As someone who likes to voice her opinion and enjoys a good
debate, I was excited what we could write an opinion piece. A majority of people don’t like outspoken
people, but in our world today, it takes courage to stand up and speak your
mind. I wish more people would do so,
but in a manner which is tasteful. For
this particular Sutton mirror blog, I am choosing to write about the game speed
of softball compared to the game speed of baseball. The difference has always been of annoyance
to me, especially three different aspects of the game.
1.
Softball
infield…..7 minutes • •
Baseball infield……Who cares! We like to watch paint dry
First of all, softball never used to allow
teams to do infield before the game. You
could hit grounders and pop flys on the side but no one was allowed on the
field. Today, they have graciously given
us 7 whole minutes. Seven minutes isn’t enough
time to hardly hit the ball to everyone twice but stay within your 7 minutes or
the umpires will already serve you your first warning. Heck with baseball, let’s see if we can bore
the fans before the game even starts. Wait,
not bored enough yet?! Don’t worry, I’ll
keep hitting you grounders till you make a good throw over to first, no biggie.
2. Time
between Softball innings….1 minute and 5 pitches •
• Time between Baseball innings…Intermission
Literally one minute. Coaches have hardly any time to say anything
to their defensive players coming off the field not to mention the girl who is
up to bat first. “Hustle in, hustle out
ladies,” but where is the hustle in baseball?
Time between baseball innings, I have the ability to go to the bathroom,
grab a bite to eat, and still return to my chair before the next batter is
up. Many don’t even care to take their
equipment back to the dugout. They have
some younger kid do it for them, which don’t get me wrong, does help keep
things moving. It bothers me though when
guys can waltz on the field and waltz back off like they don’t have a care in
the world.
3.
Softball passed
ball with nobody on…hustle back or the ump gets irritated •
• Baseball passed ball with nobody on…(raises
hand up to receive ball)
Really?!
I know the backstop is WAAAAAY back there, but you missed the ball didn’t
you? Why should the guy on deck have to
stop what is he doing to get the ball? I
get that it isn’t always your fault, but going after your ball would teach you
something. From my coaching experience,
young catchers who miss a lot of balls find out real quick they need to be
better at keeping the ball in front because so many times going back to the
fence can get tiring.
I realize that some of these things are just part of the game,
but when you’re trying to teach young kids hustle and hard work, where does
that fit in with not doing either of them?
Softball is an extremely quick game.
That is what makes it exciting.
Most softball games can be completely before the 3rd inning of
the baseball game. Baseball should take
some pointers from softball and it all starts with a little hustle.
