Longtime SaddleBrooke softballer and tournament “Tunes-Master,” Leroy Johnson (photo by Allan Kravitz)
King Mitch
Well,softball readers, whaddya do during Christmas break when there’s no softball action to get the blood pumping and the heart racing? Yes, well I know, sit on your duff, watch football, and eat Christmas cookies. No! Think about softball, NATCH!
By the time you read this, the Winter softball season will be underway. The Winter season runs from Jan. 5 to April 17. So plenty of softball in the coming months. Games daily, Monday through Friday, beginning at 9 a.m. and practices Saturday morning. Of course there’ll be our annual St. Patrick’s Day Tournament on March 14. Softball fun, food, music, and lotsa neighborly yakkety-yak.
MEANTIME, though, the “Origins of Softball” (thank you, Wikipedia). That’s right. It is recorded that the first softball game was played in Chicago at the Farragut Boat Club in 1887. Twenty or so doofs had gathered to hear who won the Yale-Harvard football game (really?) and after the game some Yalie threw a boxing glove at some Harvie who swatted it with a broomstick. Some wag saw this, tied up the glove in a ball, broke the broom end off the stick and the game was on!
The “wag”, a reporter by the name of George Hancock, went home, banged out 19 rules, and the game of “indoor-outdoor” was born. The sport cycled through various names, including “Kitten Ball” (huh?), “Playground Ball,” “Diamond Ball,” and “Recreation Ball,” finally settling on “Softball” around 1926 when a Denver YMCA worker gave it that name.
Well, nowadays, softball has evolved to three basic types: slow pitch (“lob-ball” or SaddleBrooke style), fast pitch (“65 mph from 45 feet (no see-um)” or Arizona Wildcat women’s style), and mush ball (Chicago/bare-handed/no glove style). Slow pitch and fast pitch are pretty self-explanatory and are relatively similar; mostly using a 12-inch diameter softball although the size of the ball can be slightly different and lengths between bases and the pitcher’s mound to the plate can different as well. “Mush Ball” or 16-inch softball, now there’s an oddity. The original Farragut Boat ball was a 16-incher and now the 16-inch game is sometimes called clincher, cabbageball, smushball, and Chicago ball. Mushball is a variant of softball, but using a larger ball that gradually (but not at the beginning of the game!) becomes softer the more the ball is struck, and is played with no gloves (Ouch!) for the fielders. It still remains popular in Chicago; New Orleans; Portland, Ore.; and Atlanta. Later in a game, a batted ball can take on an “ovalized” shape and “looping” trajectory cuz the ball AIN’T ROUND NO MORE!
Post–Game Wrap
Well I could go on as you know! But I’m at my 500 words so that’s a wrap. Winter League games are daily, Monday through Friday, starting at 9 a.m. Practices are on Saturday when you can tune the bat and glove. If you want more info, come on down to the field. Or you can surf the Association at saddlebrookesoftball.com.
St. Patrick’s Day Tournament March 14!