Favorite league to work?

[ASA/NYSSOBLUE]

Now that school ball for all of us has been done at least for a month, we all deep deep into our league season. So - which league that you work on a regular basis is your favorite? I mean, do you have a league you actually look forward to for whatever reason?

Currently two - and possibly a third one :

1. This is easily the most fun to work. A women's semi- slow pitch league that is based in a smallish town, but draws from all over the area. this league plays on Mondays, and is a welcome relief from all the crap that happens on weekends. Our group has been working this league forever, and a couple of us veterans have made it a mandatory stop on the circuit, and whomever is the current assignor, always obliges us.

The reason it is so much fun, is that 90% of the ladies -and coaches - are there to simply have fun. They bring their families with them, and there is almost endless joking back and forth. Some nights I come out of there more tired from the laughter, than from any actual umpiring. Also,someof the ladies are ok looking, but there is more body art on display, than would be on a WWII battleship! The upshot of all this, is that a few years ago, we were approached to help them save money, and so we actually get to do these games ALONE - which means an extra half game fee! So instead of the net game fee - i.e., after the assignor take out - being $40, we get, yes, 60a shot for this....nicccce....

2. On a more competitive level, we have a men's modified league that has improved itself greatly over the last few years. This league plays in a fenced field, and a couple of the teams had been really dominating, as they had all star type players, who were bringing their double walled titanium bats, and the games had degenerated into a Home Run Derby type thing. It to be an intolerable situation, most of the other teams were tired of it, and WE were real tired of it, as we had to really check the bats against the non sanctioned list, the games were getting too long and so on. Finally the league leadership changed hands, and the new group came up these solutions:

1. Pitching was changed to STRICT modified - square to the plate, pitcher can't go more than 90 degrees parallel..
2. A slightly deader ball - current ball is the Dudley SB12 - no more Thunders and whatnot.
and best of all -
3. No more outside bats. League buys all the bats - which are single walled, and two bats are used in the game - I BELIEVE they get replaced every couple of weeks.

The result? A much better, more competitive game. As I put it, the teams actually have play softball now - bunting, moving the runners, etc. The guys still come to hit - I can't remember the last time I have actually had to bang someone out on strikes. And a lot of the pitchers have had to learn knuckleballs, so that makes it more interesting to work the plate. It's real fun to see the big guys still trying to pop the ball out, and hit only pop ups to the infield. Guys still hit dingers, but they have to EARN them. The games have from being two hours sometimes, to now being a reasonable 1:25/1:30. - and sometimes faster.

I have actually gotten to the point where I have stopped wearing my chest protector when working the plate there, as my reasoning is that if you are calling this new game right, the foul balls will either down in the dirt, or hit up and over....nothing gets hit straight back. (and the catching talent level is tops also)

[SWFLguy]

I enjoyed working men's modified pitch back in CNY. Did not wear a chest protector either. Most fun was working ASA men's 70 and over slow pitch.
Everything kind of like in slow motion, but you can see the guys had great talent for their age.

[Manny A]

I work strictly fast-pitch. I did enjoy working a women's fast-pitch league in Northern Virginia when I lived up there. The ladies were very friendly, and some still brought that competitive fire when they played in their younger years. It also gave me the opportunity to see some quality pitching from former (and even current) NCAA pitchers who could really bring it, making me a little more comfortable when I worked actual college ball. The best part was that I didn't have to deal with whiny parents in the stands. The handful of fans were mostly players' significant others who were just there to watch and socialize with each other.