Beep Baseball, a Sad Excuse for the Blind Equivalent to America's Pasttime

Beep Baseball is a game designed for blind players to emulate the original game of baseball. However, there are many differences. The game hardly qualifies as a valid equivalent to the real baseball.

In Beep Baseball, the pitcher is on the same team as the batter and tries to throw the ball so that the batter can hit it, rather than the other way around. When the batter hits the ball, they need only run to one base in order to get a run. After the ball is hit, one of the two bases begins to sound and the player runs for the base that is making noise. If they make it before the ball is retrieved, they are safe. If the ball is retrieved first, they are out, without needing to be tagged or the ball being caught in mid air or in the hands of a baseman. In fact, nobody mans the bases at all.

Already I believe it is clear why this game is a poor equivalent to baseball. There are no basemen, only two bases, a player need only run one base, and the pitcher and batter are on the same side? Now that's just madness! On top of all this, since there is only one base the player needs to run, doubles, triples, and grand slams are completely out of the question. The foul line is also completely different in beep baseball. The hitter must hit the ball a certain distance in front of them or it is foul. All of the fielders are in the middle between the bases, positioned where the infield would be in baseball, right between first and third base. All of these things make Beep Baseball far too unrealistic for my liking, and I am not the only one to say so.

Now, I realize that some of these are sacrifices made to make the game more playable by blind players but many of these could be avoided. Having the pitcher on the same team is acceptable as if they were different, the pitcher would be trying to confuse the batter, and since they already cannot see, that would just cause all sorts of issues. However, once the ball is hit, I see no reason why all bases couldn't have either a different noise associated with them, or to make it even better, a rope around the diamond for the runners to follow. This is commonly done in track and field events like the one hundred meter dash, so why not for Beep Baseball? As for the foul line, a beep baseball is rather large and if it was made a bit smaller, it would decrease the weight and allow the ball to go farther. This may make it a little harder to hit but I believe is a worthwhile compromise. As for the one base is a run, adding an extra base and the rope guide around the diamond would solve this problem too and also allow for multiple runs to come in. I do not believe this is unfair. Sighted players can see the ball and then go after it, but they typically have a lot farther to travel to retrieve it and of course the ball travels faster than they do. Blind players can hear the ball beeping and therefore should be able to retrieve it quickly with practice. This would also provide a use for basemen. I think it would be appropriate to have some way for the fielders to know where the runners are, most likely in the form of something that makes noise worn by the runner and activated when they move between bases. The fielders listen for the runners and the basemen can call out to the fielders to throw them the ball. This way fielders can tag the opponent like they are supposed to.

These are only a handful of suggestions but I believe some or all of them would make this game far better for the players and much more like the true American pastime which it is trying to emulate. I don't have any clue if any of these would be implemented but I must say, I might have a go at the game if they did. I have played it as is before and did not like it at all. Just a thought.