Goodwill match...or, "Hey, what are the rules again?"

This past weekend I played my first "Goodwill" match with the Perfectos.  Each season begins and ends with a Goodwill match -- basically a scrimmage in which no score is kept.  The point is to knock a little rust off and give greenhorns like me, a first taste of the game.

We traveled across the mighty Mississippi into Belleville, Illinois, where about 40 "ballists" representing at least six different clubs gathered together to toss the ball around and, in honor of Saint Paddy's day, imbibe a little Jameson whiskey.  I'm not familiar yet with all of the teams in the surrounding area, but I do know the following teams had ballists present: St. Louis Perfectos, St. Louis Unions, St. Louis Brown Stockings, Lafayette Square Cyclones, Belleville Stags, and Murphysboro Clarkes.  There was also quite a large contingent of fans, or "cranks" as they're known, despite temperatures hovering in the low-40's.

The vintage game, while no doubt a cousin of the game we all grew up playing, is also starkly different.  It's much more offensive minded and designed to have high scores.  The hurler, despite standing closer to home plate by 15 feet, also is not allowed to throw the ball overhand.  Then there's the issue of not using gloves.  Not to catch grounders, line drives, fly balls -- nor to catch throws to the bases.  So figuring out how to knock the ball down, and then to determine how hard to throw it to your teammate and when to skip it off the ground so that he can handle it easier, are all things to take into consideration.

The advantages to the defense are that picking the ball up on the first hop is still an out, runners are not allowed to overrun any bag (not even first base), and runners have to get back to their bag on foul balls before the ball is returned to the pitcher, or they can be called out by the arbiter.

The "one hop" rule can be challenging as even drives into the power alleys can become outs with speedy outfielders (known as "scouts").

All in all, it was a lot of fun and I can't wait for our first real match in two weeks.  Just enough time for these bruises to heal...did I mention the "no gloves" part?

Dixie