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Softball

TransMonk Apr 27 2010 03:48 PM

Anyone else do this? I'm playing in my first league this year at 35. I never thought I would have the time, but this year decided to make the time since it's always something I wanted to do. My city has a website where you can sign up to be more-or-less drafted by teams looking for players depending on where you live and what nights you want to play. I got drafted by a gung-ho team that scheduled 14 practices before our first game. Even though I haven't played any organized ball since high school, I'm one of the better players on the team. If I had to guess, I would say over half our team is in their 20's, so, as a 35 year old, 5'8" stroke victim, I'm not sure how I'm all that good. I got pegged to play firstbase, which I have never played before at any level. On a team of guys that can make over the shoulder basket catches and web-gem diving stops, I am the only player that can consistently catch a ball thrown right to them. I'm looking forward to the season, though. We have an exhibition game tomorrow and our season kicks off on May 10th. I plan on wearing high socks and wristbands with our team colors. I hope the rest of the team thinks I'm dorky.

Nymr83 Apr 27 2010 04:22 PM Re: Softball

i always thought of you as younger, i guess thats a good thing?

Rockin' Doc Apr 27 2010 04:23 PM Re: Softball

I used to play in the City League and on a weekend touring team that played tournaments in NC and southern Virginia. I quit playing when my second child was born (she's 19 now). Our team won the city championship that spring and I decided it was a good time to retire and spend more time with my growing family. I spent the ensuing years watching my son play tee ball/Little League/Jr. High/Sr. High baseball and attending my daughters dance recitals. I loved playing, but it just took up too much time. Now I have plenty of free time, but at my age (soon to be 50) I don't have the desire to play 3-4 days a week. Not sure my body would be up to it either. Have fun and try to remember you're not 25 anymore.

Swan Swan H Apr 27 2010 07:13 PM Re: Softball

I've been playing in adult leagues since I was 15, and I still play. We do doubleheaders on Sunday, and play on asphalt in schoolyards. The two fields our league uses are in Fresh Meadows and Bayside. I play third base and usually hit sixth or seventh in the order. I have been playing with most of the guys on this team for around ten years. There is one guy on my team whose picture is next to mine in our high school yearbook - class of '75.

metsmarathon Apr 27 2010 08:00 PM Re: Softball

i play in an intramural league at work. there are about 12-16 teams, iirc. i'm basically daniel murphy. i can hit, but not for power. i don't do well on defense, notably having trouble with fly balls hit straight at me, and my best positions are first and third, but right now, we've got a primary third baseman, and a primary first baseman, and neither is me. i play every position, though, except shortstop (so far). we've been together for 5 years, and are just starting to see the first wave of kids roll through the ranks. we'll see what that does to us. most of the guys on the team went to college together; i worked on the same program as a few of em. we're not really good, but we're not really bad, either.

Rockin' Doc Apr 27 2010 08:29 PM Re: Softball

Asphalt for a playing surface? I thought the strawberries and bruises were bad on astroturf in college. I guess there aren't many diving grabs or any sliding in your league. I would think that hitting it hard on the ground would be a pretty good stategy for a hitter as the ball short get between infielders pretty quickly. I guess grass infields and dirt basepaths are one advantage to living in less metropolitan areas.

Methead Apr 27 2010 08:34 PM Re: Softball

About 10-12 years ago I got hooked up by a friend into a league made up of lawyers on the upper West Side. We played on asphalt schoolyards too, the most memorable time was way up in the 120's where kids were shooting fireworks in the outfield while we were playing. Depending on who showed up on any given day, I played 3B or SS... but primarily they had me at 1B since I was relatively tall and had decent hands. I can hit but I'm not gonna hit many homers. Now that I live in the burbs and I'm over 35, I might try to latch on for one last hurrah with the over-35 league in town. We'll see. I had my kid home sick yesterday and had to carry him around for a bit... my back is destroyed today. It's pitiful.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Apr 27 2010 08:37 PM Re: Softball

