The home of beep baseball is officially open and active this Memorial Day weekend. A one-of-a-kind playing field was dedicated Friday in Frankfort. Beep baseball is a way of giving visually-impaired players more opportunities on the field. The modified game features a sound-emitting ball and buzzing bases.
The new field in Frankfort is being hailed as the only one dedicated solely to beep baseball. Indianapolis' Adam Rodenbeck is one of the players competing in the inaugural tournament. "And one of the things that's important is some place that's quiet and you can hear out here today, there's hardly any noise. There's some traffic over there, but it's far away, so it sound like this will be great conditions," said Rodenbeck.
The 32 year old from Indiana has been playing beep baseball for eleven years. "It's gives me the chance to get out and run completely on my own. You hit the ball, you take off for the base, I can hear it buzz and that's all out. I just run as fast as I can to get there. I don't worry about anything in my way or somebody having to guide me or help me out and same thing in the field," added Rodenbeck.
Kentucky Beep Baseball Founder David Wickstrom says there were no turf battles when it came to establishing the facility for the visually impaired. "A lot of people jumped on, the parks department, the plant board here in Frankfort, independent schools, the county government, the city government. Everybody worked together," said Wickstrom.
Wickstrom says future plans call for a children's league with hopes of attracting the World Series event to the state. Wickstrom says a children's playground will be constructed on site, accessible for everybody at every ability level. The opening weekend tournament has drawn teams from away as far as Colorado.?