Old Time Baseball Game To Be Played This Saturday In Belmar

An Old Time Baseball Game is scheduled to be played with 1864 rules at Memorial Field in Belmar this Saturday, June 15th, beginning at 11 am. Belmar Memorial Field is located at 12th Avenue and Railroad Avenue in town.

You can experience the nostalgia of America's pastime come to life. Cheer on your favorite team, as the game is played by baseball's original rules, established way back in 1864!

The two teams battling it out will not have quite the nostalgic ring as the Brooklyn Dodgers versus the New York Giants. No, these teams predate even those long-gone but not forgotten beloved franchises. If you happen to come out to the Old Time Baseball Game this Saturday you will be treated to seeing the Monmouth Furnace take on the Flemington Neshanock. Not exactly a rivalry like the Yanks vs Sox, but it'll do!

According to Wikipedia, Before the Civil War, baseball competed for public interest with Cricket and regional variants of baseball, notably "Town Ball", played in Philadelphia and the "The Massachusetts Game", played in New England. In the 1860s, aided by the Civil War, "New York Style" baseball expanded into a national game. Baseball began to overtake cricket in popularity, impelled by its much shorter duration relative to the form of cricket played at the time. By the end of 1865, almost 100 clubs were playing in the fledgling "National Association Of Baseball Players". By 1867, it ballooned to over 400 members, including some clubs from as far away as California.

One of these Western clubs, Chicago (dubbed the "White Stockings" by the press for their uniform hosiery), won the championship in 1870. Because of this growth, regional and state organizations began to assume a more prominent role in the governance of the amateur sport at the expense of the NABBP. At the same time, the professionals soon sought a new governing body. This eventually led to the formation of the National League, and later, the American League.

Here's a clip from Ken Burns" Baseball:

And, a recent new magazine clip of the 1864 League!

We've officially made it to Major League Baseball's opening day. And we've got four bold predictions for the 2024 MLB season.

Last year felt like a nice setup for this season to really hit one out of the park, so to speak. 2023 saw the new MLB rules take hold. This was notable with the pitch clock and the attempt to speed up the game. The looming question of what's next for Shohei Ohtani was lingering all year. Obviously the uncommon pitcher/hitter superstar chose to stay in southern California, but headed to move over to the Dodgers.

A consistent, no-frills style of baseball led the Texas Rangers to defeat a young and scrappy Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series. Both have similar rosters this year, but will either team be as good?

We are already off to a unique start with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers splitting the Seoul Series in Korea. We are certainly teed up for an exciting seven months of baseball.

Some factors came close to finding their way into my four bold predictions, but were not strong enough to grab a spot in the lineup. However, they do remain open questions for baseball fans to look out for as the season unfolds.

In New York, will the Yankees adding the fierce bat of Juan Soto to the team bounce them back from a disappointing season? Soto may have to make up for the lack of depth at pitching now the Cy Young winner, Gerrit Cole is starting the season injured.

In Atlanta, the Braves are so talented across the board, it's hard to pick against them in all of the National League. However, I do expect some epic NL East clashes throughout the year between division rivals, the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

We shall see about all of the above. In the meantime, let's hit some 2024 MLB bold predictions to get the ball rolling.

It may be a news subject that fades away, but Shohei Ohtani's name being involved in a potential gambling scandal is not a great way to kick off the season. This general topic is one that all pro sports are taking very seriously and could hang over the organization's head for much of the season. The Dodgers are certainly loaded with stars, but as the Yankees have proven in years past, a monster payroll does not guarantee wins. In fact, too many superstars in one clubhouse can be detrimental to team unity.

MLB has been faced with the challenge of making the games more exciting and engaging. There's only so much you can do to change the rules of the sport without stepping on the integrity of the game. The adjustments to speed things up certainly helped. So did the arrival of flashy alternate uniforms. Nine new teams will have a creative new jersey thrown into their mix. They will be unveiled soon. However, rocking a special edition jersey that is a nod to your home city should make this gear a top-seller in the shops. We've already seen teams like the Diamondbacks add accents of teal and fluorescents into their color schemes. This City Connect theme has been a very successful model in the NBA.

Speaking of uniforms, the Padres adding a sand tone to their away threads is an all-time classic look. The beach and baseball are synonymous. That has nothing to do with why SD will finish ahead of the bigger names like the Dodgers or San Francisco Giants. Fernando Tatis Jr is fully back, and the cornerstone to a team that is full of both speed and strength. The Padres did a great job of giving fans an inside glimpse of their spring training this year, and it certainly appeared as if the club was already having a blast. Their team unity and chemistry will carry them far.

Seattle, and the great state of Washington was so close to starting the year off with a championship parade thanks to the Huskies making the college football finals. They may end the year with one instead, and it will be well worth the wait. Julio Rodríguez is one of the most well-rounded players in the game. He's also just 23 years old. The X factor for the M's, though, will be how solid their pitching is, with the bulk of the rotation remaining healthy all year. The lineup then institutes small-ball baseball beautifully throughout the year, where the team seems to always know how to close out the close games. Ultimately, I'm taking the Mariners over the Braves in the 2024 World Series, which I can foresee being one of the most thrilling finals we've seen in a long time.