TransMonk wrote: I'm looking forward to the season, though. We have an exhibition game tomorrow and our season kicks off on May 10th. I plan on wearing high socks and wristbands with our team colors. I hope the rest of the team thinks I'm dorky. Played for work every year they've run the team since I've worked there, and even got roped into managing one year. (Never again.) I own several pairs of knee socks and wristbands in our team colors. Oh, and a red-and-white headband, to keep my flowing mane out my face while I produce-- making runs is hard work, and I like to make it as aesthetically-pleasing for spectators as possible. I play pretty. (Think "Fat Shinjo.") Except for defense. I've played LF, SS, and 3B, and play each much like the ex-catcher I am (good glove for stuff hit right at/near me, body-block everything else).

Frayed Knot Apr 27 2010 08:41 PM Re: Softball

I've played in all sorts of leagues - from 'fun' co-ed company teams to more serious weekend stuff - over the past few decades up until about two years ago. I wish I was still playing. Last team I played on had several father/son combos on the team and included I think it was 4 different guys who were grandfathers. Don't laugh, we were still pretty good. Played on NYC blacktops a handful of times (and, yes, I've seen slides and dives on them) but mostly on the green grass & dirt. My original Mets on-line name: LEFTFIELD was after my long-time softball position (prior to wrecking my arm).

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Apr 27 2010 08:44 PM Re: Softball

Some of the Central Park dirt hurts, though. (Have strawberried myself twice pretty badly before. Twice. 'Cause, y'know, I'm an idiot.) They just Fieldturfed the park fields near my work. I've been drooling since I saw.

TransMonk Apr 27 2010 09:00 PM Re: Softball

Nymr83 wrote: i always thought of you as younger, i guess thats a good thing? Thanks...I think.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Apr 27 2010 09:04 PM Re: Softball Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 28 2010 08:19 AM

In my mind, TM, you're forever bending over for grounders. Wait. Did I write that out loud?

Swan Swan H Apr 28 2010 07:23 AM Re: Softball

I used to slide on the blacktop when I was younger, and a lot of the younger guys (including my son) still do. I'm way past that, but I have gotten my share of skinned knees and the like.

Edgy DC Apr 28 2010 07:46 AM Re: Softball

I end up in workplaces filled with wimmens --- inactive ones at that --- and never end up on any softball teams. I tried to hook up with an adult baseball league a few years back, but don't have a car and all their games are in the burbs.

seawolf17 Apr 28 2010 08:20 AM Re: Softball

Haven't played regularly since my radio station days, playing in the media league in Rochester. I've explored putting together an admissions office team, but nobody wants to commit; same deal with our church.

DocTee Apr 28 2010 08:32 AM Re: Softball

Missed the deadline for the community team this year-- next time for sure. Would prefer to have my own squad, but it's hard to get 10 of my firends to find common times, etc, so I'll probably just enter the "draft". Used to play in the NYC bar leagues, on asphalt and sometimes the red tennis clay oval beneath the 59th Street Bridge. Impossible to get that color out of your clothes! Thought about joining an adult baseball league, but the travel and cost ($600) scared me away. Would hate to pay that much and join a team that had played together for years and be relegated to the bench.

A Boy Named Seo Apr 28 2010 09:38 AM Re: Softball

Edgy DC wrote: I end up in workplaces filled with wimmens --- inactive ones at that --- and never end up on any softball teams. I tried to hook up with an adult baseball league a few years back, but don't have a car and all their games are in the burbs. I played baseball for 2 years in college before hanging em up, did softball for a little, and went back to baseball. The ball looked like a fucking marble then, and I'm certain was moving 1000 times faster than it ever did before. Never felt so old.

Fman99 Apr 29 2010 09:46 AM Re: Softball

I wish I had the time to play... running my kids around to karate class, tee ball for Fboy, and starting next year, gymnastics or ballet for Fgirl, plus my Thursday night golf league. I'm a busy feller is what I'm saying.

