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The TYM SOFTBALL Thread!

9.95

9.95

Champion
So, if you didn't know, your favorite short guy is also an avid slow pitch softball player. Many of you already know, and ZAQ gets a little nervous anytime I mention softball because in the past I might have spent some time away from forums during the softball season... :rolleyes:

Anyway, with 2012 and my resolve to lose weight, I plan on lacing the cleats up again, either for the summer season(depending if I can get down to a playable weight) or for the fall ball season.

I am a 10 year USSSA slow pitch softball veteran with 20 years of baseball under my belt.(I have been playing baseball since I'm 5). I have played everything from E level(essentially recreational church/bar league softball) through C level tournaments(B level tournament is considered professional/sponsored tournament player).

REDRUM who is also a VSM member, is a crossover from my softball life to my MK life. Red has been teammate of mine for 10 years!

In baseball I was a catcher, but in softball I am a pitcher and 3rd baseman(the two most dangerous positions in softball).

I have managed at every level in the leagues I play in, including tournament teams. I have also been banned from playing at anything lower than C level in my leagues because of the danger to the D/E level teams that an experienced player can pose. I have since been allowed to play at those levels again but only part-time/managerial.

I used to own over 30 composite softball bats, which on average are $300 each. I currently only own 5.

I used to average playing 12 games a week(6 double headers) topping out one season at 20 games(10 double headers) per week. That was insane.

I am a nationally certified USSSA softball umpire.

So, here's what I want to know, and a few rules to go along with it.

First, the rule... THE FIRST PERSON TO TALK DOWN ABOUT SOFTBALL AS OPPOSED TO BASEBALL WILL RECEIVE A 1 WEEK BAN... NO QUESTION ASKED.

Slow pitch softball is a DANGEROUS game for many reasons and to prove my point, PITCHERS, not catchers, go to the mound wearing a mask, shin guards and sometimes a chest protector.

Ok, now that I have that out of my system:

What Association do you play for? ASA, USSSA, NSA, ISA?

Do you play slow pitch or fast pitch?

What position do you play?

What bat(s) do you own/swing?

What is your favorite bat?

What is your estimated lifetime batting average?

What is your best season batting average?

What levels have you played at?

Have you ever played tournament level softball?
 
RapZiLLa54

RapZiLLa54

Monster Island Tournaments
Just getting into softball as I can no longer find friends to play baseball with anymore. Started last year out on Suffolk County but our team was horrendous lol. Playing for a solid team this upcoming season. I'm a pitcher, 3rdbasement and a solid hitter with power.

I'd prefer fastpitch since it would have more of a baseball feel but slow pitch is incredibly fun. My sundays are awesome, flag football in the morning, softball in the evening. Only complaint is my league doesn't allow you to drink :(
 
9.95

9.95

Champion
I'll start by answering my own questions:

What Association do you play for? ASA, USSSA, NSA, ISA?
I have played all 4 major associations, however my main association is USSSA.

Do you play slow pitch or fast pitch?
I have played both, but I play slow pitch softball competitively.

What position do you play?
I am pitcher and 3rd baseman.

What bat(s) do you own/swing?
I own 5 bats, my first bat the 2004 DeMarini F2, which is my only ASA legal bat, 3 Easton Synergy + bats, and a Louisville Slugger Catalyst.

What is your favorite bat?
I have two, the Synergy Plus and the Catalyst.

What is your estimated lifetime batting average?
Over the course of 10 years, my estimated lifetime BA is about .625

What is your best season batting average?
On year I batted .798

What levels have you played at?
Recreational, E/D and C level tournaments, A/B/C level league.

Have you ever played tournament level softball?
Yes, at the E/D level and the C level.
 
9.95

9.95

Champion
FrothyOmen said:
Can we play softball at MLG Phil? VSM vs Ohio LOL
Click to expand...
Ohio isn't ready for me to shoot box on them... :rolleyes:



RapZiLLa54 said:
Just getting into softball as I can no longer find friends to play baseball with anymore. Started last year out on Suffolk County but our team was horrendous lol. Playing for a solid team this upcoming season. I'm a pitcher, 3rdbasement and a solid hitter with power.

