St. Croix Base Ball Club Gets into the Swing of Things May 20

The St. Croix Base Ball Club, which plays by the rules of 1860, will begin its 15th season Sunday, May 20 with a match against the Afton Red Socks.

Vintage Base Ball is a program of the Washington County Historical Society. The season opener is at 2 p.m. at Pettit Park in Lake St. Croix Beach and is free to the public.

The Club has played all over Washington County, the state of Minnesota and even as far as Ohio, Colorado and Washington D.C.

This year the club will play in Stillwater, Scandia, Rochester, Becker, Northfield and at the Washington County Fair. The St. Croix’s will also play at the Barron County Historical Society in Cameron and at Osceola, Wis.

The rules of 1860 have some very interesting differences.

The players do not wear gloves; if the ball is caught on the first bounce the batter is out; there are no balls or strikes called by the umpire – although a batter can still strike out if he swings and misses three times; foul balls are not considered strikes; and the base runners can be tagged out if they over run first base.

To see the complete schedule of matches and other programs of the Washington County Historical Society visit their website

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