Wiffle Ball

As kids, after breaking a few too many window panes with errant foul balls, my brother and I soon found ourselves the proud owners of a wiffle ball and bat, courtesy of my mother.

At first, we felt like we'd been demoted to JV. Such a flimsy excuse for our wood bat and red-stitched rawhide. But then we learned how to throw a mind-bending curve ball with that funky plastic ball. And we could swing the bat for hours without tiring. And most importantly, we stopped getting yelled at all the time for breaking the garage windows.

It was..... fun. Which was the point, right?

"It's supposed to be fun. The man says 'play ball!' not 'work ball' you know." – Willie Stargell (left fielder and first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1962-1982)