Vintage Baseball In Spring Hill



  Today was opening day in Spring Hill for the Tennessee Vintage Baseball Association. Imagine you were alive in the 1860s and attending a new American game called baseball. Things would be a bit different from the game we know today. The only equipment were balls, which are slightly larger, have different stitching, and are slightly softer than modern baseballs, bats, and bags for bases. Pitching was underhand and there was no strike zone, so strikes were only swinging strikes and there were no balls. Once a batter hit the ball he was out if a fielder caught the ball in one hop or if he was thrown out at first. Runners could not overrun first base. If he did and was tagged, he was out. Left handed batters were called wrong siders. Outs were called hands, not outs so players saying "two hands" were saying "two outs". The teams were the Franklin Ferriers vs the Spring Hill Quicksteps and the rosters were made up of men mostly middle aged and above and some (most?) past their athletic prime. The location was a grass field on an old plantation. The field was beautiful and green, but I noticed a slight uphill grade between first and second. The game commenced and moved along quite quickly, mostly because of the catch on one hop equals an out rule. I am not sure what the final score was, but the Spring Hill Quick Steps emerged victorious and both teams gave hearty "hip hip huzzahs" to the crowd and each other after the game ended. My nephew James was so impressed that he inquired after the game about joining and was told to sign up. It was a great way to spend part of a Sunday. 

  After the game we ate, said our goodbyes to Debbie and James, picked up our luggage at Jenny's house, and made our way in to Nashville. After we checked in to our hotel we got the lay of the of the land during a walk and experienced the craziness of Broadway where there are lots of bars and restaurants, each bar or restaurant blaring LOUD live music. We were surprised at the size of the crowds for a Sunday night and decided going to Broadway late afternoon early evening



now fits into the "been there, done that category" for us. We plan to visit the Visitors Center that is close to us and take a Hop On Hop Off tour of Nashville. We are close to the Country Music Hall of Fame and plan to go there. We will have Monday and a good portion of Tuesday to explore Nashville prior to checking in to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and letting American Cruise Lines take over our lives for the next few days. We are having a great time and so far the weather has been mild and agreeable for both of us

Comments

  1. Mary YApril 29, 2025 at 5:20 PM

    So glad you two are getting a big dose of local color & noise! Sounds like a great start to a memorable adventure.

    ReplyDelete

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