Message board »Message Board home »Sign-in or register to get started
Online now: 2 members: TABLE SETTER 11, mello24; 66 anonymousDetails for GeHall44
Real name:
George Hall
Location:
Boulder Creek, CA
Division:
Men's 55
Messages posted by GeHall44 »Message board home »Start a new discussion
| Jan. 31, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: Associations Discussion: 2008 National Senior Softball Summit Ok, lots of good points. I did read the whole thread over a few times. Forgive my ignorance, but what is the real or hidden agenda behind these safety posts then? No need to name names or slander anyone, I guess I'm just curious about what exactly the real goal behind these safety threads is. Is someone trying to gain an advantage for personal reasons or have it in for someone or some teams? Some things have to be spelled out for me sometimes to see the light. Enlighten me please. jrhunch - rules do suck. Must be a NY thing. I grew up on Long Island and played my first softball in a Sunday Bar League. Double header for a keg with different host bar every week. Now in Cali and our local ASA sponsored league is single wall bats only, no composites at all. They use the insurance BS excuse every time it is questioned. |
| Jan. 31, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: Associations Discussion: 2008 National Senior Softball Summit Jim, OK, I don't think you are reading into what I was trying to communicate, so i'll try again in case your reply was about my podts above. I never complained or said anything about legal 1.20 bats being a safety issue. I'm all for using the latest technology with anything that I do. My first post was an attempt at sarcasm and a suggestion that we could all still be happy even without the composite bats. My second post was trying to make a point that most baseball and softball injuries DO NOT come form batted balls. I said I have seen 2 only and that's in 35 years of softball. I agree that altered bats are a big problem. I also agree that banning senior bats for seniors will open up the altered bats even more and we do not want that. I do not like ASA and ASA rules at all. My team was robbed of chances for a few titles in 2006 due to one player using an altered bat being responsible for 6 runs a game in 1 run losses for us. The guy was caught and punished later , but we never got the wins and lost chances to advance because of those losses. I do know from personal experience that I can hit the ball way farther and easier with a composite Senior bat like Ultra II or Combat, than I can with any other bat. It feels good and almost too good sometimes. Old technolgy in any task seems to make one work harder. That's just the way it is. Next big tourney we're at together, I'll say Hi and you'll remember who I am because we have talked many times about the Combat and how we both love them. I don't know how to fix the altered bat problem other than the bat companies coming out with tamper proof bats somehow. |
| Jan. 31, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS 2008 - Participating Teams Hey Bruce, Yes, I was talking about the 50 Platinum division, not 55. Don't you play on both teams? Hollis is the only Major + team that entered out of the 4 that qualified. (Randy Smith was listed as Randy Smith and Hendicks Sports so there was really only 4 teams qualified), You know I was just messin' with you anyway. : ) |
| Jan. 31, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: Associations Discussion: 2008 National Senior Softball Summit Jim Agreed, I always enjoy Mike's post on here. Fyi - my orthopedic surgeon told me a few years ago the 95% of baseball and softball injuries came fron sliding, Also some of the worst injuries I have seen in softball have been from sliding into a base, diving for a defensive play and by thrown balls hitting people. I have seen 2 pitchers hit in the face by batted balls that caused serious injury - one from an Ultra II and one from a DeMarini aluminum bat. The DeMairini incident was with a pitcher who just stood there not ready to play defense. |
| Jan. 31, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: Associations Discussion: 2008 National Senior Softball Summit Hey guys, Did you ever wonder why golf club manufacturers have not embraced composite face golf clubs? Maybe because Tiger Woods and players of lesser ability would be booming 500 yard drives and rendering current golf course configurations obsolete. The ball is what flexes and rebounds in golf against a firm metal club. Maybe it's time to eliminate composite completely in softball and go back to DeMarini's. While they can also be altered, it would be a lot cheaper to investigate them by cutting suspect bats open. $150. replacement if not altered. And most players could tell when someone lauches a ball with an altered metal bat easier than composite in my opinion. Big boys can still hit plenty far with aluminum. HR's would not be as cheap as they are today. Played an ASA Tourney a while ago and didn't have a good composite ASA bat to use. Used my old 30 oz DeMarini Fatboy and went yard. Felt good like the old days. |
| Jan. 31, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS 2008 - Participating Teams So Bruce, it appears that Hollis will win a ring by playing exhibition in the 50 Platinum division because there are no other Major + Teams entered. I hope they make you pay for it. : ) Congratulations. Do me a favor and lose all 5 games will ya? That would be a good story to tell when you show someone the ring. If 50 and 55 were combined, at least it would have been a 3 team brackett. |
