The silence is the first thing I notice. All sideline chatter stops, leaving only the steady beeping of a ball thrown by a pitcher who gives a brief call to the blindfolded batter to swing. The crack of the bat follows, and the batter sprints toward a buzzing base 100 feet away. The quiet continues, except for a ‘spotter’ in the field shouting the zone where the ball flies. Despite this silence, the action is ongoing. Fielders, who cannot see either, dive across the grass to grab the ball as the hitter crashes into the padded base.
To a new spectator, it seems like controlled chaos. However, after watching my first Beep Baseball game at Aurora’s Stuart Sports Complex, it became clear. This adaptive sport is an exceptional mix of athleticism, trust, and communication. This explains why the DuPage Sports Commission joined with the Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the city of Aurora to host the 50th National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) World Series.
This five-day tournament began on Tuesday with over 500 visually-impaired athletes from across the U.S. competing. It concludes Saturday at 9 a.m. with the top two teams from 21 squads battling for the national championship.
Michael Finn, who lost 85% of his eyesight at age 3 due to a medical mistake, is one of these dedicated players. A Sacramento, California massage therapist and fitness trainer, Finn, 57, has been involved in Beep Baseball for three decades. Initially part of the successful West Coast Dawgs, he now plays for the Blackhawks from Texas, a team with nine world titles.
‘Everybody here has a good story,’ Finn says.
Teams like the Indy Thunder, with six national titles, and the St. Louis Gateway Archers, an emerging powerhouse, also aim for the championship. Players rely on an electronic beep inside the ball to hit and field it, and follow the buzz of the base to score. The pitcher and catcher play on the same team, and only first and third bases are used. Blindfolds level the playing field for all athletes.
‘You have to trust the sighted people,’ says Glen Capek, who created the documentary ‘Beep Baseball: The Unseen Sport.’ The game started in 1964 when engineer Charles Fairbanks added a beeping device to a softball for blind children. It evolved into a nonprofit organization with teams worldwide, including Chicago’s Comets, champions in 2003.
Hosting this year’s tournament in Aurora required collaboration. Igor Bakovic, director of the DuPage Sports Commission, highlights this partnership. It ensured facilities for more than 600 participants and hosted 100 games over the week. Bakovic and Brad Banks, sports sales manager, became fans of the sport after attending a previous tournament.
The competition is intense, yet the event is also a reunion. Players, families, and volunteers celebrate this life-changing sport annually. ‘The team means a lot to me,’ says Blackhawks player Faith Penn. Having lost most of her eyesight after a soccer accident, she loves the opportunity to travel and the freedom the game gives her.
Darnell Booker, an NBBA Hall of Famer, emphasizes the sport’s growth to 30 teams in 14 states, plus international teams. Success depends on year-round fundraising more than wins or losses to attend the World Series. This effort is ‘well worth it,’ says Gateway Archers fan Marge Sanders as she notes the incredible volunteer support.