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Details for PlanoPlayer

Real name:

Alan Gohlke

Location:

Plano, TX

Division:

Men's 55

Messages posted by PlanoPlayer »Message board home »Start a new discussion

April 29, 2013 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: The Stutter Step I "walk the box" and learned to do so as a result of playing unlimited arc ball in Chicago. For those of you that have never played unlimited arc, I can tell you there were pitchers that could put the ball 25-30 feet or more in the air and drop it just off the point of the back of home plate. Very difficult to be effective against a great unlimited arc pitcher and there were many more ground balls in that format than now. Anyway, although I still "walk the box" as I feel it helps me get my momentum moving forward for more power, and it helps my accuracy when hitting line drives, and probably most important for me, it helps me make contact with the ball in front of the plate, I am beginning to wonder if it is the best thing to do. When I see the big hitters in USSSA conference softball hit or the big power hitters in senior tournament ball, none of them "walk the box" and when I hear them talk about hitting and they comment about someone that "walks the box" they all say that they do not like that much movement in the swing and I am figuring who would know better than them? I guess for me, I have been doing it for so long, that I have made it work for me.
April 1, 2013 PlanoPlayer	Topic: Players looking to join a team Discussion: Looking for a 55+ team Email me at alangohlke@aol.com and we can discuss further. I coach and play on a Dallas based 55+ AAA level tournament team.
March 17, 2013 PlanoPlayer	Topic: Players looking to join a team Discussion: Looking for a 55+ team League team only, tournament team only, both? What is your best defensive position? Can you run your own bases? Are you there when you say you are going to be there? How long has it been since you have played in a league or as a regular player on a tournament team? What is your height and weight? If a tournament team is one of your desires, do you have: 1. the money to travel - I will take a rough estimate and say it will cost about $2,000 to play a full annual tournament schedule, maybe more. If you have to pay your fair share of tournament entry fees, definitely more. 2. an understanding wife that will let you travel on weekends to play softball? 3. a job that will not get in the way of weekend travel with the need to be off at least 2 Fridays and at least one Thursday for the big national/world tournaments?
Nov. 13, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: You Make the Call Assuming the original poster meant to say foul territory and not "out of bounds" (meaning "out of play") because it is implausible to me that a 1st baseman can field a fair ball and then drop it so that it rolls or flies into the dugout, or flies over the fence next to the dugout into the "out of play" area, or rolls under the fence into the "out of play' area AND have the 1st baseman be able to retrieve it, and get back to first to make the put out before the batter can get to first. Until the original poster clears this up, assuming my assumption that he meant foul territory instead of "out of play", here I believe, is the correct ruling. Here is the applicable rule in the SSUSA rule book: 8.4 AFTER GETTING A HIT 8.4 (1) BATTER/RUNNER REACHING FIRST BASE Each batter must reach first base without the aid of a courtesy runner. A Double Bag shall be used at first base, the double portion of the bag being in foul territory abutting first base. If there is a play on a batter/runner going to first base, the batter/runner must touch the portion of the Double Bag extending into foul territory. He will be called out if he fails to do so, except, in the umpire’s judgment, the batter-runner is avoiding a collision. This is NOT an appeal play. Important: The defending player has only the white base, in fair territory, to make the putout; his touch of only the bag in foul territory will not result in an out. Assuming the runner was not out via the "give up" rule mentioned in my previous post above, the key wording in the rule is the following wording in the last sentence of the rule above "his touch of only the bag in foul territory will not result in an out." The rule does not say that the defensive player only gets one chance to hit one side of the bag, and it better be the correct side. In fact, the defensive player could have hit the orange bag 5 times as long as he touched the white bag before the batter got there. The fact as given by the original poster, is that the defensive player, whether it was the 1st baseman or the pitcher with the ball, touched the white part of the bag before the runner touched the orange part of the bag, so...the batter is out. It does not seem that the original poster meant for the discrepancy to be whether the ball was "out of play" or not, but rather the issue seems to be that the fielder touched the orange bag before touching the white bag. If this is the controversy, the runner is out by rule.
Nov. 13, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: You Make the Call In the words of Lee Corso...not so fast my friend. This is probably not true because the original poster only says the runner stopped running, but if the runner had stopped running and moved in the on deck or team area, he would be out no matter what due to what is generally known as the "give up" rule: C. When he fails to advance to first base and enters his team area after a batted fair ball, a base on balls, or catcher obstruction. EFFECT: The ball is dead, the batter-runner is out and runners cannot advance. The ball is/was fair if it was hit as described, between the first baseman and the bag.
Oct. 18, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: Tournaments Discussion: LV World Tournament Discussion For what it is worth, my opinion is that the 2/3 is a far more preferred format than the 3/2. I wish SPA would go to the 2/3 for their national championships.
Oct. 4, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Vegas 55AAA Gonzales Insulation won the 55AAA in Vegas and the 55AAA in Dalton. Not a bad year for them! Congratulations to my Texas brethren.
July 27, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 5 run spot that allows 6 runs per inning to lower rated teams Additionally, I still play young guy USSSA ball and when a higher rated team plays a lower rated team, they only have to give 3 runs and every inning is an open inning! (The higher rated team does have to play to the lower rated team's home run rules.)