| Jan. 28, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: Bats Discussion: Which one ? In some stores, they are right next to each other on the bat rack. (Just kidding) I swung the Worth 510 just a few times and it felt like a counter balanced bat to me. All the weight was in the handle which I don't like. I missed the ball completly off the tee that the bat rep had on my first 2 swings. Man that thing felt light. The Ultra is balanced also. If you like end load, the Combat is my choice. I would choose 1 oz heavier for Ultra and 2 oz heavier for Worth when buying. Just my opinion. |
| Jan. 27, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Rule changes - where are all the Major Plus players opinions? Taits, i was refering to the first Annual TOC last year in the 50 Major Plus division. Last minute they allowed All State Miken 55 Major plus to play in the Championship. These are some of the old Florida Crush and current Hollis Appraisal guys who are very good p[ayers. Giving them an 11th player was an unfair advantage in our (MAC II) opinion. There should be NO equalizer or mixing of divisions in Championship events is what I'm say.ing A 50 tean should never play a 70 team. If we have 10 year age bracketts the tourneys should grow to have more teams in each brackett. That's what I was hoping for. Yes, Nor Cal softball is great isn't it? NCSSA and Vintage Softball League in Santa Clara are a lot of fun. I'm off to a team fundraiser now because I am unfortunatley part of one of the only non sponsored Major Plus teams around. Later. |
| Jan. 27, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Rule changes - where are all the Major Plus players opinions? Thanks Bruce. I wish Major Plus didn't have the bad label that it seems to have. I know that you are not responsible for the bad rep and I hope that I haven't contributed to it by starting this post. Maybe we need to just shut up and play huh? Like my golf buddies tell me all the time, shut up, will ya, I'm trying to hit? |
| Jan. 27, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Rule changes - where are all the Major Plus players opinions? WOW. I don't see how your reply could have come from my latest post. I thought I was pretty clear that the majority and health of the organization resides outside Major Plus levels of the game. If I wasn't clear, no one should be stuck in a bad position by the rules. Major Plus is a minority and I agree probably just a pain in the ass for most not involved in it. I would like to play AAA this year. Is that OK with you? If an AAA player wants to move up, he should be allowed to also, don't you think? From my earliest baseball memories, I can remember always wanting to play against the best, but not always being good enough to do so. That was motivation for me. But, I still have fun a company picnic softball games and always feel like a kid when I play, whether its coed, Major Plus or E league. I consider it an honor to play softball, compete, have fun and comradery in the sport at my age in ANY division. If somehow, I came off as a snob, please forgive me. I would be happy playing with no changes from last year, or the year before or the year before that rules. These latest rules are some big changes worthy of discussion in my opinion. What do you think of them? |
| Jan. 27, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Rule changes - where are all the Major Plus players opinions? Hey guys. Wow, all it took was a few rule changes by SSUSA to wake this board up. Great discussion and ideas presented that provoke thought and debate with only a few negative statements. After reading, all of the comments on rule changes and the state of Senior Softball a few things are clear to me. We all love the game. We all seem to want to have fun playing the game. We all enjoy fair and equal competition with rules that allow us to do so. We all have our pet peeves or things that we would like to improve in the game. There are many articulate people who have offered some great ideas on the state of the game and suggestions for improvement. The Associations are for profit businesses that need to and will continue to provide the best possible product for the vast majority of their customers. Some of us are just grumpy old men with no hope of ever changing. : ) That said, I wanted to clarify some statements I made about rules. I wasn't really trying to promote unlimited HR's in Major Plus, but rather wanted to eliminate the DBO rule and make them singles or even walks as Taits suggested after the limit. I am ALL FOR protection of the pitcher. I personally witnessed a horrific event which I believe contributed to the original Ulta ban. I was catching in a kid's D Tourney game at Twin Creeks when our good fielding pitcher was struck in the face and lost his eye from a batted Ultra II line drive. The sound, speed and resulting injury was something I never want to see again. I think though that the DBO rule as it is today may take away the advantage of having an excellent fielding pitcher of which I have had the privilidge to play with in my softball life. I would rather see bat or ball restrictions or something along the lines of what Joe suggested to remedy this issue. I like to hit up the middle when the pitch is in a zone that calls for it. I never want to hit at or near the pitcher though, because if it's