2 little league rule questions

[Larry1953]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I was always envious of my best friend John's Trap-Eze. You're right, that was an awesome glove, with the laced trap!

Indeed it was! Memories so thick you have to sweep them away from your face. Remember the red batting "helmets" that were just ear flaps that you fit over your cap? How did we ever survive?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Larry1953

Indeed it was! Memories so thick you have to sweep them away from your face. Remember the red batting "helmets" that were just ear flaps that you fit over your cap? How did we ever survive?

We had blue ones like that in practice, but they broke down and got us real helmets for games.

[Larry1953]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

We had blue ones like that in practice, but they broke down and got us real helmets for games.

Same story here. Do you remember a lousy wooden bat that had a flesh colored dimpled rubber sleeve that almost came up to the trademark? It seemed to have a sweet spot about the size of a quarter and it always stung your hands if you made contact. Baseball shoes were all black and had molded hard rubber cleats. They were pretty good at the beginning of the season, but toward the end the cleats had worn down to knubs that made them look more like bowling shoes. We thought we were hotshots when we moved up to PONY League and they let you wear metal cleats. I remember a lot of umps used a ballon protector.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Larry1953

Same story here. Do you remember a lousy wooden bat that had a flesh colored dimpled rubber sleeve that almost came up to the trademark? It seemed to have a sweet spot about the size of a quarter and it always stung your hands if you made contact. Baseball shoes were all black and had molded hard rubber cleats. They were pretty good at the beginning of the season, but toward the end the cleats had worn down to knubs that made them look more like bowling shoes. We thought we were hotshots when we moved up to PONY League and they let you wear metal cleats. I remember a lot of umps used a ballon protector.

I think mine were molded plastic cleats, but otherwise identical results. I had a Louisville Slugger 29 and an Adirondack 30 in LL minors and majors. We made those things last, taping them up, etc. Yup, the metal cleats did make us feel like real ballplayers. That, and getting to take "lead-offs."

[Larry1953]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I think mine were molded plastic cleats, but otherwise identical results. I had a Louisville Slugger 29 and an Adirondack 30 in LL minors and majors. We made those things last, taping them up, etc. Yup, the metal cleats did make us feel like real ballplayers. That, and getting to take "lead-offs."

What was the length/weight differential of bats back then. I could swear it was an ounce per inch. The bats always seemed too short to get to the outside pitch, and the longer they got, the heavier they got and you lost bat speed. They seemed to be distinctly engineered to impart the least amount of energy from a swing possible on contact with a ball. Or maybe I was just a lousy hitter.