Batter Blind?
Local Companies Don
Blindfolds for Minds Eye
Imagine stepping up to the plate; feel the wind on your skin, the smooth bat in your hand. The outfielders heckle you and the crowd cheers. Then you realize you cannot see the ball. You cannot see the bat, the pitcher, or the bases because you are blindfolded. This twist on traditional baseball, called Beepball, swept St. Louis this summer to support Minds Eye. Beepball is similar to traditional baseball; however, there are some key difference. The main one that spectators and players alike will notice is that all players except for the pitcher, catcher and two spotters for the defensive team, hit, field and run with a blindfold on. The pitcher and catcher are part of the offensive team and is their job to make sure that the blindfolded batters can hit the ball, which emits a beep from a built in speaker. Once the batter hits the ball, either first or third base, which are soft and four feet tall, begins to buzz and the batter must run to it. If the batter reaches the base before the outfielders pick up the ball, he or she is safe and makes a run. If the batter does not reach the base in time he or she is out.
The ULTIMATE St. Louis Beepball Championship will take place at GCS Stadium, home of the Gateway Grizzlies in Sauget, IL when the tournament champions take on the St. Louis Beepbirds, an established team of blind and visually impaired players, at 2:30 p.m. on August 25. Admission for the event is free and open to the public. Allsup Inc, Clarkson Eyecare, Edward Jones, the ROHO Group, CBiz Network Solutions, the Koetting Associates, Inc., the Belleville News Democrat, Travelmasters, Inc., and Eyewearhaus, Inc. are all sponsors of the event. |
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