Joe or my buddy Jeff, they will snap me off and turn a double play. The only time I ever hit a pitcher was when going for a home run and missing slightly. While I think all slow pitch softball players should have bat control, be able to hit behind runners or opposite field when called for, I still always want to swing hard. Some times you miss it. When HR's are gone, sometimes you miss or lift the hard line drive single and it goes out. Damn, nothing sucks more that hitting a ball solid and being out for it. Make it a walk at least please. Major Plus versus Major versus AAA versus AA. I play Major Plus, but I have never felt like an elite player. I see some guys like Denny Jones who have been softball legends their whole lives and I consider them elite players and I'm excited to be on the same field as them. But in Nor Cal, the local tourneys kind of mix all divisions at times to get enough teams. There are many AAA players that are as good or better than guys in Major Plus today. Why does one player of equal ability play AAA and one Major Plus. Who knows, who cares? Although a few suggested it, I don't believe anyone in Senior Softball is playing for financial gain. We are all playing for fun and the thrill of competition. If your buddies play AAA, then you should be able to also. It's only when a whole team is sandbagging that causes inequity in my opinion. I personally think AAA is probably the most healthy of all divisions today. I base that on the high number of teams in AAA at the SSUSA Phoenix Championships in 2007. I would prefer to play in a 26 team tourney any day rather than a 4 or 5 team divsion. Problem is I can't now because I'm branded Major Plus. Every AAA team I watch has solid players with power. What happens when they hit an over the limit HR? They walk to first base and usually snicker becasue they know how lucky thet are to get a single for that mistake. Here is my suggestions to make all divisions healthier. Just my opinions. 1 - Eliminate all of the ODD number age brackets. That means no more 45,55,65 or 75. New age groups would be 40 - 50, 50 - 60, 60 - 70, 70 - 80 and above 80. Maybe allow 58 year olds to play in 60, 68 to play in 70 to allow for differneces in abilty or aging. Not everyone is Jack LaLanne. 2 - Eliminate one whole division and combine all into 3. Or if we must have 4, make one recreational and 3 competitive. I think there is a market for recreational and possible coed for seniors. Granpa 's and Grannies in spandex reality TV, yes. 3 - Allow players without teams to play down. 1 or 2 major or Major plus guys should not put an AAA team over the top. 4 - Allow at least 2 geographic exceptions in all divisions. That will allow all land locked players with no teams to compete if they want to. Plus you rich guys can fly in your stud cousin Billy to play once in a while. ha-ha. 5 - No surprise last minute rule changes, move ups or downs or unfair equalizer rules. What I mean is don't move a team up a division after they have planned to attend an event. Don't add another age group to a Championship division with equalizer advantage at the last minute. OK, this is a pet peeve of mine after we beat all the 50 Major Plus teams, but got schooled by Bruce , Terrell, Gary and all the legends from the Florida / Georgia stud 55 team at the TOC last year. These guys probably would have beat us with 10 guys, but 11 made it seem unfair, so we'll never really know. Eliminating the 55 division would remedy that. 6 - Specific home run rules for each division - whatever it is, no DBO penalties for over the limit. Make it a single or walk. 7 - Speed up the game. Umpire controlled by timing one minute between innings. Ball called if defence is not ready, strike called if offense is not ready. Start with 1-1 count and one free foul. It's a hitter's game. Swing at that first strike. OK, long winded I know and I apolgize for that. Whew. |
| Jan. 24, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Rule changes - where are all the Major Plus players opinions? Hey Joe, I've enjoyed reading all the discussions and opinions on this. I've also been thinking that my golf index will really go down if I stop traveling around to softball tourneys all the time. All the players seem to agree on the HR rule. Did you ever try to share an 8 slice pizza pie with 5 big and hungry guys? That's what it's going to be like with a 12 HR limit. There will be a lot of grumpy hungry guys around after the HR's are gone. Why can't we all get a piece of the pie? : ) I can picture MK39 going crazy when his big stud HR bombers have to try to dink one to right field, like I used to try to do. Haha. |
| Jan. 23, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Rule changes - where are all the Major Plus players opinions? Hi Audie, Well put. I hope that SSUSA reads your message and understands that is what will be the effect of these rule changes. Unfortunate, because in my short 4 years of Senior ball, I have always liked SSUSA the best. I like the events, Dave and Franny and up until now, the rules. Hopefully, they will listen to the voices of the affected players and revaluate. Good luck this year Audie wherever you decide to play. |
