No Pepper

On A Dark And Stormy Night…

The House Of David

The year was 1903. Benjamin Purnell was deep in the throes of a vivid dream. The dream was a message from God. Purnell said that a white dove had perched on his shoulder. The dove then declared him the Sixth Son of the House of David. The dove empowered Benjamin to unite the Lost Tribes of Israel in anticipation of Judgment Day.

Soon thereafter, Benjamin had recruited a following of disciples. The disciples submitted to the rules that he decreed: no smoking, no drinking, no sex, and no shaving. Purnell also required of his disciples that they hand over all their earthly goods to him.

Purnell’s following grew and grew as the years went by. Tourists came out to see the strange circus. And as the benefactor of a following of more than 500 disciples, and gawkers galore, Benjamin needed to find a way to make some money. So, in 1910, what better way to make a profit than to build an amusement park and stage some baseball games.

The barnstorming House of David baseball team lasted for the better part of three decades and brought in a few major league ballplayers from time to time, including Babe Ruth and Grover Alexander. Also, the team invented the game of pepper.

What Is Pepper?

Pepper is a game that is played as a pregame warmup but also doubles as a competitive game. So, yes, there are two kinds of pepper.

Pregame Warmup Pepper

In this form of pepper, a player hits–typically with a softer swing–ground balls and line drives to fielders who are standing about twenty feet away. The player who catches the ball tosses it back to the batter, who then hits it back to the fielders. In this non-competitive form of the game repetition is king. The game has the effect of a strong cup of coffee by promoting alertness. It also helps in the development of good hand-eye coordination and quick reaction time.

Competitive Pepper

The setup is the same in the competitive and warmup versions of pepper.  There is a batter and fielders. The fielders stand about twenty feet away in a line. But in this case, there is a front and back of the line. The ball is thrown to the batter who in turn tries to hit grounders to the fielders, who then field the ball and throw it back to the batter. If an error is committed by any of the fielders they must move to the back of the line. And, in turn, if the batter fouls off a pitch or swings and misses, they go to the back of the line and the fielder in the front of the line goes to bat. Also, if the batter hits a line drive or popup and it is caught, the successful fielder goes to bat immediately, regardless of place in line. It is like an endless game of musical chairs in which there is one chair, the batter, and the rest are trying to get to the plate.

No Pepper

So, why no pepper? Many ballparks, most of the minor leagues–and below–persuasion, have “No Pepper” signs posted around the home plate area. What’s so bad about pepper? It seems so fun and innocent. Who knew there was a dark side to this game?

The first reason why pepper is banned is due to fan safety. Nobody likes to be hit in the snoot by a baseball, whether it is a family out to watch their favorite team, or grandma in town to see her grandchild hit the game winner. Because of the risk of a bloodied nose, or worse, a pepper induced concussion, ballparks have taken to banning the beloved sport that was invented by the peaceful disciples of Benjamin Purnell.

The second reason is because of the groundskeepers. The folks who spend their time making these fields playable put old pepper as public enemy number one. Because of the concentrated play, pepper games have a way of damaging the grass, which is a big no-no to anyone who spends their time trying to make the grass look like a perfectly manicured green carpet.

One Hundred and Twenty Years And Going Strong

Benjamin Purnell, in his money-making quest to reunite the Lost Tribes of Israel, failed. There’s no shame in that. We all fail at some things and succeed at others. The House of David may have failed in their unification attempt, but they were successful at creating a game that has lasted for over one hundred years. Also, unintentionally, Purnell is the bane of every groundskeeper from here to Fenway Park. But either way you want to look at it, bad or good, pepper is here to stay.

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