[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by mo99

Mike, I have been on this forum for a few years and have seen alot of posters back down and agree with you.Sorry,I am not one of them.

So now you are insulting the others posters? Good move.

I will argue my point with you with class,and wont resort to childish name calling.(ie "putz") My opinion is well founded based on my experiences as a player and umpire over 35 years.I do know the game without a shadow of a doubt and question exactly how much you know,not as an umpire,but athletically speaking.

If you insist on throwing around numbers, I started umpiring in 1964. I began playing softball in the summer of 1971, at the Phila Naval Base. As noted, I've played FP & SP. My umpiring includes a few high-level ASA nats and ISF World Cups, but that isn't what this discussion is about.

Unless playing at the elite levels of SP,there certainly isnt a high percentage of real athletes at the league and C+D levels. SP was originally designed,as I am sure you know,for older men to continue their playing days and stay active. It evloved into the game it is today as more and more young players took up the game.

Actually, both FP and SP began simultaneously and were played at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. Presently there are approximately 20% more SP teams registered with ASA nationwide. PA is the only state in the Central Atlantic Region which goes against the grain with more FP teams than SP. In the rest of the region, there are approx. 55% more SP teams than FP.

I am assuming Delaware is the exception,as there is a whole lot of wanna-be,beer drinking teams playing in Southeast PA.

Actually, there are quite a few athletic young men which play SP in many states. If you don't believe me, take a trip to Salem, VA Labor Day weekend and see the physical condition of the players in the Men's D East NC. While there are some overweight players, it is usually just big men, not a group with beer bellies playing the game. Don't know what you see in SE Pa., but from your description, they must be really pathetic, though I don't believe it for a minute.

You have to admit that the high tech bats absolutely take any credibility of the game away.The "little guy" batting in the 9 and 10 holes can easily hit a ball out of the park.I know it is not all about dingers,but even ground balls shoot through the infield with ease do to the speed coming off those bats..I am sure you are not serious in believing the average SP player is a better athlete than a FP or BB player.

Do the bats make a difference? Only in league ball, not as much in Championship Play where the HR limits eliminate the threat of the the casual player emulating Bonds, Aaron or whomever. Even more so now that a ball over the fence in the D kills that team's half-inning.

That,my friend,is ludicrous!I am 49 years old and can guarantee you if I decided to join a SP team with today's bats,I would still be able to hit a ton,both for average and the long ball.So I will argue with you,with respect of course,to the cows come home,as I believe I have just as much experience and knowledge to discuss the game as you do.

Define athletic? Are you familiar with Crystl Bustos? Does she LOOK athletic? Hell, no, yet she's one of the best FP players in the country. Yeah, she hits the long ball, but she can run and field with some of the best.

I believe you have a predisposed belief that anyone who doesn't play your sport cannot meet your standards, and from my experiences at the high level of the game and local, I don't think you know what you're talking about. Now, that is an opinion.

And since you are not going to change the manner in which you view the SP game and the participants, there is no reason to continue the conversation.