I played in The Clasico De Vitilla -- a stickball-style tournament -- and lost in 15 minutes
Some people say the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. Let's just say those people have never tried hitting a vitilla:
I joined up with a team in the annual Red Bull Clasico De Vitilla just outside Yankee Stadium this past weekend and, well, we had a very quick exit. The baseball-esque game gets its roots from the Dominican Republic -- where kids use, even today, broomsticks to hit water jug caps. Here, in the Bronx, that water jug cap was a bit more refined, and the sticks were hard plastic rods:
The games were three innings long, and each team consisted of a pitcher, catcher and two fielders. Unlike baseball, there's only three bases -- first, third and home. Like baseball, if the vitilla is caught in the air -- it's an out, and if it's a grounder, it can be thrown to a base for a force.
But again, that's only if you actually make contact. Which, as you can see in the above GIF, is extremely hard to do. Especially for us, who were facing Hector Henriquez -- a former Marlins pitching prospect, whipping in 80-mph caps submarine-style from the left side:
"I used to play growing up in the Domincan Republic, but I haven't played in like 18 years," Henriquez, now living in Queens, said. "I also played baseball for seven years in the Minors with players like
The 38-year-old Henriquez struck out seven of us in three innings -- winning the game, 1-0, in about 15 minutes.
There's also no walks, so strikeouts, whether through whiffing or pitchers pinging the strike-zone sign, are common. Even more common when you're facing a former pro baseball player. Henriquez credited playing vitilla as a kid to helping him hone his curveballs, sinkers and sliders -- an idea that event director Tyler Fluke strongly believes in:
"We want to spread the word of vitilla and show that playing the sport can actually get you better at baseball -- developing moving fastballs, curves and great hand-eye coordination. 99.9 percent of Dominican Major Leaguers played the sport growing up on the island and look how many are thriving in MLB now?"
Fluke has held events with
To no surprise, Henriquez's team ended up winning the championship in our bracket, and we went home not only wondering what had just happened, but also having a new appreciation for the non-traditional game.
It's fun, easy to improvise with little equipment/people and one in which hundreds of Major Leaguers have played, and as celebrity guest Pedro Guerrero shows in the beginning of the below video, continue to play at a high level:
