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penfieldMy 2006 softball season started on May 3, and I this year I will endeavor to provide capsules on a per-game basis, in the hopes of avoiding the inevitable memory lapses and apathy created by between-game delays.
This year I'll be playing with my Blue Team on Wednesdays and my Green Team on Thursdays, just like last year. I was a bit dubious in the offseason that either or both of these teams would be active this year; every season seems to drain the life and joy out of whomever is running the team, creating a front-office shakeup. Occasionally equipment is thrown. Feelings get hurt. Corruption runs rampant. But ultimately someone steps in to fill the leadership vacuum, and the season is born anew.
May 3, 2006
Blue Team (1-0)
WIN, 27-6
BATTING: 4 AB, 2 singles, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI
PITCHING: 2 innings, no hits, no walks, no runs
FIELDING (P/LF): 4 chances, no errors
On paper, this looks like a pretty good day at the plate. But the reality is not so kind. My first hit was a worm-killer that I slammed into the ground and went approximately three feet in front of home plate; fortunately I was able to beat the throw. My next two at-bats were lazy fly-outs, perhaps the only two fly balls that the opposition's inept outfielders were able to catch. My last at-bat was a sharply hit ground ball past the third baseman; I hit it hard enough that I felt it was a legitimate single, but a skillful defender would have been able to catch it and throw me out.
I fared much better in the field, where I tossed two perfect innings and played error-free in left. Recounting my performance, J. asked me if that wasn't the more important aspect of my game. I explained that while that might be theoretically true in real baseball, in softball the pitcher's job is much less important. While a baseball pitcher's object is to prevent the hitter from making solid contact with the ball, A softball pitcher's first responsibility is to coerce the batter into contact, preferably at someone, and in a timely fashion. To do his job, a baseball pitcher uses precision and variation in timing. In slow-pitch softball, where walks and strikeouts do not exist, precision is useless. The most effective pitchers are the ones who throw 40 pitches in the dirt, making the batter so desperate that he or she will swing at the 41st pitch in the dirt. And a softball pitcher must be consistent in his timing, lest his outfielders pass out drunk between pitches.
All told, the game was a success, especially from a team standpoint. There were two-month stretches last year when we didn't score 27 runs, so perhaps we have an offensive juggernaut in the making. We just have to make sure our defense doesn't become offensive, too.
This year I'll be playing with my Blue Team on Wednesdays and my Green Team on Thursdays, just like last year. I was a bit dubious in the offseason that either or both of these teams would be active this year; every season seems to drain the life and joy out of whomever is running the team, creating a front-office shakeup. Occasionally equipment is thrown. Feelings get hurt. Corruption runs rampant. But ultimately someone steps in to fill the leadership vacuum, and the season is born anew.
May 3, 2006
Blue Team (1-0)
WIN, 27-6
BATTING: 4 AB, 2 singles, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI
PITCHING: 2 innings, no hits, no walks, no runs
FIELDING (P/LF): 4 chances, no errors
On paper, this looks like a pretty good day at the plate. But the reality is not so kind. My first hit was a worm-killer that I slammed into the ground and went approximately three feet in front of home plate; fortunately I was able to beat the throw. My next two at-bats were lazy fly-outs, perhaps the only two fly balls that the opposition's inept outfielders were able to catch. My last at-bat was a sharply hit ground ball past the third baseman; I hit it hard enough that I felt it was a legitimate single, but a skillful defender would have been able to catch it and throw me out.
I fared much better in the field, where I tossed two perfect innings and played error-free in left. Recounting my performance, J. asked me if that wasn't the more important aspect of my game. I explained that while that might be theoretically true in real baseball, in softball the pitcher's job is much less important. While a baseball pitcher's object is to prevent the hitter from making solid contact with the ball, A softball pitcher's first responsibility is to coerce the batter into contact, preferably at someone, and in a timely fashion. To do his job, a baseball pitcher uses precision and variation in timing. In slow-pitch softball, where walks and strikeouts do not exist, precision is useless. The most effective pitchers are the ones who throw 40 pitches in the dirt, making the batter so desperate that he or she will swing at the 41st pitch in the dirt. And a softball pitcher must be consistent in his timing, lest his outfielders pass out drunk between pitches.
All told, the game was a success, especially from a team standpoint. There were two-month stretches last year when we didn't score 27 runs, so perhaps we have an offensive juggernaut in the making. We just have to make sure our defense doesn't become offensive, too.
