Thursday, August 04, 2005
Crash inspires area ballplayers
ROBERT CYR , Register Citizen Staff
NEW HARTFORD -- A group of youngsters in New Hartford is turning its summer fun into a charitable venture after learning of the recent death of a fellow resident.
Every Tuesday and Saturday for the past three weeks, 15-year-old John Summas has organized and played in an eight-team Wiffle Ball tournament at his parentÕs house at 62 Arrowhead Drive.
The SummasÕ front yard was a veritable arena of sportsmanship, fun and camaraderie, as over 40 kids ages 12 to 17 from surrounding neighborhoods played in the tournament, chatted with friends, or watched the games. The idea behind the event at the beginning of the summer was to raise money for a childrenÕs charity, event organizer John Summas said.
Recent events, however, hit close to home for the New Hartford ball players, who immediately wanted to help the family of fellow resident John Stotler, who was killed in the Friday accident on Route 44 in Avon.
"After we heard about the Avon accident, and the man who died - Stotler -- we knew that was where we wanted our money to go," John Summas said.
"When each player gets here for the day, the idea is to put in your dollar," Marie Summas, John SummasÕ mother, said. "They try to be very consistent about it, and they have been."
Marie Summas gestured to a New York Yankees garbage can, filled about a third of the way with crumpled dollar bills. They expect to give about $250 to the Stotler family, Marie Summas said.
Working as a pre-school teacher at the Batcheller School, Winsted, gives her the opportunity to help her son this summer, Marie Summas said. She was glad that so many kids could join together to find a constructive outlet for their energies.
"ThereÕs not a lot of places for these kids to go, especially in the summer, when their parents are working all day," she said. "IÕm so glad I can be here, to put out some lemonade, and make sure they keep themselves out of trouble."
The Wiffle Ball players are no business slouches, Marie Summas said, and have persuaded her to contribute a dollar to the till every time someone hits one "out of the park," Marie Summas said.
"ThereÕs kids on teams from towns all around like Colebrook, Torrington, and Norfolk," Marie Summas said. "Their parents chip in, too, and IÕve just started fining kids a dollar for throwing the bat after they swing."
The set-up of the tournament features smaller teams, and fewer innings and rules, John Summas said. He said that although they are constantly stream-lining their play to make it more efficient, the basics are this: eight teams, three to a team; each team plays 18 times, or twice each day of play; three strikes is an out, but six balls let you walk.
"We basically set up the field like a small baseball park," John Summas said. "ItÕs the same dimensions as Fenway, scaled down."
Although the fun may be over in late August, when the remaining teams battle it out in a mini-World Series, the funds collected from the summerÕs fun will keep giving, John Summas said.
Robert Cyr can be reached by e-mail at litchfield@registercitizen.com.&nbs ¶ 11:10 PM
NEW HARTFORD -- A group of youngsters in New Hartford is turning its summer fun into a charitable venture after learning of the recent death of a fellow resident.
Every Tuesday and Saturday for the past three weeks, 15-year-old John Summas has organized and played in an eight-team Wiffle Ball tournament at his parentÕs house at 62 Arrowhead Drive.
The SummasÕ front yard was a veritable arena of sportsmanship, fun and camaraderie, as over 40 kids ages 12 to 17 from surrounding neighborhoods played in the tournament, chatted with friends, or watched the games. The idea behind the event at the beginning of the summer was to raise money for a childrenÕs charity, event organizer John Summas said.
Recent events, however, hit close to home for the New Hartford ball players, who immediately wanted to help the family of fellow resident John Stotler, who was killed in the Friday accident on Route 44 in Avon.
"After we heard about the Avon accident, and the man who died - Stotler -- we knew that was where we wanted our money to go," John Summas said.
"When each player gets here for the day, the idea is to put in your dollar," Marie Summas, John SummasÕ mother, said. "They try to be very consistent about it, and they have been."
Marie Summas gestured to a New York Yankees garbage can, filled about a third of the way with crumpled dollar bills. They expect to give about $250 to the Stotler family, Marie Summas said.
Working as a pre-school teacher at the Batcheller School, Winsted, gives her the opportunity to help her son this summer, Marie Summas said. She was glad that so many kids could join together to find a constructive outlet for their energies.
