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I can do those things, thanks!
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May 5, 2018 03:49
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The odds are someone on your team will have some $300+ bat, just use that one. If you want to get your own, make sure it’s stamped with the association stamp of the league it’s run under, USA softball (formerly ASA), USSSA, or NSA. 99% of the bats will be fine for all of them though so don’t worry too much. You’ll want a bigger glove than you’d use for baseball, up to 14” if you want. This is assuming you’re playing 12” softball.
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May 5, 2018 20:33
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Ended up with a 13" glove and an exactly $30 bat. Thanks thread! And yep 12" softball. I did think to check the league rules for allowed bats. I’m in Canada and our national association hides the approved bat list behind a login wall??? but yeah there’s a logo to look for so it’s ez pz. I see what you mean about someone having some hilarious $$$ bat but I think this team is mostly scrubs so I'm not gonna count on it. Last year they won at most 1 game, and we're talking the most recreational of rec leagues available to non-children.
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May 5, 2018 23:31
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Definitely check your softball league's bat list before buying a bat. Some leagues allow double wall, some single wall, some only aluminum. Some allow composite handles, some don't. I know my league only allows aluminum bats (no single/double wall composite), so other than a specific list of 8-10 bats, everything else is illegal.
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May 8, 2018 13:15
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Saw something new tonight. Teammate fouled a pitch off his bat directly into his face. Instantly went limp and fell down, didn't move for a good 20 seconds. Ball hit him right on the eye socket, bleeding pretty bad and it swelled shut.
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May 12, 2018 03:03
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Popete posted:Saw something new tonight. Didin't AJ Burnett do that while practicing bunts in BP?
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May 12, 2018 06:31
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rickiep00h posted:Didin't AJ Burnett do that while practicing bunts in BP? You're right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l66yvLMaZ7g For some reason I just assumed it was basically impossible to hit a foul ball into your face on a full swing.
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May 12, 2018 12:54
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Popete posted:You're right. Yeah full swing definitely seems odd. I'd figure the follow-through would pull your head around enough, but if it hits before that, well. Down you go, I guess.
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May 12, 2018 16:11
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After a horrific BP session and probably one of the worst strikeouts of my life a few weeks ago, I went searching for a post I remembered from a past thread about the mechanics shared by pretty much every successful, major-league swing. After re-reading it, I went out the next week and crushed my first triple in I don't know how many years, which is no small feat for a fatso like me. Anecdotal I know, but it really gave me immediate and significant benefits with just a little bit of practice. The original site is dead but the article was preserved by the Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20171009205925/http://www.efastball.com/hitting/major-league-baseball-swing-rotational-hitting/
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May 13, 2018 04:38
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tinstaach posted:After a horrific BP session and probably one of the worst strikeouts of my life a few weeks ago, I went searching for a post I remembered from a past thread about the mechanics shared by pretty much every successful, major-league swing. After re-reading it, I went out the next week and crushed my first triple in I don't know how many years, which is no small feat for a fatso like me. Anecdotal I know, but it really gave me immediate and significant benefits with just a little bit of practice. The original site is dead but the article was preserved by the Wayback Machine: This is great, maybe you saw me post that article in the last SAS Baseball/Softball thread? When I was getting back into baseball years ago I stumbled upon that article and it is still in my mind one of the best explanations of how hitting works. It's full of great tips and breaks down the swing in a way that makes sense in my brain. Have you seen this Josh Donaldson video? It's also a great watch regarding rotational hitting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyWNCrxVzPU
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May 13, 2018 04:42
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Popete posted:Saw something new tonight. This happened to me in a batting cage when I was elementary-school-aged. I had a black eye and my teacher asked me if things were okay at home the next day. My go-to response was "at least I kept my eye on the ball!" 
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May 13, 2018 19:31
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Kevlar v2.0 posted:My go-to response was "at least I kept my eye on the ball!" 
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May 14, 2018 03:22
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I had 5 games scheduled this week, all of them cancelled due to weather. This spring sucks.
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May 20, 2018 18:14
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It’s surprisingly hard to hit a sphere with a cylinder! Who knew?? Learning curve looks like a mountain from here, I can't imagine dealing with actual pitching. Been throwing around and batting a bit for practice and it’s really fun. Might take me awhile to get used to the standing around. And if our first team practice is any indication, we'll be spending a looooot of time in the field. Yay rec league!
