[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

A few years ago, I was behind the plate of a girls' H.S. jr. varsity softball game (Toledo City League) between one of the league doormate (home team) and the league power (visiting team). After two innings the V's are up 25-0. Coach V brings comes to the plate to tell me that she is going to start making line-up changes via pinch hitters who will end up staying in the game; see then told me that any time the V's pitcher got the ball to the plate without it bouncing and her batter doesn't swing at it, she wanted me to call it a strike. The first pitch to her lead-off batter was at her eyeballs and I called it a strike. The batter looked at me like I was nuts (but everybody knows I am nuts); I told her that her coach said that was a strike to which she replied: "I understand." After that not a single batter for V failed to swing at a pitch. The worst part was that they still scored 10 more runs in the top of the third while swinging at any pitch that came remotely close to the plate on the fly.

MTD, Sr.