Fastpitch Softball - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

DZ · 03-10-2005, 08:35 AM

In this day and age many of us that have children spend a lot of our non-fishing time carting them around to games - soccer, basketball, softball. I have a daughter on a competitive ASA fastpitch softball team that plays all summer. Age group is 16U. We play all over New England. Sometimes this is a small world - anyone out there have a daughter that plays competitive softball?

DZ

Mike P · 03-10-2005, 09:01 AM

Mine played when she was younger. She was a big girl and more athletically developed than most girls then. When she was 9, they put her on an 11-12 year old team that won the county CYO championship, and she held her own. But, over time, she didn't want to keep up with the camps and clinics, she discovered that boys were, uh, "interesting", and most importantly, her growth slowed and the other kids her age caught and passed her.

Clammer · 03-10-2005, 09:10 AM

I played many years ago ===it saved my ass in boot camp with all the red necks =they never saw fast pitch before

Bill L · 03-13-2005, 08:51 AM

Dennis, my 10yo daughter has played fastpitch for the last three years in Little League minors (with me as coach). She's moving up to majors this year, we'll see if she sticks with it.

Here's a picture of one of last year's highlihgts --- 9/10 Allstars tournament where we (home team) beat a rival that no other SK girls team had. We were down, tied it in the bottom of the sixth, and came back again to win in the 7th. MY daughter pitched the closing inning. Notice the Rally Cap

Clammer · 03-13-2005, 08:56 AM

SSSSSSSWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTT

tynan19 · 03-13-2005, 11:45 AM

Great shot.

ThrowingTimber · 03-14-2005, 12:27 PM

When clammer played the "softball" as we know it now was actually a sphere chiseled from rock, this was when prehistoric man first began using tools...

Clammer · 03-14-2005, 01:25 PM

T/T ya wanna play catch ??? that ball will knock you on your Skinny A$$

tynan19 · 03-14-2005, 01:34 PM

Any one still play? I play for my Hospital a couple nights a week during spring. MVP Clammer.

Clammer · 03-14-2005, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tynan19

Any one still play? I play for my Hospital a couple nights a week during spring. MVP Clammer.

the hospital has [Fast Pitch ] not mush ball ?????/////

tynan19 · 03-14-2005, 02:53 PM

Sorry does the ball follow the momentum of the Belly.

Saltheart · 03-14-2005, 03:47 PM

I pitched very serious fast pitch softball for 5 seasons. My overall record was 39 and 6. One year I was undefeated in the Boston City League at 9-0 and won the whole shooting match that year.

I know its hard to believe seeing me hobble around now on bad knees but its the truth!

partsjay · 03-14-2005, 03:57 PM

I don't know about fast-pitch softball....but if anyone plays fast pitch wiffleball....let me know if you want to play a game......

Clammer · 03-14-2005, 07:13 PM

Mike ain,t it a bitch that they forget quickly that we were once young ///

REmember Local 57 ???????///

rexhamer · 03-14-2005, 08:33 PM

I started playing fast pitch in Cambridge in the men's rec leagues in 1976 at the age of 20. Played in Cambridge and Belmont until my third knee operation in 2001 gave me the hint that it was time to retire. Which is ironic, because I always marveled at how many older guys still played over the years. My famous quote was, "You never have to retire from fast pitch, just keep dropping down a league!"

Some of my fondest memories are of those leagues. For many years I played at a very competitive AA level. Very exciting games and loved hangin' out with the guys for a few pops afterwards. Also played in tournaments all over, particlarly at Hanscom Air Force Base. I am still friendly with many of the guys I played with and against.

Men's fast pitch is dying, though. When I started in '76, Cambridge alone had over 100 teams in about a dozen leagues. There were leagues in Belmont, Watertown, Milton, Newton, Chelsea. Nowadays, Cambridge probably has about twenty teams and Belmont has only slow pitch.

Taught my step-daughter to pitch and she threw a little for her varsity, but lost interest after that. It's a great game and I hope you all can keep your daughters interested. College scholarships are a possibility, and look how exciting the women were in the Olympics the last few times out.

tynan19 · 03-15-2005, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clammer

Mike ain,t it a bitch that they forget quickly that we were once young ///

REmember Local 57 ???????///

We forget because it was so long ago.

