Beep Baseball, a baseball adjacent sport, has become very popular among the visually impaired and blind.
The National Beep Baseball Association or NBBA was started in 1976 in Chicago, Illinois by “The Dirty Dozen,” but was recently founded by Peter Cancro, the CEO of Jersey Mikes. This game helps include visually impaired people in the sport everyone loves, baseball.
According to president Richie Flores, “In 1964, a beeping softball was developed by Charlie Fairbanks of the Telephone Pioneer Service Organization, for blind children at the Colorado School for the Blind to have a catch with their teachers and friends.”
The rules of the game are: everyone must be blindfolded to even the playing field. They use a 16 inch softball with a beeping mechanism so the players can hear when the ball is near them. They use a pylon with a buzzer inside so they know where to run.
If a player touches the pylon, that team scores a run. Lastly, the pitcher and the batter are on the same team and try to give up a hit.
Riordan Varsity baseball coach Craig Sargent said, “I think it’s incredibly important for sports programs to intentionally create opportunities for athletes with disabilities. Sports aren’t just about competition—they’re about teamwork, confidence, joy, and community.”
He added, “By making sure there’s space for everyone, we give all athletes a chance to grow, belong, and experience those benefits.”
Baseball is an important sport for so many people; it brings joy and happiness to most everyone who watches or plays the game. So, there is no reason why it can’t do the same for people with disabilities.
Four year varsity baseball player Mason Cohn ’26 said, “Everyone should be able to play sports. It’s important that there are these opportunities so people with disabilities can play.”
Being able to belong to a community such as Beep Ball, where people share the same struggles as each other and understand what everyone is going through, helps them find a sense of belonging and purpose. This sport brings people together all across the United States for competition and fun.
