Is softball changing and falling because.....

[KCRelentless]

i have no idea what you are trying to say here. You get picked up because you are so massive and are expected to only hit hrs. isnt that what you just said is all you try to do?

I'm saying when you get picked up and you are a "big guy", they automatically assume the worst if it's not over the fence. I only try for the HR's with runners on or when we have the HR's to use. I strive to hit moonshots, yes. Do I specifically do it, to ruin my teams' chance of winning?... No.

 

[sosa2314]

I dont live by the longball but I enjoy hitting them. Less running and more time for beer. (Cardio is some sort of spanish word I think....) I have the bat control to not hit them.

 

[Joker]

if you "put work" into softball and play anything less than D, gtfo

 

[sosa2314]

LMAO. True Joker, true....

 

[-Six-]

6'2 300 there is a good chance you will burn me with a moon shot then. I am moving up when i see someone like you, i assume its hard to get dat bat speed around that belly.

 

[AWall13]

if you "put work" into softball and play anything less than D, gtfo

Forget putting work into a recreational hobby. I practice my beer drinking year round but may do one or two bp sessions before season just to make sure I don't embarass myself. I'm amazed when I hear people say I'm working out to be better at softball, getting in shape for softball, this will help with softball, etc. How about work out so you don't die and leave your children fatherless? who gives a **** about softball. If you lose 30 lbs an can leg out a triple or score from second on a base hit this year just a side effect. The main concern is no longer having high risk of heart disease or diabetes:thumb:

 

[Pdpwally]

if you "put work" into softball and play anything less than D, gtfo

so E ballers need to gtfo?

 

[KCRelentless]

Belly... no.... few too many beers yes.

 

[17HnH]

Make a play. Say "thanks" if they say "nice play." Hit a bomb (not my game but happens on rare occasion), say "thanks" if they say "nice shot." Otherwise enjoy the game whether you are at a high level or not. I find tourney ball way more fun because our guys play hard, but realize we aren't getting paid and act as such. I've seen the "hero's" make issues out of nothing more often in rec BY FAR. Gotta admit the best part of filling in for a low level rec team last night was hearing my oldest son (11) yell "Come on dad" as I walked up to the plate. Promptly fell out to center We got killed, but got to see some good friends and my wife and 3 kids got to see several of their friends. Good night for all.

 

[Joker]

so E ballers need to gtfo?

if you're out hitting bp 3 days a week and in the gym the other 4 just for softball, than yes gtfo

 

[MP33]

I don't feel like I fall under any of the 3. I'm just a good ol boy. Ive been nagged at for drinking too much by guys from group A to be part of that group. I'm just there to have fun. I'm not old enough to be in group B and actually prefer to hang out with those mindset guys. And I don't care enough to be in group C. In ASA i'm still swinging a 30 oz miken maniac I bought off a buddy for $50. I hit my first home run with my dad's demarini doublewall in a church league in 2006. I don't understand why people spend so much on bats. If you can hit you can hit.



I remember my dad who was a big strong dude mashing but with a 32 oz bat that sounded like sheet metal when hit. He was done playing before composite came out.

Last year in league ball our #10 hitter hit an 72 hopper back through the middle and DB shortstop yells middles open. I was like are you serious?



What happened to just getting away from the wife and kids for a few hours and having fun?



I loved the home run (past tense) back when you could say dude could play or that was a shot. Not now when guys are coming out who are 120 lbs soaking wet wearing combat bats and swing like the bats a fly swatter and the ball going out. I would love to play in a wood bat unlimited homer league

As a pitcher, I just love it when someone playing another position yells middles open.

 

[AWall13]

As a pitcher, I just love it when someone playing another position yells middles open.

I happened to be hitting 11th that night as I was running late and didn't know if I'd make it by game time and heard this and said to the catcher is he serious? They both got all upset. I told him you're a below average league team complaining about a dribbler your pitcher should have caught. There are 5-6 guys over here who are capable of hitting the middle whenever they want. Why do this to your pitcher?

Short stop kept running his mouth and proceeded to stand on top of second base and yell go ahead and hit middle then. I wanted to ,but all in all the pitcher had nothing to do with any of this and looked a little worried about what his team was doing to him so I hit a single to where the short stop vacated and said I can hit the ball wherever I want. Don't call middle open for nothing like a jackass

 

[MP33]

I happened to be hitting 11th that night as I was running late and didn't know if I'd make it by game time and heard this and said to the catcher is he serious? They both got all upset. I told him you're a below average league team complaining about a dribbler your pitcher should have caught. There are 5-6 guys over here who are capable of hitting the middle whenever they want. Why do this to your pitcher?

