Several law firms left the courtroom and headed to the softball field for an annual tournament that raises money to send city kids to camp through the Greater Newark Fresh Air Fund.
The rules seemed kind of quirky for a softball tournament - and costly, too.
If your team gave up a home run, or got caught up in a double play, that was $125. A strike out was the same price and so was hitting a foul ball with a two-strike count.
And if the pitcher let the ball come off the bat for a grand slam? That was $500 big ones.
Then again, it all made perfect sense because this was a tournament to raise money to send city kids to camp.
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Everything was legal on this diamond because the teams were made up of lawyers, who had left the courtroom for a day on Wednesday to play in the Battle of the Barristers, a softball tournament that is the bread-and-butter fundraiser for the Greater Newark Fresh Air Fund.
"It's a great cause and we get to get out and play a little softball, get out of the courtroom and on to the ball field,'' said Charles M. Carella, who is a co-hair of the event and an attorney with Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello in Roseland.
The Fresh Air Fund has been exposing city kids to the outdoors since 1882. It is one of several programs of the Newark Day Center, the oldest service agency in the state, which doesn't receive any grants to run the camp program.
It relies strictly on donations from the public and the annual softball game that started 30 years ago.
"At the end of the day, we raise close to $100,000,'' said Karim G. Kaspar, co-chair of the tournament and senior counsel with the Lowenstein Sandler law firm in Roseland.
"We're happy to support a great organization,'' Kaspar said.
The Fresh Air Fund is more than grateful and appreciates every cent it receives from people who support them. If you would like to donate, checks can be sent to the Greater Newark Fresh Air Fund, 43 Hill St., Newark N.J. 07102, or a donation can be made by credit card at Newarkdaycenter.org. The names of contributors are published Sundays.
Many of the kids have never been to camp, but with funding, it's a rewarding experience once they get over the jitters of leaving home for the first time.
As the kids were waiting for the bus last week, Donna Johnson Thompson, executive director of the Newark Day Center, said many of them were quiet and maybe a little nervous at first.
"They were just looking at each other,'' she said.
But by now, they're in a canoe somewhere or on a nature trail, getting lost in the outdoors without cell phones, i-Pads and video games.
The first round of campers will be returning next week, having left July 5th for six different sites that the Fresh Air Fund works with each year. Kids who don't stay overnight, attend camp for the day.
"They were ready to go, '' said Trish Morris Yamba, an assistant Fresh Air Fund Coordinator.
Yamba has attended just about every game in the 30 years that the tournament has been held and it doesn't get old. She was there Wednesday, recalling how the event started out with just two law firms. Now 10 participate. When time permitted in the past, she said, the kids attending camp would go to the games, as well.
This year's tournament got underway at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield with the teams playing four games that lasted three innings.
You read that right. Three innings go quick, so each at bat meant something when the lawyers straddled the plate, considering the fundraiser rules that were in place. T-shirts were sold, too, to raise money, and how teams finished determined how much they had to pay. The winner's contribution was the least, $5,750; and the fifth place team in a division paid the most, $7,500. Teams in the middle - second to fourth place, wrote checks, as well, that ranged from $6,000 to $7,250.
After several hours of competition, McCarter & English squared off against Lowenstein Sandler at Yogi Berra Stadium at Montclair State University for the seven-inning championship game.
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McCarter jumped out to an early, 6-2, lead by the second inning, with home runs, extra base hits, and aggressive base running.
Lowenstein was scrappy in its effort to close the gap, but in the end, the lead was too much to overcome.
McCarter 16; Lowenstein, 8.
Team Captain Brett Kahn said McCarter looks forward to the tournament every year, having advanced to the championship game three times.
They were all smiles hoisting the trophy high, taking a team picture in centerfield. And how much better could it be when your law firm also gets to kick in $5,750 - the champion's contributions - to the Fresh Air Fund.
"We're just happy to be a part of this to help the kids enjoy the summer,'' Kahn said.
It was the best check they could have written.
Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL