Our next game is July 7th, @ Parkshore. Enjoy your week off.-Jet
Re-Cap of McNair v. Barnwell, Whaley
Game played at Park Shore Field (June 22, 2005)
Introduction:
For those of you who couldn’t come out last week, it was a tough game for our team to loose. The normal smells and bells the McNair Machine brings to the field were overwhelmed by the Daniel Island Dusters. I am not sure if it was the heat, the humidity or that every Barnwell dog has his day, but something was preventing us from looking like our usual selves. We were missing our rock, but Tom did come out to support the team and to take a few pictures. The Admiral Chris and his guns were MIA-yes; the shirts are intentionally cut as a show of force. Along with missing our gun-boat diplomacy, MAS-“the Italian Stallion” was getting his hair done after work and came late. However, he did send Katherine to join our regular GREEN “Army” of supporters. Unfortunately, we dropped this game, but we have plenty of time to fix some of our problems; our next game will be July 7th against Moore & Van Allen at the Park Shore Field. Scarafile will be sending out the updated batting averages as soon as he can.
Team Scores: Barnwell/ Whaley4 / 4/0 / 7/0 / 0/4 / Total: 19
McNair 0 / 4/2 / 1/3 / 0/3 / 13
Re-Cap:
FIRST: The Green Machine came out a little flat in the first inning allowing B/W to put 4 on the board. The Easton Synergy2 that Tom purchased was a little more bat than both Brett “Mr. Dependable” Bluestein and MC “Hammer” Scarafile were expecting. Both of our start off men flied out at the fence, albeit neither used much force to get it there. Jet started things off with an easy swinging single. Jay-Bird followed up with a line-drive to center field that was mishandled by B/W’s centerfielder. Now normally when this occurs, Jet gets the green light for home and everyone is going to the party with runs on the board. But this time, B/W’s first base-person (Kara Mattingly) dropped into cover home. Note: This is exactly what the first baseman is supposed to do once the runner is by them Cover Home! The crowd is yelling, “Go! Go! Go!” Mr. Dependable is yelling, “Home! Home! Home” and Kara silences us all and ends the inning by tagging out Jet at home. You know, the last name (Mattingly), the knee brace and the Harmon Killebrew signed glove should have been a sign that she was a player. Wait, let’s not over-hype the females of their team because we all know, and B/W soon found out-McNair has some ladies who can handle their own on the field as well.
SECOND:After B/W put four on the board, McNair fought back with a little help from our ladies. Big Daddy Warren had a great hit, but was caught by a lucky tag out at second. Corbett (2-Cans) Coats picked up where Joel left off and smacked one to get things going. John and Turner both punished the ball, John brought in Corbett and Turner’s triple sent Rosie home. We were all delighted to see that two of our steady producers (Rosen & Boone) were back on track. Funny, it reminded me of what Turner told me before the season, “Of course I can play ball, why do you think they named the field after me in Atlanta?” Although Maggie went 1 for 3, her hitting improved more than expected. Had their left-fielder not been dragging behind, she may have hit a triple because the ball had speed and distance. Maggie came early and worked out with our hitting coach Craig Blackmon. Shhh…the other teams don’t know about our hitting coach. Maggie’s one hit was in the 2nd -a double, she then road home on Brad ‘Hondo’ Hiers’ follow up double. Hondo was left on base due. THIRD: We blanked them in the top of the inning and MC Hammer still had too much juice on the new bat to get it in play. Jet started things off for us with a double and Jay-Bird delivered with another double-this time no Mattingly at home to ruin Jet’s day. Jay-Bird was brought home by Big Daddy Warren who took 2nd base as well. (First time in McNair history-three doubles in a row! FOURTH: The wheels came off the Machine both offensively and defensively, as we let them hold us to one run while B/W tacked on seven. CID was the only one to score-off a double by Hondo. Brad was left on base as the Hammer and Mr. Dependable still wrestled with the getting their swings down. The 5th and 6th innings we held B/W and managed to put three on the board. We were all worried after Jet struck out and was mocked by Brandy-burg that the end was near, but McNair turned up the heat and made it a 5 run game in the bottom of the 5th. The three runs came off of three doubles in a row (a second for our team): Jay-Bird, Joel and Corbett followed by a triple from John Rosen put us back in the game. Yes, I did say Corbett Coats hit a double. It was right up the middle, dog-legged left on the South side of 2nd base and dropped between three of their players. If you had seen the look on Corbett’s face I think you would say that even she couldn’t believe it. Never underestimate our girls! Currently, they are carrying the team! SEVENTH: Barnwell Whaley did kick the proverbial dust in our face and put four more runs on the board, making it a 9 run game. We didn’t give up without a fight-MC Hammer finally found his stride, getting a single, which was followed with a single from Jet. With two men on, a runner in scoring position Jay-Bird decided to go long ball. Jay-Bird will be receiving the Game Ball for his 7th inning home-run! –That is as soon as we find it.
