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Online now: 4 members: 9 ball, JohnO28, Rich Doney, TABLE SETTER 11; 99 anonymousDetails for Bruce M
Real name:
Bruce MacLaren
Location:
North Bend, WA
Division:
Men's 55
Messages posted by Bruce M »Message board home »Start a new discussion
| Sept. 25, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Batter out of the box Hope the folks that want to change the rule listen carefully to Dave's guidance. This forum isn't the place to get rules changed. You need to submit something in writing (email)...or better yet, attend the rules conference. Other organizations have altered their batter's box rules. If you want SSUSA to consider it, please follow the proper channel. Suggest you state the rule...your argument...and your suggestions to improve it above....but through the proper channels. "Info@seniorsoftball.com with "Rules Committee" in the Memo Line or snail-mail" |
| Sept. 7, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: What do 12 and 6 foot arcs really look like? Yes, Dave, that is why I did the video on a basketball court. Hope it helps. :=) |
| Sept. 7, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: What do 12 and 6 foot arcs really look like? Here is an attempt to demonstrate them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSLcVbcAZt8 |
| Sept. 6, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: 90s East vs West I think this would be a huge win for SSUSA to video tape this game and put it on Social Media. In what other sport does an association have 24 plus players 90+ years of age competing against each other? It's a terrific story. |
| Aug. 10, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: BAT HEAD SPEED As usual, I agree with Bogie. I don't think bat speed is as important as exit speed. The general rule of distance potential is 4 feet for every mph. So, an exit speed of 90 mph is a potential of 360 feet. If you want to light up a radar gun, you need to hit line drives or grounders. Hitting a ball up in the air will lower your exit speed. Funny that. An exit speed line drive of 90 means 360 feet. Yet, if you hit a 350 foot home towering home run, your exit speed will likely read under 90 mph. That's why I think it is not extremely helpful to get hung up on a radar gun. That doesn't mean exit speed isn't important. I absolutely love Mike Macenko's bat drill, which he testifies will increase anyone's exit speed. I think mighty Mike is spot on. I think Bogie measured the legend, Ryan Harvey, at 113 + mph if memory serves me correctly. |
| Aug. 6, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: how is this situation scored Fielder's Choice. |
| Aug. 2, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Intentionally Dropped Fly Ball or Line Drive I remember well when I first started officiating. The major plus team on defense knew I was green. So, the five man had fun with me. A hard line drive ended up straight in the pocket of the fifth man, only to be dropped on the ground. He actually smiled at me. Sometimes you have to have a sense of humor. Of course, it didn't work out the way he intended. The batter was out and the runners returned to their bases. Gotta love this game. |
| July 27, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Players looking to join a team Discussion: Seattle area pitcher Greg is a wonderful guy and a fine addition to a team. He is a very good pitcher. He has a great sense of team. He also hits very well. |
| July 26, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: What is my rating? Hi Steve - if you contact SSUSA, they will give the the definitive answer. I think it depends on the rating of the 70s or 75 team you join. For example, if you join a 70 major team and play 1 qualifier, you become a major player. If you are currently a 60 AA player and join a team that is 70 AA, you maintain the same rating. I'm certainly not the expert, so I would advise contacting SSUSA. You can give them a call or write to them. |
| July 5, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Baden Senior Softball Thanks Kevin: aka Tattooball! I will call you. Thank you for finally answering the mystery (in my mind at least) of the origin of the Trump and the Spinners. To be honest, I wrote multiple emails to A.D. Star as well as Dicks. Nobody could tell me anything about you....or the journey of the softballs. Again, thanks for taking the time to respond. |
| July 3, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Baden Senior Softball Mck71 Thank you! Off the subject of this post...do you know what kinds of materials make a "composite" cover vs a "synthetic" cover? Just curious. Second, is Kevin both the creator of the A.D. Spinner as well as a contributor to the Baden Senior Fire? Thx. |
| July 2, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Baden Senior Softball NYGNYY: It appears that Tattooball answered your question. @Tattooball - (sorry, don't know your real name), are you a representative from the manufacturer of the Baden Fire Senior Ball? Are you also the person who created the original A.D. Starr Spinner? What problems were the changes to the cover designed to address? When were these changes made? Thank you. Bruce |
| June 12, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Reno From my experience, Golden Eagle has the finest softball fields on the western side of the Rockies. I don't think I have ever played a better complex. Don't know much about east of the Rockies. I did play at the USSSA Spacecoast complex once. That is the finest complex I have ever seen. I've heard that the fields at Bell Park in Phoenix are spectacular. I haven't had the opportunity to play there yet. |
| May 11, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Courtesy Runner Agree with Dave here. As an umpire, part of my job is to keep the game flowing. Most games are on the clock. I'm not going to suspend play while a player argues with their manager. |
