It’s a step away from the usual, Matt Lacy explains as he describes his experience as a member of the Bee Family Farm Vintage Base Ball team. He’s played on the team for six years and this year, for the first time, he coordinated the event. The game was held on a rainy, windy Saturday in mid-June and while the weather sent some of the 50 or so spectators indoors, the teams played on.
The game is a far cry from normal baseball. The ball is the size of a hardball, but is softer, making it possible to catch without a mitt. It can bounce once before it is caught and the player is called out. A spectator can catch a ball and the player is out. There are “warnings,” and more balls and strikes are allowed than in modern-day baseball. The pitcher is referred to as the hurler.
Lacy, an engineer employed by Advanced Energy in Fort Collins, lives near the Budweiser plant but spent part of his childhood in Wellington and is a member of Wellington Community Church where several of the Bee team players attend.
“Ours is a short season,” Lacy said. “We play one game a year.”
Despite the fact that their opponents have a more organized team and play a 10-game schedule, the Bee Family Farm team won by a couple of runs this year. “The final score isn’t so important,” Lacy said.
The Berthoud team was a big hit with the younger set when they handed out official-looking baseball cards.