Dug-Out:
I hated to loose this game as much, probably even more, than you did. The thing is, a few us had an off night and we still have a couple of kinks we need to work out. On the positive side, we did score the second most runs of any game this season. (The most we have scored was 15 in our win against Pierce Hearns.) Now considering that Brett, Michael and Turner all went 1 for 4, and Jet was the only strike out-how can anyone complain about what we accomplished? We did really well; I promise it will just get better in the last 5 games of our season and we still have a chance to make the playoffs. As you know, we have been tweaking things to see what works, so everyone be patient. I am sorry we didn’t get our subs in last week, and we’ll work on that next time as well.
If the weather lets up anytime this or next week between Tuesday and Thursday, I will gladly go out and work with anyone who needs to practice positioning, hitting or just staying loose since we have this week off. We do need to settle down just a bit, and get back to basics. We need to make sure our throws count by hitting the cut off man, backing up each other and helping each other out as a team. I have two experienced baseball/softball coaches (Craig & Joel) out there to keep an eye on what problems (both mechanically and technically) we’re having. They give me their opinions and we have been moving some people around but a few things may go unnoticed. Please do not be afraid to ask me or one of them for help if something doesn’t feel right or you are not comfortable in a certain position. I want everyone to have fun, be safe and if we want to make the Play-Offs at the beginning of August, Win some ball games! Our next game is July 7th, the first Thursday in July against Moore & Van Allen.
Have a safe and happy 4th of July.
-Jim Trabert
Go Mighty McNair!
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Re-Cap of Game against Rosen
McNair v. Rosen & Rosen
(June 16, 2005)
Intro:
After winning two games and dropping one to Nelson Motors, the big McNair Machine came out a little flat against Rosen & Rosen last Thursday. In our last victory against Parker Poe the team fought off P&P’s 5th inning attack which tied the game and later put McNair down by one run. Yes, we took our early lead and sat on it until they caught us. Fortunately the ladies of the Scardato’s 13th Regiment Calvary Unit charged in and saved the day putting 4 runs on the board in the 6th inning. Yes, folks the girls came up strong each getting at least one RBI, Christina (overall .125) and Maggie (overall .250) getting a single a piece and Corbett (overall .417) notched two singles on her belt during the game. The team’s over-all batting average was .452% for the win over Parker-Poe. Unfortunately, the Rosen game was a different story.
Re-Cap:
For some reason I always seem to forget that teams with offices in the building where the Articles of Succession was signed are always a little rowdy. Jay pitched the night before and could barely lift his arms; Joel was stuck out in the country and it sure didn’t help that El Nino turned up the heat out at the Navy Base. On the plus side, we did have a plethora of cold ones, a good looking fan base and Glenn Walker flew in from Germany to catch the game. I digress; the blood shirted team from 134 Meeting came out hard and fast on your beloved McNair Machine. The first inning they put 6 runs on the board and held us to one hit by Bluestein. The second inning, we started to warm-up and held them to 5 runs, but they still managed to blank us again. After we returned the favor, RxR kept us from scoring until the fourth inning. Brett Bluestein (overall average of .666%) came up with our second hit of the game, as well as our first run on the board thanks to John Rosen (overall .333%) earning his first RBI of the year. Brad ‘Hondo’ Hiers (overall .308%) came up with the fourth hit, but did not beat out Romie ‘the Juice’ Bonds’ throw at second. Fielder’s Choice-you gotta love them. The fifth inning brought forth our substitutions and we continued to hold Rosen to a tight leash. The only problem was we couldn’t bounce back from their early lead. Jet led off and got our next hit, a single, with ‘Mad’ Mike Scarafile (overall .666%) following his lead just drilling one into right field-it was “home James, home” in no time flat. We continued to hold RxR to one run in both the 5th & 6th innings and blanked them in the 7th, but we still could not get out of the slump we were in with our hitting. We did earn one run in the bottom of the 7th-an RBI off of another well placed ball from ‘Mad’ Mike. Overall the team’s batting average was .258% down from .628% our first game! Yeah, we definitely need to work on that.