| May 2, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Senior Softball: A hitter's game? Hey Mark - Love your wisdom. Thanks for sharing. It's great you put some numbers to your thoughts. Really makes sense. If you don't mind, I'm going to steal that: "The best a hitter can do is 4 runs and even that depends on the teammates." However, a great defensive play can stop a 5 run inning." Excellent! |
| April 24, 2023 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Senior Softball: A hitter's game? How many times have I heard this, "Softball is a hitter's game. But defense wins championships!" At the outset, that seems like a contradiction. And so, when a great manager tells me, "Defense wins championships." I like to ask, "What kind of stats do you keep?" If a book is kept accurately, most of the time I see offensive stats. Online Base Percentage is the most common outcome. Yet, I rarely see a book with defensive stats. If a manager truly cares about defense, why are they only keeping offensive stats? What are they doing with the .720 OBP player, who makes 5 errors, 6 missed cut offs, and allows 5 resulting runs? Well, I start by saying....if you care...how do you even know if you don't have the stats? What say you, the experts of Softball? Which is more important for a winning team? Offense? Defense? Or is it, "Offense gets you far and is a must, but defense wins championships?" |
| Nov. 21, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Want to see instant game results of every tournament without waiting? Video of every game? I agree with you. Depending upon the desired result, different technology options could be explored. Today, the process seems manual. Brackets appear in pdf form. (are they/can they be created electronically? If yes, they can be hosted on a Web App electronically) Scores from games are written on pieces of paper. Those, in turn, need to be consolidated, another manual process. Once they are consolidated, they appear to be scanned and uploaded onto a website. The number of people, who have read-write authority on the website, are limited. If this process were re-thought, and basic technology were utilized, a desired result would be achievable. Example: Imagine a SSSUA sanctioned umpire with an app on their phone. At the end of a game, once both teams have signed the paper form, the umpire inputs the score of the game. (10 seconds) The app electronically consolidates all scores and at the same time posts them to a website. People could access that website from anywhere. The signed forms can be archived for audit purposes in case of errors. Slightly less complicated than sending humans to the moon in the 1960s. |
| Nov. 20, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Want to see instant game results of every tournament without waiting? Video of every game? Forgot to mention one can see instant bracket results as well. You don't have to watch the videos to see the results after a game. You can see who won...the scores...instantly. The technology exists. |
| Nov. 20, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Want to see instant game results of every tournament without waiting? Video of every game? A recurring theme I see on the message board is, "When will the results be posted?" Technology exists that would facilitate every single game being live-streamed. It could be archived. You could follow your favorite teams. So, the real question is, what would you be willing to pay for that service? (I'm not selling or advocating any product here. I'm only opening up a discussion). How do I know this is possible? I use this technology every day. My daughter is an NCAA wrestler. I've been following her matches since High School online (when I can't be there in person) Now that she is far away at college, I can still follow her all over the country...even internationally, when she competes. I can see her wrestle in real time. Instant results. I can also follow up later, because every bout is archived. She studies those tapes of her bouts (and others) to learn...to improve...to be the champion that she is. Aside from video, I can also follow the bouts...as they are happening....by written text....to my phone....to my computer...to my tablet. This isn't new technology. It's been around for years. There is a price to pay. We pay a monthly subscription, which accounts to far less per year than a price for a single senior softball bat. If...and this is a big if....Senior Softballers were willing to pay for such a service...it could be done. My guess is that a small minority would be willing to pay for it. I could be wrong, but I think the majority of softballers simply don't care enough to want to pay for it. They play...they leave...they move on. |
| Oct. 14, 2022 Bruce M | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: CHANGE IN POLICY FOR PLAYERS COMPETING IN TWO AGE GROUPS I think this is a great change to an already great policy. SSUSA has really thought this through on many levels. What seems so simple really can get complicated in the execution. I really appreciate that SSUSA does so much to keep the competition fair and on the same level. I had the opportunity to play in a USSSSA Senior Draft this year. Whilst it was fun, it was noticeably different. We had 40s playing against teams that were 60s without any equalizer. What would have been easily been called excessive speed (flat) in SSUSA is a strike in USSSSA Senior softball. The pitcher was also allowed to hide (not juke) the ball completely before throwing it. My point isn't to bash USSSA Senior Softball at all. I enjoyed it. It does, however, present the opportunity to appreciate how well thought out SSSUSA truly is. I don't think it is just about keeping it fair. It's also about keeping is safe. Don't think I want to see a 40s major batter hitting against a 65 AA pitcher on an outside pitch. Nobody wants to see dangerous injuries on the ball field in senior softball. SSUSA does a terrific job at policies which keep people safe. |
