Today marks the official fifth anniversary of what has become Lowball. Following a morning of being the "hot dog guys" of Lincoln during the town-wide junk swap, the players who would become El Guapo and J-Mac ventured forth into what would become Gap Bridge, hallowed ground in the community of Lowball. There, the two warriors met with the man who would one day be Commisioner of our beloved sport. Though details of that day have been lost, what was started there and then, my friends, lives on in all of us. I, personally, am grateful for what Lowball has been, hopeful for what it may be and frickin' pumped for what we have created. Men, I am pleased beyond words to be associated with such like-minded men-children. I am raising my glass to all.

As Attached

With yard saling in full swing, I believe it is best for a quick overview of the wiffle bat timeline. I have only included the official bats produced by Wiffle. There are a bunch of authorized wiffle bats, you can check out the full bat history at www.wiffleballusa.com. That is where the bulk of my information came from.

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1954 - Wooden Wiffle King - the original bat made for one year. Rare bat, recently sold for $41 on ebay.

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1955-1972 - Wooden Wiffle Bat - the common wooden bat, it came with a single strip of black tape around the handle in the spirit of stick ball. Fairly common on ebay selling between $8-$35.

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1959-1974 - Original Plastic Bat - simply has the words "Official Wiffle Bat" in block letters on the barrel and no grip on the handle.

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1975 - Black Plastic Bat - produced for one year only due to the oil crisis.

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1976-1982 - Generation 2 Yellow Plastic Bat - same as the original except the rough (little dots) grip was added. Mint bat sold for $72 on ebay, still in the packaging.

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1983-1991 - Generation 3 Yellow Plastic Bat - same as gen 2 except the words "Made in the USA" were added just below the logo. LowBall acquired one bat from the Beck archives and one from Lincoln yard sale for a grand total of $0.

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1992 - Present - Generation 4 Yellow Plastic Bat - the current version with the bubble lettered logo as opposed to block letters.

and live playing a baseball bat guitar...

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - Hunter S. Thompson
HST, Hunter S. Thompson Memorial Greens if you are not into the whole brevity thing, is located stumbling distance from quaint, semi-historic downtown Bristol, Vermont. The field pays homage in name and quirks to the late, great, and less than sober Hunter S. Thompson.
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Before your pitchers begin their warm-up tosses, have them stretch the forearm muscules in their throwing arms by having them extend their throwing arm and point their fingers skyward (Like a police officer's stop sign). Then with the other hand, gently pull back on the fingers until they feel the lower forearm muscle stretch. Do this for thirty seconds. Relax and repeat four times. Then stretch the upper forearm muscles by extending their throwing arm with fingers dangling downward. Then with the other hand, gently press on the back of the hand until they feel the upper forearm muscle stretch. Again, do this for thirty seconds. Relax and repeat.

Next, bending at the waist, have your pitchers hold their gloves in their pitching hand, and swing their hand in a wide circular motion (Like a lariat) for one minute. This will loosen the shoulder socket.

Next, stretch the tricept muscles and shoulder area by extending the throwing arm straight up and then let the elbow bend and relax. The throwing hand should be near the base of the neck. Then place the other hand at the point of the elbow and gently pull the elbow back over the shoulder until they feel the tricept muscle stretch.
www.infosports.com

Photo tutorial for stretches available here

This may be a repost but it deserves two posts. Get those arms ready lads.

High Resolution cards are available upon request