Dug-Out: (We saved the last inning for our best, err most entertaining stuff)
Speaking of well placed hits, Jet’s power swing produced a bunt, which rolled approximately 2.5 feet. Upon looking back from first, he noticed RxR’s Mary-Jordan picking up the ball. It was onto second base, where Jet noticed the slow, lofty throw from home and the third base coach waving him onto the hot corner. RxR put down their crossing signs and blocked off his travel to home, but it was the most exciting bunt/triple our team has had in along time. As mentioned, Scarafile was the next up and his hit made it an easy trot home for Jet. Maggie sacrificed one for the team to move Scarafile to second. Next up was Cid, with a runner in scoring position she hit one to Romie, but the Juice was no match for the wheels on Cid as she was safe at first. Unfortunately, this was too little, too late, because it would be ‘fielder’s choice’ to end the game with the next batter.
Our next game is tomorrow against Barnwell, Whaley at the Parkshore Field. Please do your best to get out there early to warm-up and take a few swings with the bats, especially our new secret weapon. (It’s a secret-I can’t tell you, come see for yourself.) Currently, McNair is 2-2; we’ll have to come out strong to put Barnwell Whaley in their place. Some of their players have already sent Corbett some trash talking about the game tomorrow.
The following are excerpts from an e-mail sent to Corbett.
B/W’s Coach: “I hope you all bring your "A" game, if not we’ll be seeing you in the dust!”
Corbett: “What dust?”
B/W’s Coach: “The dust I’ll be kicking up in your face! The guys at Rosen said it was the thing to do to you!”
Corbett: “Just watch and see buddy, we’ll be doing our trash talking on the field.”
B/W’s Coach: “You’re lucky I am just coaching tomorrow because I hurt my knee. Then again, my knee has a better batting average than Trabert!”
Corbett is right; we’ll be doing our trash talking on the field tomorrow. And to be honest, I would hate to see this guy’s knee in a dark alley.
Go Mighty McNair!
(June 16, 2005)
Intro:
After winning two games and dropping one to Nelson Motors, the big McNair Machine came out a little flat against Rosen & Rosen last Thursday. In our last victory against Parker Poe the team fought off P&P’s 5th inning attack which tied the game and later put McNair down by one run. Yes, we took our early lead and sat on it until they caught us. Fortunately the ladies of the Scardato’s 13th Regiment Calvary Unit charged in and saved the day putting 4 runs on the board in the 6th inning. Yes, folks the girls came up strong each getting at least one RBI, Christina (overall .125) and Maggie (overall .250) getting a single a piece and Corbett (overall .417) notched two singles on her belt during the game. The team’s over-all batting average was .452% for the win over Parker-Poe. Unfortunately, the Rosen game was a different story.
Re-Cap:
For some reason I always seem to forget that teams with offices in the building where the Articles of Succession was signed are always a little rowdy. Jay pitched the night before and could barely lift his arms; Joel was stuck out in the country and it sure didn’t help that El Nino turned up the heat out at the Navy Base. On the plus side, we did have a plethora of cold ones, a good looking fan base and Glenn Walker flew in from Germany to catch the game. I digress; the blood shirted team from 134 Meeting came out hard and fast on your beloved McNair Machine. The first inning they put 6 runs on the board and held us to one hit by Bluestein. The second inning, we started to warm-up and held them to 5 runs, but they still managed to blank us again. After we returned the favor, RxR kept us from scoring until the fourth inning. Brett Bluestein (overall average of .666%) came up with our second hit of the game, as well as our first run on the board thanks to John Rosen (overall .333%) earning his first RBI of the year. Brad ‘Hondo’ Hiers (overall .308%) came up with the fourth hit, but did not beat out Romie ‘the Juice’ Bonds’ throw at second. Fielder’s Choice-you gotta love them. The fifth inning brought forth our substitutions and we continued to hold Rosen to a tight leash. The only problem was we couldn’t bounce back from their early lead. Jet led off and got our next hit, a single, with ‘Mad’ Mike Scarafile (overall .666%) following his lead just drilling one into right field-it was “home James, home” in no time flat. We continued to hold RxR to one run in both the 5th & 6th innings and blanked them in the 7th, but we still could not get out of the slump we were in with our hitting. We did earn one run in the bottom of the 7th-an RBI off of another well placed ball from ‘Mad’ Mike. Overall the team’s batting average was .258% down from .628% our first game! Yeah, we definitely need to work on that.
