@ USSSA Pitchers

Superstar555

Superstar555

Addicted to Softballfans
You guys are either studs or crazy.

I play ASA...a lot. Sometimes 5 games a week, and I pitch in most of them.

Got a call from a buddy asking if I would sub for his "D" USSSA team in league play as their usual pitcher and the backup were both going to miss the game. Sure, no problem. I knew the arcs were a bit different, but pitching is pitching.

Wrong.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by the .52 ball used in my ASA leagues for the last few years, but I DO NOT remember the older ball coming thru the infield like these .40/325 USSSA balls were. If someone had wanted to hurt me, I probably couldn't have stopped them, even with another step backward. Really unnerving. In ASA I feel like I have a great chance to defend myself on the rubber...not so much in USSSA.
 
codeguy23

codeguy23

Member
Very astute observations. My respect (best wishes?) goes to the guys that pitch with no helmet or face mask. That's some unnecessary bravery!
 
rhound50

rhound50

Rec Coed Superstar
One of the nice thing USSSA allows is you can release up to 6 feet behind the rubber. Unless you are playing somewhere that has a pitching box you can release even farther back. If you can learn to throw strikes from back there it can be both a nice way to throw off the batters timing and also offers some extra protection. Using your glove also helps but I'm not as good at that part.
 
E

eyerolleddapiec

Loves Balls
E uses hot dots here. Those things suck. Everyone else uses ZN's those things are sweet. But pitching can get a bit dicey. That's why I like it :D
 
MarlSrSoftball

MarlSrSoftball

Into Semi-Retirement Still activebut not League
rhound50 said:
One of the nice thing USSSA allows is you can release up to 6 feet behind the rubber. Unless you are playing somewhere that has a pitching box you can release even farther back. If you can learn to throw strikes from back there it can be both a nice way to throw off the batters timing and also offers some extra protection. Using your glove also helps but I'm not as good at that part.
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In Seniors we also have the 6' box but, I guess because we still use te 6-12' arc, I have seen very few pitchers not pitch from the rubber.

I pitched in a Utrip tournament a few years ago because of an injury to a teams pitcher and didn't mine it as I am a low ball pitcher anyway so the 3-10' didn't effect my pitching. The one thing I didn't like is having to depend on an umpire to call the corners which very few of them do.
 
chrometip78

chrometip78

The Hungarian Barbarian
Wondering if maybe the guys you played against in utrip were just better competition than what you're typically playing against.
 
russmcd

russmcd

Addicted to Softballfans
Definitely use that extra 6" behind the rubber if your Tourney allows it, not that hard to get an extra 6' or less on a pitch.

A lot of Utrip/ASA tourney's I've played in recently have gone to a "dead zone" around the pitcher resulting in an out.

And get a helmet if you don't have one! No sense risking it when we have to work the next day.
 
Strawberry

Strawberry

Shin Killer
There's an egotistical factor in usssa tournies a bit more than a regular ASA league. I love getting hit at, but those ball in utrip hurt twice as bad. The bats are hotter, the competition is better but in turn, it makes you a better pitcher. Not just a chuck and duck
 
3

3drian

Starting Player
Strawberry said:
There's an egotistical factor in usssa tournies a bit more than a regular ASA league. I love getting hit at, but those ball in utrip hurt twice as bad. The bats are hotter, the competition is better but in turn, it makes you a better pitcher. Not just a chuck and duck
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Arent ASA bats suppose to be hotter than USSSA?
 
J

jbgarner12

Banned User
Heck here we don't even have any men's tournaments and closest league is an hour or more away. Our little backwoods co-ed tournaments get nasty. Lowest ball you'll see used is .44 400s. This weekend was any ball any bat except Ultras. 650s and shaved old stamp sticks everywhere. Some pitchers our there looking like Roman gladiators with all the armor, then some walking out there with a pair of flip flops on, no mask, etc. Crazy. Couldn't pay me to do it.
 
