Baseball and softball players representing eight teams around Arizona went old school in Maricopa yesterday. Real old school.
The Arizona Vintage Base Ball League brought teams from cities such as Tucson, Buckeye and Mesa together to play ball.
They didn’t follow the same rules as the MLB games you’re accustomed to but rather something you’d find in a history book. The rules were modeled after those from the 1860s, said Brian “Biscuitpants” Skerven, a player on the Mesa Miners team.
“We play by the original rules, the first written rules of baseball,” Skerven said. “We have the same size and weight of the balls.”
The pitchers pitch underhand, no one wears gloves, and all bats are wooden and round. More in-depth rules can be found on the league’s website, which is run by Skerven.
One all-women team uses Pacana Park as its home field. The Maricopa Maidens team was founded by a San Tan Valley resident, Michelle “Roxy” Shaw, three years ago. The Maidens hosted their first game at Pacana Park last year.
While the Maidens players do not live in the city, they have claimed it as their home field.
“I love how it brings you back to the origination of how the game started,” Shaw said. “We’re getting grass stains on our dresses every so often, and bloody knees, and I just love how it brings everyone together.”