Dug-Out: (We saved the last inning for our best, err most entertaining stuff)
Speaking of well placed hits, Jet’s power swing produced a bunt, which rolled approximately 2.5 feet. Upon looking back from first, he noticed RxR’s Mary-Jordan picking up the ball. It was onto second base, where Jet noticed the slow, lofty throw from home and the third base coach waving him onto the hot corner. RxR put down their crossing signs and blocked off his travel to home, but it was the most exciting bunt/triple our team has had in along time. As mentioned, Scarafile was the next up and his hit made it an easy trot home for Jet. Maggie sacrificed one for the team to move Scarafile to second. Next up was Cid, with a runner in scoring position she hit one to Romie, but the Juice was no match for the wheels on Cid as she was safe at first. Unfortunately, this was too little, too late, because it would be ‘fielder’s choice’ to end the game with the next batter.
Our next game is tomorrow against Barnwell, Whaley at the Parkshore Field. Please do your best to get out there early to warm-up and take a few swings with the bats, especially our new secret weapon. (It’s a secret-I can’t tell you, come see for yourself.) Currently, McNair is 2-2; we’ll have to come out strong to put Barnwell Whaley in their place. Some of their players have already sent Corbett some trash talking about the game tomorrow.
The following are excerpts from an e-mail sent to Corbett.
B/W’s Coach: “I hope you all bring your "A" game, if not we’ll be seeing you in the dust!”
Corbett: “What dust?”
B/W’s Coach: “The dust I’ll be kicking up in your face! The guys at Rosen said it was the thing to do to you!”
Corbett: “Just watch and see buddy, we’ll be doing our trash talking on the field.”
B/W’s Coach: “You’re lucky I am just coaching tomorrow because I hurt my knee. Then again, my knee has a better batting average than Trabert!”
Corbett is right; we’ll be doing our trash talking on the field tomorrow. And to be honest, I would hate to see this guy’s knee in a dark alley.
Go Mighty McNair!
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Tips from Dr. Wacko
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #1: Poodle Alert at the Plate
1) As you step up to the plate to hit, think where you are going to stand in the batters box because a poor choice can take you out before the first pitch.
2) To maximize your chances, you've got to be able to hit the strikes. If you can't, a decent slow-pitch hurler will play with you like a poodle shredding Kleenex.
3) During practice, go up to the plate and position yourself where you need to be to take the ball that falls just behind the plate for a quality strike. Insist on strikes during batting practice so that you get in the habit of recognizing and swinging at good pitches.
4) Boiled down, this means that most hitters playing in rec leagues should be standing deeper in the box than they would in baseball.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #2: The Importance of Defence
1. Good defense pumps up a team as a whole more than good hitting. All it takes is one superlative-or even good-play to turn a team around and show it what it's capable of.
2. Although most players concentrate on offensive aspects of the game, good glove-work decides at least as many contests as hitting. It's hard to make such comparisons, but a great catch and throw can be worth as much as a home run.
3. In the outfield, take the time necessary to set your feet, and visually pick up your cutoff man, before making the throw. It is more important to make a strong, accurate throw than it is to get rid of the ball the instant it touches your hands.
4. It is possible to increase the snap on long throws from the outfield by twisting your hand just a little counterclockwise (for right-handed throwers) as you draw the ball back. This forces the person throwing the ball to draw it behind the ear in the classic position, and puts perhaps 15 percent more zip in the throw.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #3: Basic Hitting Tactics
1. Forget the underhanded pitching and metal bats. The biggest single difference between slow-pitch softball and baseball is the extra outfielder. The tenth man tips the averages in favor of the defense, and makes it statistically more likely that fly balls to the outfield will be caught.
