Oldie, But Goodie
No balls, strikes or gloves — plenty of bounce-outs, base-hits and sportsmanship.
Baseball, 1860, landed 158 years later at Kelly Automotive Park Saturday night.
“Totally different style of play ... A lot sure has changed in the game through the years,” Karns City baseball coach Josh “Sluggo” Smith.
Smith was one of 11 who suited up for the Butler Barons in the Vintage Base Ball Game. The Barons took on the Donora-based Allegheny Ironsides. The latter is an official entrant in the Vintage Base Ball Association (VBBA), which has 400 teams throughout the United States and Canada.
Theodore “Bucket” Pavlack is captain and manager of the Allegheny team.
“I played for a vintage team in Central Pa. in 2015 and wanted to start a team, around Pittsburgh,” Pavlack said. “We applied for membership in the VBBA and were accepted in 2016.”
Allegheny has played 14 games since May and will conclude its season in September. It plays in a 25-team tournament in Gettysburg each summer. It does not keep track of its won-loss record as there is no requirement to do so.
“The VBBA only requires that you play the game as accurately as possible, as baseball was played in 1860,” Pavlack said.
That includes the following:
No players wear gloves of any kind, as equipment did not become part of baseball until 1867.
Pitching is underhand, both feet behind a drawn white line 45 feet from the plate.
Balls and strikes do not exist. The pitcher delivers the ball in a spot to the batter's liking, encouraging solid contact.
A solid white line is drawn across the center of the batter's box and the plate. The batter's feet must straddle that line.
The baseball is slightly softer than a modern-day ball and is stitched differently.
If a batted ball lands anywhere in the field of play, it is a fair ball.
A batter is ruled out if his batted ball is caught on the first bounce, though runners may advance bases on such plays.
Head-first dives are permitted while running bases, sliding is not.
Runners may be tagged out if they run past any base, including first base.
One umpire is used and he stands to the left or right of the plate, behind the plate. If a close play results, players determine the out or safe call themselves.
Uniforms and caps from the 1860 era are worn by both teams. These are usually hand-made uniforms ordered through companies that provide them.
“You have to adjust the way you play the game,” said Mike Sikorski, a former Knoch and Slippery Rock University baseball standout who played for the Barons. “The ball compresses a bit when you hit it, so you really have to square up the contact.
“We're used to hitting line drives or deep flies. When one of us hit a line drive tonight, we're excited at first ... Then someone catches it on a bounce and it's an out. The key in this game is to swing down on the ball.”
It didn't take the Barons long to figure that out. They wound up with 29 runs on 41 hits, despite stranding 15 runners in a runaway 29-4 win.“We had a lot of athletes on this team and some sure-handed infielders,” Smith said. “That's the key in turning some of the hard-hit grounders into outs.”Butler BlueSox manager and former Butler baseball standout Cody Herald was one of those infielders. He stabbed numerous hard-hit balls at third base.“It does sting a little bit,” he admitted of fielding the ball bare-handed. “But you get used to it.“I would catch a hard-hit ball on a bounce and get ready to throw to first ... Then I'd realize the guy's already out.”The wooden bats —much thinner and the wood not as solid as today — are also from the 1860 era. Regardless, playing defense in a Vintage game can be painful.“We've had a player get his fingernail ripped off fieldingaball. Another guy ruptured tendons in a finger. Stuff does happen,” Pavlack said.Every player on both teams had a nickname as “everybody was given a nickname of some sort in that era,” Pavlack said.The Butler lineup featured Tyler “The Thrill” Friel, Randy “Rocket” Collins, Steve Tajma” Hall, Cody “Hit Man” Herald, Burt “Hacksaw” Hollobaugh, Brendan “Bugs” Malone, Nat “The Skat” McCullough, Matt “Big Mac” McCune, Mike “the Missile” Sikorski, Sluggo “Arrow” Smith and Jim “The Jet” Shearer.Tishy Hornsby, 15, of Butler sang the national anthem before the game and old-time songs between innings.Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Dean Weiland, threw out the ceremonial first pitch and recited the poem “Casey at the Bat” after the first inning.Bob Hollobaugh organized the Butler Barons roster for the game. Proceeds went to the Butler County Historical Society.“I love baseball history and this event brings to life a different time,” Hollobaugh said.There is talk of forming a Vintage team in Butler that would join the VBBA and play 12 games a year, six home and six away. There are only three or four Vintage teams in Western Pa.“The roster would fill up quickly,” Smith said.“I'd do this again in a heartbeat,” Herald said. “It's a different, challenging way to play the game.“Anyone who's played baseball should try this once. It's a blast.”
