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| Sept. 19, 2007 Burbank 77 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: to mask or not to mask to those of you who are questioning my sanity for continuing to what it is that i do : anyone who believes its "just" slowpitch softball and has the mentallity of " just throw strikes and let your defence get them out ", would never be asked back to pitch a 2nd game with any team at the competitive level. any pitcher that throws just strikes (cookies) is in most cases requiring his team to score 25 to 30 runs to be in a game let alone win it. it's my job as the pitcher, to cut the run production of the opposing team by being creative, going after them and forcing or stealing outs from them. every out a pitcher steals from another team saves potential runs. a great hitting team will hit thru their line-up on 1 out. the reason why i pitch from the front of the rubber and jump at the hitters is because it puts me closer to them and gives them less time to react. and you say " react to what? it's just slowpitch softball " and i say " if you want to be an impact pitcher and actually achieve what i am saying and be successful, then you have to pitch to the hitters as if you are pitching a baseball game. change speeds, change trajectories, have a 3 foot curve ball, a 1 foot screw ball and anything else you can throw at them including the kitchen sink. the reason i jump at the batters is actually based on simple math. if a hitter has seen a certain pitch coming at him at a similar trajectory, he makes his timing adjustment based on the speed and trajectory of that pitch which in his mind he has seen many times before. now jump at the hitter and you are adding the pitchers body speed to the ball as well. the end result, based on 15 years of throwing this pitch is : the ball comes in deceivingly quicker and the hitters more often than not pop up, ground out or swing late which affects their ability to precision hit. if a pitcher can be creative by working the hitters, he can steal or force a minimum of 6 or more outs per game. if he can do this, he's just doing his job and the satisfaction that comes with it isn't bad either. there is method to my madness but i guess i just love this game so much that i am willing to do whatever it takes to give everything i have, and sometimes some of my body parts get in the way. i do know this. i will never stop playing this game or the way i play it and i will never retire. my career will end from a batted ball and i will have no hard feelings towards the hitter, my bad luck at that moment or this wonderful sport we all love so much !!!!!!! |
| Sept. 18, 2007 Burbank 77 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: to mask or not to mask this whole thread has been about an individuals right to have an opinion and choose for him or her self. i respect that. however, any person who feels seniors who wear masks are pussy's then please step forward and engage me in a constructive conversation. i'll even go first : a large reason why i take involintary body-shots is because my pitching style is unique to most others. instead of pitching the ball and backpedaling towards 2nd base to better protect myself,( which i call defensive pitching), i choose to go at the hitters. i am constantly working from the front of the rubber and the majority of my pitches are jumping from the rubber towards the hitter and much of the time i end up 10 feet closer to home plate and i usually am still in mid air when the ball comes back thru me 400 mph (or so it seems) and yes this does put your heart in your throat and yes i was doing this when hitters were swinging gray ultra's and hitting 47 core balls. and every time i went out to the mound and put on my mask, i'm sure had i listened carefully, i probably could have heard the other teams and their fans saying, " what a pussy." until you can tell me you have pitched in these conditions and can tell me you have had both thumbs and six of your fingers broken by balls hit so hard you can't see them, but you "can" hear them, and you have had your left arm broken by a linedrive and can tell me you have had both feet broken by linedrives (and have 5 screws and a bone graft to prove it), then and only then will you have the right to call me a pussy. i will admit all of my injuries (to date) have been from the neck down, which i feel, at worst, could have been career- altering or career-ending. i guess i am fortunate. when everything is said and done, and if there was a moral to this story, i guess this would be it : every batted ball that has broken a bone in my body, not to mention all the balls that have shredded muscle and tissue, all of which have been below the neck; any of these balls taken in the face or head could have been "LIFE-ALTERING" (or worse) as opposed to career-altering (below the neck). i'll close by asking one final question : when you are on the mound,under "any" condition, knowing lightening could strike even you, if wearing a mask could determine whether or not at the end of the game, you get to go home to your loving family and love them and be loved by them (in person), . . .would u be willing to do what it takes to make this happen . . . . or be selfish . . .and possibly deprive them . . . of you ! it only takes "ONE" batted ball to change your life and family. |
