In South Jersey, baseball by ear

They call it "beep ball," a style of America's favorite pastime that you have to be blind to play. Saturday brought a three-team tournament of sightless players ages 20 to 62 to the fields of Crows Woods in Haddonfield.

With six players per team and six innings per game, the sport uses a radio-equipped softball that emits audible signals when pitched toward home plate.

The pitcher and catcher, both sighted, are members of the blind team at bat.

The pitcher has to help his teammates "see" the ball - with sound, not sight - and razor-sharp control, according to the Haddonfield Lions Club, which hosted the event.

A batter gets four strikes. If he connects, he is directed to first or third base. The "diamond" is just two bases, situated in foul territory to avoid collisions with the fielders, who are guided by sighted volunteers. If a batter reaches first or third before the ball is fielded, he scores a run.

Some players have been sightless or vision-impaired since birth; others had sight but lost it. All are blindfolded, so the sight-impaired have no advantage over the blind.

- Michael Matza