What is the problem with softball?

[moblue]

I umpired my first softball games in a long time today. Hopefully it will be another long while before I do another one. I am not certified for it, hence I do not know the specific rules for it. I do know it is very similar to baseball. Up until two hours before gametime I was under the impression I was doing Cal Ripken games tonight. The first game I ended up having a bunch of whining over my strikezone being small and blah blah blah. It's about the same size I use for 11 and 12 yo baseball and it isn't a problem there. They had a freakin' huge ball that they were only 40' away from home plate with! How can it not be a strike most of the time? Oh yeah, in the first game the coach's daughter was pitching and wasn't having a good night, but it wasn't her fault. No offense intended to you softball umps, but I think I'll stick with baseball! Softball used to be a pretty laid back thing around here, but apparently not anymore.

Edited May 23, 2009 by moblue

[midmoump]

Interesting thread.

In my area youth softball is more competitive than baseball. That is a very strong and controversial statement considering the high quality of baseball played here. Our area youth softball tournaments are extremely competitive and attract teams from all over the midwest. On the other side of the coin, our area hosts a number of youth baseball tournaments that are first-rate.

My experience has been that there are good and bad umpires in both sports. The "fat slobs" don't advance far in either sport. Teams here expect and appreciate good officiating.

Competitive softball has its charms. The competitive softball played here is faster and "cleaner" than the baseball games. There is less goofing around (e.g. pick offs). The girls are highly organized and play hard (they practice or play year round). They hustle on and off the field. They are generally polite and show less attitude. The softball players are as fundamentally sound as the baseball players. The coaches are not as sarcastic or confrontational, and the fans are generally quieter. With that said, it seems that "dad" is at every game right behind the backstop critiquing the umpire. But even "dad" tends to calms down at the upper levels. The game is faster (which requires greater concentration and quicker reation by the umpires). Yes, the ball is bigger, but a good pitcher can really make that ball move, so the plate umpire had better pay attention!

Which is better? I can't compare the two. They are different games and I enjoy officiating both. One last comment: if you work softball and baseball, be prepared to amp up your study time. The rules can be very different than baseball and complicated.

[bassfam11]

87-mph fastball followed by an 82-mph splitter followed by a 75-mph change up—nuff said. J/K. I agree that the pace of good softball is much better than, pick-off, step-off, time-out, and conference at mound that baseball can bring. All games at all levels when played well are what we all hope to see every game. Where I am, there is too much softball, it has become diluted, and that is where the old fat umpires go to die (and make money).

PS-did major LL game this week, 3-2, 6 full. 1.5 hours (0 errors) also did a senior legion preseason tounament game 8-6 6 innings(time limit)2.5 hours maybe 6 errors so who knows :shakehead:

Edited May 29, 2009 by bassfam11
spelling

[MCLEOD36]

I actually like watching well played softball games, Jenny Finch and Cat Osterman are not only great role models, but are great athletes and abundantly cute. I dont think there is anything better, then a Stanford/AZ game from that standpoint. Hats off to the people that call those games, and some of those umpires are the best I have seen. Unlike however, that ump that squeezed the zone last night on the AL pitcher in the College World Series. But most of the leagues that I have seen locally are just coed or mens beer leagues and I agree, that is where umpires go to die.

Now, while I will tend to complain by getting hit with the rock and the bruises, I still prefer baseball and find I learn just as much from 14U games as adult games and everywhere in between....

[Bigdog]

Hey all,

Here is my opinion on the topic:

1. It's the "Dark Side"!

2. I don't like the allowance of slap hitting/running bunts (say that 3 times fast!)

3. With all the chanting, it resembles a sport for wannabe cheerleaders who couldn't make the squad, but have good hand-eye coordination.

4. I REALLY don't like the fact that once you get to a 60' base path, that is it.

5. EVERYONE wears hats/visors of the team colors. No red ribbons in the hair when you team color are purple and gold! (I have seen it!)

6. Umpire mechanics are too robotic (spread feet, squat, call strike, signal strike, stand up with hands and feet together, lather, rinse, repeat.)

7. Use a white ball.

8. Base coaches in softball have to wear helmets!?!?!?!?!?

9. Brush off the rubber and the bases. WHY? I can see them just fine in baseball without doing this.

10. No leading off (Goes with #4)

I'm sure I could think of more if I really wanted to, but I don't have all day and there ain't enough bandwidth!

To be fair, some good things are:

1. Drop dead time limits with the same , roughly, game fee.

2. Maybe #3 above.

Bigdog:cool:

Edited May 31, 2009 by Bigdog

[willv28]

Hey all,

Here is my opinion on the topic:

1. It's the "Dark Side"!

2. I don't like the allowance of slap hitting/running bunts (say that 3 times fast!)

3. With all the chanting, it resembles a sport for wannabe cheerleaders who couldn't make the squad, but have good hand-eye coordination.

4. I REALLY don't like the fact that once you get to a 60' base path, that is it.

5. EVERYONE wears hats/visors of the team colors. No red ribbons in the hair when you team color are purple and gold! (I have seen it!)

6. Umpire mechanics are too robotic (spread feet, squat, call strike, signal strike, stand up with hands and feet together, lather, rinse, repeat.)

7. Use a white ball.

8. Base coaches in softball have to wear helmets!?!?!?!?!?

9. Brush off the rubber and the bases. WHY? I can see them just fine in baseball without doing this.

10. No leading off (Goes with #4)

I'm sure I could think of more if I really wanted to, but I don't have all day and there ain't enough bandwidth!

To be fair, some good things are:

1. Drop dead time limits with the same , roughly, game fee.

2. Maybe #3 above.

Bigdog:cool:

lol, true, true. The umpires are robotic. There's the one girl doing the World Series that has one of the strangest strikeout mechanics I've seen. After all the absolute care to be "perfect" in the strike machanic (call strike, stand up, signal, yes different than you said) then she does what I would consider an unacceptable strikeout mechanic. I swear she was calling someone safe or something. I also saw the chainsaw by someone the other night and it was at like a 45 degree angle and above their shoulders, looked very awkward. I went to my boss' daughter's high school game. I thought it was strange too the umpire would clean the pitching plate with his foot after every inning.

[treedog24]

I did my first FP last season and I was impressed with the pitchers. It took me an inning to get comfortable with where the ball was coming from (low instead of high). I was expecting chanting but had none of it from the girls. Acutually if I have a choice I will take a quality FP game over a quality BB game any day.

ps. The younger boys in my area are starting to do the chanting but the girls don't do it anymore:wow:

[ShmuelGoldstein]

Interesting replies, here. Wow.

I umpire in Israel (yes!), and actually softball here is more developed than baseball. The FP umpires here are, IMO, of a higher quality and trained better than the baseball umpires. But that's because baseball for years here had been only a kids sport, and only recently has expanded into High School level and adult level. So, I'm sure things will change. I umpire baseball (and almost no softball anymore) for a very simple reason: the baseball games are at more convenient times than the softball games, that's all.

But also, at least here, the baseball players are better behaved than the softball players. That's not to say the sb players are jerks, it's just that asserting my authority as an umpire on the bb field is easier than it is on the sb field.

[Umpire in Chief]

Shmuel welcome...

I remember reading 2-3 years ago that put together it's own professional league and the rule set was pretty interesting mixing MLB and International rules plus i believe they were only going to play 7 innings if there was a tie in extra innings they'd place a runner at second to start the inning. They also were going to have some other interesting rules in an attempt to speed up the game and make it more exciting...

Also was there something about if still tied after 9 they went to a Home Run Derby?

How has that gone in your opinion???