Is the game actually ruined?

[dlang00001]

I think we can all agree that the game has changed.

Majority rules and the actions of the majorityhave spoken. Welcome to the game the majority have created.

 

[ddoubler]

Keeping this current

 

[stork]

Still ruined, but we aren't playing til spring so it is a non-issue for me.

 

[Tryan1020]

I think whats killing the game is sandbagging. You have people playing E that should be playing C. When they play down and beat up a real E team, the E team quits and doesn't come back. The young people that should be helping to develop the game and help continue the growth is quitting before they have a chance to really enjoy it. Not one person wants to go to the fields and get their **** pushed in when they could be playing golf. Quit sandbagging and play where you should be playing. Let people enjoy the game and then it will grow again.

Agreed dude. Couple tourneys we played in for D this year where we got dominated by a couple teams that had no business in D. The rest of our games are competitive, and that is what I am after. Love playing and winning, but if I am going to lose, I want it to be to a team that is of a similar skill level to me.

 

[MP33]

Agreed dude. Couple tourneys we played in for D this year where we got dominated by a couple teams that had no business in D. The rest of our games are competitive, and that is what I am after. Love playing and winning, but if I am going to lose, I want it to be to a team that is of a similar skill level to me.

Then maybe you should drop to E

 

[Joker]

every city here cancelled all 2015 leagues. so did NSA, USSSA, and AWS with their tournies. cause the game is ruined

 

[ddoubler]

every city here cancelled all 2015 leagues. so did NSA, USSSA, and AWS with their tournies. cause the game is ruined

All leagues canceled around you?

 

[stork]

It was a ballot issue and it passed on Tuesday by a slim margin. CO is a dry-softball state now, as even Joe Pubic now knows the game is ruined. I blame this thread.

 

[2spdturbo]

MLB took all the good players..and to many crybabies.. the game is ruined

 

[ddoubler]

It was a ballot issue and it passed on Tuesday by a slim margin. CO is a dry-softball state now, as even Joe Pubic now knows the game is ruined. I blame this thread.

That sucks man... Were most fields operated by local park and rec?

 

[KannonsDad]

The game has been ruined by guys like the op who need to play senior ball and let us younger guys play competitive ball

 

[ddoubler]

The game has been ruined by guys like the op who need to play senior ball and let us younger guys play competitive ball

That's just it...everyone says they want be competitive but only at the level they feel they have best chance to win

 

[stork]

That sucks man... Were most fields operated by local park and rec?

Yeah. Just didn't have enough pull or money to launch a positive campaign. Guess every league will be true outlaw leagues.

 

[obagain]

That's just it...everyone says they want be competitive but only at the level they feel they have best chance to win

You are close, everyone wants to be competitive as long as they win every game.

 

[ddoubler]

Yeah. Just didn't have enough pull or money to launch a positive campaign. Guess every league will be true outlaw leagues.

Local parks and rec for the most part view adult recreation as a thorn. It's the " end of the day something else we have to prepare" when it comes to field maintance. Watch for the softball fields to become parking areas or soccer fields

 

[ddoubler]

Keeping this current

 

[stork]

Still ruined. The fields are covered in snow.

 

[chrometip78]

Yellow pants were never current.

 

[stork]

In the 60's and 70's I would say they were.

 

[ddoubler]

If you remember the 60's you weren't there

 

[2spdturbo]

ruined! Yep. to the top

 

[Rocketfire24]

Have the guys that are playing gotten more serious and committed to the game then in decades past? I don't know, maybe tourney ball was just as big of a deal....guys take more BP, buy expensive bats and equipment, try to cheat and discuss Softball year round on internet sites etc. So, now we have a bigger gap between good athletes that are occasional players or rec level and awesome tourney level players playing down in E. So, yeah Sandbagging and low HR levels combine to make some problems.

I personally have no desire to play on a good USSSA D Tourney team, I thought that I did and I just didn't pay softball enough attention when I was in my 20's. I was playing golf and didn't really know about the competitive levels of softball. After I have though about it, I know guys that play over a 100 games a year and they around 22 to 26 years old, ex-small college baseball players....I don't know if I have ever been as good as them. They both have played years of E, one moved up to D. I really like to play, but have NO interest in playing sanctioned tourneys. Bring on festivals, small town charity 10 team tourney's, district church tourney's etc. I just want to have fun, try to put together a good team and hit a few bombs.

 

[jbo911]

Have the guys that are playing gotten more serious and committed to the game then in decades past? I don't know, maybe tourney ball was just as big of a deal....guys take more BP, buy expensive bats and equipment, try to cheat and discuss Softball year round on internet sites etc. So, now we have a bigger gap between good athletes that are occasional players or rec level and awesome tourney level players playing down in E. So, yeah Sandbagging and low HR levels combine to make some problems.

I personally have no desire to play on a good USSSA D Tourney team, I thought that I did and I just didn't pay softball enough attention when I was in my 20's. I was playing golf and didn't really know about the competitive levels of softball. After I have though about it, I know guys that play over a 100 games a year and they around 22 to 26 years old, ex-small college baseball players....I don't know if I have ever been as good as them. They both have played years of E, one moved up to D. I really like to play, but have NO interest in playing sanctioned tourneys. Bring on festivals, small town charity 10 team tourney's, district church tourney's etc. I just want to have fun, try to put together a good team and hit a few bombs.

Teams were absolutely as good back then. Maybe even better. I can remember the first time I ever tried to play C. It was whatever year the Ultras first came out. The first team we played had them and they killed us. They weren't that good, bat literally made that much of a difference. They'd have beaten us, but it wouldn't have been so bad.

