Author Topic: Minty's "do you still play" thread  (Read 56928 times)

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Offline Minty Fresh

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Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Topic Start: May 29, 2009, 02:41:57 PM »
Plus, I just love baseball. Played for 14 years straight and follow it with a passion.

You still play?

Offline Lintyfresh85

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #1: May 29, 2009, 03:01:01 PM »
I was going to this summer with a NABA league, but the price was too steep.

$260, and who knows how much playing time I would have got.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #2: May 29, 2009, 03:04:11 PM »
I'll play ball with anyone any time, but I must warn you, I suck :lol:

Offline blue911

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #3: May 29, 2009, 03:15:09 PM »
I'll play ball with anyone any time, but I must warn you, I suck :lol:

You HAVE to hit better than Minty.  :stir:

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #4: May 29, 2009, 03:49:48 PM »
You HAVE to hit better than Minty.  :stir:

His momma hits better than Minty.  I'm carrying a .184 so far this year.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #5: May 29, 2009, 03:54:16 PM »
I was going to this summer with a NABA league, but the price was too steep.

$260, and who knows how much playing time I would have got.

The MSBL has better tournaments (IMO) but other than that the two organizations are essentially the same.  The trick is to get yourself on one of the not-so-good teams when you're first starting out because if you play ball, you'll more than likely be one of the better players on the team.

This is my third year with the Peppers/Braves and when I joined I was one of the better players.  The team was a pretty close knit group of guys but the manager is one of those guys who makes sure everyone who shows up plays some.  Though he does make sure that all of the good players play the majority of the time.

It's pretty much the ideal situation for me because I'm not a super-competitive kind of guy so winning isn't the end-all-be-all for me.  I value playing time since I have young kids at home that I am taking time away from to play ball; and if I'm going to be away fromt he kids I want to PLAY and not sit on the bench for five innings.

I think I paid $220 this year to play.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #6: May 29, 2009, 03:55:40 PM »
I'll play ball with anyone any time, but I must warn you, I suck :lol:

Level of sucktitude shouldn't matter - especially in the amatuer leagues.  The more you play the better you'll get (unless you're Daniel Cabrera and don't have an athletic bone in your body).

With so many good baseball leagues all over the country, I see no need to play softball anymore.

Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #7: May 29, 2009, 04:02:39 PM »
What sort of a time committment is involved with that in-relation to the church league softball teams I'm in?  I know there's a league in the area around here, but I've never really looked into it.  I'm mildly intrigued though.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #8: May 29, 2009, 04:14:43 PM »
What sort of a time committment is involved with that in-relation to the church league softball teams I'm in?  I know there's a league in the area around here, but I've never really looked into it.  I'm mildly intrigued though.

Depends on the team, really.

In my 35-and-older-league there are two distinct divisions (only you don't see different divisions in the standings - just in the records).  You've got one set of teams who are really concerened with winning.  These rosters usually have a lot of guys who have played with each other for years, most of them either don't have kids, or could care less about spending time with their kids and would rather spend every waking hour focusing ontheir amatuer team.  They aren't jerks (for the most part), but they probably care a bit too much about amatuer baseball.

The other set of teams are usually made up of guys who just like to play ball.  These rosters usually have three-six really good players, 10 or so o.k. players and three-six really bad players who probably SHOULDN'T play baseball.  But the botom line is, the manager is more concerned with making sure that every person who takes time away from their family to show up for a game gets into the game.  NOBODY sits on the bench for the whole game. 

My team falls into the second group of teams.  We're actually not a bad team if we could avoid putting in the lousy players, but they get their playing time like everyone else and if you can't live with that you need to move to another team.  My manger does a great job of making sure the best players on the field the overwhelming majority of the time and that the not-so-good players still get their playing time (usually at least two innings of a seven inning game).  We have a lot of guys on the roster who have kids too so the wives will come and bring the kids and it's usually quite a thrill for the kids to see their dad play.    And EVERYONE on our team buys into the philosophy of "everyone plays in the game" and if we lose, we lose.

On the selfish end of things, it helps that I fall into the category of the "three-six really good players" onthe team so I get to play A LOT.

I recommend it highly and I wouldn't give up after only one year.  Usually you have to work your way into a niche on these teams and once you do, you'll find yourself getting more and more playing time as you build a rapport with the manager.

Offline tomterp

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #9: May 29, 2009, 04:22:44 PM »
His momma hits better than Minty.  I'm carrying a .184 so far this year.

But I'm sure you call a darn good game.  And chicks really dig your elbow, too.

Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #10: May 29, 2009, 04:25:48 PM »
Depends on the team, really.
That second league sounds like something I'd really enjoy.  I wonder if we have anything like that around here.  I'll have to look into that.

Offline Smithian

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #11: May 29, 2009, 05:00:33 PM »
Scream "STANDINGS!!", it makes no sense and it'll either make them laugh or confuse them (it's win-win).
I did this. Last night was my high school graduation and a senior from last year year came up to me and asked afterwards, "You still a Nationals fan?" "Yes." "You all suck." "Check the standings, [expletive]" and walked away. He looked shocked.

