Old-school rules make

A thick wooden bat was the weapon of choice against the underhand
offerings from a teammate.

On the cool, cloudy day on an auxiliary soccer field at UMBC, manager
Jeff Turner was one of eight men out - actually seven men and one woman - in
preparation for a July 15 tournament in Elkton with three other teams.

Turner's ballists, as they were known during the Grant Administration,
included folks of all ages from Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Turner, 35, a McDonogh School graduate and White Marsh resident, is
trying to expand the league.

"For us, its just to get out and have fun and see what it's all about,"
Turner said. "The biggest thing is, once people get on the field and get the
opportunity to catch the old ball and swing the bat and play with the old
rules, they really kind of get hooked to it."

The old ball is made of India rubber and cork, wound with a lemon peel
cover that is cut, pieced together and sewn.

"The ball develops a softness after you hit it a few times and it's not
100 per cent symmetrical, so you kind of get some funny bounces and funny
spins on it," said Turner, who grew up in Owings Mills.

Although they currently play 1868 rules, the tournament in Elkton used
rules from 1864 that dictates if a fielder caught a ball on one bounce, the
batter is out.

When Chesapeake's Mark Kobofcik, of Ellicott City makes a tough catch in
the long field (deep outfield) the behind (catcher), Susan Sherwood, yells
out "Huzzah!, Huzzah!, (Hurrah!).

Sherwood is having a ball behind the plate, made of real metal, by the
way, as is the plate used for the pitcher's mound 45-feet away.

"It's just a lot of fun. It's really friendly and it really highlights
the fabulous nature of the game," said Sherwood.

Joe Stanik, 51, shared the day of practice with his son, Mike.

What brought him to the field in his long white shirt and dark pants?

"The history. Back in the day when the game was in its infancy, (it was)
developing traditions and customs," Stanik said.

Stanik said the game spread rapidly through the military ranks during the
War Between the States.

"In 1868, an umpire could confer with players, a captain or the fans to
come to a final decision on a play," Stanik said.

In those days, pitchers were expected to pitch a hittable ball, and a
hurler (pitcher) was warned before pitches out of a hitter's reach were
counted against the pitcher.

"In the early baseball, the pitcher was basically the facilitator, just
to kind of get the ball moving," Turner said. "It wasn't until the late
1860's that they were actually trying to strike people out and change speeds
and pitch the ball fast and slow."

In the 1870's, pitchers started to throw sidearm. By the 1880's, the
pitching motion was closer to today's modern overhand style.

The bases have always remained 90-feet apart, but for vintage ball, a
diamond is not necessary. Any large field of grass is appropriate for use.

In the old days, games were nine innings, bunting was not allowed and
fouls were not counted.

Those and other early rules of the game inspired Turner's attempt to
combine history and athletics into a happy event.

"I've always had an interest in history, and of course, baseball, and
it's a good combination of the two," said Turner, who attended Gettysburg
College and was an avid baseball fan even though he ran track in high
school. "I used to eat, live, sleep and breathe baseball. But I just got
tired of all the business, egos and the attitudes. This has gotten me back
into following baseball more, and (I am) getting excited about it."

Turner has 20 players on his roster, but realistically can only count on
a squad of around a dozen fellow ballists.