2. It's possible to hit for a high average in slow-pitch (in fact, the best hitters routinely hit over .500), but to achieve this kind of success you've got to make adjustments in both the physical and mental aspects of hitting.
3. Once you've ironed out the kinks in your batting stroke, think about the pattern of your hitting through a game. Each turn at bat should set up your following turns at the plate by exposing weaknesses in the defense's personnel or alignment. Remember, you can move the fielders around as much as you move the ball around.
4. You don't have to hit to "all" fields to spread the fielders. Two fields can be enough to give you a temporary advantage. That's why almost any weenie can be a feared hitter in slow-pitch softball.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #4: Control Pitching
1. The first step toward control as a pitcher is standardizing your motion. Find a type of pitch and windup that is comfortable and seems to work, and stick with it until you know it inside out.
2. Every pitcher has streaks of wildness, but there is something you can do about it if you know your own tendencies, or weaknesses.
3. Become familiar with the basic parts of your delivery (stride, release, jump back, etc.) and how each affects your pitching so you can quickly diagnose the problem when things don't go quite right.
4. If you have trouble zeroing in on the strike zone, try using a tree or some other object behind the plate in the distance as your target. You may find that focusing on a target high above the plate also makes it easier to throw high-arc pitches.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #5: Slow-Pitch Softball Stats
1. The better a team's scorekeeping, the better its manager's decisions are likely to be, since the latter is based on the former.
2. Keeping track of what fields batters hit to (on both teams) is a first step, but keeping track of the count and the location of the pitch can give a manager a finer handle on the individual batter's performance.
3. Even though stats can be kept without a computer program, the keenness of computer analysis cannot be duplicated by casual scrawlings. If you already use a database on a personal computer, see if it can be adapted for softball stat use. The crucial test is usually whether the program has enough relational muscle to perform arithmetic computations on summary fields (i.e., can calculate batting averages).
4. The best programs that I have found for keeping track of softball scores are Q&A and Reflex. Q&A is the more well-rounded of the two, but if you don't already use Q&A or don't need a textual database, Reflex is vastly superior for numerical analysis of any kind. It's available for the Macintosh, too. For a template that will allow you to start keeping your softball records in Q&A, see the appendix. (Note: a decade after this was written, neither Reflex nor Q&A existed any more.)
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #6: Overall Offensive Strategy
1. The basic strategic principle of slow-pitch softball can be stated simply: Score runs faster than the opposition. Or, put another way: Good things happen to those who have the lead.
2. It is not necessary to hit tons of home runs to score tons of runs. To score runs faster than the opposition, all you really have to do is put runners in scoring position and avoid outs.
3. The double is the most valuable hit in slow-pitch softball because it specifically addresses these needs. It puts a runner in scoring position, eliminates the force or double play, and in most situations causes the defense to bunch up, making it easier for the next batter to both drive in a run and avoid making an out.
4. A lot of batters think their job is done when they get to first. In reality, they should be thinking double all the way, and scanning the field as they round the bag for a sign-such as the outfielder's bobbling the ball-that they can make it. Not everybody can hit homers, but just about everybody can hit doubles if they work at it.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #7: Advanced Pitching Styles
1. Advanced pitchers are able to throw both a variety of pitches and pitches that move differently from the same motion and apparent spin.
2. As in baseball, the grip is the key to making the ball move in and out. With backspin pitching, you can make it move differently by throwing it with, or across, the seams.
3. Sidespin pitching is a little harder to master, but is much more mutable than backspin, and therefore can add several pitches to the pitcher's repertoire.
4. The knuckleball is the only pitch in slow-pitch softball that can be overpowering. It is thrown with a sort of stiff-wristed putt-and poot-off the fingernails. The idea is to release the ball with no spin. If the pitcher's hand is too small, a similar pitch can be thrown by holding the ball in the palm.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #8: Coordinating Pitching and Defense
1. One of the simplest ways to increase the effectiveness of a pitcher is to have the defense positioned correctly for the pitches thrown.
2. Once a pitcher has gained sufficient control to be able to put the ball where he or she wants it more than half the time, it's important to set up a system of signals to inform the fielders where the ball is going to be pitched.
3. The signals can be given either by the pitcher directly, as in the case of Raoul's theatrical chicanery, or by a second person such as the catcher or shortstop. The only requirement is that they be visible to everyone on the field, yet not obviously a signal.
