Talk about loving the game of baseball.
Alexia Jorge wants to play the game so much that she’s willing to drive nearly three hours to play in wool uniforms using no gloves whatsoever.
And get this? The Lyndhurst High School senior had a lot of fun doing so.
Here goes: Jorge, who is a member of the United States National women’s baseball team, heard about a game in Bovina, N.Y. — which is 143 miles north of Lyndhurst — that is played with 1895 baseball rules.
Which means, no player in the field uses a glove. Only the catcher has a glove and a chest protector.
Jorge heard about the game, pitting the Mountain Athletic Club, the team that Jorge played for, against the Bovina Dairymen, through a friend.
“One of our friends bought a house up there and they told me about the game,” Jorge said. “I thought it was pretty cool.”
Jorge was the lone woman to play in the old-time baseball game.
“They really didn’t care about gender,” Jorge said. “They said that other women before helped them.”
But none that play for the U.S. National team.
When Jorge arrived at the patch of grass – you didn’t expect a real baseball field now, did you? – she was provided a uniform that was made entirely of wool. That doesn’t exactly breathe on a hot summer day.
“They threw me in and I started as the pitcher,” Jorge said. “The pitcher’s mound is on flat ground and you can’t wind up to throw. You have a one-step delivery. You have to be set and throw the ball.”
The ball is basically the same, just no gloves.
“The ball us basically the same size, but the stitching is different,” Jorge said. “It’s either black or blue.”
Like the color of her hands after playing.
“It’s very hard to catch a ball barehanded,” Jorge said. “It hurt like you wouldn’t believe. It was really hard when you tried to catch a pop-up. Thank God, nothing was hit back to me when I was pitching. That was my biggest fear, getting hit with a line drive.”
The bats were of the custom, handmade variety. There weren’t exactly Louisville Sluggers back in 1895.
“They gave me one of the bats,” Jorge said. “I said, ‘You don’t get one of these every day.’
After four innings pitching off flat ground – no such thing as a pitcher’s mound in 1895 – Jorge moved over to play second base for the remainder of the game.
“Just the throw down to second base from the catcher hurt catching,” Jorge said. “I had to catch it no matter what. And it hurt. My hands hurt a few days after playing.”
Jorge said that she had four at-bats and drove in a run with a fielder’s choice in the eighth inning.
“It was very strange and very different,” Jorge said. “The ball didn’t carry much. It made me appreciate the game a little bit more. I never thought I’d be in a game like this.”
Needless to say, it was an experience Jorge will never forget.
“It was an honor,” Jorge said. “It was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was lucky to be given the opportunity to play in the game. I was very thankful for that. It made me thankful for all of my equipment now. It made me appreciate the game a little more.”
Jorge will now get ready for the Women’s World Cup Tournament, which is still scheduled to take place in Tijuana, Mexico in November.
Jorge lost the entire 2020 high school baseball season, her junior year, thanks to the pandemic. She also was sidelined all summer long from playing with her travel teams.
“The Women’s World Cup couldn’t come any sooner,” said Jorge, who will probably play fall baseball with a team to prepare for her duties with the Women’s National Team.
Not many kids get a chance to play in an old-time baseball game. But then again, not many kids are members of the U.S. National Women’s Baseball team. Chalk another memorable moment on the baseball diamond for Alexia Jorge.
CAPTIONS
Alexia Jorge served as a pitcher for four innings for the Mountain Athletic Club in an old-time baseball game played under 1895 rules. Photo courtesy of the Mountain Athletic Club
Lyndhurst’s Alexia Jorge had a ball playing old-time baseball with the Mountain Athletic Club recently. Photo courtesy of Alexia Jorge
Learn more about the writer ...
Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”