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Old Thu May 01, 2008, 07:01pm
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Just Softball

I'm wondering if any of you at one time did both hardball and softball, and made the decision to just do softball? If so, what were the factors and considerations that led to the decision?

Mike
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Old Thu May 01, 2008, 08:23pm
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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.
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Old Thu May 01, 2008, 08:32pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DTQ_Blue
I'm wondering if any of you at one time did both hardball and softball, and made the decision to just do softball? If so, what were the factors and considerations that led to the decision?

Mike
Not at the same time. Did baseball on and off for 22 years. Got bored and quit. Started softball and haven't looked back. I've been recruited to work baseball, but that just isn't going to happen.
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Old Thu May 01, 2008, 08:50pm
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Location: Columbia, SC
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I started ASA adult softball. A year of two later, I moved into FED softball and FED baseball. The baseball led to Legion and some over-40 mens league. I did both for perhaps 10 years. (Always FED softball, but different levels of baseball over the 10 years.)

I got into one FED association where the same association booked BB and SB. I got all the SB games I could handle and eventually just quit even registering for FED BB.

I joke with BB officials that it's the game time that I like, but that's not it. I like that I am at the level of officiating where I see the detailed differences in the way softball differs for BB. Not just in rules but in philosophy. And I like that. I like that it's faster paced and, IMHO, not as pretentious.
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Old Fri May 02, 2008, 02:11am
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Several decades ago (1970) I did my first LL game at the ripe old age of 14. My mentor was a former minor league umpire who quit in order to have a marriage. (His choice was the bigs or his wife. He chose Curtain #2.)

I worked my way up the food chain pretty quickly. Among other things, found out I could make all my beer money in college through officiating. Went very high on the food chain in baseball until injured as referee of a football game in 1992. I then was pretty much retired for about 10 years. The only thing I did was slowpitch, because for a long time I couldn't move more than, say, about three feet (which is a helluva lot further than some slow pitch umpires).

Meanwhile, I umpired most of the few fastpitch games held in the Texas Panhandle. TX Tech and WTSU had club teams and often met pretty much halfway to play each other. Didn't do many -- but did some, including 3X with Eddie Feigner.

I went straight softball when I moved back to Seattle in 2003 (had lived here once before for about three years). My health had improved enough to get back out there doing something. I have fallen in love with FP. I have ventured out very few times to do a baseball game, but frankly I don't usually have three hours per game to kill.
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Old Fri May 02, 2008, 07:58am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greymule
I don't know exactly what has rendered high school baseball so slow,
I still do both baseball and softball and love doing both for different reasons. At the last state regional baseball umpires meeting, I overheard several umpires complaining about 3+ hour baseball games. I silently chuckled to myself that my 7 inning games rarely even approach 2 hours. The reason is that I call the baseball strike zone by the book which speeds up the game significantly. Too many high school umpires aren't calling anything above the belt a strike. I do get a little grief from coaches the first couple of innings when I call the "letter high" or "knee high" strikes (any part of the knees is still in the baseball strike zone), but by the third inning, coaches are telling their players to swing the bat.
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Old Fri May 02, 2008, 10:04am
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I too did both for a while. I started in softball moved to baseball. Too me the choose to ONLY do softball was clear and simple.

Softball is played by girls and baseball is played by boys. Every umpire makes a bad call, when that happens most girls look at you like you’re stupid accept your ruling and move on, while most boys will whine and complain excessively.

In softball the tempo of the game is much faster, the excitement is higher, and the game takes less time. Now I don’t mind working for three hours but in baseball it is more like working for 15 minutes with 2:45 of just standing waiting for something to do.

Softball has a STRIKE zone and base all as a strike zone.

Lastly when I started umpiring the softball umpires welcomed me, trained me, and became my friends; whereas the baseball umpires were generally closed minded, elitist who would not take the time to talk to a new guy to save their own lives.

Ultimately the choose to do softball over baseball came down to the way other umpires treated me. I offer this forum as a paradigm; the softball forum is generally more friendly and civil whereas the baseball forum often degrades to less than polite and civil behavior.

Bugg
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Old Fri May 02, 2008, 10:35am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BuggBob

Softball is played by girls and baseball is played by boys.
A few areas have fast pitch boys softball. I was one of the fortunate ones to have played fast pitch on a high school sponsored team. Most of the schools in my area were small and poor, and couldn't afford to play football. The field these schools had access to was also too small for baseball, so softball was the perfect choice.
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Old Fri May 02, 2008, 10:36am
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I started in LL baseball, coaching my son the league had rules that you had to umpire the other leagues games(minor division umped majors, majors coaches umped minor games) so I umpired. Figured if I was going to do it I better read the book, BIG mistake....called a few things by the book got jumped by fans, coaches etc. When daughter started playing softball (ASA league) started umpiring there went to ASA schools (no LL schools in our area) liked the teaching aspect that they had, felt like I got better from that and never did baseball again!

So my answer is more on a rec league level, but people geet WAY too excited over baseball, guys living more through their sons I guess. I have been involved in some ugly situations on baseball side (I am on park board so big issues get brought to us sometimes) and am SO glad I am on softball side.

I also have to agree with BuggBob in that FED baseball guys around here, although I don't know a lot of them closely, seem to have this air about them. The my sh*t don't stink kind of vib I get from them. Example, last night me and my partner are dressing right next to baseball guys, neither of them would even look our way, when I did pass them to go to the bathroom I spoke and they both were like it was killing them to have to speak to a softball guy! You dont' know how bad I wanted to ask the one guy who he had on last years patch instead of this years, I wondered if baseball allowed that, cause us softball guys have to put our new one on every year to be legal! BUT, I didn't I just said hey guys.....but I wanted to!!!!
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