"ThereÕs not a lot of places for these kids to go, especially in the summer, when their parents are working all day," she said. "IÕm so glad I can be here, to put out some lemonade, and make sure they keep themselves out of trouble."
The Wiffle Ball players are no business slouches, Marie Summas said, and have persuaded her to contribute a dollar to the till every time someone hits one "out of the park," Marie Summas said.
"ThereÕs kids on teams from towns all around like Colebrook, Torrington, and Norfolk," Marie Summas said. "Their parents chip in, too, and IÕve just started fining kids a dollar for throwing the bat after they swing."
The set-up of the tournament features smaller teams, and fewer innings and rules, John Summas said. He said that although they are constantly stream-lining their play to make it more efficient, the basics are this: eight teams, three to a team; each team plays 18 times, or twice each day of play; three strikes is an out, but six balls let you walk.
"We basically set up the field like a small baseball park," John Summas said. "ItÕs the same dimensions as Fenway, scaled down."
Although the fun may be over in late August, when the remaining teams battle it out in a mini-World Series, the funds collected from the summerÕs fun will keep giving, John Summas said.
Robert Cyr can be reached by e-mail at litchfield@registercitizen.com.&nbs ¶ 11:10 PM
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
WIFFLE ball: More fun, less rules
By LYFORD M. MOORE
Peering in at home plate, the pitcher begins his windup and throws. The batter swings - and misses.
Strike one.
On the pitcher's second offering, the batter swings and, thump, sends the ball over the center-field fence.
Thump?
But of course.
As most anyone born after World War II knows, that's the sound a WIFFLE ball makes when smacked by one of those long, plastic WIFFLE ball bats. What many people don't know is how popular the sport has become - among people of all ages.
Today, more than a half-century after its invention, entire leagues have been established and nearly 150,000 references to WIFFLE ball can be found on the Internet using Google as a search engine.
Nationally, there are hundreds and hundreds of leagues and thousands of teams.
ADVERTISEMENT - CLICK TO ENLARGE OR VISIT WEBSITE
Advertise with us!
Among the many leagues with colorful names: Beat the Heat in Las Vegas, the Dirty South Alleycats in Troy, N.Y., and the Sons of Dad in Springfield, Mass.
So popular has WIFFLE ball become that dozens of teams now compete for prestige and prize money each year in a national tournament. This year's tourney, in Cedar Park, Texas, will feature $6,000 in prize money. The expected purse next year is $30,000.
Why all the interest?
"Everybody has a nostalgic relationship with WIFFLE ball - it's the game of their youth," said Bruce Chrystie, a writer for FastPlastic Magazine, a publication devoted exclusively to WIFFLE ball. A chance to relax
"It gives you a chance to relax and enjoy the summer more," said 21-year-old Brian Yeager of Marlton, who's been swatting those perforated plastic balls for the past five years with a group of about a dozen other former Cherokee High School classmates.
Three or four times a week, Yeager and his friends will gather at a field between some spiffy, two-story homes in Marlton and choose up sides. Unlike many WIFFLE ball fanatics, his group doesn't belong to a league, instead preferring the informality of individual play.
While the group doesn't belong to a league, it does have a Web site (fivefour.pssshh.com/wiffle_ball).
Sometimes the teams will consist of five players apiece, the maximum permitted under official WIFFLE ball rules. Other times it's three or four.
It's permissible for a "team" to consist of just one player.
To the best of anyone's knowledge, not one of the Marlton players is married. Or, as Yeager's teammate and friend, Patrick Blake, quips, "No balls or chains yet."
Whenever possible, the guys will play two games, and they'll do so on a field they constructed.
The field features lattice fencing, an 8-foot "Green Monster" fence 75 feet down the left-field foul line and a yellow board behind home plate that, when hit by a pitched ball, indicates a strike. Behind the left-field fence is a mass of trees, weeds and other vegetation that is filled with abandoned WIFFLE balls that, in happier days, went for home runs.
"There must be at least 40 of them back there," laughs Jay Stephens, 21, also of Marlton, after thumping a two-run homer and crossing home plate with his arms raised high. "And they probably squeak, too, because of all the rain."
"Yeah, and there's poison ivy back there, too," shouts left fielder Kevin Magnin as he watches his friend's antics. "Of course, nobody really knows what it looks like."
As he talks, one cell phone among many rings on a small wooden bench along the right-field line. After going unanswered, it stops ringing. Next to the bench are a couple of coolers filled with water and Gatorade - no beer.
The temperature hovers in the upper 90s. Keep playing
"We all look forward to playing while we're in school," said Stephens, who'll be entering his senior year at La Salle this fall. "We stay in touch online and talk about coming back home and playing over the summer. It gives us stuff to do and keeps us out of trouble."
Their parents certainly don't object, either.
At the outset of each "season," a father throws out the first pitch - after a tape machine delivers the last strains of the national anthem.
Though WIFFLE ball is similar to baseball in many respects, it's also different in many respects. There's no umpires or catchers and you don't get a base for being hit by a ball.
"We run the bases like they do in baseball because it's more of a workout and that's how we played baseball," said Mike Sandora, 21, of Marlton, who'll be a senior this fall at the University of Maryland. "We like running around, we like running down to first and sliding into third, stuff like that."
He's been playing WIFFLE ball for three years.
Stephens said he and his friends never tire of WIFFLE ball, noting that darkness is the only reason a game will be called before its conclusion. Each contest lasts nine innings, or as many innings after that to proclaim a winner.
Most games are close and take about an hour to complete, and it's very rare when one team trounces the other.
"It all depends on the pitching," Stephens said. "Sometimes the pitchers will really do a lot, other times, to be honest with you, we'll just hit the crap out of them."
Reach Lyford M. Moore at (856) 486-2424 or lmoore@courierpostonline.com WIFFLE BALL
# Who can play it: Anyone old enough to walk
# Invented: Early 1950s
# Chief advantage: Can be played in congested areas with no risk to property or people
# Recommended playing field: 20 feet wide, 60 feet long
# Minimum number of players per team: One
# Maximum number of players per team: 10
# Pitching speed: Some pitchers have been known to throw balls 80 mph
# More information: Call (203) 924-4643 or visit wiffleball.com, wiffleballusa.com or fivefour.pssshh.com/wiffle_ball THE HISTORY
# WIFFLE ball was invented in the early 1950s in Shelton, Conn., by David N. Mullany, after Mullany saw his 12-year-old son imitating baseball with a plastic perforated golf ball and a broom handle.
After his son complained of arm fatigue from trying to throw the ball, Mullany designed a softball-sized ball with eight oblong holes. Because it was easier to curve than a baseball and resulted in a lot of strikeouts, or "whiffs," children in the neighborhood began calling it a WIFFLE ball.
A year later, in 1953, the first WIFFLE balls were being sold.
- Lyford M. Moore&nbs ¶ 5:03 PM
Peering in at home plate, the pitcher begins his windup and throws. The batter swings - and misses.
Strike one.
On the pitcher's second offering, the batter swings and, thump, sends the ball over the center-field fence.
Thump?
But of course.
As most anyone born after World War II knows, that's the sound a WIFFLE ball makes when smacked by one of those long, plastic WIFFLE ball bats. What many people don't know is how popular the sport has become - among people of all ages.
Today, more than a half-century after its invention, entire leagues have been established and nearly 150,000 references to WIFFLE ball can be found on the Internet using Google as a search engine.
Nationally, there are hundreds and hundreds of leagues and thousands of teams.
ADVERTISEMENT - CLICK TO ENLARGE OR VISIT WEBSITE
Advertise with us!
Among the many leagues with colorful names: Beat the Heat in Las Vegas, the Dirty South Alleycats in Troy, N.Y., and the Sons of Dad in Springfield, Mass.
So popular has WIFFLE ball become that dozens of teams now compete for prestige and prize money each year in a national tournament. This year's tourney, in Cedar Park, Texas, will feature $6,000 in prize money. The expected purse next year is $30,000.
Why all the interest?
"Everybody has a nostalgic relationship with WIFFLE ball - it's the game of their youth," said Bruce Chrystie, a writer for FastPlastic Magazine, a publication devoted exclusively to WIFFLE ball. A chance to relax
"It gives you a chance to relax and enjoy the summer more," said 21-year-old Brian Yeager of Marlton, who's been swatting those perforated plastic balls for the past five years with a group of about a dozen other former Cherokee High School classmates.