4. It is equally important that the fielders-especially the infielders-not tip off the batter by breaking too soon. If they wait until the pitch is in the air, and then break correctly (to their right if the ball is inside to a right-handed hitter; to their left if it's outside to the same batter), they will catch a lot of balls that normally would go through for hits.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #9: Defensive Shifts
1. The strongest defensive alignment is usually straight away, with all four outfielders spread evenly.
2. There are certain exceptions, however, where the correct defensive shift can work well. In general, defensive shifts work best against a limited batter who is well known to the defense.
3. Even teams at the highest level of slow-pitch will sometimes employ a radical shift (such as bringing an outfielder in to play as a fifth infielder) to try to shake things up, and introduce an element of chance.
4. Just when it all begins to seem too complicated for any mortal to master, remember that paunchy men with chewing tobacco running down their chins can do it, and so can you. If you're lucky, like me, the things you don't do may be crucial to success.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #10: Coed Softball
1. Coed softball is another realm entirely from the men's game, and in many ways I think it's harder. 2. Rule changes intended to even up men and womensuch as playing with different-sized balls, and attaching penalties to walking men-change the basic geometry of the game. An inadvertant result of this is that the pitcher's task is made much more difficult.
3. Women are more important to winning at slowpitch softball than men, both because of the rule changes and because the men more or less even out, putting a premium on the superior woman player.
4. If you're alert (and heaven knows, the world needs more lerts), you can sometimes snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by keeping your eyes peeled for runners who carelessly round bases too widely in the heat of the fray. The pitcher is usually responsible for making the defensive call, but manymen and women alike-don't even know it's an option.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #11: The Power Stroke
1. At the highest levels of slow-pitch softball, power hitting is perhaps the most important aspect of the game. You often hear people scoff at softball sluggers as beer-bellied dreamers, but actually the slow-pitch softball stroke is a special enough thing that even big-league hitters have to learn it.
2. Ted Cox, who played in the American League for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue jays, told me that the basic trick to power hitting in slow-pitch softball is to strike the ball slightly below the middle, in order to give the ball backspin and loft it. "In baseball you are taught to hit the top part of the ball. Now you slow your hands down so you make contact, and then snap the wrists to get the spin to make it
3. When the power game is on, it can be absolutely overpowering. I watched a game in the 1989 ASA super-slow-pitch national championships in which one team, Steele's Silver Bullets, hit fifty-six homers, winning by a final score of 74-21. It is worth noting, though, that Steele's didn't win the superslow-pitch national championship that year. They were beaten by a team that featured speed and an all-around game.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #12: A Few More Things...
1. One way to seriously hit to the opposite field (right field for a right-handed batter) is to try to hit the "inside comer of the ball." That is, waiting long enough on the pitch so you can hit an inside slice of the ball as it falls through the strike zone.
2. Less seriously, softball in the snow can be great fun as long as you don't expect it to resemble dry-land softball too much. If you want to try it, you'll need orange balls, and orange traffic cones or rubber tires may serve as better bases than the bags used during the summer. It also helps to have some sort of warming shed. Major snow ball tournaments have been sponsored for many winters in Omaha and Chicago by the March of Dimes.
3. Although it may not happen often, you occasionally may want to do something besides play softball. (Did I say that?) Just remember the lines from the eighteenth-century British poet William Cowper: "Absence of occupation is not rest, a mind quite vacant is a mind distress'd."
Go Mighty McNair!
1) As you step up to the plate to hit, think where you are going to stand in the batters box because a poor choice can take you out before the first pitch.
2) To maximize your chances, you've got to be able to hit the strikes. If you can't, a decent slow-pitch hurler will play with you like a poodle shredding Kleenex.
3) During practice, go up to the plate and position yourself where you need to be to take the ball that falls just behind the plate for a quality strike. Insist on strikes during batting practice so that you get in the habit of recognizing and swinging at good pitches.
4) Boiled down, this means that most hitters playing in rec leagues should be standing deeper in the box than they would in baseball.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #2: The Importance of Defence
1. Good defense pumps up a team as a whole more than good hitting. All it takes is one superlative-or even good-play to turn a team around and show it what it's capable of.
2. Although most players concentrate on offensive aspects of the game, good glove-work decides at least as many contests as hitting. It's hard to make such comparisons, but a great catch and throw can be worth as much as a home run.
