Wiffle Ball is more than just a kids game

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — After a hard day at work, many of us are looking for a way to unwind and blow off steam. For some in the Rochester area, that means rushing off work to get to a field and a game that most players can trace back to childhood.

It’s a bit like Christmas without the snow. The green grass from opening day is a bit rusty.

“A lot of cobwebs,” Jay Loson said as he threw warm-up pitches at Ellison Park in Penfield on one of three wiffle ball fields set up at the park.

This happens when you are an adult playing a child’s game.

“Oh, that’s great,” he said. “The Wiffle is the best part of the summer.”

Wiffle Rochester began in 2011 when social studies teacher Mike Loson gathered a group of boys to play a game most of them started playing as children.

“The idea was to create a league in Rochester, and people would come and play,” Loson said. “And that’s what we did.”

“It brings back good memories from my childhood,” Gregg Marchese said. “It’s a sport that’s everywhere. I think everyone can relate to it.”

The rules of wiffle ball are a little different than baseball. There is no running on the bases. Hits are determined by distance and whether the ball is caught before it stops moving.

“I’m just looking for something to hit and get out of this place,” Ryan O’Toole said. “The wind is blowing today. You have to take advantage of it.”

But just like in baseball, a home run is still a home run.

“It’s a kid-at-heart type thing,” Loson said. “Everybody comes. No matter how old you are, you relive the same memories you have anywhere you’ve played wiffle ball before.”

You can make a wiffle ball do crazy things, especially on a windy evening. Sometimes the ball has a mind of its own.

A fun, pressure-free evening with friends, playing a children’s game.

“It gives us a great night out once a week,” Loson said. “And now we get to enjoy it all summer long.”