| Sept. 18, 2007 Burbank 77 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: to mask or not to mask to TheNextGeneration and the rest of you who are vehemently against mandatory mask wearing . . . . . . . . and we who are for it . . . . . . .we can all banter back and forth the pro's and con's until the cows come home, or better yet, until one or more of us are hurt so bad it won't matter any longer because none of us will have a say when the insurance companies make it so costly for an association to insure each tournament because of the non-mask wearing liabilities. to my knowledge, whether the associations we support are profit or non-profit, they still need to make money for a cause, and if the difference between making money and not is predicated by the overwhelming insurance premium they will pay for "no mask-wearing" vs the lessor premium for "mask-wearing" then this issue will eventually take care of itself. about 2 years ago, i asked a NASF tournament director why his tournament would not allow Ultra II's when just 2 weeks before in another NASF tournament they did. his answer was " i can't afford the liability insurance premium to use Ultra's. if i allow them, i lose money this weekend. if i don't allow them, i make money. it's simple math." if and when it reaches that point ladies and gentleman . . . . with the mask issue . . . . i think we can all do the math. |
| Sept. 17, 2007 Burbank 77 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: to mask or not to mask einstein, i have missed you guys this summer and really look forword to playing at you're side in 2 weeks. i normally don't participate in discussions on message boards but i received a phone call this morning and was informed that joe had initiated a topic i might be interested in ..... pitching and the pro's and con's of the "MASK". after reading these posts, i decided this is a very interesting topic and would like to make a contribution to the cause whether it be pro or con. i think we can all agree that with the evolution of our bats to where they are today and the balls being good and bad, the number of homeruns hit today and the distance they travel is far superior to numbers 10 to 15 yrs ago. with this being true you can imagine ground balls and line drives hit to and thru the infield are also much more prolific. about 10 yrs ago as this phenomenon was gaining momentum, i began to notice it was getting harder and harder to field and/or get out of the way of these "Cruise Missles". so about 10 yrs ago i started wearing bullet-proof shin guards. i use to say to myself "if i get hit one more time in the shins, i'm gonna shoot myself". as time went on, the balls kept coming faster and faster and i was taking more body-shots more frequently. i was often asked if it hurts to get hit by a 47 core ball 500 comp. coming at you at 500mph at night under poor lights. my reply was always " just keep it on a piece of meat and off the bone and i'll be fine ". year after year, i noticed it was getting harder and harder to get out of the way. it seemed like the more they deadened the balls the hotter they made the bats ( legally or illegally ). then, about 4 years ago, i had a slicing line drive hit at my head so hard and fast, i didn't have time to raise my glove 12 inches to protect my face. it was faster to just turn my head as the ball nicked my ear. it was at that moment i realized it was just a matter of time before the inevitable happened. i have carried a mask with me ever since, and yes it does make you feel like SUPERMAN. i admit i don't wear it all the time. certain situations warrent " not " wearing the mask, all depending on the speed of "which" ball is coming off "which" bat. for example, early in the morning and in the evenings when the ball is harder, i mask-up. during the heat of the day when temperatures are 90 degrees or hotter and the ball softens up, i mask-down. of course, all of these factors matter not when the opposing team consists of 11 hitters that hit the ball so hard the ball or bat do not matter. unfortunately, its going to take a number of our friends and teammates getting seriously hurt or worse to force even one association to make the mask mandatory, but for me, i will rely on it and feel more secure and grateful knowing that it has allowed me to enjoy the sport i love so dearly, for a longer and safer period of time. joe, this is why i don't post. i get carried away and don't know when to stop. take care and i'll see you in 2 wks. |