I'd prefer fastpitch since it would have more of a baseball feel but slow pitch is incredibly fun. My sundays are awesome, flag football in the morning, softball in the evening. Only complaint is my league doesn't allow you to drink :(
Click to expand...
We should talk... I'm getting back into playing shape. I play the same positions you do, and I am positive I know what league you play in.. one of the Brookhaven leagues. I can teach you how to be a better pitcher if you want(or if you need)... let me know, I can throw a screwball and a knuckleball.
 
RapZiLLa54

RapZiLLa54

Monster Island Tournaments
9.95 said:
Ohio isn't ready for me to shoot box on them... :rolleyes:





We should talk... I'm getting back into playing shape. I play the same positions you do, and I am positive I know what league you play in.. one of the Brookhaven leagues. I can teach you how to be a better pitcher if you want(or if you need)... let me know, I can throw a screwball and a knuckleball.
Click to expand...

Yeah definitely. I only pitched because our team was so horrible and I was pitcher in high school. I can somewhat throw a curve but i'll definitely take some lessons! Bring a ball tomorrow lol
 
9.95

9.95

Champion
RapZiLLa54 said:
Yeah definitely. I only pitched because our team was so horrible and I was pitcher in high school. I can somewhat throw a curve but i'll definitely take some lessons! Bring a ball tomorrow lol
Click to expand...
I will... what association are you playing in? USSSA or ASA? Because of where you live, I assume it's USSSA. The umpires wear red jerseys, right?
 
AK BeerGuyEd

AK BeerGuyEd

Apprentice
Wow I found this thread today just as the guys at work were talking about getting a team together, and joining a beer type league. Any tips on doing this 9.95?
 
Pig Of The Hut

Pig Of The Hut

Day 0 Phenomenal Dr. Fate and Darkseid player
All I want now is VSM vs the world in softball

World 6-4 over VSM :)

man if we made this happen w a stream, it'd be ON
 
9.95

9.95

Champion
BeerGuyEd said:
Wow I found this thread today just as the guys at work were talking about getting a team together, and joining a beer type league. Any tips on doing this 9.95?
Click to expand...
Yeah...first research what association the league will be... ASA(Amateur Softball Assoc.) or USSSA(United States Specialty Sports Assoc.)

Then find out the legal bat list, and get yourself a decent bat. Good bats are durable and high performance composite bats that will run you about $200-$300... you can get a full team to chip in for one good one... talk to me about them and I'll send you to the best place to get one for a good price.

Positions

- Pitcher first and foremost. If you have a guy who "says" he can throw strikes, don't believe it... make him throw BP first and see his consistency. Nothing is more frustrating to a team on the field than when a pitcher is up there walking the park. It's also frustrating to the hitting team because they want to hit, not walk.

- SS and 3rd Base next. They will see the majority of the infield action so make them prove they can handle it... don't just let someone go "I call 3rd" and then go out there and boot every ball hit at him.

- OF next. You need 4 outfielders and at least 2 of them need to be good.... 2 good OF can make up for the other 2 being a bit shaky, but you need at least 2 really good, solid OFers... all 4 wouldn't hurt either. Make sure that they know to hit the cutoff man EVERY SINGLE TIME... don't let them be a hero...odds are, they won't be anyway because they prob. can't throw the ball as accurately as they THINK they can...or as far...LOL.

- Catcher... this guys is like your 5th outfielder... he has to be able to play 1st base, catch throws to the plate, set up the infield and outfield, remember where the batter hit last time, and most importantly he has to be able to position himself PROPERLY to apply a tag(and understand the best ways to swipe different tags depending on position and situation).

- 1st Base - helps to have a very good one, one who was a former catcher in baseball with the ability to scoop the ball. As long as he can provide a good target, he doesn't have to be the tallest guy out there either. Has to be able to catch the ball and scoop.


