As the weather heats up, the Wiffle Ball season is once again upon us. Before you pick up your first white plastic ball and yellow plastic bat of the summer, we thought we’d fill you in on a few points about the proud game’s history and science.
Where did Wiffle Ball originate?
In 1953, David N. Mullany was watching his 12-year-old son and some friends playing a baseball-like game with a perforated plastic golf ball and a broomstick in their Fairfield, CT, backyard. The boys were trying to sneak pitches past each other by throwing curveballs and sliders, but to no avail.
Mullany, who had been a semipro hurler himself, knew all too well what thousands of Little Leaguers have had to painfully learn: nothing shreds a tender adolescent arm quite as effectively as throwing breaking balls. Mullany set about trying to save the boys’ shoulders and elbows by creating a ball that would curve and bend on its own.
His original medium was an unexpected one: a hard plastic ball that served as packaging for Coty perfume. After having the boys experiment with various designs, Mullany hit on the Wiffle Ball we now know and love.
What’s with the name?
Like a lot of baseball fans, Mullany’s son and his friends referred to strikeouts as “whiffs.” Since the new invention made knee-buckling curveballs a breeze to throw, pitchers started racking up the punchouts. Mullany named the product the Wiffle Ball to honor its strikeout-friendly breaks.
Why no “h” if the ball is named after whiffs?
The Mullanys allegedly nixed the “h” to save money if they ever had to buy a sign for their fledgling enterprise.
How did the Mullanys advertise their product?
For years the Mullany family marketed their Wiffle wares using pictures of star big leaguers like Ted Williams and Pete Rose on the packaging. So did the Splendid Splinter and Charlie Hustle like to play with the darting plastic ball on their days off? Not necessarily. The Mullanys later explained in interviews that doing actual photo shoots with the players would have been too pricey, so they just negotiated with players’ agents and then used any old photograph. The good news: this means you might have stood a chance against Whitey Ford in Wiffle Ball.
What makes it break and spin?
It’s a pretty simple concept even if you’re not a physicist. The side of the ball without the holes cut into it obviously has greater surface area than the other half. Thanks to this difference in surface area, a larger amount of atmospheric pressure acts on the hole-free side, which makes the pitch curve towards the holes.
What about scuffs?
Throwing a pristine Wiffle Ball is easy. Getting the desired break on one that’s been out in the yard for a while is more of a challenge. All bets are off regarding the aforementioned physics once the ball gets knicked, cut, and otherwise scuffed after taking a few solid whacks off the trusty yellow bat. In fact, if a ball is scuffed or cut in just the right way, all of the physics of the curves and breaks can be reversed; the pitch will actually curve away from the holes.
As you might guess, competitive players who are looking for an edge go to great lengths to “damage” their balls in just the right way to make their pitches really dance. They’ll scuff the ball with sandpaper, stomp on it, even heat it up in a microwave to subtly change its surface. According to a 2002 article in The Atlantic, competitive players are allowed to do anything short of changing the molecular structure of a ball’s plastic to achieve the desired effect.
Wait, competitive Wiffle Ball?
Yup. Since the mid-1990s, adult Wiffle Ball leagues have been popping up around the country, and some of them are pretty serious. They even meet in annual competitions like the Wiffle Up! Three on Three World Tour, which pays out thousands of dollars to the winning teams.
How does competitive Wiffle Ball work?
This came as a bit of a surprise to us since we’re used to playing Wiffle Ball like normal baseball with lighter equipment. However, some tournaments use altered rules that remove baserunning from the equation. Instead, a batted ball is assigned a value—single, double, etc.—based on where it lands on the field of play. Some number of “outfielders” try to catch the balls on the fly, and the ones that drop for hits advance whatever “runners” were already on base.
Other tournaments work more like traditional baseball and allow steals, bunts, other strategic maneuvering.
Are these guys toting the classic yellow plastic bat?
Not quite. They’re using equipment that you can’t just pick up for a few bucks in the toy aisle of any drugstore. Instead, they come to the plate armed with bats made from aluminum, carbon fiber, fiberglass, or super-hardened plastic. You can pick one up if you want to dominate the game at your next company picnic, but grabbing that glory won’t be cheap. Moonshot Bats’ top-of-the-line SpectraCarb Enforcer fetches $180.
