Go Ahead and Wiff It Out

I know what you're thinking... What does Wiffle Ball have to do with Sachem? Everything! Wiffle Ball is an American Pastime. Where else in the world can you walk into a convenience store, buy a bat and ball for a few bucks, prop up a chair and stay occupied for hours? 

On the eve of America's birthday, I suggest you have a few bats and balls ready to go. Clean white lawn chair or not, something can serve as a strike zone: chimney, side of the house, shed, fence, pool chair. It doesn't matter, just play.

Wiffle Ball was created in 1953 when David Mullany of Fairfield, Conn. designed a ball that would help his 12-year old son throw pitches with movement. He and his friends called strikeouts "whiffs" and the name was hatched. 

Over the past 50-plus years, the game has exploded. For the past decade, there have been a handful of tournaments at Sachem High Schools East and North, two of which I played in during my junior and senior years. I'm ashamed to say the custodians got the best of us my senior year in the quarterfinals. 

Sachem East varsity boys basketball coach Jon Finta started the tournament before the district split and used wooden strike zones with tape around the gym at Samoset Middle School - then known as Sachem South and referred to as the South Dome - to mark off base hits.

Things don't have to be that extravagant. I've managed to play in my backyard for years with just a chair, a dozen ground rules, a few balls (that seemingly always end up over my neighbor's fence) and a bat. This year I stepped up my game and purchased a blue "Screwball bat" from the New Jersey Wiffle Ball Association (NJWBA). For $29.99, it's not something for the average player. If you want extra pop on your swing and can handle balls firing back at you on the pitcher's mound, then this is the bat for you. 

The NJWBA has become the main organization associated with the game. They host mammoth tournaments every year. Perhaps one of the greatest elements of the recent era is the document "Yardwork," which originally ran on the New England Sports Network in 2009 and chronicles the game's impact across the Northeast.

Pools are nice, golf and bike rides are exhilarating, but if you're looking for some excitement and a challenge, pick up a Wiffle Ball bat and ball this weekend and have fun with a real American pastime.