[greymule]

I used to do both baseball and softball, but since 2002 have done softball only.

The semipro summer leagues I used to do are long gone. So I did Fed baseball for a while, but the games began taking too long—often 3+ hours for the same money as an 80-minute softball game. I found myself losing interest in baseball and, when on the field, hoping for outs so I could get out of there sooner. I don't know exactly what has rendered high school baseball so slow, but I can't watch more than an inning or so even as a spectator. Maybe it's because, at least around here, there are just a few good teams, with most coaches struggling to find warm bodies. In 1962, Trenton High School could have fielded a fine team from the players the coach had cut. Today, the overall situation has deteriorated greatly.

I stopped by a Legion game one evening last summer. Watched a couple of innings. The next day I worked a softball tournament with one of the baseball umps from the night before. He told me that the 9-inning Legion game had lasted 4:45. Score was 8-5.

I realize that my disenchantment is with baseball in this area. I don't doubt that it's going great in other places in the country.

Another reason was that after playing under OBR and knowing nothing else, I had a hard time with Fed baseball rules, both understanding them and enforcing the ones I disagreed with. I can't say that I had actual problems on the field, but I had theoretical differences that I just couldn't reconcile (ejection for simulated tobacco use, for example, as well as what I felt were overly strict rules about contact).

I felt relieved when I decided to quit baseball, and I haven't missed it. I think the game I loved disappeared long ago.