Advice from an old veteran

1. DO NOT THROW THE BALL AROUND. Make your play, and if it ends, be smart, look the runner back, and get the play over, even if it's not the outcome you intended/wanted. You don't want to give up stupid runs because you threw the ball into dead territory. End the play and move on... you'll get the out later on and score the runs back as well.

2. On defense don't make mental mistakes. You're amateur, so physical errors will happen, but don't make mental ones. Know where the ball SHOULD go, get it there, and end the play. Encourage teammates to do the same.

3. When hitting, learn that a baseball swing and softball swing are ENTIRELY different. Don't swing up at the ball. Use a slightly downward swing, cut the ball and learn to hit linedrives.

4. Linedrives win games. Softball LOOKS like a game where you should be hitting 48 homeruns a game, but I PROMISE YOU that if you hit 20 singles in an inning, you'll rarely lose a game. Hit the ball HARD, not far... a 110 foot line drive is better than a 400 foot out.
 
9.95

9.95

Champion
Pig Of The Hut said:
All I want now is VSM vs the world in softball

World 6-4 over VSM :)

man if we made this happen w a stream, it'd be ON
Click to expand...
To be honest, I kinda agree with you... because we only have 3 softball players at VSM. Me, Rapzilla, and Redrum...

Now.. if you let me put my COBRAS team back together... you'll be in for a butt-ache like you've never experienced.
 
AK BeerGuyEd

AK BeerGuyEd

Apprentice
9.95 said:
Yeah...first research what association the league will be... ASA(Amateur Softball Assoc.) or USSSA(United States Specialty Sports Assoc.)

Then find out the legal bat list, and get yourself a decent bat. Good bats are durable and high performance composite bats that will run you about $200-$300... you can get a full team to chip in for one good one... talk to me about them and I'll send you to the best place to get one for a good price.

Positions

- Pitcher first and foremost. If you have a guy who "says" he can throw strikes, don't believe it... make him throw BP first and see his consistency. Nothing is more frustrating to a team on the field than when a pitcher is up there walking the park. It's also frustrating to the hitting team because they want to hit, not walk.

- SS and 3rd Base next. They will see the majority of the infield action so make them prove they can handle it... don't just let someone go "I call 3rd" and then go out there and boot every ball hit at him.

- OF next. You need 4 outfielders and at least 2 of them need to be good.... 2 good OF can make up for the other 2 being a bit shaky, but you need at least 2 really good, solid OFers... all 4 wouldn't hurt either. Make sure that they know to hit the cutoff man EVERY SINGLE TIME... don't let them be a hero...odds are, they won't be anyway because they prob. can't throw the ball as accurately as they THINK they can...or as far...LOL.

- Catcher... this guys is like your 5th outfielder... he has to be able to play 1st base, catch throws to the plate, set up the infield and outfield, remember where the batter hit last time, and most importantly he has to be able to position himself PROPERLY to apply a tag(and understand the best ways to swipe different tags depending on position and situation).

- 1st Base - helps to have a very good one, one who was a former catcher in baseball with the ability to scoop the ball. As long as he can provide a good target, he doesn't have to be the tallest guy out there either. Has to be able to catch the ball and scoop.


Advice from an old veteran

1. DO NOT THROW THE BALL AROUND. Make your play, and if it ends, be smart, look the runner back, and get the play over, even if it's not the outcome you intended/wanted. You don't want to give up stupid runs because you threw the ball into dead territory. End the play and move on... you'll get the out later on and score the runs back as well.

2. On defense don't make mental mistakes. You're amateur, so physical errors will happen, but don't make mental ones. Know where the ball SHOULD go, get it there, and end the play. Encourage teammates to do the same.

3. When hitting, learn that a baseball swing and softball swing are ENTIRELY different. Don't swing up at the ball. Use a slightly downward swing, cut the ball and learn to hit linedrives.

4. Linedrives win games. Softball LOOKS like a game where you should be hitting 48 homeruns a game, but I PROMISE YOU that if you hit 20 singles in an inning, you'll rarely lose a game. Hit the ball HARD, not far... a 110 foot line drive is better than a 400 foot out.
Click to expand...

