Jason Kirk held up his right hand. The final, gnarled knuckles on his first two fingers refused to flatten out beside their neighbor digits.
“See that? Jammed them, hard, catching balls at first base,” Kirk said. “It’s a ligament thing. That’s the way they are now — and why I’m playing outfield.”
That’s what happens when you field smoking throws from fellow baseball infielders without a glove.
Kirk wasn’t using a mitt because his team, the Dirigo Vintage Base Ball Club, plays by the original 1864-era rulebook. The Maine-based club is part of a New England-wide league of teams recreating authentic, old-time, 19th-century ball games. Players wear historic, vintage-style uniforms, swing enormous, heavy bats but still play hard to win.
Instead of playing an out-of-state team, as they usually do, the Dirigo Club played a split-squad exhibition game on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 13 in Waldoboro. The game was part of the town’s summer-long 250th anniversary celebration. Both sides’ rosters were full of regular club players as well as local folks eager to get a taste of 19th-century sporting life.
“I’m game, but I’m sure I’ll be feeling it tomorrow, though,” said local John Blodgett, while getting ready for the competition.
Blodgett, a Waldoboro Select Board member and the chairperson of the town’s birthday committee, said his last competitive ball game had been 10 years earlier. Appropriately, he suited up for the ad hoc team opposing the Dirigos on Sunday, the Waldoboro Townies.
Both team names are based on actual, historic clubs that played in Maine long ago. The Townies were a local Lincoln County team and the Dirigos were based in Augusta.
The game, as it was played in 1864, is still recognizable by modern baseball fans, though there are a few, key differences.
Pitchers were called hurlers and threw the ball underhand. It was their job to give hitters, or strikers as they were then known, something tasty to swat. Balls and strikes were only called after both sides were warned once by an umpire. Also, in the case of a walk, all runners advanced, whether or not they were forced.
Batted balls caught on one hop were an out and first base could not be overrun. Home plate was round and nobody wore helmets or safety equipment. Catchers stood well behind the batter.
Sunday’s game had no pitch clock, either. It wasn’t needed. Hurlers immediately pitched the ball as soon as they got it. The game was fast-paced, with plenty of stolen bases and sharp hits.
The matchup took place in a mown field next to the Dow Furniture warehouse, which also holds the Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame. A crowd of about 40 people watched. With no bleachers or outfield wall, at least a couple players managed breathless “inside the park” home runs.
“I was always a baseball player growing up, and this has allowed me to continue playing baseball,” Jacob Newcomb said. “And, of course, it marries my interest in history and baseball together.”
Newcomb, a high school social studies teacher, is the club president, team captain, and helped found the team in 2005.
“I also helped co-found a Facebook group called ‘Historical Accuracy in 19th Century Baseball’ where we workshop a lot of the questions around various idiosyncrasies and nuances of the 19th-century game,” he said.
Experienced old-time player Steve Castellani came all the way from western New Hampshire to captain and hurl for the Waldoboro Townies on Sunday.
Castellani first got involved with the sport when he answered a printed flier’s invitation to play a pickup baseball game when he lived in Victor, Colo., in 2011. Not knowing they’d be playing by 1864 rules, Castellani wore his glove until someone told him he wouldn’t be needing it.
“I’m sure the look on my face was priceless,” he said. “Three years later, I became commissioner of the Colorado Vintage Base Ball (Association).”
He’s stayed active in the vintage game since moving east.
At the end of Sunday’s game, a chalked scoreboard revealed the Dirigos had bested the Townies by a score of 22 to 6. As is tradition, all players then shook hands. After that, the opposing teams gave the other three cheers while standing on the first and third base paths.
“This is played like baseball should be played, as a gentleman sport,” Castellani said. “It’s fun, keeps me active and it’s good camaraderie.”
The Dirigo Vintage Base Ball Club is always looking for new players. Those interested should contact Newcomb at jacob.newcomb@gmail.com.
(This article appears through a content-sharing agreement with the Bangor Daily News.)
