For sports fans, spring is often associated with the beginning of both the NBA and NHL playoffs, the NFL draft, and most importantly the start of the MLB season. Baseball has always been known as America’s favorite pastime and has established itself as one of the top three most lucrative sports leagues in the world.

Almost everyone has heard of the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres, but very few have heard of the Southern California Guardians, or the West Coast Dawgs.

The latter are teams that participate in the National Beep Baseball Association, which was established in 1976. Beep baseball is an adaption of America’s pastime for athletes that are blind or visually impaired. Although similar in spirit, there are a few differences between baseball and beep baseball that set the two apart.

There are six fielders, instead of nine, and every player is required to wear a blindfold except for the pitcher and catcher. The ball is approximately the size of a soft ball and has a beeper inside of it. Only two bases are utilized which also omit a beeping sound.

The team’s pitcher, who is sighted, pitches the ball to their own batter. When contact is made, one of the bases will beep and the runner will attempt to get to that base before a fielder from the opposing team grabs the ball.

If the fielder grabs the ball before the runner touches the base the runner is out, but if the runner arrives at the base before the ball is fielded the hitting team scores a run. The game lasts six innings and is roughly 90-minutes in length.

If this is something that sounds interesting, the ADAptive Society will be hosting a clinic on April 30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the club sports baseball field, so come check it out!