Wow Phil thanks for the advice. That is a lot of good information for a bunch of guys planning to bring kegs of home brew to each game.
 
9.95

9.95

Champion
A few pictures:

After winning the A/B level fall league in 2010



2009 Cobras Softball - A/B League Champions



July 19, 2010 - Phil Proposes to his girlfriend(now wife)


2009 - Summer 2pm league - Phil first pitch strike... note the mask I'm wearing


I'm sure I have a few more photos... but this will do for now.
 
9.95

9.95

Champion
Pig Of The Hut said:
Dude I love this thread :)

So much great content

Love the pic of the proposal
Click to expand...

That was a lot of fun too...the proposal I mean. A lot went into making that happen, including calling the league, and the umpire association... making sure that her family and friends were there as well as my family and friends. Her sister took her out that morning and her friend took her to a water park so that she'd have no way of making other plans. We staged a phone call so that she'd offer to fill in for us for an inning while some of our players were traveling from another game to us... none of it was true... totally made up... so she spent her day worrying about hitting and when it was time to "play", I threw a few pitches, tossed the ball to the umpire, walked toward the plate and pulled out the ring and proposed at home plate in front of everyone.
 
MKF30

MKF30

Fujin and Ermac for MK 11
9.95 said:
So, if you didn't know, your favorite short guy is also an avid slow pitch softball player. Many of you already know, and ZAQ gets a little nervous anytime I mention softball because in the past I might have spent some time away from forums during the softball season... :rolleyes:

Anyway, with 2012 and my resolve to lose weight, I plan on lacing the cleats up again, either for the summer season(depending if I can get down to a playable weight) or for the fall ball season.

I am a 10 year USSSA slow pitch softball veteran with 20 years of baseball under my belt.(I have been playing baseball since I'm 5). I have played everything from E level(essentially recreational church/bar league softball) through C level tournaments(B level tournament is considered professional/sponsored tournament player).

REDRUM who is also a VSM member, is a crossover from my softball life to my MK life. Red has been teammate of mine for 10 years!

In baseball I was a catcher, but in softball I am a pitcher and 3rd baseman(the two most dangerous positions in softball).

I have managed at every level in the leagues I play in, including tournament teams. I have also been banned from playing at anything lower than C level in my leagues because of the danger to the D/E level teams that an experienced player can pose. I have since been allowed to play at those levels again but only part-time/managerial.

I used to own over 30 composite softball bats, which on average are $300 each. I currently only own 5.

I used to average playing 12 games a week(6 double headers) topping out one season at 20 games(10 double headers) per week. That was insane.

I am a nationally certified USSSA softball umpire.

So, here's what I want to know, and a few rules to go along with it.

First, the rule... THE FIRST PERSON TO TALK DOWN ABOUT SOFTBALL AS OPPOSED TO BASEBALL WILL RECEIVE A 1 WEEK BAN... NO QUESTION ASKED.

Slow pitch softball is a DANGEROUS game for many reasons and to prove my point, PITCHERS, not catchers, go to the mound wearing a mask, shin guards and sometimes a chest protector.

Ok, now that I have that out of my system:

What Association do you play for? ASA, USSSA, NSA, ISA?

Do you play slow pitch or fast pitch?

What position do you play?

What bat(s) do you own/swing?

What is your favorite bat?

What is your estimated lifetime batting average?

What is your best season batting average?

What levels have you played at?

Have you ever played tournament level softball?
Click to expand...
Hey, neat thread. I think I told you way back I used to play for ASA leagues on S.I., then I played for hardtop softball league, then the just for Fun league. Best team I was on, we went to the semi finals final 4 teams, got knocked out. I played right field and catcher, prefer RF though..way better and so far every coach said I have an arm so I guess that's good. I used to hit leadoff since I had a tendency to walk a lot and am more of a line drive hitter..also speedy player. It's too bad there's no stealing in softball, otherwise I would have so done so! lol. or bunting :(

First league was a medium-fast pitch softball league, second leagues were medium and sifun league are medium to slow co ed.

