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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 20113
Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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 Posted: Thu 9/28/17 7:49 pm Post subject: East Coast to West Coast - Stickball |
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One of the recent "Play Ball" events in the Bronx, hosted by Major League Baseball and the Yankees, included a clinic on Stickball 101, an urban version of baseball long associated with the Northeastern U.S. and some Caribbean islands.
From this article on MLB.com:
| Quote: | ...Local youngsters took to a blocked-off section of River Avenue to learn an enduring urban game: stickball. The Play Ball event, hosted by Major League Baseball and the Yankees, in partnership with the New York Emperors Stickball League (NYESL) and the 161st Street Business Improvement District, ran approximately 60 kids through stickball-centered stations. Children learned bat wrapping, hitting and fielding as it pertains to stickball, a pickup version of baseball originally played with a broomstick for a bat.
The event was hosted in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month.
"The history of stickball in New York City and Latin America is a rich one," MLB senior vice president Tony Reagins said. "You don't need 18 players, a chalk field and umpires to play our game."
Embryonic versions of stickball date back centuries, but the modern game, played in the street with a narrow, modified wood bat and a spaldeen, was fiercely popular in New York through much of the 20th century. It's mostly gone from schoolyards now, but it is still played competitively in the Bronx, notably in the 10-team NYESL, which features players as young as teens and as old as retirees.
The league plays every Sunday from April to October, on Stickball Boulevard in the east Bronx neighborhood of Castle Hill. There, generations of players compete in the version of the game (called fungo style, where the batters toss themselves a pitch) taught Saturday. Kids self-pitched and ran to makeshift bases sketched under the shadow of the 4 train, which frequented play with roaring interludes and gave the game a cheerfully pinball-ish feel.
"A lot of our younger generation players are hardball players as well. For them, stickball enhances their skills," said Tony Nazario, a NYESL board member and 17-year stickball veteran. "We don't use any gloves. You have one swing with a thin bat and a ball. The skillset you will get from this game will make your hardball skills that much better."
Many current Major Leaguers from Caribbean islands grew up playing some version of stickball. It's cheap to play and promotes outdoor teamwork, making it a perfect remedy for issues like childhood diabetes and obesity, said Yankees senior vice president Brian Smith.
"It's important for kids to be active," Smith said. "In our community, we lead the nation in a number of health-related issues that it's not cool to be in first place for. Today, kids are running around, smiling, socializing. This is great. This is community. This is what it's all about." |
Next up, the San Diego connection to stickball--with a personal touch in our family.
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"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."
-Baseball Hall of Fame |
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 7525
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Fri 9/29/17 12:47 pm Post subject: |
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Good post. I have always heard about how big stickball was in the 1920s & '30s in NYC.
I am waiting for the story about your family.
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"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg |
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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 20113
Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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| Posted: Sun 10/1/17 3:33 pm Post subject: |
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The story on that is that Justin's stickball team won a national tournament (played in Little Italy/San Diego over Labor Day weekend), beating out 15 teams from stickball-serious locales such as Puerto Rico and NYC. The guys he played with were all kids he grew up playing T-ball through PONY league ball with, even remaining teammates with a couple of them throughout high school.
So, needless to say, we were so proud of them. 
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."
-Baseball Hall of Fame |
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forloveofthegame
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 7525
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Sun 10/1/17 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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How special for them all - congratulations to Justin & the team!
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg |
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dodgerblue6
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 20113
Location: San Diego CA - deep in the heart of SoCal
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| Posted: Mon 9/18/23 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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Found this one from a few years ago and thought I would re-post because the World Series of Stickball takes place every year in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."
-Baseball Hall of Fame |
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