Subordinate and Independent

Baseball is a game that generally depends on good eyesight as well as athletic skill.

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For this reason, until recently, playing the great American game has been something that people with visual impairments found virtually impossible.

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Only sighted players could participate until an engineer named Charley Fairbanks invented beep baseball.

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In this version of baseball, the ball beeps and the bases buzz so that players like the one pictured here can tell when to swing and where to run.

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Each team has a sighted pitcher and a sighted catcher, who never get a turn at bat, and six fielders who wear blindfolds so that they don't have a visual advantage.

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The pitcher shouts "Ready!" before the ball is pitched and "Pitch!" when the ball is released.

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When the bat strikes the ball, the umpire activates the buzzer in first base, to which the batter must then run.

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When a team is on defense, the pitcher and catcher cannot field the batted ball themselves; they can only shout directions to fielders.

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Beep baseball is fun to play, and its challenges create a bond between sighted players and players with visual impairments.

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Sighted players who put on blindfolds and join in come away from a game with new respect for the abilities of their visually impaired teammates.

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