The Boston Renegades are one of the most active and most established Beep baseball programs in the National Beep Ball Association (NBBA). Established in 2000, the Renegades attended their first World Series in 2002. If not for taking a year off due to COVID (in 2021) – The Renegades made more consecutive World Series’ than just four other teams in the league. The key to this growth and development has been our ability to recruit and retain new players and coaches. Our players and coaches love playing for the Renegades
Our player roster helps tell an important story. Heading into 2023, we currently have 17 players committed to play (one of the largest rosters in the NBBA). This group averages over eight years of Renegade experience. We have four players who have played for more than a decade. Players enjoy coming back each year for the new challenges and camaraderie. There are many reasons our players love playing for the Association of Blind Citizens Boston Renegades. Let’s share them with you in hopes you’re interested in playing or coaching with us or know someone who might be interested!
Our players love the level at which the Boston Renegades compete
Every year, the renegades set goals in alignment with its current roster. One thing we are very proud of is the fact we are the only team in NBBA history to move from the doormat of the league in 2002/2003 to competing in a title game in 2016.
Some fun facts about our squad on a competitive level:
- Boston has won more Beast of the East titles than all other teams combined – Nine
- Boston has had 15 consecutive winning seasons starting in 2007
- The Renegades are the only team in league history from the East coast to finish in the top three of the league (2016/2019)
- Boston has finished top five at the World Series six times (2015-2019, 2022)
One unique thing about our team culture that is hard to find in other sports is our way of balancing being competitive amongst our opponents, and being supportive within our team. Every Renegade knows we are always trying to get the most out of our team on and off the field. To demonstrate and enforce this behavior, we drove change into NBBA Rule book over a decade ago. This change resulted in new rules allowing increased flexibility to get more players into a game. The Renegades use this rule change as a way to share playing time, get more players involved and help players have quick success on the field.
Our players love playing for the Renegades for our culture
Ask a Renegade what makes our team culture special and you will get various answers. You will hear different perspectives from different people. We base our culture around the primary theme of respect. We work hard to respect each other, our diversity, the time people put into the team, and everything that people do for the squad. This bleeds into sub themes of having fun, learning, working hard and supporting each other on and off the field. The Renegades are a family. That word gets thrown around a lot and should not be taken lightly with this squad. Not only do we work together at practice but you will find so many great things happening off the field. Some examples of off the field support that has happened in recent years include:
- A desire to help players live a healthier life and working off the field to help them lose weight and change their lifestyle
- Multiple players finding employment through their contacts on this team
- Never ending learning from players about technology and mobility and life skills
- Individuals on the team pulling together to support a former coach with a sudden death and helping them financially
- A player getting help with financial struggles and legal counsel to help navigate the system
- We even helped guide a player through the process of getting a place to live when they were without a home
Our players love playing for the Renegades dedicated volunteer staff and coaching
One of the reasons you may want to play for the Renegades is the coaching it has to offer. We have one of the most experienced coaching staffs in the sport. This coaching staff has been involved in parts of 176 NBBA games in its history. The trio of Ron Cochran, Bryan Grillo and Rob Weissman helped start competitive Beepball in the New England area back in 2000.
Producing All-star’s
The Renegade coaching staff works hard to help each player get the best of their abilities. We have had players come to this team without knowing how to run or swing a bat. With hard work by the players and coaches, those players cracked the starting lineup and set team records. At the other end of the spectrum, The Renegades have produced 14 World Series League All- stars in its history due to the athleticism of its players, its coaching and the way the team works together. Included in these all-stars, the Renegades have produced three MVP’s at the NBBA World Series
- Guy Zuccarello – Defensive MVP of the 2012 World Series making 36 defensive stops
- Christian Thaxton – Offensive MVP of the 2017 World Series hitting .897
- Joe McCormick – Offensive Co-MVP of the 2019 World Series hitting .800
Coach Stats
Some fun stats about the Renegade coaching staff entering the 2023 season that separates us from all the teams in the league
- Heading into the 2023 season, Boston has 23 returning coaches with a collective 196 years of coaching the Renegades – or Averaging 8.5 years a coach
- Ten of the Renegades coaches have at least ten years’ experience coaching beep baseball
- Six coaches played collegiate baseball or softball & another five played High School Baseball
Hitting is often found the most exciting part of the sport. A team can’t win in this sport without a top tier pitcher. Boston has two of the best pitchers in the league in Ron Cochran and Peter Connolly. These guys can help just about any hitter have success in this league. During the 2023 World Series, Boston was one of the first teams in NBBA history to have two pitchers with contact rates north of 80%. If you want to have success, we have the pitching to help!
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- Cochran ranked 2nd in the league at 84.3%
- Connolly ranked 5th in the league at 80.2%
Our players love our medical staff and how it benefits them
People come to play with the Renegades at different stages of their life. We had a former junior college baseball player join the team and we had a player whose doctor said they would never play sports. We have had everything in between those extremes. All our players get something from our medical staff. Some players get a reason to work out and get into shape with the guidance of our staff. Others will work with the staff on injury prevention. Face it, this sport is more physically demanding than the sport of baseball. Every defensive play involves hitting the ground. Many players also hit the ground every time they run the bases. That demand can tax one’s body. Our staff is with us during our games to help our players stay on the field. Heading into 2023 our medical staff is the biggest and most diverse in the league.
- We have two doctors on our staff
- We have a surgeon available if needed
- We have two physical therapists
- We have two nurses
There are so many reasons to want to play for the Renegades! Reach out to us through email at [email protected] to learn more about our program and to hear the passion that is Renegades, Beep Baseball!