JUST PLAY: WIFFLEBALL, HAPPY 54TH B-DAY

Happy 54th Birthday Wiffleball. One of the greatest childhood games.

http://sportsreviewmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1208



The Field and the Rules haven't changed much. You learn how to hit a variety of pitches without the threat of Little League elbow. And you learn how to hit a variety of breaking pitches and off-speed pitches just by sheer repetition.



It seems as if maybe the game is growing outside of the backyard and the playground as well. Maybe someday, we can see a National Wiffleball Tournament, perhaps on ESPN8, The Ocho? Or maybe they can just replace all the poker they've been showing. Or maybe instead of the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest.

It seems as if Indiana is the current cradle of Wiffleball, judging by the rankings:

http://www.whiffleball.org/

Super 20 Whiffleball Teams on the Planet Earth

The World Whiffleball Commission's computer rankings of the Super 20 Whiffleball

Teams on the Planet Earth as of August 1, 2006.

1. Club Ripped; Munster, Indiana
2. Blue Ribbon Builders; South Bend, Indiana
3. Funky Plastic Offspring; Bloomington, Indiana
4. Cult West; South Bend, Indiana
5. Looney Wifflers; New Carlisle, Indiana
6. LoweRiders; Addison, Illinois
7. MILF Hunters; Mishawaka, Indiana
8. Warning Track Power; Mishawaka, Indiana
9. Wildcat Baseball; South Bend, Indiana
10. Network Design; Mishawaka, Indiana
11. Colt 45's, London, Ohio
12. Screamin' Seaman, Byron Center, Michigan
13. Balco Boys, Mishawaka, Indiana
14. South Side Crows, South Bend, Indiana
15. Swingers; St. Joseph, Michigan
16. Lombard Lightning, Lombard, Illinois
17. J.A.W.G.; Grand Rapids, Michigan
18. Monon Yankers, Olathe Kansas
19. Hayes’ Heroes; Mishawaka, Indiana
20. The Sure Things, South Bend, Indiana

Honorable Mention:
Red-Headed Stepchild, Mishawaka, Indiana, 10th Street Crime Family; Bloomington, Indiana, The Alpha Team; St. Louis, Missouri, The Crooks; South Bend, Indiana, Middlebury MudHens; Osceola, Indiana, Deuce’s Wild; Munster, Indiana, Cornbread Reds; Lawrenceville, Georgia

AWESOME GAME.