Capturing old-time baseball with a 113-year-old camera
TWIN PEAKS, Calif. — At a glance, it looks like baseball, but a closer look — and a listen —reveals something decidedly different.
Umpire Darren "Sugar" McCanne draws two puffs from a cigar and barks, "Two hands down!" as the striker, Jason "Batman" Risnes, steps to the line next to home plate.
This is baseball? After a fashion — a very old fashion — yes.
It's extra innings and the Arrowhead Loggers are down an ace to the Perris Prospectors at the Southern California Vintage Baseball League semi-final. These guys play the game using a rulebook from the 1800s, which explains, among other things, their unexpected vocabulary.
"Hands" are outs and a "striker" a batter. Back in the day, strikers could declare whether the strike zone was below the waist (low), above it (high) or not declare one at all. Risnes makes his choice and calls out to the umpire, "Low, sir."
"Low, low, here we go!" McCanne says.