Ashie62 Apr 30 2010 06:50 AM Re: Softball

It's not softball, but we have a senior as in over 45 hard ball league I still do. Our best player is 70.

Ceetar Apr 30 2010 06:54 AM Re: Softball

I've been meaning to play in a baseball or softball league. Don't know of any, and I never seem to remember to do some googling. Maybe this weekend.

Edgy DC Apr 30 2010 07:08 AM Re: Softball

You know what kids enjoy? Watching their parents do something for themselves now and then. It lends meaning to what they do, that their activity and creativity are parts of an ongoing healthy, happy lifestyle. If you do everything just for them, it sends them the implicit message that adulthood (and certainly parenthood) is a time of miserable self-abnegation, and they should do everything they can to avoid (or at least delay) it. So let your kids see you playing your crappy sports, playing your crappy music, and smooching up your spouses. That's what I say.

Fman99 Apr 30 2010 09:39 AM Re: Softball

Edgy DC wrote: You know what kids enjoy? Watching their parents do something for themselves now and then. It lends meaning to what they do, that their activity and creativity are parts of an ongoing healthy, happy lifestyle. If you do everything just for them, it sends them the implicit message that adulthood (and certainly parenthood) is a time of miserable self-abnegation, and they should do everything they can to avoid (or at least delay) it. So let your kids see you playing your crappy sports, playing your crappy music, and smooching up your spouses. That's what I say. I agree 100%.

seawolf17 Apr 30 2010 10:08 AM Re: Softball

Fman99 wrote: Edgy DC wrote: You know what kids enjoy? Watching their parents do something for themselves now and then. It lends meaning to what they do, that their activity and creativity are parts of an ongoing healthy, happy lifestyle. If you do everything just for them, it sends them the implicit message that adulthood (and certainly parenthood) is a time of miserable self-abnegation, and they should do everything they can to avoid (or at least delay) it. So let your kids see you playing your crappy sports, playing your crappy music, and smooching up your spouses. That's what I say. I agree 100%. It's part of the reason why I so enjoy being part of the "folk group" at our UU fellowship; it helps MiniWolf open up and not be afraid to stand in front of the big room with the children's choir, because Daddy does it too. (Plus, I'm breaking them out of the mold of crappy old folk tunes and into more current stuff; we're playing a Butch Walker tune on Sunday.) When I was growing up, my dad worked for NY Telephone/NYNEX. Every year we had a company picnic at Eisenhower Park, complete with a big softball game. One year the field was in use, so we made a makeshift field over near our site; out beyond left-center was a big dropoff hill. I still remember that day how I whacked a ball into the gap and down that hill and circled the bases; my dad, up next, did the same thing in the same spot. Neither one of us is/was much of an athlete, but that's such a cool memory for me.

soupcan Apr 30 2010 02:02 PM Re: Softball

Played intramural softball in college for my fraternity - some of my best memories. We had an 'A' team and a 'B' team. A team was made up of the best players in the house, B team was the guys that didn't make the A Team. There were 4 divisions and the winners of the divisions made the playoffs to compete for University champ. Divisions were Fraternies, Dorms, Independents and Super League. Super League consisted of varsity athletes - mostly made up of guys from the the football team because there were so many of them and the other teams (lacrosse, hoops, etc.) were either in-season or were forbidden to play. Sophomore year I was on the B team and we were tearing it up. So much so in fact that at the end of the season we had to play our house's A team for the championship of the division. It was a great day because to us it didn't really matter who won or lost. Either way we got our house in the playoffs and it was a win for the fraternity. The A team won and went on to win the whole damn thing, but that one game that day, was a great time - kegs, sorority chicks and lots of laughs. Played a few times on pick-up teams in my town the last few years and still do here and there, but its just not as enjoyable as it used to be. The guys are just way too competitive for my tastes.

metsmarathon Apr 30 2010 07:26 PM Re: Softball

Re: competitive guys in intramural sports - the only thing more pathetic than cheating in work-league intramural sports is playing dirty in them.

