San Jose’s desperate quest for a professional baseball franchise is reminiscent of a bratty kid before Christmas who begs for an expensive new toy, despite the fact that he’s already got a bunch of great toys that he doesn’t play with. One such plaything in San Jose’s cluttered toy box is the San Jose Stealth, our two-year-old pro lacrosse team that’s poised for a big season.

What does professional lacrosse offer that baseball doesn’t? Well, for one, there’s hitting – lots and lots of body smashing that rivals hockey in its intensity. There’s also more scoring. And no steroids. Or players who whine about being underpaid at $15 million a year. In fact, the salaries are so paltry in pro lacrosse (pay range is $6,500 to $23,000) that none of the players on the Stealth can afford to quit their day jobs.

“We have one kid at Syracuse [University] who is still finishing his degree,” says Johnny Mouradian, general manager of the Stealth. “We’ve got an electrician, a Red Bull salesman and another guy who publishes a lacrosse magazine.” Mouradian is the man who was charged with rebuilding this team after its move from Albany, New York two years ago. Today, the biggest challenge facing the team is the fact that all but one player still live on the East Coast. The front office flies them in for games and practice on the weekends.

To those unfamiliar with the sport, lacrosse can best be described as a hybrid of hockey and basketball. Like hockey, players use sticks to project a ball (versus a puck) into an opposing team’s net, which is protected by a goaltender, and, as mentioned earlier, body contact is a major element. Unlike hockey, however, players can use their sticks as weapons.

“Say, for example, that two players are going for an open ball on the ground,” explains Mouradian. “They can body check each other and slash each other’s arms with their sticks. And if you have the ball, you’re open game for a cross check [a blunt hit with the shaft of the stick]. Part of the way to get a player off balance is to give them a little cross check in the back to get their hips turning in a different direction than they were intending to go.”

Like basketball, lacrosse utilizes cross-court transitions and a shot clock to ensure fast-paced action. Some teams employ structured plays on offense, while others prefer a fluid and free-flowing style. “This year, we’ll be running a more rules-oriented offense. Our philosophy is, if the offense is a house, we tell the players, ‘We’re going to give you the frame of the house. Here are the bricks and foundation, but you guys, with your creativity, put in the doors, windows, and decide what color to paint the walls.’”

Modern lacrosse is a far cry from its ancestral version. Indigenous Indians began playing a type of lacrosse around 1400 A.D. (making it North America’s oldest team sport) and used the game as a means for settling tribal disputes or to prepare young braves for combat. In those days, playing fields spanned three to 10 miles long. Games would last for days and as many as 1,000 men comprised each team. Since they played with only a single deerskin ball, most of the action involved violent combat with sticks, as players tried to injure their opponents to gain an edge. The Eastern Cherokee called their brutal sport da-nah-wah’uwsdi (“little war”), the Mohicans dubbed it tewaarathon (“little brother of war”), while the Onondaga tribe opted for a less poetic, but suitable title, dehuntshigwa’es, or “men hit a rounded object.”

While today’s lacrosse isn’t nearly as vicious as yesteryear’s incarnation, it’s still a game of ferocious attrition. “Fights happen,” Mouradian admits. “We don’t promote it, but they do happen.”

Best of all, seats to a Stealth game go for about $20, making lacrosse one of the most affordable pro tickets in the Bay Area. After a few lacrosse games, don’t be surprised if you suddenly find yourself not caring about baseball – the only sport that asks its audience to stand, stretch and sing a song so it doesn’t fall asleep.