Playing A Kids Game: New Adult Wiffle Ball League Debuts In Millersville

For decades, children have played wiffle ball, the sport with that iconic yellow bat, with their friends and dads for the pure love of the game.

Now, area adults are reliving some of their childhood by organizing adult leagues in many parts of the nation, including Anne Arundel County.

Michael Bishop, who used to play in the county’s senior baseball league, organized the Maryland Chesapeake Wiffle Ball League, which has eight teams with players from throughout Anne Arundel County as well as Pennsylvania and the Eastern Shore.

“We play Sunday doubleheaders at the field next to Larry’s Tavern in Millersville,” Bishop said. “We play seven-inning games on specially-designed fields for wiffle ball.”

The game features only four defensive fielders, including the pitcher. There are fences for home runs, but the batter does not run the bases. The dimensions of the fences are 99 feet down the line and 109 feet to center field. The pitcher throws to a target behind home plate, and if the ball hits the target, it’s a strike or if the batter swings. The batter is awarded extra bases depending on how far the ball travels within the field. Walks are part of the game.

“Some of the pitchers throw pretty hard, and in some leagues, the pitcher can throw in the 90s,” Bishop said.

The pitchers also have the advantage of making the specialty-designed wiffle ball curve, sink or rise to keep the batter guessing on the ball’s trajectory as it approaches the plate.

The Maryland Chesapeake Wiffle Ball League includes several players with professional baseball experience. Wayne Williams played for the Toronto Blue Jays for seven seasons and Chris Russ, Christopher Ford and David Greenley played in the minor leagues.

But the majority of players want to simply relive some of their treasured childhood memories and play the game they spent countless hours playing in their backyards.

“I believe I started playing wiffle ball when I was 5, with my dad,” said Pasadena’s Patrick Murnane. “I used to use lineups from the Major League Baseball teams and then I bat left- or right-handed to match the players in the lineups.”

Pediatrician Kemper Steffe played wiffle ball growing up in Virginia and had simulated World Series games.

“I remember one simulated World Series wiffle ball game that my brother had to miss, and I lost that game, and to this day my brother talks about that game,” said Steffe.

Murnane said that he played between 60 to 80 wiffle ball games per summer and even took the wiffle ball equipment on vacation to the ocean so he could play in a best-of-seven game tournament with his dad.

This new league will bring back those glorious memories to numerous area residents and give those players a chance to take the field, catch fly balls, field grounders and step in the batter’s box with visions of their childhood in their minds.

For more information on the Maryland Chesapeake Wiffle Ball league, contact Mike Bishop at maryland.mcwl2021@gmail.com.