Baseball is colloquially known as America’s pastime, but for the Brickmakers Base Ball Club of Saugerties, the game is played using rules from a time that has long since passed.
Now in its second season of play, and formerly known as the Saugerties Vintage Base Ball Club, the Brickmakers play an early version of baseball, in many ways recognizable to fans of the modern game, but also uniquely idiosyncratic.
“It’s definitely recognizable as baseball when you watch it, but it’s a completely different game,” said club captain Will “Quigs” Quigley. “This is much more of a hitters game. The pitchers pitch underhand and they pitch to the hitter to make contact. Back then, the pitcher was not so much of a defensive position, it was more about giving the hitter to have something to hit. So that way, the fielders could do all the defense, not to get the outs.”
Quigley paused before adding, “And that’s another thing: It’s not actually called an out, it’s called a hand.”
The history of baseball is nonlinear, with various regional games on both sides of the Atlantic staking a claim to its origins. For many longtime baseball aficionados, history is a crucial piece of the puzzle, and some don’t respond well to change. The designated hitter, wherein an offensive specialist bats for a position player, was first introduced in Major League Baseball’s American League in 1973, upending over a century of tradition. It took nearly 50 years for the National League to adopt the designated hitter, thus making it universal. Baseball purists still speak of the designated hitter as a betrayal.
This is a roundabout way of saying that many baseball fans love history, and if you want to experience that concept locally, look no further than the Brickmakers Base Ball Club of Saugerties, which like a handful of other local teams — including the Kingston Guards — play the game according to 1864 rules.
Let’s say you’re planning on attending the second annual Pidgeon Pennant, named after Frank Pidgeon, baseball pioneer and founder of the Eckfords of Brooklyn club in the mid-19th century before retiring to raise his family in Saugerties. As you arrive for the three-club tournament at Glasco Fireman’s Field at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 7, you may first notice the attention to period detail in the uniforms, which though concessions are made for modern materials, look as they would have in 1864.
Modern cleats are allowed, though players are encouraged to either purchase all-black shoes or to paint over logos.
Then you will notice the lack of gloves.
These are the first glance, superficial indicators that you are watching an old-timey baseball game. Settle in and others will be revealed.
“Foul balls are not strikes,” Quigley said. “There’s no overrunning first base. A ball can be caught on a bounce and still be an out, however, it’s preferred to catch it on the fly because if it’s caught on the bounce, the runners don’t have to tag.”
There are others, such as a large pitcher’s box rather than a mound, giving the hurler the option of delivering the ball from a variety of angles. There’s an umpire who can be called upon to make a call if necessary, but otherwise outs are a sportsmanlike agreement.
To lend further authenticity, sunglasses are not worn. Neither are wristwatches or Apple watches. Cell phones on the bench are also discouraged. No modern bags or coolers are used, with players drinking out of mason jars or growlers.
Though the games are played with 1864 rules, the history of the Brickmakers Base Ball club of Saugerties is less rigid. In 2022, Quigley heard about traditional baseball games being played by three teams in Delaware County, and wound up playing a season for the Kingston Guards. But as 2023 approached, he decided that instead of playing for Kingston, he’d like to establish a natural rival.
“Saugerties is such a big baseball town and it’s where I grew up, and I thought Saugerties would be a great place to have a vintage club,” Quigley said. “So I got together with some of my friends and we decided to start the club…We recruited players and got people involved, and we had a successful inaugural season last year.”
But while the team was created a little over a year ago, its roots stretch back much further.
“(The Brickmakers) is kind of a tribute to part of Saugerties’ past,” Quigley said. “In the 19th century and into the early 20th century, Brickyards were big business along the Hudson River, especially here in Saugerties, where there were brickyards in Glasco and Malden…We felt it also kind of connected to our team because we’re kind of the blue collar team. We’re scrappy.”
There are nearly 20 players on the Brickmakers’ roster, and around 15 at each game, with double-headers accounting for a roughly 18-game season. Ahead of the Pidgeon Pennant, the Brickmakers will travel to Delaware County on Saturday, August 24 to take on the Bovina Dairymen. They will close out the season in Bovina for the two-day Cowtown Scramble over the first weekend in October.
Admission is free to all games, and Quigley said he enjoyed having modern baseball fans experience a 19th-century version of the game.
“When they start to watch it, they say, wait a minute, what just happened there? Why did that happen? That’s not regular baseball,” he said. “When you see this, you recognize it as baseball, but it’s also completely different. And I think really kind of gets everyone’s attention is how fast paced it is. Everybody hits the ball…There’s not a lot of strikeouts, there’s not a lot of walks. It’s really exciting.”
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