What’s competitive whiffing look like?
Here’s a look at video from one competitive league. The movement on some of these pitches is insane even by Wiffle standards:
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I’m a wiffle ball purist. No altering the ball and only the yellow bat is allowed. Truthrully, I think that if you spend $180 on a wiffle ball bat, you are a complete tool.
posted by IFB on 5-4-2010 at 9:59 am
Classic. I love wiffle ball. Hey kids, here’s a dangerous tip: Cut the top off the bat and cram a tightly rolled up newspaper in it then duct tape the top back on. The bat will be as hard as a rock and you will be able to nail it over your neighbors fence and impress your friends. Oh, sweet childhood. You’ll also have a deadly weapon that you can hit your brother with and break his arm.
posted by Eric on 5-4-2010 at 10:04 am
@Eric, there needs to be a “like” button on your post! hahahahahaha
posted by delinda on 5-4-2010 at 11:13 am
Great post! Many a summer day was spent playing wiffle ball during my youth.
We actually played it like the “pro” way 20+ years ago. Hits were either singles, (not caught or cleanly fielded) or a home run. (over a set line) We had imaginary baserunners, and used a folding chair as our strike zone. If the ball hit the chair anywhere it was a strike. And no griping when it hit ANY part of the chair, even it is was at the bottom of one of the legs!
posted by flexabull on 5-4-2010 at 12:02 pm
we used to fill the bats with sand and tape over the end. those things were lethal.
posted by Jay on 5-4-2010 at 12:10 pm
I feel a discussion of wiffle ball is not complete without the impact of performance enhancers. Namely duct tape. We used to duct tape the ball and the bat. Cathing a liner hurt like a mofo!
posted by robnj on 5-4-2010 at 1:15 pm
of course duct tape was a necessity just to keep the game going once the ball got too big of a crack in it. And there was nothing like pegging your friend in the back from the outfield when he’s halfway to home.
@IFB – agreed 100%!!
posted by Joel on 5-4-2010 at 2:00 pm
I remember those bats always having a pinhole on the top, and with a little patience, you could fill it with water and make a deadly weapon.
posted by Wayne on 5-4-2010 at 2:10 pm
If you are ever in Shelton, CT (the home of the Wiffleball factory), take a gander at their dumpsters to see if they’ve discarded any Wiffle defects. If you get lucky you might see a few funky balls or bats to take home and play with. I’ve played in several Wiffle Up! tourneys which are a lot of fun. My team made it to the World Series tourney and we lost to a team from Arizona (the tourney was in CT). Awesome post!
posted by Mike James on 5-4-2010 at 3:50 pm
Nothing about the matching bat? I’ve always wondered why they were extra skinny.
posted by LawMonkey on 5-4-2010 at 6:48 pm
Check out goldenstickwiffle.com
The season starts in a month and anyone interested in playing or just wants to watch how the game has developed, there might be a region near you.
Contact me if you’re interested.
tbranck@gmail.com
posted by Tim Ranck on 5-4-2010 at 10:29 pm
We played with golf balls and wooden regular bats. You pitched from 2nd base on a slow pitch softball field. Massive home run shots. We stopped when I drilled a liner, a frozen rope, a foot off the ground off the pitchers knee all the way out at 2nd.
posted by skook on 5-5-2010 at 12:51 am
Love the article. I have been running a wiffle league for nearly 20 years in Northern Illinois. The field has gotten really nice…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi1nDTnZ89o
WE are not purists. Use plastic “easton pro stick” bats. Run bases, the whole thing.
posted by Brad on 5-5-2010 at 12:53 pm
You can’t put words to how sweet the moonshot bat really is. I’ve had a couple different moonshot bats over the years, and we look forward to using them every spring/summer. More and more leagues are starting to use them…but don’t think you have to be in a league to use one – we use one just for fun in the backyard all the time!
posted by Tyrel Jensen on 5-5-2010 at 2:31 pm
we used to tape up the ball & the yellow bat with white athletic tape and play 6 inning games with gloves, bases, just fewer players (2 OFs, 2-3 INF’s). a friend had a field at his house where the start of the woods were the same dimensions as fenway. we even put up a green screen to act as the monster. good times.
