By TIFFANY RAZZANO
For one thing, all of the players, if not blind, are significantly visually impaired. And when they hit the ball, which beeps, they run towards bases that buzz.
Though the Bombers, the only blind baseball team from the New York metropolitan area, mostly focus their efforts on educational components and promoting awareness of their cause, the players are all accomplished and dedicated athletes. They practice rigorously each week and came out on top of the second annual Long Island Bombers Classic held Saturday, June 23 at Hofstra University. The Bombers, playing host to teams from Chicago, Pennsylvania and Boston, swept through all of their games to come in first place, as they did during the first tournament they held last summer.
"When I was able to see I was very active in sports," said the league's co-founder and current executive director, Ted Fass, who grew up and still lives in Rockville Centre. "So [beep baseball] was very interesting because I love baseball. Once I got to experience what it was like, it was a great experience. It reminded me of when I was in little league."
"A lot of the players on our team were guys who were once sighted and are now seriously losing their sight," said Susan Bertrand, of Baldwin, a sighted volunteer coach for the team. "They grew up playing baseball. They might not be able to play the same way, but it's just as exciting, even more exciting."
Though the Bombers play other blind teams in tournaments like their recent classic and the upcoming World Series, they most often play local teams from corporations, organizations and even little leagues that are not visually impaired. The Bombers alter the rules of the game so the other teams can experience the game as they do, Fass said.
When playing sighted teams, those players are blindfolded. They get four swings; after the third, they take off their blindfolds. If they hit the ball, they pull their blindfolds down again to experience running to a buzzing base with no sight. "It's reverse when we're up at bat," Fass said. "You're not blindfolded in the field. When we hit the ball, you have to throw to the catcher before we get to the base."
"I think it's a great experience to make people aware there are sports opportunities out there for people with disabilities," said Bertrand. "Some people know about wheelchair basketball. It's not just great to learn about it, but to also get the word out there to people who are blind and visually impaired."
She said watching the Bombers play is also good for those with sight to see. "People watch them and say, 'Wow, I've never seen that before. It's cool,'" Bertrand said. "It's something we'd like to share. We hope they have the same appreciation of it as I did, especially the young kids. They realize, 'People with disabilities might be different, but they're not so different. They're cool guys who do everything pretty much I do. They just can't see."
The Bombers, who practice at the Rec Center in the village, hold at least 10 demonstrations a year, including one at the annual Duck Race sponsored by the Lion's Club of Rockville Centre. Having been around for nine years now, the team mostly recruits its players by word of mouth.
People should remember the players are serious athletes, who train hard, and love the sport. They go home with their share of aches, pains, bumps and bruises. In other words, the players' visual impairments don't make it any less of a sport or a challenge for the players.
"To watch the game, seeing is believing," Fass said. "As much as I can talk over the phone, you have absolutely no idea what it's like unless you actually see it."
Comments on this story?
TRazzano@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 221.