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May 20, 2018 21:35
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Popete posted:I had 5 games scheduled this week, all of them cancelled due to weather. This spring sucks. It has been poo poo for the Chicago area. Got a ton of games I was supposed to umpire cancelled last month and then there was like a 2 week period when every league in the suburbs were trying to make them up. I’d get a bunch of desperate texts and emails looking for umps but everyone was already booked. Bunch of adult softball games cancelled too obviously.
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May 20, 2018 23:57
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KDdidit posted:It has been poo poo for the Chicago area. Got a ton of games I was supposed to umpire cancelled last month and then there was like a 2 week period when every league in the suburbs were trying to make them up. I’d get a bunch of desperate texts and emails looking for umps but everyone was already booked. Bunch of adult softball games cancelled too obviously. I'm looking forward to the second half of the season when I have double headers 3 days of the week. I'm sure umpires are thrilled about spending 12+ hours a day at the park as well.
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May 21, 2018 02:42
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Popete posted:I'm looking forward to the second half of the season when I have double headers 3 days of the week. I'm sure umpires are thrilled about spending 12+ hours a day at the park as well. How are the fields in your league usually? It was completely hit or miss when I was in the adult baseball leagues, there were some total dumps with snow fences in the outfield to high quality high school fields. The most entertaining games we played were at Illinois Benedictine University. The baseball, football, and softball fields all form a triangle next to each other, so we'd be minding our own business looking like the bush league idiots we were on our field and all of a sudden we'd have a hundred people heckling us. For a few years the Chicago Major League Lacrosse team played on their football field and the Women's Pro Fastpitch with Jeannie Finch played on the softball field, and the crowds would stick around and watch us for a few minutes before or after those games.
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May 22, 2018 16:57
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Field are generally pretty nice. Depends on the league but most of my games end up being between 4-5 different fields. Wheeling has a new fake turf complex that is pretty nice but we don't play there a lot. Otherwise we play in Bensenville/Arlington Heights and Oakton Community College. Oakton is probably my favourite field to play at, it's a college field set back in some woods next to the Des Plaines river. I don't care for Bensenville very much because playing the outfield is always a crap shoot there. The field is facing west towards a lake set below the outfield wall which means the wind is always blowing in hard and can play havoc with fly balls.
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May 22, 2018 17:08
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Oof, Wheeling is quite a hike, but the suburbs are usually where the nicer facilities are for any sport with a rec league. Unless you're lucky enough for a brand new practice facility to be opened by a pro team a la the MB Center.
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May 22, 2018 17:24
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Kevlar v2.0 posted:Oof, Wheeling is quite a hike, but the suburbs are usually where the nicer facilities are for any sport with a rec league. Unless you're lucky enough for a brand new practice facility to be opened by a pro team a la the MB Center. Yeah pretty much everywhere I play is out in the north/west suburbs. I even have a few games all the way up in Waukegan which is a pain in the rear end. On the other hand I work out by O'Hare so during the week I just go directly to games form work and it's a pretty quick drive. If anyone in the Chicago area is interested in coming to watch a game I know we'll be playing at least one game at Boomer Stadium in Schaumburg which is a really nice field.
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May 22, 2018 18:41
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It finally happened, I pitched in my most competitive league. We were getting blown out in the 5th inning, our pitcher had already beaned 2 guys and the league says you're out if you hit 3. He loads the bases with the winning run (slaughter rule) on 2b. Manager calls me in from the outfield and has me pitch. It's been 2 years since I last threw off a mound in game. I was just trying to throw these guys BP fastball but either their ego wouldn't let them get humiliated by striking out/grounding out or they were really scared to lose this game they were up by 10 runs. Either way I walked the 2 guys as they wouldn't swing at anything and they won the game. Oh well. My teammates all had a good laugh and my manager says he wants to start me in a game sometime because I throw slow enough it'll throw off the hitters for at least the first time through the order. Looks like I need to get some bullpen sessions in, this could be fun.
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Jun 5, 2018 05:49
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Popete posted:it'll throw off the hitters for at least the first time through the order. Whoa lookit Sergio Romo here.
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Jun 6, 2018 07:17
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Faced a guy who was a 4 year college pitcher and former single A pitcher who was just cut from an independent league team. Throwing upper 80s low 90s fastballs with a decent slider/curve. It did not go well, struckout twice and ground out. His velocity was suprisingly not that bad, just had to get started early. His fastball was pretty straight which helps. Had to let everything offspeed go cause there was no way I was gonna be able to cover it.
