New Season, New Softball Team

 

 

In early March of this year there was a milestone event here at Nine Pockets Headquarters:

 

My wife and I bought a new home and moved from one part of New York to another. 

We're really enjoying it so far. However, the location is far enough away that it no longer made sense for me to play in the New York City softball league that I've played in for the past few years. So this spring I had to find a new league. And a new team.

 

I knew I'd miss all my Wolfpack teammates, but the timing actually worked out pretty well. Our team captain, his two college-age children, and his wife all played for the team, and they all moved down to Florida over the winter. A couple of other long-time players from the team will be moving out of New York shortly as well. So there wasn't much of a team to go back to anyhow.

Thankfully, there were a couple of solid-looking leagues to choose from out here in our new neighborhood. After chatting with three or four different team captains, I found a pretty good fit. This particular team was looking for an infielder—preferably a third baseman—and a hitter who can get on base so the power guys can drive him home. That fits my skill set fairly well. I soon met up with the team for a practice, and all the guys seemed pretty cool. And that was that. I had a new team.

Well, the season started the first weekend of May, and it's been good so far. I've been slotted into the bottom third of the batting order, which I respect. This team has quite a few good hitters, and lots of them have been playing together for 10 or 15 years, so there's no way I was going to find myself the lead-off or two-hole like I was with the Wolfpack. And I've been hitting decently in the bottom third, keeping it simple with some well-hit, well-placed singles. I've made my share poor swings too, and haven't been focused at times with my situational hitting, but it's early in the season. I'll sharpen up.

 

As for defense, I knew before the season started that I'd be splitting time between my natural position of third base, the somewhat familiar position of second base, and the very new-to-me position of catcher. Our middle infielders are really solid, and they seem to make diving plays or sliding plays every game. That's been motivating me to be at the top of my game when I play third and second, too. I like it.

 

Here are some similarities and some differences compared to the previous league I played in.

 

 

OLD LEAGUE	NEW LEAGUE	CHALLENGE LEVEL
Games held Sunday A.M.	Games held Sunday A.M.	Neutral
6-inning games	7-inning games	Increased
Co-ed Intermediate	Men’s Intermediate	Increased
One game each Sunday	Doubleheader each Sunday	Increased
More than 1-hour commute to fields via commuter train, subway, and walking	15-minute drive to fields	Decreased

 

Overall, the competition is definitely a bit stiffer. For example, the teams we've played so far make quick adjustments on defense. If they put the "lefty shift" on me during my first at-bat of the game and I promptly slap a single through the big hole between third and short, I notice that the very next time I come up to bat, the big hole is no longer there. That wasn't the case with a few opponents in the previous league, so it might be more difficult for me to tally those "free" singles throughout the season. We'll see.

 

As for the doubleheaders every Sunday, I'm hopeful that the extra energy I need for the second game will come from the much shorter commute, not to mention the extra sleep I can potentially get the night before. As for any other challenges, I welcome them.

So why have I gone into so much detail here on the blog?

 

Well, Nine Pockets does focus on sports and trading cards, and I know some of you really enjoy following sports, even if it's a blogger's Sunday morning softball league. I also know that documenting the softball season a little bit here on the blog will help me be more accountable and work even harder out there on the field. So there's that.

 

Once the Spring/Summer season has wrapped up, I'll post another update with some stats. If I play Fall ball, I'll do the same.

 

I hope some of you have enjoyed this post, as well as the one I did to wrap up last season. 

 

And if any of you readers are also softball players, here's to gettin' dirty out there.

Thanks for reading!