WATERTOWN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Boston Renegades are getting ready for the season, as they celebrate the team’s 25th anniversary.
The Association of Blind Citizens Boston Renegades dusted off the offseason cobwebs at Watertown’s Filippello Park on Saturday. They play beep baseball, also known as beep ball, which assistant coach Bryan Grillo said is an “adaptive version of baseball for the blind and visually impaired.”
“It’s a 16-inch softball we play with, which is fitted with components inside that makes the ball beep, which is where the name of our sport comes from,” said Grillo. “We’ve adapted the rules of the game so that it’s easier for us to play as blind individuals and visually impaired athletes.”
In addition to the ball, the organization of the players is a little different in beep ball from what you would see from the Boston Red Sox. The batter, catcher and pitcher are on the same team, hoping to run up the score.
“When we pitch to the batter, we use a cadence. We don’t use the beep of the ball. Basically, we say, ‘set, ready, pitch.’ The pitcher releases the ball and the player will swing based on that cadence,” said Grillo. “You’re trying to get them to hit the ball based on that rhythm that you’ve developed with the pitcher, catcher, and batter.”
The runners take off towards one of two bases, whichever is the one giving off a buzzing sound. The batter does not know which one will be buzzing and the ball must travel 40 feet to count as a hit.
As for defense, there are six players spaced out. Once a ball has been hit, a coach serves as an initial spotter and the players try to get the ball before the batter reaches a base.
“They will say a number, one through six, only the number. Based on tone, inflection, how we project our voice, that will convey information to the defensive players,” said Grillo. “From there, the coach's job is done. It’s up to the players to play the ball and they’ll communicate with each other to get the ball.”
In order to play in the National Beep Baseball Association, you have to be legally blind, but the players have “different levels of sight.” To even the playing field, all the players wear blind folds. Third baseman Drew Crook has been playing for years and said the Renegades are a tight unit on and off the field.
“The reason I have my career is equal parts because my wife was pushing me to do it and because I had the support of the Renegades to make that happen,” said Crook. “We have a lot of camaraderie. We support each other and I think that is very evident if you just see us in a group together when we’re not practicing.”
The Renegades will take the field at Woburn’s Joyce Middle School on June 21st for the first leg of the Beast of the East tournament.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.