Offline blue911

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #12: May 29, 2009, 05:00:53 PM »
With so many good baseball leagues all over the country, I see no need to play softball anymore.

Men's fast pitch is pretty much dead. Lob ball is fine for picnics and such, but not much fun.

Offline blue911

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #13: May 29, 2009, 05:02:10 PM »
That second league sounds like something I'd really enjoy.  I wonder if we have anything like that around here.  I'll have to look into that.

Call the rec department.

Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #14: May 29, 2009, 05:10:47 PM »
Men's fast pitch is pretty much dead. Lob ball is fine for picnics and such, but not much fun.
I've enjoyed the slow-pitch teams I'm on.  If you get the right group together it can be a lot of fun.

Call the rec department.
They sponsor spring and fall softball, but not baseball.  I know there's an adult baseball league, but I'm not sure exactly how it works.  I haven't really looked into it yet.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #15: May 29, 2009, 05:22:33 PM »
But I'm sure you call a darn good game.

:?

I also block EVERY pitch.   ;)

And chicks really dig your elbow, too.

Who doesn't, really?   I know blue's been asking for workout tips.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #16: May 29, 2009, 05:25:24 PM »
Lob ball is fine for picnics and such, but not much fun.

That's just my point.  Lob softball is fun for a pickup game at a "summer outing"  (tom - ;) ) but there are thriving lob pitch softball leagues when baseball SHOULD be the norm.

Offline blue911

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #17: May 29, 2009, 05:39:01 PM »
That's just my point.  Lob softball is fun for a pickup game at a "summer outing"  (tom - ;) ) but there are thriving lob pitch softball leagues when baseball SHOULD be the norm.

When I started playing fast pitch, there weren't any baseball leagues. Fast pitch demands too much time for most people. The games are fast but you can't just pick up a bat and hit a 70MPH fast ball (remember that it's thrown from 45 feet). I played mostly with the same group of nitwits for 24 years.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #18: May 29, 2009, 05:44:22 PM »
That second league sounds like something I'd really enjoy.  I wonder if we have anything like that around here.  I'll have to look into that.

http://www.omsbl.com/
http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=nabaomaha

I know that Nebraska is a big freaking state and those leagues are in Omaha - I don't know how far it is from Lincoln.  Those are the ones that are affiliated with the two major amatuer associations that organize leagues and tournaments around the country.  Often times you can find unaffiliated leagues that this one:

http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?cmenuid=1&url=labl&sid=1014961253

It looks like the LBL is more geared toward younger players.  There are free agents listed from about 19 years old up to about 30.  Not sure where you fall in terms of age, but if you're in your 20's, it may be worth a lookie.

How far is Lincoln from Omaha?




Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #19: May 29, 2009, 05:45:29 PM »
About an hour, depending on what part of the city I'm heading to.  I'll have to check those out.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #20: May 29, 2009, 05:51:29 PM »
About an hour, depending on what part of the city I'm heading to.  I'll have to check those out.

I can only recommend the Omaha leagues because I am familiar with the MSBL and the NABA.  I've played with the MSBL (in Washington, DC and here in Albany, NY) for 11 years now and I was in the Northern Virginia NABA and the Capital District (NY) NABA for a few years but both leagues were absorbed by the larger MSBL leagues in each area.  I find the tournaments with the MSBL are held to a higher standard than those of the NABA.

But it might be worth a check with the LBL (depending on your age, of course) because those little indy leagues can be fun too.  The Cranberry League (on Cape Cod) for example is a great amatuer league.

Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #21: May 29, 2009, 05:54:59 PM »
Well, I'm late 20's, so it might be worth looking at for the next couple of years while I'm still able to.

Offline PatsNats28

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #22: May 29, 2009, 10:28:49 PM »
No offense, but if you're in the top 3-6 players with a .184 average, then that's one low hitting team.

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #23: May 29, 2009, 10:36:32 PM »
I did this. Last night was my high school graduation and a senior from last year year came up to me and asked afterwards, "You still a Nationals fan?" "Yes." "You all suck." "Check the standings, [expletive]" and walked away. He looked shocked.
:rofl:

He probably has no idea that the Nationals still suck.  He probably knows jackcrap about how they're doing and assumed that you were pointing out that they were good now.

Offline Nathan

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Re: Minty's "do you still play" thread
« Reply #24: May 29, 2009, 11:03:45 PM »
I played little league years ago, but forgot about the entire sport until last year when I became interested in the Nats.  Me and my friend were thinking about buying some gloves to just play some catch with.  Not really sure where to buy and how sizing etc work.  I like the Mizuno stuff.

I 'd be interested in getting a little more into it if we could find enough people to play.  I wouldn't do a league or anything since I would be terrible at first, but having some fun would with friends would be cool.

I'm not quite sure I have the body to play too hard yet.  Think of my body type as like Dimitri Young.  But white.  And fatter :shock: