Baseball the way it used to be.

Byline: Mike Gale

Jan. 26--Recreation Spring training isn't that far away, and neither is the season for Bay Area Vintage Baseball (BAVBB). Vintage baseball is pretty much like baseball these days, only with rules from 1886.

BAVBB uses 11-member clubs to play 10 games a season in a relaxed atmosphere. Each team is outfitted in replica uniforms from the 1880s, and the equipment consists of balls, gloves, and bases that are made to look, feel, and perform as they did when the game was played more than 100 years ago. After a successful first season last year, BAVBB is looking to expand. "Last year was the first season and it went extremely well," said Steve Gazay, BAVBB president. But with that first season completed, Gazay has his sights on getting more teams to play. He's especially looking at getting a team in Fremont and the Oakland areas to join the league that consists of the San Jose Dukes, South County Jaspers and Santa Clara Stogies. "We'd like to get teams from all over the Bay Area," Gazay said. "And we'd like each team to have players to represent the city they play in." Anyone interested in playing should be between 18 and 50 years old, although Gazay reports an over-50 player in the league and that the age requirements aren't too strict. Plus, there are no tryouts or practice and no experience is necessary. "It's strictly for recreation," Gazay said. "You just play for a trophy." In addition to running into a challenge of fielding a team, Gazay says it's also a challenge to find a field.

"That's the hard part," he said. "There are less and less vacant lands. We have to deal with soccer, Little League and other leagues."

So what could an aspiring vintage baseball player expect when he steps back in time and takes the field? Like the modern game, the field consists of a diamond with a distance of 90 ...