Crestline Highlanders vintage base ball tryouts scheduled

Jan 26, 2023 | Sports

crestline highlanders

By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY

Staff Writer

Tryouts are scheduled to fill the two to four open spots on the Crestline Highlanders vintage base ball team. The tryouts are tentatively scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 29 in Twin Peaks at Harich Field. The time is still to be announced.

The Highlanders are Southern California’s reigning 2022 champions in vintage base ball. They play under 1886 base ball rules, which are more challenging than modern day baseball rules. They use vintage style equipment and uniforms, which includes gloves instead of mitts, meaning very few flyballs are caught for an out. They use heavier wooden bats, handmade balls that get softer with each hit and several other equipment differences.

The 1886 rules include being respectful to the Sir, who is the umpire, and there is an entire vocabulary of the positions and plays. Anyone can be the hurler (pitcher). There are seven balls before the hitter is walked, but three strikes and they’re out. The hurlers also rotate to another position when they tire of pitching. There is a whole culture and language that surrounds the vintage games, although the teams are serious and play to win.

The Crestline Highlanders are being sponsored by the Crestline Chamber of Commerce and their championship trophy is on display in the chamber office. They have been honored and walked in the Jamboree Days parade and celebrated for their wins in the local newspapers.

In February, the Highlanders have a game scheduled for the barnstorming San Francisco Pelicans and the San Luis Obispo Coasters teams, which are coming to the Inland Empire for some competition. In addition to playing against the 2022 SoCal champions, the Crestline Highlanders, they will play the 2021 champions, the Riverside Smudgepots, in games at the end of February. They will be playing the weekend of Feb. 25 and 26 with fields and times to be announced, as weather may be a factor in playing on the mountaintop.

If you are interested in playing vintage base ball on the SoCal vintage base ball champion team, contact Chris Dodd through his Facebook page. He is looking for a few good players who want to have fun this summer playing vintage base ball and representing the mountaintop in games all over the Southern California area. The teams they play against represent many communities from Redondo Beach to Temecula. The Crestline Highlanders play their home games at Harich Field in Twin Peaks.

————————-

crestline highlanders

Photo: Crestline Highlanders

The Crestline Highlanders with their 2022 league championship trophy. (File photo by Rhea-Frances Tetley)

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share

rim bowling center generic 7 11 22 web
audio in english
audio en español
Crestline Highlanders in first place

Crestline Highlanders in first place

By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY Staff Writer   The Southern California Vintage Base Ball (SCVBB) 2022 league champions, the Crestline Highlanders, who are sponsored by the Crestline Chamber of Commerce, played the last game of the regular season on Harich Field in Twin...

A game in the rain and a sunrise with seniors

A game in the rain and a sunrise with seniors

Article and photos by Diane Zhang Special to the Alpine Mountaineer   Is the scoreboard off? Or is the fog just too thick? Nobody could really tell on the evening of Friday, Sept. 1, when the Rim of the World High School varsity football team kicked off their...

Special Olympics athletes win bowling medals

Special Olympics athletes win bowling medals

Athletes from the Special Olympics Rim Mountain Communities competed with 450 Special Olympians at the Special Olympics Southern California Bowling Championships at Parkway Bowl in El Cajon. This championship was the culmination of community training and competitions...