I played right field and catcher(I did experiment with 2nd but that sucked for me lol) I must say going from OF to infield sucks...lol I didn't like the change at all. So I stayed in RF and would catch from time to time.

Uh, I think I own 4 different bats. One I got from a garage sale and all faded an old Easton, a Worth Lite Powercell and a Easton Hammer(my bat of preference) I used to use this light weight metal bat(actually it was a baseball bat) but had no power so I used the Easton Hammer 98% of the time.

My favorite bat would have to be the Easton Hammer.

My overall estimated batting average was .290 range, I often lead or was tied for highest base % on my teams being that I walked a lot...I was very patient and had a lower batting stance so most pitchers had to make sure they got it over the plate, me being not that tall at only 5'8, isn't that tall and I probably lost a foot when I batted, had kind of a spread out, crouching stance. I never had much power, but then because I'm more of a line drive hitter/contact.

My best season average was one of the years with the winning team, I was with lead off hitter lead my team half the season, I was hitting .320, finished around .300. That year was great, if I didn't get line drive hits I'd walk most of the time.

Levels? That would be first fast-medium pitch ASA, then more casually competitive leagues medium-slow pitch.

Yes, every league I was in had tourneys/playoffs at the end of the season. Best team I was with we went to the semi finals via my Fall double header league back in 2002/2003.

For the record, I wore #30 for every team except one. And #4 (the first team I was with)

I'm thinking of getting back into a league again but it would take me working out more, getting back into it.

Being as how I was a line drive hitter, I did hit a few dangerous hits/pitches from time to time, most of the time the pitcher dives, hits the ground or just waves at the ball. There was this one time I hit one literally right back at the pitchers face, and he caught it...you heard the pop from like half a mile away lol. Everyone kind of sighed in relief, asking if he was ok and saying nice play...I kind of froze there in shock for a second then gave him props for making that catch. While in softball it's not as bad as baseball in terms of speed coming at you, it's still fast and dangerous. One reason why I'd NEVER be a pitcher lol and I'll gladly admit it. Catcher? Yes, you take a beating but I'd still rather be crouching with a mask, chest protector over a pitcher any day.

They also had a rule in my leagues with co-ed, no girls could be pitched to too "fast" but guys could. And girls couldn't catch due to roughness reasons. I may get back into it again, if I have the time. I used to bowl as well, I want to do one or the other again. If I do, it'll be fall. I can't take the summer heat anymore. Playing in 95 degree weather...I don't know how baseball players do it honestly. It may not be a contact sport but it requires stamina and endurance in the long run.
 
9.95

9.95

Champion
MKF30 I played in one fastpitch league and I caught/played 3rd. When I caught it was funny because in fastpitch you're allowed to lead AFTER the pitch(but still no stealing) and the catcher can throw you out similarly to a standard force out or put out at first(but on the pick off from catcher it can be at any base, no force is required). I picked off 16 leads in 10 games...LOL, they eventually learned.

As for the Hammer... it's a bat made for the ball you were hitting which was the Clincher or Clincher Gold. That thing is a sock and the hammer will hit the crap out of it, but a double wall bat similar to my F2 does a much better job than the hammer. The powercell you have is actually a better bat than the hammer, so when you play, I suggest you swing that instead... just trust me on this... the powercell is one of Worth's BEST singlewall bats.
 
REDRUM

REDRUM

www.twitter.com/redrum26
9.95 said:
A few pictures:




2009 Cobras Softball - A/B League Champions






I'm sure I have a few more photos... but this will do for now.
Click to expand...


Awesome thread Phil and look at that handsome redheaded fellow with the Giants Jersey on.... yay
9.95


But yea guys Phil was one of the best coaches/friends I've ever been involved with and a seriously technical hitter and you can't tell by looking at him but he's a vacuum at 3rd base...sick leather....


I'm a dead pull hitter (righty) and some might say I'm kinda fast out there ;)


And Phil knows the one and only clown bat I love....

I'd love to play on a vsm softball team if one forms ...

COBRA 4 LIFE
 
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