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Jun 9, 2018 05:32
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Need a new pair of batting gloves? https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/le-f5/pcid1297246?scid=scplp1297246-100_Large&sc_intid=1297246-100_Large&cid=PLA|US|NB|GGL|DES|SiC|ROAS|&gclid=CjwKCAjw9qfZBRA5EiwAiq0AbWaGQhNv1i2jIrrLJIwXTLMzELtwWM-1TykGIocz9xFChxW76m2T4BoCfmEQAvD_BwE
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Jun 21, 2018 07:32
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I actually do, so I clicked on that link, and 
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Jun 21, 2018 17:24
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RCarr posted:I actually do, so I clicked on that link, and I just bought a new pair of Franklin CFX which are always a solid choice. I got a pair of Franklin "padded" gloves to start the year but I don't like them, they are too thick and my hands get really sweaty. Buddy of mine just picked up a pair of Warstic Workman2 gloves, they're a bit on the pricey side but they look really nice. Think I'm gonna grab a pair next time.
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Jun 21, 2018 18:51
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My slow pitch softball league is finally switching over to a turf field, and we have our first game on turf tonight. Is there anything I should know before I play? I play shortstop, so I assume it will only make things easier for me (true bounces). I also know from playing football on turf that it will probably destroy my skin when I dive. Should I wear a sleeve on my throwing arm (the one that would take the brunt of the impact on diving plays)?
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Jun 27, 2018 20:18
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RCarr posted:My slow pitch softball league is finally switching over to a turf field, and we have our first game on turf tonight. Is there anything I should know before I play? I play shortstop, so I assume it will only make things easier for me (true bounces). I also know from playing football on turf that it will probably destroy my skin when I dive. Should I wear a sleeve on my throwing arm (the one that would take the brunt of the impact on diving plays)? Depends on the kinda turf, if it's the stuff with rubber pellets it will get into everything. Depending on field wear (usually around 2b) you'll slide fast into the bag and it can give you more of a rug burn, I don't wear a sleeve (usually just wear sliding shorts under my pants). Also don't wear cleats, I only just recently bought turf specific shoes but regular gym shoes will work just fine. Turf tends to play more true as you mentioned and also the ball will move faster through the infield. Play a little deeper in the hole at SS.
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Jun 27, 2018 20:33
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Popete posted:Depends on the kinda turf, if it's the stuff with rubber pellets it will get into everything. Depending on field wear (usually around 2b) you'll slide fast into the bag and it can give you more of a rug burn, I don't wear a sleeve (usually just wear sliding shorts under my pants). Also don't wear cleats, I only just recently bought turf specific shoes but regular gym shoes will work just fine. Yea it's the kind with the rubber pellets. I asked a guy on my team who has played on turf before and he told me to wear cleats, not sneakers. He said I will slide around in sneakers. I might just go buy some turf shoes before the game though, as that seems to be the consensus on the best shoe to wear on turf. Thanks for the info!
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Jun 27, 2018 20:42
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If you're like me and watch a lot of videos on hitting and read articles on hitting theory you come across a lot of common sayings/terms that coaches love to throw around "Knob to the ball" being probably the most common. But it never clicked for me. The visual concept just seems so wrong but I'd heard a lot of people advocate for or against it and I wondered if it was a failure on my part to not accept it as a technique. I was watching this breakdown on J.D. Martinez and the latter half addressed hitting methods and what works for certain players and thought it was a really great summation of hitting as a whole. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH04Da0zb_M&t=284s There is no one correct way to hit, you have to find what works for you and that involves experimenting with a lot of different things. You see it today even among established major league players, they'll change up their leg kick or hand position. If those guys are still trying new things than we as amateur hitters should never be affixed to one way of thinking about hitting.
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Jul 2, 2018 07:58
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Very busy summer, playing a ton of baseball and only half way through the season(s). My knee is hurting my arm is hurting I have scrapes everywhere. I don't know how professional players play 162 game season without breaking down half way. I've played 24 games so far this season, granted my schedule tends to be heavily geared toward playing on the weekends. If it was 1 game a day I doubt I'd feel so beat up. Last weekend I had 5 games over the span of 3 days and this weekend 6 games in 5 days. I don't want to turn this into a personal blog, but I will say it's been a pretty solid year. I'm playing on 3 teams in 3 leagues this year. I joined a new team in a new league and was voted into the All Star game this past weekend, it was a really cool experience and I had a really great time. We got to play at an independent league park in Schaumburg (Boomer Stadium) with announcers and an actual (small) attendance. I hit 2 single and a triple. I came the closest I've ever come to hitting a home run, smoked a ball off the left field wall (may have 1 hopped not entirely sure) hit it about 340 feet. Oh and tonight I finally fulfilled my inner Baez and stole home on the throw back to the pitcher. I'd tried it once before and was called out but this time I beat the throw back by a few feet, it's all in the timing.