Rockin' Doc Apr 30 2010 09:47 PM Re: Softball

I'm generally a rather calm and easy going person, but I'm pretty intense and competitive in any game I play. Whether it be baseball, golf, billiards or whatever. I believe a person can be competitive without playing dirty or cheating. I played city league and tournament softball with the same intensity and competitive drive that I had played high school, American Legion, and college baseball with. I did all I could, to the best of my abilities (within the rules) to help my team win and I expected each of my teammates to do the same. I think that some here probably wouldn't have enjoyed playing with or against me.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 01 2010 07:03 AM Re: Softball

I played softball with my friends from HS for a few years, then resumed years later with crappy low-level coed work teams. Our team after a few years of sucking got pretty good (semifinals in a citywide crappy low-level coed work league) only to break up as our little division of a big company was absorbed into the big company, which already had a sb team and wasn't sponsoring any more. Then some people got laid off and my department got sold to another company and that was that. F'ing big business.

metsmarathon May 01 2010 08:53 AM Re: Softball

Rockin' Doc wrote: I'm generally a rather calm and easy going person, but I'm pretty intense and competitive in any game I play. Whether it be baseball, golf, billiards or whatever. I believe a person can be competitive without playing dirty or cheating. I played city league and tournament softball with the same intensity and competitive drive that I had played high school, American Legion, and college baseball with. I did all I could, to the best of my abilities (within the rules) to help my team win and I expected each of my teammates to do the same. I think that some here probably wouldn't have enjoyed playing with or against me. i'd love it. i was playing in an intramural volleyball league at work this winter, and the team basically sucked, but whatever - i don't fault my teammates for lack of ability. so we're playing a game against another team that's not really good, but we've got a chance against them if we play well, and if i turn up the dial on my ball-hogging. (i can at times be the unskilled kobe bryant of intramural volleyball) so the second game, after we just got killed in the first game, i start out with the serve, and get us like 10 points in a game to 15. i lose serve, and the other team starts coming back strong, serving it to where i'm not. i eventually work my way to teh front line. after a few more points, with me running, unsuccessfully, all over the place, eventually, they serve the ball to one of my teammates. she's not good, but tries. anyways, the ball comes off her hands awkwardly, and is going to fall out of bounds. i scramble over, execute a rolling dive maneuver to scoop the ball from just above the floor and hit it high over the center of our court. where my teammates are casually milling about, blissfully unaware that my efforts of throwing myself all over the place have been successful. just before the ball hit one of thm in the head, they noticed it, and flailed awkwardly at the ball, sending it into the net. that was my last game with that group.

Rockin' Doc May 01 2010 09:38 AM Re: Softball

Metsmarathon - "...i don't fault my teammates for lack of ability." I agree. I simply expect teammates (and opponents) to utilize the talents they possess to help the team to the best of their ability. I have little patience for those that don't hustle or simply don't seem to care.

TransMonk Sep 27 2010 03:50 PM Re: Softball

My team finished up 6-9 after 15 games. We lost our last 6 straight. I triple slashed .434/.455/.434 by going 23/53 with a few walks. I'm pretty sure .434 in slow pitch softball would equal about .250 in baseball, and considering I had zero extra base hits, I might as well be Luis Castillo. I did play every out of the season at first base and only made two errors after not ever having played the position at any level before. Overall, I had some fun, got some exercise and will be better next year after having this season under my belt.