Three or four times a week, Yeager and his friends will gather at a field between some spiffy, two-story homes in Marlton and choose up sides. Unlike many WIFFLE ball fanatics, his group doesn't belong to a league, instead preferring the informality of individual play.
While the group doesn't belong to a league, it does have a Web site (fivefour.pssshh.com/wiffle_ball).
Sometimes the teams will consist of five players apiece, the maximum permitted under official WIFFLE ball rules. Other times it's three or four.
It's permissible for a "team" to consist of just one player.
To the best of anyone's knowledge, not one of the Marlton players is married. Or, as Yeager's teammate and friend, Patrick Blake, quips, "No balls or chains yet."
Whenever possible, the guys will play two games, and they'll do so on a field they constructed.
The field features lattice fencing, an 8-foot "Green Monster" fence 75 feet down the left-field foul line and a yellow board behind home plate that, when hit by a pitched ball, indicates a strike. Behind the left-field fence is a mass of trees, weeds and other vegetation that is filled with abandoned WIFFLE balls that, in happier days, went for home runs.
"There must be at least 40 of them back there," laughs Jay Stephens, 21, also of Marlton, after thumping a two-run homer and crossing home plate with his arms raised high. "And they probably squeak, too, because of all the rain."
"Yeah, and there's poison ivy back there, too," shouts left fielder Kevin Magnin as he watches his friend's antics. "Of course, nobody really knows what it looks like."
As he talks, one cell phone among many rings on a small wooden bench along the right-field line. After going unanswered, it stops ringing. Next to the bench are a couple of coolers filled with water and Gatorade - no beer.
The temperature hovers in the upper 90s. Keep playing
"We all look forward to playing while we're in school," said Stephens, who'll be entering his senior year at La Salle this fall. "We stay in touch online and talk about coming back home and playing over the summer. It gives us stuff to do and keeps us out of trouble."
Their parents certainly don't object, either.
At the outset of each "season," a father throws out the first pitch - after a tape machine delivers the last strains of the national anthem.
Though WIFFLE ball is similar to baseball in many respects, it's also different in many respects. There's no umpires or catchers and you don't get a base for being hit by a ball.
"We run the bases like they do in baseball because it's more of a workout and that's how we played baseball," said Mike Sandora, 21, of Marlton, who'll be a senior this fall at the University of Maryland. "We like running around, we like running down to first and sliding into third, stuff like that."
He's been playing WIFFLE ball for three years.
Stephens said he and his friends never tire of WIFFLE ball, noting that darkness is the only reason a game will be called before its conclusion. Each contest lasts nine innings, or as many innings after that to proclaim a winner.
Most games are close and take about an hour to complete, and it's very rare when one team trounces the other.
"It all depends on the pitching," Stephens said. "Sometimes the pitchers will really do a lot, other times, to be honest with you, we'll just hit the crap out of them."
Reach Lyford M. Moore at (856) 486-2424 or lmoore@courierpostonline.com WIFFLE BALL
# Who can play it: Anyone old enough to walk
# Invented: Early 1950s
# Chief advantage: Can be played in congested areas with no risk to property or people
# Recommended playing field: 20 feet wide, 60 feet long
# Minimum number of players per team: One
# Maximum number of players per team: 10
# Pitching speed: Some pitchers have been known to throw balls 80 mph
# More information: Call (203) 924-4643 or visit wiffleball.com, wiffleballusa.com or fivefour.pssshh.com/wiffle_ball THE HISTORY
# WIFFLE ball was invented in the early 1950s in Shelton, Conn., by David N. Mullany, after Mullany saw his 12-year-old son imitating baseball with a plastic perforated golf ball and a broom handle.
After his son complained of arm fatigue from trying to throw the ball, Mullany designed a softball-sized ball with eight oblong holes. Because it was easier to curve than a baseball and resulted in a lot of strikeouts, or "whiffs," children in the neighborhood began calling it a WIFFLE ball.
A year later, in 1953, the first WIFFLE balls were being sold.
- Lyford M. Moore&nbs ¶ 5:03 PM
