Crazy softball

[meyers7]

I thought TJI was being sarcastic.

Taking the piss.

It was a good one.

 

[meyers7]

So you're calling what Madonna does "playing baseball?"

You're telling me Madonna hasn't gotten to at least 3rd base with......numerous people (people - including both genders)

Oh she's a player all right. oops, "playa".

 

[Vowelguy]

More why did they ever start on the wrong foot?

Duhhhh, I don't know. Why ever could that be?

 

[pinotbear]

[

Sure, now you can have the comparisons, they can't play baseball so they have to create something different for them. Basically supporters of softball are sexist.


Nooo, that would make it even sillier. It wouldn't even make me happier if they played baseball. It would just take away the sexist silliness of it.


And all the rules are to make it easier for women (pretty sexist if you ask me). Softball is something different than baseball, a different game. (just ask Pinot, he knows, he's been coaching for 20+ years)[/quote]

Pretty big leap there, Meyers - basically stating that because the game is different, it is designed to be easier, and that because it is different, it is inherently sexist. Further, you say that they "can't" play baseball - I suspect, until fairly recently (my two sister's generation, actually), girls were either not allowed to play, or actively discouraged from playing. "Can't" play is one thing, being prevented from playing is another. My mother, nearly 88, played baseball as a girl with the boys in the neighborhood (her dad, my grandfather, was a very good amateur player who played with Ruth in at least one summer league, back when the Babe was still a bit of a babe.) But, once my mom neared puberty, no more baseball! No opportunity, and, certainly not socially acceptable.

As anybody who has ever played knows, a "softball" isn't appreciably softer than a baseball - and, it's heavier. Playing the infield, particularly the corner positions and pitcher, requires reflexes at least as fast as those in baseball, as you are much closer to the batter (in the case of 3rd base, you may literally be half the distance than in baseball). Arguably, hitting a softball is harder than hitting a baseball in three ways, and easier in one. Identifying the "easier" aspect is, well, easy - the ball is bigger. That's also one of the ways in which it's harder - being heavier, with more air resistance/friction, it's harder to hit the softball for a distance. But, the two biggest reasons it can be harder to hit a softball is 1). the pitching rubber is 43 ft away. With pitchers hitting nearly 70mph from this distance, the batter's reaction time is that of a baseball player facing somebody throwing in the mid-nineties or higher. The greatest difficulty, I think, is that created by the seams on the softball - the larger seams allow pitchers to move the ball up, down, in and out, and they can change speeds dramatically (watch the College world series, and see how the skilled pitchers change speed by up to 15 mph, with no discernable variation in arm speed.)

And, as for softball being designed for the "weaker sex". Has anybody pitched both games of a baseball double-header since Wilbur Wood? Or started on multiple consecutive days? Happens all the time in softball.

In short, I think you can make a pretty good argument that softball is harder than baseball.

 

[Bestiarius]

Seemed like an awful lot of blown easy fielding plays by both teams.

Regarding ball hardness, as a former shortstop, I can tell you when a baseball hits your shin, it hurts a lot more than a softball.

The play at third looked like a "safe" to me. I liked the umpire's tattoo, "I had Lasek, so shaddup."

Men's softball is a much better game than women's, mainly because of the mandatory cooler of beer.

 

[mcannon1]

Oh, he's a troll about softball. In his world it's a dumbed-down version of Baseball Lite. He and I were arguing about it last week.

I missed the game, but it would be nice to see another more eastern school win; I think only Michigan has broken the monopoly of schools west of the Mississippi River.

TN is east of the MS river.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Go Sooners


Just sayin'........

 

[ursusminor]

TN is east of the MS river.

Right. I think when Michigan won the whole championship that they were the first from the east to win it all. If TN pulls it out they may be the second.

 

[stwainfan]

Right. I think when Michigan won the whole championship that they were the first from the east to win it all. If TN pulls it out they may be the second.

As bad as I hate to say this Alabama won it last year.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Beth Mowins is the consummate pro behind the mike.

 

[pinotbear]

On one hand, I'm marveling at the fact that the Tennessee pitcher throw her fastball at 72mph, and her change at 52 mph. That's astonishing. On the other hand, I'm looking at the massive, broad, bright ribbon hanging from her hair, and thinking: somewhere in central Tennessee, there's a show horse in a dressage competition, wandering around, feeling naked.

Looking at the Lady Vols dugout, with all the players wearing those silly ribbons, there's a whole buncha show horses, somewhere, feeling naked. It's tough for folks like me to champion fastpitch softball when some of the players get dolled up like it's "Dancing with the Stars".

Get dusty, get dirty.

 

[pvdoggy]

Nothing wrong with looking pretty, but I do agree, the Tennessee team is definitely more dolled up,
while the OU team looks more down and dirty. Ellen Renfroe is one cool customer though, even more
so than Keilani Ricketts.

On one hand, I'm marveling at the fact that the Tennessee pitcher throw her fastball at 72mph, and her change at 52 mph. That's astonishing. On the other hand, I'm looking at the massive, broad, bright ribbon hanging from her hair, and thinking: somewhere in central Tennessee, there's a show horse in a dressage competition, wandering around, feeling naked.

Looking at the Lady Vols dugout, with all the players wearing those silly ribbons, there's a whole buncha show horses, somewhere, feeling naked. It's tough for folks like me to champion fastpitch softball when some of the players get dolled up like it's "Dancing with the Stars".

Get dusty, get dirty.

 

[Bestiarius]

Ellen Renfroe is one cool customer though, even more
so than Keilani Ricketts.

Care to explain? Ricketts wins game one with her pitching and game 2 with her hitting. Ellen Loses game one and is out pitched in game 2. I guess you mean she handles failure well.

 

[Vowelguy]

Congrats to OU!

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Yes!! Congrats OU!!!!

 

[msf22b]

Monster team, hitting up and down the line-up. The lead-off hitter was the RBI leader; roll that one around.
And two top pitchers.
The gracious UTenn coach compared them to the '27 Yankees.
Any 'yarders closing in on a hundred, remember that bunch?

 

[Phil]

Well no they wouldn't switch. More why did they ever start on the wrong foot? Basketball, soccer, track and field, lacrosse, swimming, etc.

If I understand your point, you are listing sports where the rules are the same for males and females. While that is largely true today, with some minor exceptions, it wasn't always the case.

Oddly, it started out the same on (literally) day one. Senda Berenson used the Naismith rules for her Smith gym classes as she introduced the game to women. However, the rules were different (almost literally) on day two. The game was well-received, but Senda felt that it wasn't quite appropriate as is, so sat down with her team and they came up with a number of modifications to the rules. The nest known is the division of the court in three sections (later, two); players were assigned to sections and could not leave them. You could not take the ball out of another player's hands, you could not dribble more than thrice.

As another odd twist, Clara Baer, independently of Berenson, obtained a copy of the rules from Naismith and introduced basketball to the south. She also divided the court into sections, but she did so in error, misreading the diagrams on Naismith's explanations. He was simply identifying where players would normally be positioned at the start of a game, but she though the lines meant players had to remain in the sections. She had seven sections, at first. Six player basketball, with divided courts went away in many areas of the country, but persisted in the Midwest for quite some time.

 

[meyers7]

Six player basketball, with divided courts went away in many areas of the country, but persisted in the Midwest for quite some time.

I know, it was right next door when I was growing up. Iowa. But they've since caught up to at least the 20th century. Still use a different size ball and don't use the 10 second rule .