the ball being under the control of a fielder. A game is "won" by the team scoring the most runs during the course of the game.
The dimensions of a beepball field are established by the National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) and are standard throughout the country. First and third base are positioned 100 feet from home plate and 10 feet outside their respective foul line. The pitcher's mound is 21 feet 6 inches from the back point of home plate. On a regulation beepball field, which is all grass, arcs are chalked from foul line to foul line at distances of 40 feet and 180 feet. If a batted ball does not cross the 40-foot line, it is considered a foul ball. If a batted ball lands across the 180-foot line on a fly, it is automatically scored as a two-run home run.
Other important participants in beep baseball are the umpires. One or more field umpires watch the defensive players closely and make a verbal announcement of "CAUGHT" when a fielder gains full control of a batted ball. Control is achieved when the ball is held off the ground and away from the fielder's body. Base umpires watch runners closely and make a verbal announcement of "THERE" when any part of the batters body contacts the base. The home plate umpire makes the final determination whether a batter is safe or out.
HOW DO BLIND BATTERS HIT THE BALL?
Unlike standard baseball and softball, in beep baseball the pitcher and catcher are on the batter's team. Offensive success in beepball is predicated on the pitcher's ability to pitch the ball where the batter swings. The catcher assists the pitcher by presenting a good target with the catcher's mitt. A cadence is developed in which the catcher may say "set", the pitcher says "ready . . . pitch", and the batter swings. This cadence must be of a consistent rhythm, but with practice, the batter will consistently make contact with the ball.
HOW DO BLIND FIELDERS FIELD THE BALL?
When a ball is hit in beep baseball, a fielder
must gain control of the ball before the batter reaches the base. In order to
do this, the fielder listens to the beeping ball from the moment contact is
made. To assist the fielders with quickly locating the ball, sighted spotters
in the field may shout out a number from one to six. The spotter may say the
number only once, but that number will designate a player or a zone of the
field to which the ball has been hit. The player runs to where the ball is and
does everything he can to stop it, including diving on the ground to block the
ball with his body. Fielders must communicate with one another in order to
avoid collisions, but in general, good communication among players and spotters
results in the ball being fielded successfully.