posted by Louis on 5-5-2010 at 3:44 pm
40 years ago we played in our front yards. Depending on where in the yard across the street the ball landed was the type of hit it was. Our strike zone was the strike zone on the old pitch-back. We would only use the yellow bat. But we would hit some hugh home runs. From one front yard to over the house across the street. When would play with anywhere from just 2 of us to 6 of us. Great times.
posted by Rick on 5-5-2010 at 4:48 pm
Awesome blog, video and posts y’all ;-)
Back in the late 80s, we’d play wiffle with an index finger size piece of insulation putty inside the ball. You could blow straight fastballs by your buddies :-)
posted by Mike J on 5-5-2010 at 7:59 pm
Whenever I hear or see wiffle, I think of the episode of South Park where Cartman decides to kill Kyle, but couldn’t afford a real bat
“I have to kill you Kyle, but I could only only afford this wiffle bat so it’s going to take a while”
*bonk bonk*
posted by heather on 5-5-2010 at 8:41 pm
Check out Moonshotbat.com
Thanks for the great primer on wiffleball and for mentioning our SCX Enforcer. Come to any of the national tournaments to see our bats in action.
posted by Moonshot Bats on 5-7-2010 at 11:25 am
Ah, the good ol’ days, playing wiffleball in the streets of the Bronx. Seemed every neighborhood group had their own rules, ours was “one sewer (manhole cover) single, two sewers home run.”
posted by Mark on 5-10-2010 at 11:11 am
We used a bushel basket in a lawn chair for a strike zone. and cork ball bats.
posted by Terry on 5-10-2010 at 4:57 pm
My best friend and his family have invented a game called “Beer Can Baseball” which is similar in many respects to front-yard wiffle ball.
The pitched “ball” is, of course, a beer can, that starts every half-inning as pristine (because the batting team has just finished drinking it!) but takes damage as it is hit.
The “bat” was originally a broomstick, but has since evolved into a piece of fell-wood that sometimes has a carved handle and some grip-tape. It is swung one-handed like a tennis racket, and generally cannot exceed 1.5 inches in diameter or 36 inches in length.
There are two teams of two, one pitcher, one outfielder, and the in-team alternates hitters. Ghost runners are employed.
There is a draw line from behind which the can is pitched, underhand or sidearm, spinning or flipping (the best pitches start after the can is beat-up a little from several hits).
The pitcher may not cross the draw line while attempting to field the hit, but may do everything in his or her power to prevent the can from crossing that line. Any hit can that does not cross that line, on a fly or a roll, is an out.
The outfielder is pretty cut-and-dry.
There are foul lines, and a home-run line, and all obstacles are in-play. Three outs to a side, 9 innings, sunlight permitting.
There are no balls and strikes, although there is plenty of ribbing from all players and spectators if any batter decides to play looky-loo.
There may be a new can implemented during an inning, if all players agree to it and the batting team provides a new one (by drinking the contents, of course).
The game has been played at all family get-togethers for several years at least, but this summer will be the inaugural season of the West Allis Beer Can Baseball League. There is an embroidered logo that will be on hats, once all teams are firmly established and team logos and uniforms have been created. Game locations will alternate between all the yards of the players. My best friend has already started building his home stadium, complete with lights and a net to keep cans from sailing into the neighbors’ yards.
I’m trying to talk them into setting up a website. Maybe I should just do it for them.
posted by VitaminD on 5-10-2010 at 5:48 pm
I was in a wiffle ball league down in FL. We had a ton of fun! We even had a MLB player and a minor leaguer in the league. I was the first to get a $50 bat. Black Magic, I think was it’s name. It completely changed the rules of the game. Soo much fun.
posted by D Buck on 6-2-2010 at 5:12 pm
Always loved watching some hotshot who thought playing with a “kid’s toy” was too easy – seeing him scoop up a ground ball at short and firing it at first base, and watching it miss by 15 feet.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 7-8-2010 at 4:12 pm
the theory of why it breaks due to difference in atmoshperic pressure is wrong. its not as simple as that.
posted by anonymous chicken on 6-17-2011 at 10:53 am