​Central Valley Vintage Base Ball (CVVBB) is part recreation and part re-creation, preserving, promoting and celebrating the history of California's Central Valley and the game of baseball by playing America's pastime with its 19th Century rules, equipment, uniforms and customs.

CVVBB is an award-winning program that provides an opportunity for people to enjoy America's pastime as it was played in its formative years. The association aims to showcase the history, culture and community of the Sacramento region and beyond by pulling history out of the classroom and creating something that is both informative and entertaining.

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What is Vintage Base Ball?

Vintage Base Ball is a program that showcases a small piece of history in a unique way. It allows people of all skill levels, ages, genders, races and ethnicities to participate in America's pastime, with a emphasis on teaching the rich history of the early game in the Central Valley, good sportsmanship and appropriate behavior. Vintage base ball champions the principles of fairness, honesty, courtesy, respect, honor and virtue by setting a good example for the community and educating the public about the culture and customs of the region in the mid-19th Century.

Though vintage base ball looks a lot like the modern game, there are a few key rule differences. For example:
  • The pitching is underhanded, and generally slower than your typical college-level softball hurlers, though "swift pitching" is sometimes exercised.
  • We do not wear gloves in this game, but we allow one bound of the ball for the fielder to retrieve the ball if needed. If the ball is caught in the air or on one bound, or bounce, the striker is called "dead" (out, by modern vernacular).
  • Any ball that hits the ground fair is a fair ball, regardless of where it rolls after it touches the ground initially. So you could hit the ball straight down and watch it roll backwards past the catcher and run towards first base.
​These three rules, along with the many others found here, level the playing field, allowing novices to any stick-and-ball game compete with seasoned veterans of modern baseball. This means that anyone and everyone can and should play!

How can I participate?

Players, as well as umpires, scorekeepers, sponsors, and official historians are needed. If you're interested in participating in any of those roles, please fill out our contact form or contact Director Matt "Brandywine" Stone directly at CentralValleyVintageBaseBall@gmail.com and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Why the Central Valley?

Baseball in California's Central Valley has a rich history that can be traced back to the founding of the sport itself. One of the founding members of the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, Alexander Cartwright, moved west around 1849 to mine for gold and in doing so, brought the game to the Sacramento region, teaching the rules to everyone he met. The first recorded professional game was played in 1860, and by the 1880s, local clubs had sprung up in towns like Davis, Woodland, Dixon, and Marysville. CVVBB aims to celebrate this history by re-creating these clubs as part of a new association. You can read more about this history here.

Schedule

  • ​Saturday, October 27th @ TBD, Exhibition Game (Dixon Aetnas vs. Sacramento Base Ball Club) in Sacramento at Park TBD
  • Saturday, November 10th @ 1:00 pm, March in WWI Veterans Day Parade with Yolo County in Woodland
  • Sunday, November 11th @ 10:00 am, Exhibition Game in Woodland (Dixon Aetnas @ Athletic of Woodland)
​A full list of past and upoming events can be found here.

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