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Wiffle ball and bat

Wiffleball or whiffleball is a variation of the sport of baseball designed for indoor or outdoor play in confined areas. "Wiffle" is a registered trademark of The Wiffle Ball, Inc., which manufactures Wiffle balls from its location in Shelton, Connecticut. It is played using a perforated, light-weight, plastic ball and a long, plastic (typically yellow) bat, generally on a triangular playing field.

The Wiffle ball was invented by David N. Mullany of Fairfield, Connecticut in 1953^[1] when he designed a ball that curved easily for his 12-year old son. It was named when his son and his friends would refer to a strikeout as a "wiff" (actually whiff). A classic Wiffle ball is about the same size as a regulation baseball and is hollow plastic no more than 1/8th of an inch thick. One hemisphere is perforated with eight 3/4" inch oblong holes, with a solid second hemisphere. This construction allows pitchers to throw a tremendous variety and size of curveballs, sinkers, risers and tailers. Wiffle balls are typically packaged with a hollow, hard plastic, yellow bat that measures 32 inches (810 mm) in length and about 1.25 inches in diameter.

The game of wiffleball, which sprung from the invention of the popular Wiffle ball, became immensely popular as a backyard, sandlot and picnic game in the 1960s and '70s. Since 1980, the game has also exploded as an organized sport, with many successful sports leagues and tournaments now played across the United States and as far away as Spain. These competitions have been known to draw dozens of teams or more, typically consisting of 2-5 players per team, with widely varying rules and field dimensions. Since 1996, the internet has facilitated the expansion of wiffleball throughout the world, bringing players and teams closer together through hundreds of Web sites.^{[citation needed]}

Major league center fielder Sam Fuld got his start playing baseball when he and his grandmother played with whiffle balls.

• The Wiffle Ball, Inc.
• ESPN The Magazine, Aug. 4, 2004
• Old School Plastic: The Origins of Organized Wiffleball

1. ^ 50 Years of Wiffleball, Popular Mechanics, December 2003. Retrieved 16 June 2007.

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