July 27, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 5 run spot that allows 6 runs per inning to lower rated teams ShaneV: your point about hitting at lower rated defenses and vice versa as another consideration of why an equalizer is necessary is a good one, but I am not suggesting that the lower rated team should not get an equalizer. I am suggesting an equalizer, but not an advantage and the current system creates an advantage. My team does not average 5 runs maximum per inning, which in a 7 inning game is 35 runs per game as an average for every game played, (with only scoring 5 in the open 7th inning in this example). No AAA team I know of averages 35 runs per game and in fact, no major team I know of averages 35 runs per game when there is a 5 run per inning maximum for innings 1-6. My point is we do not average 5 runs per inning and even if we do score 5 runs in the inning, when the other team gets to go to 6 we have absolutely lost that inning, by rule. My desire would be to give the lower rated team an extra run to help them to get to the 5 run max which is a huge handicap in my opinion since we do not average scoring 5 runs per inning, but don't let them get to 6 because by rule, my team cannot match that. For those that think that spotting 5 runs is no big deal, I would agree if there were not 5 run maximum innings. Raise the runs per inning allowed, or help them get to 5 if that is the limit, but not over.
July 26, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 5 run spot that allows 6 runs per inning to lower rated teams Guys: some of the posters in this thread understand my complaint, some are just taking my post in another direction, and some don't understand the issue clearly, I think because they think a team can actually hit to score their 6 runs in an inning. Just to clarify, here are the facts of the 5 run per inning limit and the 5 run spot rule in SSUSA. To start either team is limited to 5 actual runs scored per inning, by rule. However, when a higher rated team plays a lower rated team, the lower rated team gets 5 runs added to thier total score in the following fashion, 1 extra run is given to them in each of the 2nd through 6th innings, no matter what, even if they have already achieved their 5 run maximum allowed in an inning. So, if the lower rated team scores 2 in the second inning, they are given an extra run to get them to 3 for the inning. If they actaully score 5 runs in the 3rd inning (which is the limit through actual softball play) they are given another run so they get a score of 6 for the 3rd inning, while the higher rated team is limited to 5 in the 3rd inning. The lower rated team will always get their one extra run per inning, even if they score their 5 run limit in any inning. So...if the lower rated team happens to score 5 runs in innings 2 through 6 they will have 30 runs total for those 5 innings (25 actual runs scored and the 5 extra runs given to them at the rate of 1 per inning) while the higher rated team is limited to 25 runs total for those 5 innings as the higher rated team can only score a maximum of 5 runs per inning. This is not a handicap or an equalizer! The higher rated team is giving the lower rated team AN ADVANTAGE, and that is my argument about this system. Helping the lower rated team to get to 5 as a maximum by giving them one run would be acceptable to me, but not allow them to get to 6. I guess I would consider that a fair handicap or equalizer, but I do not agree with them gettting an ADVANTAGE by giving them a 6th run that the higher rated team cannot match, by rule. DC Pete gets my complaint when he says this: "Why not just the opposite? If the Lower team scores their 5 runs they don't get an extra 6th run. If they get anything less than 5 runs then they get the 1 extra run in each inning they come up short." And Allan 55 gets my complaint when he says "I like your idea. A true handicap is when you help a team. This does not mean giving a team an advantage. If a team scores five runs in an inning, it doesn't need any handicap help. If the team scores only three runs in an inning, they do need help and should receive only one run. The team receiving the handicap could receive no more than five total runs per game using this method." I am not complaining about, or saying that the lower rated team should not get a handicap or equalizer. I am saying they should not get an advantage!
July 25, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 5 run spot that allows 6 runs per inning to lower rated teams Guys as the original poster, my point was not to debate the merits of giving runs. It was to say that allowwing one team to go to six runs per inning whlle limiting the other to five is not a good system. That is not a handicap or an equalizer. It is an advantage to the team that can get to six while the other can only get to five and therin lies my complaint.
July 23, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 5 run spot that allows 6 runs per inning to lower rated teams This has probably been discussed before but I thought I would add my two cents. I think the 5 run spot that allows a team to go to 6 runs per inning while limiting the other team to 5 is unfair to the team spotting the runs when you have 5 run limited innings. I would use to support my argument the handicap system in bowling and golf as I think the logic is similar and applies. In golf there is a handicap system that relates to total par for the course and the handicap in golf is designed to get everyone close to par so there can be a fair playing field (in handicap events). In bowling the current par relative to handicap is 220 (at least for the leagues I bowl in). To use bowling as an example as it relates to our 5 run spot rule, you can't limit a team to 5 while allowing another team to go to 6...you can't limit the 220 average bowler to a maximum score of 220 while giving the 200 bowler (an analogous situation to Major to AAA or AAA to AA in my opinion) the handicap pins that allow them to score 230 while limiting the better player to 220. Get the lower rated bowler to 220 to match the 22 average bowler, and then let the better bowler for that game win. I would submit that if par in our tournaments is 5 runs per inning, help the lower team get to par but don't allow them an unfair advantage by allowing them to beat par when the competitor is not allowed to beat par. Allowing a lower rated team to go to 6 runs per inning is not a handicap or an equalizer, it creates an advantage for them. I could even buy off on giving the lower rated team 1 run per inning as a handicap for all 7 innings as long as both teams have the 5 runs per inning limit and then the open inning.