Ceetar Sep 27 2010 05:22 PM Re: Softball

TransMonk wrote: My team finished up 6-9 after 15 games. We lost our last 6 straight. I triple slashed .434/.455/.434 by going 23/53 with a few walks. I'm pretty sure .434 in slow pitch softball would equal about .250 in baseball, and considering I had zero extra base hits, I might as well be Luis Castillo. I did play every out of the season at first base and only made two errors after not ever having played the position at any level before. Overall, I had some fun, got some exercise and will be better next year after having this season under my belt. Yeah, the lower slugger than OBS is very Castilloesque. But hey, a nearly .900 OPS! Congrats! Next summer I'll have to find a softball or baseball league or something.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Sep 27 2010 05:32 PM Re: Softball

Nice socks. You play for... Contagious?

Edgy DC Sep 27 2010 05:33 PM Re: Softball

That's like two weeks in Buffalo with Jesus Feliciano. Sounds like a great year.

TransMonk Sep 27 2010 05:34 PM Re: Softball

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Nice socks. You play for... Contagious? No, the noun...Contagion. Not my first choice, but what can you do?

seawolf17 Sep 27 2010 08:04 PM Re: Softball

Not bad at all, Monk. Didn't realize we had a softball thread. For posterity, I'll add here that earlier this summer our Student Affairs softball team won the summer league championship on campus, my first real athletic championship of any kind.

metsguyinmichigan Sep 27 2010 08:48 PM Re: Softball

Dude, those uniforms are AWESOME! I coach the church coed team. We didn't do that well during the season, since some of my best players had A) injuries, B) coaching the high school team and C) coaching their own kids team. But we all got together for the playoffs and surged at the right time. The plaque is rather ugly, but sits proudly at my desk for all to enjoy. Well, mostly me.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Sep 28 2010 10:14 AM Re: Softball

TransMonk wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Nice socks. You play for... Contagious? No, the noun...Contagion. Not my first choice, but what can you do? Like, disease-transmission? Guh. Hell, if you're going for singular, non-mascot-y nouns, you could do worse than ripping off Slayer or Metallica; I've always wanted to play for a team called "Creeping Death." Also-- and I'm only half-ball-busting here-- I could use some eyeblack on ya, there. I'm losing your eye definition, whitey.

Rockin' Doc Sep 29 2010 11:21 AM Re: Softball

There was a very good team in the intramural softball league at my optometry school. They were mostly guys from the year behind us at school. In the three years (Fall League & Spring League) we competed against one another, our team won 4 titles and their team won 2. Their team name was called S.L.U.D. which was an acronym for Salivation, Lacrimation, Urination, and Defecation. I was just happy I played against them and didn't need to sport that team jersey. Funny thing is, that as I write this I can't remember the name of our team at all. We were pretty good. Though, I guess you could say we were the big fish in a rather small pond. Our team won both titles our first year (pre-S.L.U.D.) which gave us a total of 6 out of 8 possible titles. We never lost a game except against the S.L.U.D. gang.

Vic Sage Sep 29 2010 11:53 AM Re: Softball

in HS, i played for the SF club team, THE CLONES (as i recall, we all had the same number). I caught and played 1b, even some 2b (as a lefty!). in College, where Seawolf works, i played for the student newspaper team. Actually the paper was the "alternative newspaper" a bi-weekly village-voicy political and cultural commentary rag called THE PRESS, whose motto was "objective journalism is a pompous contradiction in terms". Our biggest game was always against the mainstream campus paper, STATESMAN. We always played that game like a bloodsport. after college, i played pickup games on Sundays in prospect park (Brooklyn), with my friends. Although we eventually dispersed, we continued having a regular game at least once a summer out on Long Island. Eventually, our kids started playing, and then we were just watching them and drinking. The game has since disbanded. I also played in the Broadway Show league in Central Park, about 10 years ago. That was fun, but the Local 1 team was always full of ringers. They took that shit way too seriously.

seawolf17 Sep 29 2010 12:20 PM Re: Softball

We had an annual WGSU-GSTV game at Geneseo every spring. We (I) keep talking about getting an old-timers' game together some year at the annual reunion, but it hasn't happened yet.