OT - I'm bored, Part Cinco!

[elocomotive]

Starting out with 1 strike and having foul balls count as a 3rd strike doesn't help matters either, especially when you forget about that rule.

I struck out looking in my first at bat this season.

Gone 5 for 8 with a HR since.

 

[puckhead]

My entire approach from high school baseball is completely shot. I looked in one spot on the first pitch, and if it wasn't there, I took it to see the pitcher's stuff. If it was a ball, I looked in that same spot again, and wouldn't swing if it wasn't there. If it was a strike, I'd swing at anything in a good hitting zone. I liked to see a lot of pitches, and I liked to foul a lot of pitches off until I got the one I wanted. I probably saw an average of 6 or 7 pitches per at bat, and it resulted in a good average and a lot of walks (and unfortunately, a lot of strikeouts, too).

Well, that approach will no longer work, unfortunately. Of course, since it's slow pitch, I should be able to tag anything anywhere in the hitting zone, so maybe I should just abandon the idea of an approach at all and take my cuts like Juan Uribe.


Such an idea pains me.

only thing I made an effort to do was look for pitches to push the other way.
As Dash said, they often hid their weak arms (or gloves) in the right side.

difference from baseball is that you aren't concerned with the ability to hit the ball (ie. look for your pitch), because quite frankly, you have time to hit them all if you really wanted to. So you are more focused on WHERE you want to hit the ball. There are always gaps in slo-pitch defense (again, I am talking about mixed beer league, here), and you should be able to hit them more often than not. take what they give you, b/c there's always something available.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

you guys dont wear baseball pant cutoffs for slo-pitch, do you?

 

[jstewismybastardson]

swear to god ... smoke it at the weakest fielder ... its fun

 

[elocomotive]

Well, that approach will no longer work, unfortunately. Of course, since it's slow pitch, I should be able to tag anything anywhere in the hitting zone, so maybe I should just abandon the idea of an approach at all and take my cuts like Juan Uribe.

It's softball. You generally swing.

I like to take the first pitch just to get my rhythm down, then swing away once I get something good, the lower the better. That high angle can jam you up if the pitch is nice and deep.

 

[elocomotive]

you guys dont wear baseball pant cutoffs for slo-pitch, do you?

Some guys do, but most normal people wear shorts. One guy on a team we played the other week and pinstrip pants, socks, a Yankees warmup pullover, and Yankees hat. He looked like an asshole.

 

[SLY]

Some guys do, but most normal people wear shorts. One guy on a team we played the other week and pinstrip pants, socks, a Yankees warmup pullover, and Yankees hat. He looked like an asshole.

He had all the apparel to be one.

 

[elocomotive]

only thing I made an effort to do was look for pitches to push the other way.
As Dash said, they often hid their weak arms (or gloves) in the right side.

Yep, opposite field is the way to go! Plus, so few guys hit it opposite they are often "cold" in addition to being the worst players.

 

[Darkstone42]

In HS, I was very un-athletic. I was the kiind of kid that was relegated to the outfield all the time in gym class. Well, one day, I somehow found myself playing shortshop. Amazingly not much was hit to me that day, but the first one that came my way was a little squibbler just past the pitchers mound...I charged the ball, bare-handed it and sidearmed it to 1st base for the out while still on the run and off balance. I was proud of that play.

You should be, that's a tough play.

I've been a good defensive player since I started Little League, and everywhere I played. I never played short stop, but I gloved it pretty well at third base for a season, and when I got moved to the outfield, it was actually because my coach decided we needed at least one competent defender out there, so he stuck me in center. I didn't leave the outfield after that, except for a couple games at first base, because it turned out I was really good at all three outfield positions. One error in four years of high school ball isn't bad.

Unfortunately, for a long time it was my bat that kept me out of the lineup. I was sub-Mendoza line in Little League, and it wasn't until I was 14 that I learned how to center the ball, and my swing mechanics sucked until I was 17. Once my coach fixed my mechanics, though, my bat became my best asset. Then I put on 30 pounds and my defense started to suffer.

Basically, I just never put it all together as a player.

 

[Darkstone42]

only thing I made an effort to do was look for pitches to push the other way.
As Dash said, they often hid their weak arms (or gloves) in the right side.

difference from baseball is that you aren't concerned with the ability to hit the ball (ie. look for your pitch), because quite frankly, you have time to hit them all if you really wanted to. So you are more focused on WHERE you want to hit the ball. There are always gaps in slo-pitch defense (again, I am talking about mixed beer league, here), and you should be able to hit them more often than not. take what they give you, b/c there's always something available.

Yep, opposite field is the way to go! Plus, so few guys hit it opposite they are often "cold" in addition to being the worst players.

Both of my hits were to the right side of second base, but it wasn't because I was planning on going there before I got to the plate. I just always go with the pitch, and those two pitches were on the outer half. We play on a pretty big field, so there's plenty of room to drop hits in even on the best fielders.

you guys dont wear baseball pant cutoffs for slo-pitch, do you?

I'm going to wear full baseball pants to save my leg from sliding on that rough, dry, Arizona dirt. I was just going to wear shorts, because in PA the dirt's soft and wet enough that you just get a little brush burn, but when I slid on Monday, I ripped a lot of skin off my leg and bled quite a bit. It felt like concrete.

 

[elocomotive]

Both of my hits were to the right side of first base...

Isn't that a foul ball? What kinda crazy rules are they playing out there in the dessert?

 

[dare2be]

Isn't that a foul ball? What kinda crazy rules are they playing out there in the dessert?

it was a mirage...they really were fair

 

[SLY]

Isn't that a foul ball? What kinda crazy rules are they playing out there in the dessert?

lol

Are they playing atop a giant ice cream sundae?

 

[dare2be]

lol

Are they playing atop a giant ice cream sundae?

good catch! baseball pun intended.

 

[Darkstone42]

Isn't that a foul ball? What kinda crazy rules are they playing out there in the dessert?

I fixed it. I can't type anymore. I'm not posting enough. :p

In our game last night, of our opponents struck out by driving a ball to the right field fence, a few inches to the right of the foul line. Rough.

 

[Darkstone42]

No one can type today.

But puns are abundant!

 

[elocomotive]

Mine was intentional. I think intermixing the two is funny, plus it sets up one of my favorite Simpsons' clips...

 

[elocomotive]

Are they playing atop a giant ice cream sundae?

LOL! Images of Double Dare in my head...

 

[puckhead]

I fixed it. I can't type anymore. I'm not posting enough. :p

In our game last night, of our opponents struck out by driving a ball to the right field fence, a few inches to the right of the foul line. Rough.

I watched some "competitive slo-pitch" on TV last year, and it was an utterly ridiculous game.
they limit the home-runs these steroid monkeys are allowed to hit (i think 20 or 25), so the winner of the game was basically whoever was more productive on their shots. If you hit a homer over your allotment, it was an out. It was funny to see these guys crank a 900 foot fly ball, and be pissed because it was a solo shot.

 

[elocomotive]

good catch! baseball pun intended.

REPORTED!