The first WBSC Europe parasport discipline: what is Blind Baseball?
Blind baseball is a mixed-gender discipline, based on sound coming from the ball, introduced and developed in the 90s in Italy by Alfredo Meli, a former Italian Baseball League player and manager.
The late Alfredo Meli, a former Italian Baseball National Team player, launched his version of the Blind Baseball in 1994. Each team comprises five blind players, one sighted player, and 4/5 sighted assistants.
The first Blind Baseball complete game of seven innings was played on October 16, 1994, in Casalecchio di Reno (BO): Red Sox 15 VS White Sox 11.
The Italian Blind Baseball Association (AIBxC, a WBSC Associate Member) continued its work and today is running an 11-team league, the LIBCI (Italian Blind Baseball League) that counts around 150 athletes.
AIBxC, with the support of WBSC and several National Federations, promotes the discipline worldwide, organising camps and clinics.
All the National Federations interested in attending events and/or introducing blind baseball to their country/territory should contact the WBSC Paralympic Commission through their WBSC Continental liaison.
Italy, together with Great Britain and Cuba, is the leading country for this discipline.
