Author Information
SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL DAZE
I was a real tomboy. Always running around at the park across the street playing baseball mostly with the guys. We played with a league ball or sometimes even played with a rubber ball. I mostly was the pitcher when we played. I remember I used to spit alot from watching baseball on TV. I didn't realize that they were spitting chewing tobacco. I just thought it was something you do when you pitch.... I could throw a real fast ball. You could hear it whistle when i threw it...I used to play bare handed cuz my parents wouldn't buy me a mitt. My brother threw righty so I couldn't use his mitt. The guys used to lob the ball to me underhand so I could catch it without hurting my hands. Once a construction guy asked to hit a few and I caught one that was going just over my head and really hurt my hand bad so my parents finally gave in and got me a mitt...There would be an occasional guy who came along and wanted to play with us and be like extra friendly to me and flirty and I would be like... What's your problem? You wanna play ball or what? I was really like one of the guys.... They used to say I would be the first girl on the major leagues...
I was on a girls softball team in grammar school and a real daredevil. My regular softball position was short center...that is right behind second base... I remember once noticing the short stop was way over closer to third base and from the batter's stance I saw the hole she was aiming for so anticipating it I headed that way and caught the ball on a fly...the umpire made a remark something about now there's a real ball player...that was my most memorable great catch...ok back to the daredevil remark....I bat and throw lefty. I was able to switch hit but lefty felt more natural and comfortable and was my stronger position. I could throw with my right hand too but I threw like a girl with my right hand...I threw like a guy lefty...you know what I mean? I always went for the first pitch no matter where they threw it and usually connected...I think once or twice I got called out for stepping outside the batters box to hit the ball...They usually put their weakest player in right field cuz most people bat righty....so all I had to do was smack the ball over the right fielders head and take off running.I did occasionally hit to center field or even left field...I knew how to adjust my stance and when to swing to make the ball go pretty much wherever I wanted it to...always looking for a hole in the field...Whenever I got up to bat...all the outfielders went deep....really deep...I usually got triples or homers...rarely a single or double cuz when I ran...I really ran...The only time I got singles or doubles was when someone was already on base and ran too slow or stayed on their base...a couple times I got stuck in between bases...I remember once I was heading to second but the other runner on base stayed on second so I had to go back to first and they were trying to tag me with the ball and I kept dodging them and finally got called out for running outside of the baseline...back to my daredevil running....I would just take off and run as fast as I can and I could run pretty fast.....Most coaches would tell most players go two or go three or go home....my coach used to stand in the base line and yell STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
