Downtown businesses connect through whiffle ball league

To the passersby, the Wednesday night whiffle ball games taking place around downtown might merely resemble the whiling away of late spring and summer evenings – and to an extent, that’s true.

But according to Downtown Springfield Association Communications Manager Brett Johnston, who organized the 12 teams made up of DSA member businesses, the Downtown Wiffle League is also an unconventional networking opportunity.

“It’s a game I play at home with friends and family, and whenever we play we always connect,” Johnston said. “I thought it might help the businesses connect and bring some energy to those places where you don’t often see it downtown.”

BKD LLP senior associate Kyle Miller, team captain of the BKD Reconcilers, said 10-12 of the accounting firm’s employees signed on to play but about half take part in each game on a rotating basis.

“The idea was that it would be a good way for the local downtown businesses to start the networking conversation process and get to know people outside our own building,” Miller said. “You see some faces you maybe see at other events throughout the season, but it’s very informal and you get to talk in a more relaxed environment.”

Still, teams don’t shy from displaying their competitive spirit. Instead, they seem to enjoy it. Prior to the second game of the summer-long season, BKD called out that evening’s opponent – staff of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce – via Twitter. The message? “Yeah, we sports. We sports hard.” The boast may have been a tad premature – a walk-off walk by chamber President Matt Morrow in the fifth and final inning beat the Reconcilers 10-9.

While Johnston said the league is intended to build a sense of downtown camaraderie and perhaps even develop some business relationships, there’s a sense of potential yet to be realized.

In Kansas City, for instance, athletic competition has become a mainstay of corporate culture. This spring, the 37th-annual Kansas City Corporate Challenge pits businesses against each other in events ranging from summer camp staples like horseshoes and tug-of-war to the more traditional golf and trapshooting. Running April through June, the calendar has 27 sports this summer.

The Kansas City event also benefits local charities. From each business’ entry fee of $1,500-$6,050 – based on company size – $100 is earmarked for a single recipient. This year, over 230 companies, including the Kansas City branches of local names like BKD, Commerce Bank and Jack Henry & Associates Inc., have raised more than $23,000 for the Kansas City Metro Area community of Special Olympics Missouri Inc.

“That’s definitely something that’s a longer mark to keep building toward,” Johnston said of the currently free Downtown Wiffle League. “I think it lends itself well to that.”

The players say working toward a corporate challenge environment, adding events and new sports could be a next step.

For now, the players are content with getting to know their peers in center city.

“There’s been such a culture change downtown – especially with different businesses moving into the area – it’s been a good way to get connected,” said Danny Perches, chamber business assistance coordinator.

Only a few games into the season one newcomer, health care information technology firm IntrinsiQ, is making its presence known. Miller said the Heer’s building’s commercial tenant might be the business to beat this summer, with two teams in the league and one pitcher who threw a no-hitter during the second week of games.

“With a whiffle ball, that’s not as easy as you might think,” Perches said of the no-hitter, adding Prodigy Pixel LLC, aka the Wifflin’ Pixels, accomplished the same feat in week one. “Like throwing a baseball, there’s kind of an art to it.”

Johnston said one team will walk away with the inaugural season’s traveling trophy after the six-team playoffs, scheduled for Aug. 21, conclude in Park Central Square. The heart of downtown Springfield also serves as a regular season field along with lawns at the chamber, Mother’s Brewing Co. and the unassuming Jubilee Park.

“It’s a cool way to bring people to parts of downtown they might not normally see – like Jubilee Park, which I didn’t even know was a park and I’ve lived here my whole life,” Miller said.