3. In the outfield, take the time necessary to set your feet, and visually pick up your cutoff man, before making the throw. It is more important to make a strong, accurate throw than it is to get rid of the ball the instant it touches your hands.
4. It is possible to increase the snap on long throws from the outfield by twisting your hand just a little counterclockwise (for right-handed throwers) as you draw the ball back. This forces the person throwing the ball to draw it behind the ear in the classic position, and puts perhaps 15 percent more zip in the throw.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #3: Basic Hitting Tactics
1. Forget the underhanded pitching and metal bats. The biggest single difference between slow-pitch softball and baseball is the extra outfielder. The tenth man tips the averages in favor of the defense, and makes it statistically more likely that fly balls to the outfield will be caught.
2. It's possible to hit for a high average in slow-pitch (in fact, the best hitters routinely hit over .500), but to achieve this kind of success you've got to make adjustments in both the physical and mental aspects of hitting.
3. Once you've ironed out the kinks in your batting stroke, think about the pattern of your hitting through a game. Each turn at bat should set up your following turns at the plate by exposing weaknesses in the defense's personnel or alignment. Remember, you can move the fielders around as much as you move the ball around.
4. You don't have to hit to "all" fields to spread the fielders. Two fields can be enough to give you a temporary advantage. That's why almost any weenie can be a feared hitter in slow-pitch softball.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #4: Control Pitching
1. The first step toward control as a pitcher is standardizing your motion. Find a type of pitch and windup that is comfortable and seems to work, and stick with it until you know it inside out.
2. Every pitcher has streaks of wildness, but there is something you can do about it if you know your own tendencies, or weaknesses.
3. Become familiar with the basic parts of your delivery (stride, release, jump back, etc.) and how each affects your pitching so you can quickly diagnose the problem when things don't go quite right.
4. If you have trouble zeroing in on the strike zone, try using a tree or some other object behind the plate in the distance as your target. You may find that focusing on a target high above the plate also makes it easier to throw high-arc pitches.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #5: Slow-Pitch Softball Stats
1. The better a team's scorekeeping, the better its manager's decisions are likely to be, since the latter is based on the former.
2. Keeping track of what fields batters hit to (on both teams) is a first step, but keeping track of the count and the location of the pitch can give a manager a finer handle on the individual batter's performance.
3. Even though stats can be kept without a computer program, the keenness of computer analysis cannot be duplicated by casual scrawlings. If you already use a database on a personal computer, see if it can be adapted for softball stat use. The crucial test is usually whether the program has enough relational muscle to perform arithmetic computations on summary fields (i.e., can calculate batting averages).
4. The best programs that I have found for keeping track of softball scores are Q&A and Reflex. Q&A is the more well-rounded of the two, but if you don't already use Q&A or don't need a textual database, Reflex is vastly superior for numerical analysis of any kind. It's available for the Macintosh, too. For a template that will allow you to start keeping your softball records in Q&A, see the appendix. (Note: a decade after this was written, neither Reflex nor Q&A existed any more.)
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #6: Overall Offensive Strategy
1. The basic strategic principle of slow-pitch softball can be stated simply: Score runs faster than the opposition. Or, put another way: Good things happen to those who have the lead.
2. It is not necessary to hit tons of home runs to score tons of runs. To score runs faster than the opposition, all you really have to do is put runners in scoring position and avoid outs.
3. The double is the most valuable hit in slow-pitch softball because it specifically addresses these needs. It puts a runner in scoring position, eliminates the force or double play, and in most situations causes the defense to bunch up, making it easier for the next batter to both drive in a run and avoid making an out.
4. A lot of batters think their job is done when they get to first. In reality, they should be thinking double all the way, and scanning the field as they round the bag for a sign-such as the outfielder's bobbling the ball-that they can make it. Not everybody can hit homers, but just about everybody can hit doubles if they work at it.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #7: Advanced Pitching Styles
1. Advanced pitchers are able to throw both a variety of pitches and pitches that move differently from the same motion and apparent spin.
2. As in baseball, the grip is the key to making the ball move in and out. With backspin pitching, you can make it move differently by throwing it with, or across, the seams.
3. Sidespin pitching is a little harder to master, but is much more mutable than backspin, and therefore can add several pitches to the pitcher's repertoire.