| Jan. 23, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Rule changes - where are all the Major Plus players opinions? Joey - you are the only pitcher I have ever seen lay out horizontally to catch a line drive shot and get the guy out. Remember Fremont with No Dice. That was a fun time for both of us. Well now all you have to do is lay out and let it hit your arm. He's out. Doh, Is Homer Simpson on the rules committee? Am I paranoid or does it seem like Major Plus is being penalized for some strange reason? Is this backlash from the unlimited run games that were instituted last year in Major Plus? Is there too many balls being lost? We can bring more. If time is the issue, use the time limit. How can all divisions except Major Plus be able to hit he ball over the fence for singles? |
| Jan. 23, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Rule changes - where are all the Major Plus players opinions? I have not seen the response to the rule changes that I would have expected from Major Plus players on this board. I am really disappointed, upset and discouraged by the home run rule changes especially. Add to that the attempt to protect the pitcher after home runs are gone with the ridiculous DBO rule. I am thinking about trying to find a Major Team where at least over the limit HR\'s will still be singles and not DBO\'s. Do you think others are thinking the same and sandbagging will get worse now? I understand the need for pitcher safety which in my opinion can be addressed with bat and ball changes and enforced by the players as history suggests. I can accept the run rule and others, but why should Major Plus be the ONLY divsion that has DBO\'s after the HR limit is gone? It makes no sense. Please speak up and let us hear your opinion Major Plus players. I don\'t see 2008 being as much fun as we have enjoyed with SSUSA in the past if these rule changes stay in place. If I could only change one, it would be HR\'s are singles after the limit. Don\'t make the big guys change their swings and start chopping down pitchers, first basemen and third basemen. DBO protection rule or not, the easiest place to get a line drive single is up the middle for a lot of people. 10 feet high over the pitchers head is a perfect single, miss it a little and watchout. |
| Jan. 18, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Significant Rule Changes for SSUSA 2008 Season! Bashbro, Hehehehehehe, you got us bro. April fools day came early this year. Joe (Einstein) must not be at the coffee shop with his laptop yet or he would be all over this. Good one. |
| Jan. 14, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: What Would You Change - Other Items Hi Sisavic, 1 - No. I love to watch pitchers try to throw strikes in the wind. Same conditions for both tteams gives the advantage to the better pitcher. 2 - No on platooning because I would never getr to play defense again. : ) 3 - Agree. 4 - Agree with one ring Championship per year for each Org, plus TOC. AND, please don't make the winners pay for the rings. It doesn't seem the same when you have to write a check for "winning" a ring. I think only LVSSA gives them away currently. 5 - Sandbagging seems to be the biggest issue I hear about in Major, AAA and AA. I would advise no home runs in AA, 1 in AAA, with equalizer, 5 in Major with equalizer, unlimited in Major Plus and FOUL BALL for over the limit HR's which could be outs if third strike with no fouls left. I know I would not want to play in any division where I could make an out hitting an HR. 6 - Yes on the 45 division. 7 - Night games are OK if lighting is good and they help finish the tourney earlier on Sunday. |
| Jan. 5, 2008 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: First Annual MAC II Softball Team Fundraiser First Annual MAC II Softball Team Fundraiser When : Sunday, Jan 27, 2008 Time: 7:00 p.m. – Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Where: Tommy T’s Comedy and Steakhouse 5104 Hopyard Road Pleasanton, CA 94588 Featuring: Bryan Kellen (Opener for George Lopez shows) Cost: $20.00 per ticket This is a fundraiser for the MAC II Senior Softball Team that travels the Country to play Softball Tournaments 9 months a year in the 50 Major Plus Division. This team is self funded and needs some help. There will also be some raffle prizes given away at this event. Please come out to have some fun and support the only 50 division Major Plus Team that represents Northern California today. Please contact George Hall at 831-419-0144 or email gehall@hp.com if you want to purchase tickets or can help with raffle prize donations. Thanks. |
| April 23, 2007 GeHall44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Thank you Anaconda ! I just wanted to publicly thank Trumpball - Kevin at Anaconda Sports for sending me a brand new replacement Senior Combat. After I talked to Kevin and explained that the bat broke with less than 300 swings on it, he had me send it back, inspected it and sent me a new one which I received last week. Even though these are no warranty, Kevin could see the bat was defective, argued the case with the manufacturer and ended up sending me a replacement from his stock. This is what I consider excellent customer service and I'll be sure to endorse Anaconda to all of my softball associates. Thanks again Kevin! George Hall Mac II #44 |
| March 22, 2007 GeHall44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Congratulations to Mac 2 PG33, I think just Mike and Johnnie right now and maybe Roger U. Ronnie Webb is 50 now and is suppossed to start playing with us soon also. I did not play with the 40's team, so I don't know of anyone else on the current team. I do know there are a lot of MAC 40's guys that will be eligible in the next few years to replace us old farts. |
