There's no crying in softball
 

Well, actually there is.

So, as a new umpire I'm still experiencing all my "firsts." Last week it was the "first" obstruction call (not that it was the first time it happened, just the first time that I recognized it while it was happening .. not after). This week it was the first "interference" call.

Also this week was my first experience with crying little girls; not hurt little girls ..... scared little girls. One of the 8U teams had a pitcher who is light years ahead of the other girls her age. She comes from a softball family and has older sisters, so she has been around softball all her life. She is consistently in the strike zone, and throws VERY hard ... for her age.

The opposing team is from a nearby city where the coaches still pitch, and even when they have played other neighboring cities, they have never encountered anything like this pitcher.

So, about half of of the batters enter the batters box already crying. They're afraid that that they will be hit by the fast ball (they didn't .... I did). About the best they can do is hold the bat straight out over the plate and hope for the best. Kinda heartbreaking to see.:( The home team took her out after the second inning :) .. things got better.

The game before mine my daughter had a pitcher start crying because she walked home the winning runs.

Lots of tears today.

Firsts.

Wait til you start working mens games.
Then you'll really see crying in softball.

You'll run into this issue at even 10U and 12U A clubs. The pitchers will often exceed the catcher.

It can be a painful thing. People dont breed and train catchers from birth like they do pitchers. Some of these pitchers are so advanced, you become their personal back stop. When a 12 y/o girl can throw 45-50 mph, that hurts.

so true.....so true.....

only the men curse while they are crying...:rolleyes:

Is crying a synonym for whining?? :D

Yes Crying and Whining go together, just like b****ing and moaning! :p

The kids do, too. Just depends on your locale. :cool:

Ya no kidding I had a coach tell me the other night about a girl that had said something in one of my games the last week that they were in.

Snap throw back to first I ring her up, she is facing away from me, and I am back some feet windy night so I didn't hear it....but coach tells me (like 4 days later when I am at their place) that she said "O what the f^&k" he asks me did you hear her say that? I was like...no, we would have had a talk if I heard that!

Last season there was a 12 y/o in my league who was clocked at 58mph and they had a first year catcher behind the plate, it was not a fun season...

Chances are, they clocked her with a gun calibrated for baseball. I have heard that many times from dads, moms, coaches....etc, but have yet, in all of the years I have been around this game, seen a 12 yo that can throw that hard. Heck, most HS kids don't throw but the mid 50's.

No it was for softball. That was the fastest she threw in that session, her average is in the mid 50's

I knew of an 11 year old (who would now be 15) who was clocked at 60. Granted it was one pitch, thrown from a walk-up. Her "from-the-plate" speed was around 58.

I know of several area HS pitchers who regularly throw in the high 50's, one's an 8th grader, one's a 9th grader (above) and one's a 10th grader. My DD, who doesn't practice like she should, has been clocked at 56 a couple of times, though she normally throws in the lower 50's. The other 9th grader she shared her JV rotation with throws a few MPH faster.

You've got me curious... how would a radar gun be calibrated differently for baseball vs. softball?

Darn it. You guys gotta warn a guy before he walks into this thread wearing sandals. Now where did I put my boots?

About 7 years ago I did a game where they clocked the pitcher at 67 for an average. Her high was around 73. She was a senior and it was late in the season and she pitched almost every day. There were about 5 scouts there that day and I was asked about her ball control. I told them that she never complained about my strike zone and never brought the ball high than belt level.

That's amazing. Is she pitching in the Olympics now? :rolleyes:

Jennie Finch was once clocked at 74. That is the fastest recorded speed for a female pitcher. Her average is the mid to upper 60's.