If you're a baseball fan, you should tip your baseball cap to Abner Doubleday, who invented the game in 1839.
Today, the Southern California Vintage Baseball League honors the way the game used to be played. Los Angeles Times photojournalist Robert Gauthier wrote about how the game has been transformative for the players and himself and joined Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today.”
The players of the California Vintage Baseball League range from 19 to 60 years old. There are teams throughout Southern California, in the Inland Empire, LA and Orange County. Gauthier spoke about the rules of vintage baseball.
“They adhere to the league rules from 1886. The Spalding Baseball Game of 1886. This is as close to the original baseball as it gets... Seven balls is a walk. If they get hit by a pitch, they don’t get the base. They have to get right back in, and the pitcher can pitch as fast as he wants, so he can hit a guy in the head. And if a guy is laying on the ground, he can throw another pitch and it could be a strike or ball. If you flinch a little bit, it’s considered a swing and they call it a strike."
The antique equipment the league plays with is also different from what’s used in modern baseball.
“Their gloves are no bigger than a garden glove," Gauthier said. "It just barely fits on their hand. Their bats are 40 ounces, very heavy. The kind of Babe Ruth might have used in the day. The catchers are only allowed to wear masks and chest protectors. No shin guards. Their glove doesn’t have a web on it, so they can only catch it in the middle or it’ll go right through their glove. The ball is very hard, so it’s pretty close to they try to get balls made by bend, but they’re still fairly hard."
Old-style terminology is used in the field as well. Fans are called “cranks,” and players must call the umpires “sir.” Gauthier talked about capturing this unique style on an antique film camera.
Watch the full interview above.
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