July 8, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 2. Tanel R.A.G.E. Roller Bag Questions #6, I am specifically asking about the upper compartment. Does it have a hard shelf? Or, because the shelf is adjustable and probably only has one adjustable shelf, is the shelf a hard, stiff shelf that will remain flat and strong with a glove or two on it?
July 6, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 2. Tanel R.A.G.E. Roller Bag Questions I know many of you guys have this bag and I have a question about it as I am thinking about getting one of these bags. When the bag is hooked to the fence and the top compartment flap is in in the lowered position, is the divider a solid, strong divider that can easily have a glove or two placed on it when I come off the field between innings and not "bow" or bend? Or is the divider just a piece of fabric? I know there is a "pouch" on the covering flap when the upper compartment flap is open but I would prefer to put my glove in the upper compartment between innings...kind of like you can do with the Louisville Slugger Locker Bag for those of you that have also had that bag. Also, when the bag is hooked to the fence, can the bat compartment be zippered shut. Most bag have the hooks inside the bat compartment and the bat compartment must stay open to be hooked to the fence. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
June 14, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: On Base Percentage (OBP) TX Major: thanks for the props and right back at you. You are a great player, hitter, team mate and room mate. You can play on any team I am associated with in the future. I'll see you on the fields soon.
June 11, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: On Base Percentage (OBP) Southernson: Your comparison of .750 OBP to .570 BA is not quite fair although I agree with another poster that we would need to know the OBP AND BA for both players to really know who we would prefer. I respectully ask this question in return. Same situation you describe, game is on the line and you need a hit...and now the question is which would you rather have up, the hitter that is hitting .750 BA or the hitter that has a .750 OBP. They are not the same and there is no question for me as to which of those two I take in that game winning situation.
June 8, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: On Base Percentage (OBP) Taits: sorry, don't know a Henry LaCross. Lecak: you can make the same correlation between team BA and runs per game. No one is suggesting that you should not take walks, and every good hitter I know is also a good walk taker. Selecting only strikes to hit, is a huge part of what makes them a good hitter. Again, I am not saying that you should not use OBP. I am saying that OBP and BA are not the same thing and that both should be utilized.
June 8, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: On Base Percentage (OBP) I know I will be posting "against the grain" of all the posters to date on this thread, and you can call me old school, but both BA and OBP should be kept as they are not the same things. I agree that most teams use OBP, and that is OK at the end of the day, but for me, I cringe in silence every time I see a pop up that for some reason is mishandled and results in a clear and almost comical error and it is marked as a hit in the book. There are hitters that I have played with as I am sure each of you have, that are on the weaker side of hitting but for some reason they get more than their fare share of luck (relative to errors). Using OBP results in this player having a higher value than what reality is when you really need a hit and to me, the guy is still on the weaker side of being a good hitter and no OBP is gonna change that for me. I realize that there is probably only a slight difference because a weaker hitter will usually also have a weaker OBP, but I definitely know players that have OBP numbers that are not reflective of their hitting ability. People talk about the controversy about whether a shot is a hit or an error. How often have you had that debate with anyone? It is usually pretty clear when an error is an error. Most of us have been playing this game all of our lives and know an error when we see one. If you are not sure and you want to err on the side of a hit, OK but a clearly booted ball is not a hit. And as an infielder, I don't care how hot the shot is that is hit right at me. If it is hit right at me and I boot it, it is an error! I am not suggesting that you do not use OBP as your guiding light relative to batting order. But to do it because it is just easier and to avoid controversy might not be the best thing, even though I know most teams do it this way. I am suggesting that you should keep BA as well. And the last thought is that if you had an OBP of .750 for a tournament, you can't tell your friends that you hit .750 for the tournament as that would not be factually true (unless your BA and OBP were both .750). I know these are not very important things in the scheme of things but I thought I would add some comments about BA because to me BA does mean something.
Feb. 2, 2012 PlanoPlayer	Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Player protection I play 2nd and have been wearing an inside wrist guard under a wristband for about 20 years. For any infielder that has ever taken one off of the inside wrist, they know how much that hurts!
June 15, 2011 PlanoPlayer	Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Option to withdraw???? I have a question for you. Do you think the high tournament entry fees and three day tourneys (with the exception of the big, national/world tourneys) have anything to do with the reduced entries, but mostly the high entry fees. It is amazing to me how few entrants there are in each age bracket...even for the national/world tournies which are very, very expensive and three and four days long. Quite frankly, I am not sure the value is there for most people when you factor in high tournament entry fees, travel, food, lodging etc versus the return...even if you win the tournament!

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