Superstar555

Superstar555

Addicted to Softballfans
russmcd said:
Definitely use that extra 6" behind the rubber if your Tourney allows it, not that hard to get an extra 6' or less on a pitch.
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I'll try that if I'm ever dumb enough to pitch there again. I also found it physically more difficult to pitch flatter (than ASA) from the bump...I was getting no strikes called on any arc so it felt more like underhand fast pitch.
 
jbo911

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
It is like pitching bp, and you're in FLA. Those bats were probably shaved. I'm not saying that because he was having trouble keeping up after pitching ASA league, but because FL is the only place I've played with more shaved bats than GA. I played in a bumpkin tournament in Madison once and there were still light sabers everywhere.

The 6' back would throw off their timing if they'd actually let you throw 3' from release to 10' and called it where it crossed. Since most don't, it does no more than the pump faking.
 
Strawberry

Strawberry

Shin Killer
Ga has a ton of shaved sticks. Pitcher gets hot and the bats gets taken, then given back at the end of the game. Pitcher has to come out of the game for the bat to stay in the directors hands and get tested.
 
jbo911

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
Strawberry said:
Ga has a ton of shaved sticks. Pitcher gets hot and the bats gets taken, then given back at the end of the game. Pitcher has to come out of the game for the bat to stay in the directors hands and get tested.
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I hate that the most, and every time I've seen it happen it still wasn't tested and was still given back. It shouldn't be an indictment of the pitcher's toughness as to whether a bat should be tested or not.
 
jbo911

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
I don't know if Cali and TX are this way, but what kills me about FL is the terrible players have them. They try to play up with them most of the time, so they don't hurt anyone, but they just look ridiculous. Still can't hit the sweetspot most of the time and then all of a sudden their 115' line drives carry 280 and sound totally different. Still can't hit them out, but they also have no clue where it's going, ooowhooop like they're studs and strut around like a rooster.
 
etnstudios

etnstudios

Addicted to Softballfans
jbo911 said:
I don't know if Cali and TX are this way, but what kills me about FL is the terrible players have them. They try to play up with them most of the time, so they don't hurt anyone, but they just look ridiculous. Still can't hit the sweetspot most of the time and then all of a sudden their 115' line drives carry 280 and sound totally different. Still can't hit them out, but they also have no clue where it's going, ooowhooop like they're studs and strut around like a rooster.
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everything but the playing up part lol
 
jbo911

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
Well, I'm mostly talking about people that should be kicked off a church team trying to play up in E on the weekends, but yeah. :D
 
NorCal5150

NorCal5150

Rep for GS Sports
jbo911 said:
I don't know if Cali and TX are this way, but what kills me about FL is the terrible players have them. They try to play up with them most of the time, so they don't hurt anyone, but they just look ridiculous. Still can't hit the sweetspot most of the time and then all of a sudden their 115' line drives carry 280 and sound totally different. Still can't hit them out, but they also have no clue where it's going, ooowhooop like they're studs and strut around like a rooster.
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etnstudios said:
everything but the playing up part lol
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D and E is all the NorCal has left. If you want to play C or higher you gotta go to SoCal or Washington. So that means that the local D/E tourneys are filled with bazookas!!!! It does make pitching more interesting though. I mean who doesnt love making a good pitch and getting a ground ball, just to find out that that ball was hit so hard on the ground that it still rolls all the way to the gap in the the OF for a double or triple. haha
 
Superstar555

Superstar555

Addicted to Softballfans
TWmccoy said:
Now, back to original topic, I will actually pitch a bit with .52 balls. They don't come off the bat as hard and I feel like I can defend myself. Count me out when it comes to pitching .44s or classic Ms in cool weather. Sometimes you don't see them until they're well by you.
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And WTF is with the stupid "halo rule". I'd heard about it being a thing in UTrip so I asked the ump before the game.

Ball thru the halo area? Dead ball, batter out.
Pitcher hit by ball in halo area? Dead ball, offensive ejection.

Fine...but the REALLY stupid part is that ANY attempt by the pitcher to field the ball or even MOVE OUT OF THE WAY negates both of the above. How does this make any sense?
 
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