A Crack Of The Plastic

Wiffle© Ball Tournament

At Yale Field Next Week

NEW HAVEN – The Big League Wiffle© Ball Tournament will arrive at Yale Field in New Haven on Saturday, August 25, in conjunction with the New Haven County Cutters independent minor league baseball team.

There will be lots of action – plastic and hardball – along with live bands, raffles, and family fun.

The tournament idea began in a neighborhood cul-de-sac in Guilford and has now become a passion and a business for Nick Benas and his lifelong friend Jared Verrillo.

The plastic-smashing duo recently launched the Big League Wiffle© Ball Tournament, with the inaugural event held in North Branford. This summer, the pair have been taking the backyard pastime to tournaments across the Northeast.

Already, Benas and Verrillo held successful tournaments in Acton, Massachusetts and Henniker, New Hampshire.

For those who are unaware, Connecticut is the home of Wiffle© Ball. The iconic balls and bats are still produced by family-run company in Shelton.

 Think back to the days when after school games would last until the moon came out, complete with bats diving at the balls. Playing with the flood lights from a neighbors house – skinned knees and mosquito bites to attend to between pitches. There were never enough people to play a real game, so it was often two or three young guys and “ghost runners” going around the bases.

In 1994, as high school freshmen, Verrillo and Benas found a flyer for a Wiffle© ball tournament in their gym locker room. The pair busted from the backyard bases to a string of tournaments in New England. After years of playing in events organized by others, the lifelong pals are taking things to the next level – setting up their own tournaments.

 And a tournament is much more than a bunch of guys whacking plastic balls on a school field. Verrillo and Benas have been planning for months. They had to scout and secure fields and indoor venues that can hold from 10 to 20 diamonds, complete with handmade backstops. They had to organize a website and marketing. There are fees to collect and the business side, which includes everything from maintaining insurance, and offering cash prizes to the winners.

And their finishing touches were stacks of donuts and coffee and sandwiches for the players’ lunch.

WIFFLE© ball is different from baseball, Benas explained. It’s all about pitching and hitting as there are no bases to run. Instead, the game uses “ghost runners” to score runs. Outs are made by strikeouts or by fielding a batted ball cleanly.

To register and find more information, visit www.bigleaguewiffleball.com.