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Jul 13, 2018 06:07
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After playing 10+ years of softball on a lovely dirt field full of rocks, this season our town installed a turf field. I basically have to unlearn 10 years of instinctively expecting a bad bounce, because my I've had a few too many balls sneak under my glove at short. It is nice not having dirt/mud/etc all over my jersey/pants/cleats every game though!
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Jul 13, 2018 19:21
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Popete posted:Oh and tonight I finally fulfilled my inner Baez and stole home on the throw back to the pitcher. I'd tried it once before and was called out but this time I beat the throw back by a few feet, it's all in the timing. This owns. Is stealing home considered a dick move? I'm guessing people wouldn't like it if you were in a low-level rec league, but I imagine you're playing at a high enough level where it's all good.
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Jul 13, 2018 19:36
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Kevlar v2.0 posted:This owns. Is stealing home considered a dick move? I'm guessing people wouldn't like it if you were in a low-level rec league, but I imagine you're playing at a high enough level where it's all good. It can be considered a dick move, depends on the situation. This was a 1 run game, I was the tieing run at 3rd 2 outs and the batter had 2 strikes (if I remember right) my manager gave me the steal sign and he's friends with all the other teams managers so I doubt anyone was too upset. Rec league there are definitely etiquette rules regarding stealing or taking bases on a passed ball. If you're blowing out another team usually the manager will tell everyone to stay put on a passed ball and no more stealing. Occasionally it happens and someone gets a bit chirpy or the manager will call you out for it, but it's usually not a problem. I play on 3 leagues each of a different skill level, the one I was playing in last night was the least competitive of the 3. The more competitive a league the less common blow outs are and stealing is pretty much always in play. Base stealing is a big part of my game though, I'm a pretty small guy who doesn't hit a lot of XBH but if I can get on 1st I'll pretty much always be stealing 2nd.
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Jul 13, 2018 19:48
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 Incoming self-centered post to keep this thread from the archivesWell tonight is (likely) the final game of the season(s) for me. Both my other leagues wrapped up last night, we failed to make the playoffs in one league and made it to the championship in another league before falling to the title defender. Tonights game is the 2nd game in a best of 3 first round play offs, we are facing the #2 overall team and they walloped us on Friday and will likely do so again tonight. Lots of good stuff and some not so good stuff this year. I played in a total (including tonight) of 60 games, which is far more than I've ever played in a single year before. It was exhausting especially since all my games are Friday-Monday, lots of double headers and a few 3 game days as well. By mid way through the season I had a 100 nagging injuries, lots of them minor but some larger ones that definitely had an effect (golf elbow from over throwing and IT band causing knee pain when I ran). I've got a whole bunch of stats compiled for the season, I had a very strong 1st half and then fell off in the second half. A lot more strikeouts this year but I also hit a lot more. A quick glance of combined stats across all 3 teams including All Star game and post season. pre:PA: 188 AB: 151 Singles: 39 Doubles: 8 Triples: 2 Homeruns: 0 :( someday... BB: 22 HBP: 15 K: 49 yikes... AVG/OBP/SLG: .324/.457/.404 It's fun to measure your progress year to year. I've definitely improved since I started playing seriously 4 years ago and a big part of that is my teammates and managers. It's important to remember that stats don't matter though, it's an easy thing to obsess over and I'm guilty of caring too much at times but that's just part of the game as a player you need to handle mentally.
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Aug 27, 2018 23:10
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If anyone in the Chicago area is looking to play ball I just joined a fall ball league. It's pretty casual, I know at least one guy who hadn't played baseball before and is coming over from softball to give it a shot. So if you haven't played in awhile or ever and wanna give it a shot I would highly recommend this league. Hit me up and I can connect you with a team. I gotta say having a few weeks off from playing in 3 leagues simultaneously to not playing at all my arm feels so much better. I can actually throw the ball fairly hard again!
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Sep 18, 2018 05:38
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Man, that sounds like the perfect league for me. Wish I could play with you, but i'm in LA. I'm trying to learn how to pitch. Right now I'm using the sidearm to throw. I feel like I get a lot more velocity out it than pitching overhand, the only problem I'm having is that I have no control and my pitches are going very far left and right of home plate. I was able to throw a pitch that went straight as an arrow and sank right in front of home plate. It was super cool, but I don't know how I did it. I'm planning to go to a jr college to learn how to play baseball in the spring. I've never played baseball before and I'm super excited about playing.
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Sep 23, 2018 11:13
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