Short stop kept running his mouth and proceeded to stand on top of second base and yell go ahead and hit middle then. I wanted to ,but all in all the pitcher had nothing to do with any of this and looked a little worried about what his team was doing to him so I hit a single to where the short stop vacated and said I can hit the ball wherever I want. Don't call middle open for nothing like a jackass

Exactly. I was playing in an any bat/any ball tourney a few years ago, team we had beat earlier makes way back to meet us in championship game, before the game a couple of their players were chirping about hitting middle, put a couple shots up there. We come up in bottom of first, hit a couple up the middle, using OG Ultra's, their pitcher is pissed at his own team at this point. I come up, just happened to be in that spot in the lineup, hit the first ball foul out of play, so we toss in a brand new launch 650, pitcher just drops the ball and walks off the mound, said nope, I ain't pitching anymore. None of the guys running their mouths would get near the mound, they forfeited, lol.

Scary part is the next 3 guys in our lineup hit the ball a lot harder than I did, if they had gotten to bat, someone would have been hurt, bad

 

[AWall13]

Exactly. I was playing in an any bat/any ball tourney a few years ago, team we had beat earlier makes way back to meet us in championship game, before the game a couple of their players were chirping about hitting middle, put a couple shots up there. We come up in bottom of first, hit a couple up the middle, using OG Ultra's, their pitcher is pissed at his own team at this point. I come up, just happened to be in that spot in the lineup, hit the first ball foul out of play, so we toss in a brand new launch 650, pitcher just drops the ball and walks off the mound, said nope, I ain't pitching anymore. None of the guys running their mouths would get near the mound, they forfeited, lol.

Scary part is the next 3 guys in our lineup hit the ball a lot harder than I did, if they had gotten to bat, someone would have been hurt, bad

I do not hit the middle and if I do I only do so when I'm pitching (rare). My dad and uncle no longer play so I don't hit middle for retaliation purposes either. Im relatively dumb and definitely stupid so when teams I play with get involved in these middle battles I take the mound and feel completely justified to blow it up, but its rec ball and everyone has to go to work the next day so why for no reason?

 

[scrub]

Not to knock you OP but I think the whole "why is softball failing" thing is a beat up, tired cliche. Softball isn't failing. If you're smart, you make what you want of it, there are many different options and levels of competition and participation.

Of course a lot of people follow the herd mentality "tourney ball soooooo srs", play in 4 leagues, whatever. People can do whatever the hell they want, I don't care. Isn't gonna mess with my good time.

 

[AWall13]

Not to knock you OP but I think the whole "why is softball failing" thing is a beat up, tired cliche. Softball isn't failing. If you're smart, you make what you want of it, there are many different options and levels of competition and participation.

Of course a lot of people follow the herd mentality "tourney ball soooooo srs", play in 4 leagues, whatever. People can do whatever the hell they want, I don't care. Isn't gonna mess with my good time.

Ive seen the what is wrong with softball thread, but figured I'd group it better with which guys do you hate the most. And happened to be looking at schedules today for place I play and seems to be about half the leagues as before and double the number of low level leagues but still not offering the highest level they used to

 

[MP33]

I do not hit the middle and if I do I only do so when I'm pitching (rare). My dad and uncle no longer play so I don't hit middle for retaliation purposes either. Im relatively dumb and definitely stupid so when teams I play with get involved in these middle battles I take the mound and feel completely justified to blow it up, but its rec ball and everyone has to go to work the next day so why for no reason?

I don't do it anymore because I don't play tourney ball anymore. This was back when I played mainly with an ASA C tourney team, and occasionally picked up with an ASA A tourney team. This particular game was with the ASA A team. The team we were playing was a solid C tourney team.

We weren't trying to hit their pitcher, just put some close to him to show their team that everyone in the lineup could hit middle. Basically said you had your turn, we are having ours, then it is up to yall on how you want the rest of the game to go when you bat again.

 

[BergerKing12]

I love playing the old guys who can just hit the ball where they want at will. They might not be the fastest they might not hit homerun's but they hit like 900 every year and do nothing to hurt the team.

 

[AWall13]

I love playing the old guys who can just hit the ball where they want at will. They might not be the fastest they might not hit homerun's but they hit like 900 every year and do nothing to hurt the team.

When this guy is on my team It amazes me and I love it. When hes on the other team **** him the single most frustrating thing is when you know what shot hes hitting, you know he cant burn you or beat out ground ball, but gets a hit every time

 

[TonyB]

Forget putting work into a recreational hobby. I practice my beer drinking year round but may do one or two bp sessions before season just to make sure I don't embarass myself. I'm amazed when I hear people say I'm working out to be better at softball, getting in shape for softball, this will help with softball, etc. How about work out so you don't die and leave your children fatherless? who gives a **** about softball. If you lose 30 lbs an can leg out a triple or score from second on a base hit this year just a side effect. The main concern is no longer having high risk of heart disease or diabetes:thumb:

For some, it's just a recreational hobby. For others, it's more serious. I invest a lot of my time and some money to it. When I play a tournament, I'm giving up late Friday night, all of Saturday, and sometimes Sunday. I don't want to play with or against guys that take that commitment lightly.

 

[AWall13]

For some, it's just a recreational hobby. For others, it's more serious. I invest a lot of my time and some money to it. When I play a tournament, I'm giving up late Friday night, all of Saturday, and sometimes Sunday. I don't want to play with or against guys that take that commitment lightly.