4. The knuckleball is the only pitch in slow-pitch softball that can be overpowering. It is thrown with a sort of stiff-wristed putt-and poot-off the fingernails. The idea is to release the ball with no spin. If the pitcher's hand is too small, a similar pitch can be thrown by holding the ball in the palm.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #8: Coordinating Pitching and Defense
1. One of the simplest ways to increase the effectiveness of a pitcher is to have the defense positioned correctly for the pitches thrown.
2. Once a pitcher has gained sufficient control to be able to put the ball where he or she wants it more than half the time, it's important to set up a system of signals to inform the fielders where the ball is going to be pitched.
3. The signals can be given either by the pitcher directly, as in the case of Raoul's theatrical chicanery, or by a second person such as the catcher or shortstop. The only requirement is that they be visible to everyone on the field, yet not obviously a signal.
4. It is equally important that the fielders-especially the infielders-not tip off the batter by breaking too soon. If they wait until the pitch is in the air, and then break correctly (to their right if the ball is inside to a right-handed hitter; to their left if it's outside to the same batter), they will catch a lot of balls that normally would go through for hits.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #9: Defensive Shifts
1. The strongest defensive alignment is usually straight away, with all four outfielders spread evenly.
2. There are certain exceptions, however, where the correct defensive shift can work well. In general, defensive shifts work best against a limited batter who is well known to the defense.
3. Even teams at the highest level of slow-pitch will sometimes employ a radical shift (such as bringing an outfielder in to play as a fifth infielder) to try to shake things up, and introduce an element of chance.
4. Just when it all begins to seem too complicated for any mortal to master, remember that paunchy men with chewing tobacco running down their chins can do it, and so can you. If you're lucky, like me, the things you don't do may be crucial to success.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #10: Coed Softball
1. Coed softball is another realm entirely from the men's game, and in many ways I think it's harder. 2. Rule changes intended to even up men and womensuch as playing with different-sized balls, and attaching penalties to walking men-change the basic geometry of the game. An inadvertant result of this is that the pitcher's task is made much more difficult.
3. Women are more important to winning at slowpitch softball than men, both because of the rule changes and because the men more or less even out, putting a premium on the superior woman player.
4. If you're alert (and heaven knows, the world needs more lerts), you can sometimes snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by keeping your eyes peeled for runners who carelessly round bases too widely in the heat of the fray. The pitcher is usually responsible for making the defensive call, but manymen and women alike-don't even know it's an option.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #11: The Power Stroke
1. At the highest levels of slow-pitch softball, power hitting is perhaps the most important aspect of the game. You often hear people scoff at softball sluggers as beer-bellied dreamers, but actually the slow-pitch softball stroke is a special enough thing that even big-league hitters have to learn it.
2. Ted Cox, who played in the American League for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue jays, told me that the basic trick to power hitting in slow-pitch softball is to strike the ball slightly below the middle, in order to give the ball backspin and loft it. "In baseball you are taught to hit the top part of the ball. Now you slow your hands down so you make contact, and then snap the wrists to get the spin to make it
3. When the power game is on, it can be absolutely overpowering. I watched a game in the 1989 ASA super-slow-pitch national championships in which one team, Steele's Silver Bullets, hit fifty-six homers, winning by a final score of 74-21. It is worth noting, though, that Steele's didn't win the superslow-pitch national championship that year. They were beaten by a team that featured speed and an all-around game.
Dr. Whacko's Notebook #12: A Few More Things...
1. One way to seriously hit to the opposite field (right field for a right-handed batter) is to try to hit the "inside comer of the ball." That is, waiting long enough on the pitch so you can hit an inside slice of the ball as it falls through the strike zone.
2. Less seriously, softball in the snow can be great fun as long as you don't expect it to resemble dry-land softball too much. If you want to try it, you'll need orange balls, and orange traffic cones or rubber tires may serve as better bases than the bags used during the summer. It also helps to have some sort of warming shed. Major snow ball tournaments have been sponsored for many winters in Omaha and Chicago by the March of Dimes.
3. Although it may not happen often, you occasionally may want to do something besides play softball. (Did I say that?) Just remember the lines from the eighteenth-century British poet William Cowper: "Absence of occupation is not rest, a mind quite vacant is a mind distress'd."
Go Mighty McNair!
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