Rain, Rain Go Away

Softball started this week with one game played and another rained out.

My Sunday team I joined at the last minute was able to get a game in this past weekend, and I have to say it was a rather disappointing experience. I mostly sat on the bench and watched others play, which was a real drag in a rec-league game. There were a couple of other factors, but I have decided not to play on that particular team.

When I got the email asking for players for the team, I was under the impression that either the team was desparate for players or that there was an effort to make a separate team. When I showed up, however, not only was there 19 players, but they all had the same uniforms, a batting order, and positions lined up. There was organization and order. It became obvious that I was viewed as simply a "fill-in" for their regular team. Hence, I sat on the bench for two straight innings, which is never fun.

The Sunday community league has some unique rules that made things rather awkward. First, there aren't any umpires, so no strikeouts, and the base coaches call safe/outs. The one time I got up to bat, after hitting a single, I reached third base. While running, I rounded the base and the other team tried to snap throw back to third to get me out. I was back to the bag in plenty of time, but the base coach from my own team called me out saying that it was a force play and that the throw had beaten me to the bag. Obviously he was wrong, and I explained to him that a force play only applies to the front of the base and once I occupied it the force play was taken off. However, the other team jumped on him for reversing the call and saying he was a "homer." It makes life so much easier having an impartial umpire, who knows the rules, to make that call.

In addition, the Sunday community league games go nine innings or a two hour time limit. For comparison, City League softball that I usually play in only goes for an hour and ten minutes and is seven innings, whichever comes first. The Sunday community league just takes too long and, frankly, I like the seven inning games. It forces your team to score runs quickly, play good defense, and utilize your chances to the fullest possible extent. It adds another factor of strategy.

With all of this in the Sunday league, I cannot justify coming in to Eugene on my weekend day-off for a recreational experience where I may only play two or three innings of a nine inning game. That lops off a lot of the games I had scheduled, but I think some rest and relaxation on the weekends, as well as Baseball Road Trips, is worth more.

My Wednesday city league team was supposed to have their first game of the season on Wednesday, but it was rained out. This team is more rec-based, and I am playing on a team with a bunch of my girlfriend's workout partners. They seem a lot more relaxed and in this league for the fun aspect. I'm looking forward to playing with them.

With the Memorial Day weekend just about here, Baseball Road Trips heat up once again as I will be heading up to Seattle. I'll write up an itinerary in the next few days.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)