I was like you and cared especially for tournaments cuz I liked better quality ball with better players and competition, but then everyone started getting stupid and i was just getting to the point where I was like its ****ing softball. See you guys tuesday night and bring beer lol

 

[Laoch]

I think the d-bags were always here, but now they have a reason to be more vocal.

 

[andyschwing]

Forget putting work into a recreational hobby. I practice my beer drinking year round but may do one or two bp sessions before season just to make sure I don't embarass myself. I'm amazed when I hear people say I'm working out to be better at softball, getting in shape for softball, this will help with softball, etc. How about work out so you don't die and leave your children fatherless? who gives a **** about softball. If you lose 30 lbs an can leg out a triple or score from second on a base hit this year just a side effect. The main concern is no longer having high risk of heart disease or diabetes:thumb:

Agreed. I work out to be strong and healthy. I love when people joke and ask if I'm on roids tho lol. If I were 200+ lbs at 5'8", they might need to be worried, but not at 175. I don't put in work solely to hit bombs, it's just my motivation to keep at it week after week. Mashing is just an added bonus! Also, I'm 30 now and want to be able to play ball with my son in about 18 years!

About what I said about maybe saying something after hitting a hr if the other team was being douchy, I was only meaning for teams that take the game way too seriously and do bull**** things like go way out of the baseline to spike the 2nd baseman (me!) to break up a dbl play in rec softball. (Esp when that player is the pitcher who has in the past been caught using a doctored bat!) So about 99.9% of the time, my bat does all the talking! You slide into me with your spike halfway up my leg, you're going to get an earful!

 

[Joker]

exclamation points

 

[andyschwing]

exclamation points

Sorry, I got excited from recalling a certain game/douchy team lol.

 

[teamriot38]

Why is softball falling?

Agreed. I work out to be strong and healthy. I love when people joke and ask if I'm on roids tho lol. If I were 200+ lbs at 5'8", they might need to be worried, but not at 175. I don't put in work solely to hit bombs, it's just my motivation to keep at it week after week. Mashing is just an added bonus! Also, I'm 30 now and want to be able to play ball with my son in about 18 years!

About what I said about maybe saying something after hitting a hr if the other team was being douchy, I was only meaning for teams that take the game way too seriously and do bull**** things like go way out of the baseline to spike the 2nd baseman (me!) to break up a dbl play in rec softball. (Esp when that player is the pitcher who has in the past been caught using a doctored bat!) So about 99.9% of the time, my bat does all the talking! You slide into me with your spike halfway up my leg, you're going to get an earful!

Exhibit A:

 

[andyschwing]

Exhibit A:

What evs. I play on teams that drink beer and have fun. We piss off the top teams in our league because they take it too seriously and start chewing each other out when we are beating them. We don't talk trash, we just have fun. We are just a group of local guys, same players from year to year (we don't bring in 'all stars' from the neighboring towns). We don't yell at each other or the umps. We play a few tournaments a year and usually make it to sunday, but get our asses kicked because we had too much fun the night before!

 

[Joker]

live for the long ball

 

[Debo03]

I don't think any of the OP's reasons are what's causing the decline of softball (rec, church, league, or Comp Tourneys). There has always been just as many douches in this game as there are now the only difference is the percentage of douches to humble players is TONS higher than it used to be.

My reason for the above statement is that there just simply isn't as many players playing the game today as their was in the mid 90's or before. That's obvious! City leagues used to have full parks every night of the week(100-150 teams in some city leagues) and you used to have tourneys in every town across the state with 20-50(from A to D class) teams in each of them. Today your lucky to to have 2 nights a week with 5-10 teams in each league night and 2 tourneys a year in each state with more than 20 teams in one bracket. There's just not near as many people playing the game and unfortunately a lot of the ones who are left are the arrogant, ****y, roid raging DA's who are just searching for some way to fill that competitive itch and inflate their little ego. Unfortunately that personality type is one of the few who would rather play this game than some video game at home.

Reasons for that could be 10000 different things but I think the major ones are just overall laziness of culture today and the video game generation. Teenagers and young adults would rather sit at home playing Xbox and playstation than outside playing a recreational sport. They'd rather communicate through facebook and snap chat than actually meet up and catch up on each others lives. That's just the culture of today.

Other decent people that used to play this game are generally parents (and pretty good ones). Youth sports today take up 10000x more time than they did back then. Back then kids played little league for about 6 weeks and then were done for the year, now kids play their sports year around and train on the off days, not to mention traveling all over the states playing in their own tourneys and such.

All of these things are just a few reasons why softball has declined and doesn't seem to be rebounding. Also the reasons why you see more of douchey presence in the game as well.

 

[TonyB]

We don't talk trash

Uh huh.

until your team starts being douchy; then I'll make some noise after I crush another one!

I live for the long ball but I put the work in to attain it. I use the same bats as fellas much bigger than me that can't mash. I am very humble

LOLz.