Softball!

[Teenwolf]

Finished with a .386/.426/.491 line through 16 games. Not terrible considering I haven't played in 15 years, but lots to improve on.

I feel like I can steal more bases. Got my first SB today, but I'll try to grab a lot more next year. Lose some of the pudge, and muscle up for extra power. I'll have 3 months off work in the winter to get ready.

What's your preference for lumber? I was using a 26 ounce, 34 inch for most of the season, but we picked up a 30 ounce that feels a bit heavy for me. I want to pick up a 28 ounce to split the difference.

Oh, also witnessed my first gruesome softball injury. Girl at first gets caught leading off too far on a line drive to second, slides back into 1B awkwardly and catches her knee on the spike. Cut just below the knee, about an inch deep gouge, right down to the capsule. 13 stitches. I'm sure some of you guys have seen worse.

[Hammer]

I use a28 oz aluminum bat. Serves me well against the faster guys. I go up to 32 when facing the slop.

In 10 regular season games i hit . 425 with 22 rbi. Still never felt locked in though. Pitching has been a really good season for me as i tweaked my delivery and shut down the highest scoring team to 3 runs last week. Playoffs start tomorrow but looks like a washout

[virgonomic]

The Pylons went 0-3-1 in our last 4 (all losses by a run) but held onto first place by a point. We got a 1st round bye and have a 2nd round double-header Tuesday. I will miss the games and the series could be over that night.

Personally I hit 0.568 with 9 RBI and 15 R in 15 GP. Towards the end I focused on putting good swings on the ball and got a few doubles when hard hit balls rolled into gaps. I was using a 34 in 27 oz bat. I would go to 26 before 28.

My team is playing in 2 leagues this fall: outdoors (6 weeks) and indoors (12 weeks).

[virgonomic]

Wow, a year between posts. I thought we had a 2K12 thread but don't see it.

I hit my first homerun in 10 years last night. I got a high pitch down the middle that I knew I could turn on and the wind carried it out to left. A week earlier I hit one off the top of the fence in right that bounced back in. We beat the 22-3-1 first place team with a walkoff grand slam. They mercied us in the second game. Even that wasn't enough to move us um in the standings as we finished the season 10th/14 heading into the playoffs.

[Teenwolf]

My team finished 7-8 in the regular season, put up a fight in the playoffs that wasn't enough.

I had a pretty rough season at the plate, but felt great in the field and on the bases. I think the problems that I had in hitting this season were due to swinging a 30 oz bat for most of the season after swinging a 26 oz the previous year. Big strides this season all around though.

Virgo, good work on the HR. I've yet to hit my first, having played 30 games or so, but I have aspirations to do so.

[baldgriff]

OK - just curious why would you swing a 30oz bat? With todays technology, bat speed is way more important than the weight of the bat you are swinging.

Also, what bats do you guys swing when you are playing? Just curious.

[senorsheep]

I used to swing the 30 oz. club back in my heavy weightlifting days to get a little extra crunch, but now that I've switched to a 28 oz. Worth Mayhem, I realize that the 30 oz. really wasn't giving me as much crunch as I imagined.

[baldgriff]

Currently I swing a 27oz bat. Actually I have a 2010 27oz Mizuno Craze (Utrip bat), 2012 27oz Miken NXT Freak (Utrip), 2010 27 oz Z-1000 (ASA) and a 28 oz Miken NRG 600 (Utrip).

I got the new Miken to swing for next year because USSSA is changing bat standards, so my old ones are no bueno next year.

[virgonomic]

My new favourite bat is the Demarini Bruiser. A guy on my mens team picked up a 34/26 2011 model and it's only a $100 bat but the ball jumps off it and it's the one I hit my homerun with. I tried to buy 2 on ebay but they were out of stock and offered me the 2012 model, which I took.

We also have 2 Combat Brown 98 bats, 34/26 and 34/27. It's a $200 bat, I bought the 34/27 on sale for $100.

[dslaw]

Tied for 1st with 1 game left so we had to win our last game to ensure a playoff. I hit well, two 2 out RBI hits and we won by 1, sat around while the team we were tied with won by 1 also forcing a playoff. We are down by 1, bottom of 7th, 2 outs no one on. Single, RBI double to tie the game, I am up, 3-4 so far in the game, and hit a lazy fly to RC. We lose in extra innings. I haven't been that close to crying in years. This team has played in leagues with us for 4 years now, 4 to 6 matchups per year including fall ball, and had beaten us once.

[senorsheep]

Still playing, and still loving it. I've been playing with the same group of guys for 20 years. When we were 25, we used to wonder "How can these old guys beat us every week?" Now we're the old guys laying the smacketh down on those young punks.

I pitch and hit leadoff. Pretty sad that I'm the "wheels" of the team. LOL

I think I'm one of three guys on the team that has yet to have a sports-related surgery. :knockonwood: I definitely feel the pain after a doubleheader, especially early in the season, but it's nothing a good soak in the hot tub can't cure.
Still playing. Still loving it. Still need a good, long soak in the hot tub after a double header.

We closed out our fall season last night with a win and a loss in our season-ending tournament (2nd place), and it reminded me that we have (had?) some softball players in here.

A lot has changed since this thread was started. I no longer pitch. I had my right thumb broken by a screaming grounder five or so years ago. It healed wonky, and I haven't been able to throw strikes since. I've been rotated over to 1B/2B, with the occasional RF appearance. I think I'd like to take the mound one more time before I call it quits.

I no longer hit leadoff. With the new guys we've brought in to replace old guys who have retired, I'm no longer even a middle tier hitter on the team. Aside from one or two surprise gappers per season, I'm just one of the old guys slapping singles at the bottom of the order. To that end, I've dropped down to a 27-oz. weighted bat.

Any of you geezers still playing?

[nots]

We closed out our fall season last night with a win and a loss in our season-ending tournament (2nd place), and it reminded me that we have (had?) some softball players in here.

A lot has changed since this thread was started. I no longer pitch. I had my right thumb broken by a screaming grounder five or so years ago. It healed wonky, and I haven't been able to throw strikes since. I've been rotated over to 1B/2B, with the occasional RF appearance. I think I'd like to take the mound one more time before I call it quits.

I no longer hit leadoff. With the new guys we've brought in to replace old guys who have retired, I'm no longer even a middle tier hitter on the team. Aside from one or two surprise gappers per season, I'm just one of the old guys slapping singles at the bottom of the order. To that end, I've dropped down to a 27-oz. weighted bat.
Any of you geezers still playing?

I played this summer for probably the final time. We lost in the finals and I had a very very average year at best. Too many young guys 25 years younger for me to keep up. I had a great year in 2017, but I was a borderline embarrassment this summer

[Steve 2.0]

You guys should form some 40+ only leagues.

[umjewman]

My office had a team this spring which was embarrassingly terrible. Coed league with no women who had ever played before and only 4 or 5 guys (myself included) who had any remote ability to do anything. We got mercy ruled every game until people stopped showing up. Finally, we had to forfeit so many games for lack of enough players that they threw us out of the league. It was embarrassing and terrible.

On the plus side, I played SS, 3B and LF and played quite good defense. Having never played OF at any level, I was pleasantly surprised.

[Gregg]

On the plus side, I played SS, 3B and LF and played quite good defense. Having never played OF at any level, I was pleasantly surprised.

All at the same time?