The next game we got completely dismantled by older guys absolutely crushing the ball with ESTs. Those guys hit the ball as hard as anybody I've played against, hit the gaps, and most notably in retrospect, basehit without hitting the middle once the HRs were gone. And this was in the loser's bracket mind you.

 

[ddoubler]

Teams were absolutely as good back then. Maybe even better. I can remember the first time I ever tried to play C. It was whatever year the Ultras first came out. The first team we played had them and they killed us. They weren't that good, bat literally made that much of a difference. They'd have beaten us, but it wouldn't have been so bad.

The next game we got completely dismantled by older guys absolutely crushing the ball with ESTs. Those guys hit the ball as hard as anybody I've played against, hit the gaps, and most notably in retrospect, basehit without hitting the middle once the HRs were gone. And this was in the loser's bracket mind you.

They were in the losers bracket bc they swung EST bats... hahahaha

 

[STLCoach]

I agree but because of the cheating the associations restrict equipment so the regular guy that hits 3-5 hr a year now has no chance unless he cheats.
Most guys, even the slap hitters like me want to still have a chance to poke one out with a good pitch and swing, if I go in knowing that there is no chance I will get discouraged.
How many of us grew up playing in the back yard pretending to hit a hr to win the world series? You didn't dream of slapping it over 3b to score the runner at third, you hit the dinger.
Take away that dream and you don't have much left.

This is why^^^^^^

When you grow up and play the older guys game "softball". Hopefully you'll learn to not be a selfish teammate and just try to hit oppo line drives or pull balls over the 3B head. That's what smart players do. A team hitting base hits everywhere will kill a teams spirit quicker than dropping a few home runs because once you run out.. You have to go back to hitting line drives.

I've been saying it for years and I'll say it again. Know your role as a player in this game. If you're a smaller faster player that can't hit the long ball you shouldn't try to no matter how good the equipment is.

 

[speedkills8]

This is why^^^^^^

When you grow up and play the older guys game "softball". Hopefully you'll learn to not be a selfish teammate and try to hit oppo line drives or pull balls over the 3B head. That's what smart players do. A team hitting base hits everywhere will kill a teams spirit quicker than dropping a few home runs because once you run out.. You have to go back to hitting line drives.

I've been saying it for years and I'll say it again. Know your role a player. If you're a smaller faster player that can't hit the long ball you shouldn't try too no matter how good the equipment is.

This is correct. The game is always fun for me because it's like mastering your own art. Being that guy who can get on base 8 times out of ten, starting 10 run rallies with 2 outs by simply hitting a liner over second, hitting the ball where it's pitched, going oppo down the right field line and getting doubles,triples all day, frustrating the other pitcher and team, that's the kind of stuff that makes the game awesome for me.

 

[Rocketfire24]

Teams were absolutely as good back then. Maybe even better. I can remember the first time I ever tried to play C. It was whatever year the Ultras first came out. The first team we played had them and they killed us. They weren't that good, bat literally made that much of a difference. They'd have beaten us, but it wouldn't have been so bad.

The next game we got completely dismantled by older guys absolutely crushing the ball with ESTs. Those guys hit the ball as hard as anybody I've played against, hit the gaps, and most notably in retrospect, basehit without hitting the middle once the HRs were gone. And this was in the loser's bracket mind you.

Yeah, great players and teams in the mid-90's. I remember watching my Dad play some tourney ball and the teams played good DEF and my dad was a singles hitter and good OF, but there was 6 or so guys on the team that could crush the ball. HR Rules were different? Were C level teams playing C and now they play D and E?

Also, I hear stories about the 1 1/2 years with the Ultra I and II and from what I have heard, those bats did make all the difference. Composite has changed the game a lot the last 15 years.

 

[jbo911]

I never got to hit the Ultra or Ultra2. By the time they were available I was only playing NSA where it was banned. I can't remember if I even had a doublewall yet. Must be getting old.

 

[vipvanilla]

This is correct. The game is always fun for me because it's like mastering your own art. Being that guy who can get on base 8 times out of ten, starting 10 run rallies with 2 outs by simply hitting a liner over second, hitting the ball where it's pitched, going oppo down the right field line and getting doubles,triples all day, frustrating the other pitcher and team, that's the kind of stuff that makes the game awesome for me.

This is why i love the game. I don't need all the sanctioned tourneys. I love tourneys, but with 3 kids now, traveling every weekend just isn't worth it. Life's too short. Maybe when the kids are older and out of the house I'll pick up that part of the game again. For now, it's about fellowship with my players and their families, getting together and playing a game we enjoy, and never being content - always striving to be a better player. Every winter I think about my game and choose at least one thing to work on in the early spring and throughout the season until i feel confident that it's part of my regular routine.

 

[STLCoach]

Yeah, great players and teams in the mid-90's. I remember watching my Dad play some tourney ball and the teams played good DEF and my dad was a singles hitter and good OF, but there was 6 or so guys on the team that could crush the ball. HR Rules were different? Were C level teams playing C and now they play D and E?

Also, I hear stories about the 1 1/2 years with the Ultra I and II and from what I have heard, those bats did make all the difference. Composite has changed the game a lot the last 15 years.

When I first started playing tourney ball the best bats around were the the EST's, Demarini Doublewalls, and Titaniums (If you had one). We were using 50 Cor balls too. Then shortly after.. The Ultra's came out and changed everything. I remember my dad coming back from a tournament in Florida with one and we used it in league and beat the team 30 - 4. LOL!