Playing Baseball on Shabbat

I play baseball at the college level and for Shabbat games I have to ask the coach to carry my equipment to the field do to eruv. It’s very awkward and hard to explain this to them. Is there any way I can roll the equipment to the field would that be better then carrying? Or is there any heter to carry it?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

Playing ball on Shabbat is far more problematic than the Eruv issue you bring up.

Allow me to explain.

Although he circumstances were certainly different, the Talmud tells us that the city of Tur Shimon, a large city in the Judean hills, was destroyed on account of ball-playing! One explanation for this is that they did not appreciate the gift of Shabbat. On Shabbat we are meant to focus on spiritual pursuits not secular or weekday ones. In other words, even if one wanted to make the case that no transgression is involved in ball-playing, it is certainly not something we should do on Shabbat. Activities we should not engage in on Shabbat, even if not technically forbidden, are known as “uvdin d’chol.”

As you note, in a place where there is no Eruv, it is forbidden to carry. It is also almost always forbidden to ask someone else, whether Jew or Gentile to carry for you.

There are also issues of muktza to deal with. Although not unanimous, many authorities rule that balls and sports equipment are muktza.

You also mention that you play baseball in a field. Playing of any kind in a field of Shabbat has its own slew of issues. There is a general ban on playing games which include rolling a ball on the ground in a field or even running in a field. Such games could lead to “leveling a field,” which is related to the melacha of “plowing.” Furthermore, it will often be forbidden to retrieve a ball that gets caught in trees or bushes

There is much more that can be said, but suffice it for now, that playing baseball on Shabbat is frowned upon at best, and, when there is no Eruv, it is a complete and outright violation of Shabbat. Try to explore leaving baseball for the weekdays and focusing more on spiritual pursuits on Shabbat.

Yerushalmi Ta’anis 4:5; OC 308,338 and commentaries