Clammer · 03-15-2005, 03:03 PM

payback a bitch

Saltheart · 03-15-2005, 03:06 PM

I remember going to see them when I was a kid. I couldn't beleive how far people could hit that softball!! Funny what you remember.

Clammer · 03-15-2005, 03:41 PM

that field was a old dump --=== made just for them /// that was right at the bottom of my street // as kids it was awesome to go the games under the lights // your right //some of those guys could put the ball out of a major league field / // & then there was the traveling team of four == name ??? king of the courts ???//

Saltheart · 03-15-2005, 03:44 PM

"King and his court"/ King was the pitcher nobody could hit

rexhamer · 03-15-2005, 06:50 PM

The "King" is Eddie Feigner. Although it appears that the King himself doesn't play any more, the "Court" is still touring.

http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/

I never got to see them in person, but have a tape of an ESPN special from about five years ago. Feigner had a great line that means more to me as I get older. In the special he was asked if he still threw as hard as he used to. I'm guessing he was in his late sixties at the time, he answered, "I throw as hard as I always have, the ball just doesn't go as fast!"

Mike P · 03-15-2005, 08:16 PM

You Rhody guys ever go down to Engineer's Field in Fox Point to watch Local 57 when you were kids?

Saltheart · 03-15-2005, 08:54 PM

Yep , couple of posts up in this thread Clammer asked the same question. That was big time in those days.

My Father used to tell me that back in the 1920's and 30's that the textile mill teams were as close to professional as you could get in RI (hardball) . Mill workers got treated special if they were good and played for their mill's team.

Mike P · 03-15-2005, 09:01 PM

Yup. My dad played for Kennecott Copper back in the 40s, after the war. He was a catcher but he also had a pretty good windmill pitch. He told me that a .200 average in fast-pitch was like a ,400 average in baseball. There was a pitcher for Local 57 who threw 4-5 perfect games a season.

They had the ASA AA slo-pitch nationals at Engineers Field one year. Some textile mill from North Carolina played the Nassau County (Long Island) Police Department in a best 2 of 3 series. Nassau County had a catcher (I can still remember the name) by the name of Evilsizer, and I never saw a guy whose name fit so well. Had to be about 350 lbs and none of it was fat.

Clammer · 03-15-2005, 09:37 PM

Mike & Mike --I was down there every night that there was a game //Jack White was the owner // I was too stupid at the time to realize that if he was at the field & it wasn,t game night //he had a girl upstairs ////
I saw the King & his court a few times .there was also a women,s team of around 5 or 6 players that smoked them also .....
Ted Williams was down there every year for the JimmY Fund ....

that was fun time WWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAYYYYyyyy back then

Bedford Blues · 03-16-2005, 01:26 PM

Hi Rex i played in the Cambidge league for Kappy,s Fresh Pond.
Our biggest rival was The Fire Dept team which had 2 excellent pitchers
back in the mid 80's.
Pitched and played infield. Learned a variety of pitchers from our coach
(former pitcher) including a "spinner" or Curveball .
Played till i was 40 + and also had the knee surgery to end things.

rexhamer · 03-16-2005, 06:09 PM

Hi Bedford - was George Pappas a coach or player on that Kappy's team? I played on a team he coached in the late 90's - as a matter of fact, the last team I played on before the knee operations! Spent some time trying to teach his son to pitch.

Otherwise, over 25 years I played for Russell II, MVP Sports, Flaherty Associates and Paddy's. In Belmont it was Waverly VFW, Port Oil, Orchard Park Grille and World Class. Although this may make me appear to be a sought-after free agent, mostly I moved on because a team folded.

In both cities, I played for other teams as a pick-up for weekend tournaments. It's funny you mentioned the "spinner". Over the years I picked the brains (or what was left of them!) of many an old-timer to get pitching hints. Always amazed me how many different grips and deliveries there were. I ended up focusing on the basics - fastball (drop), riser and changeup. I wish I had had the oportunity to start at a younger age.

Great memories!

NIB · 03-17-2005, 07:07 AM

When my dad was in the Navy he played on a team that played the King An his Court.He would always recant the story.something like a five man team.the King was wild throwin behind his back so fast they could not detect it.