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CU Medallion [65514]
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Confession time: I love Clemson softball. I find it to be really entertaining
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Mar 25, 2024, 10:02 AM
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and fast paced. However, truth be told, there is one aspect of softball that I have NEVER liked, and never WILL like. What is it? Slap hitting. I know it is part of the game, but I just detest it. To me, it is a "give up". It is like admitting, "OK, I can't get a hit in the usual manner, so I am going to gimmick my way onto first base."
As I said, I know it is part of the game, but I am glad that for the most part, our girls do not employ this stategery.
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All-In [25008]
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It seems to be less common now though
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Mar 25, 2024, 10:05 AM
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I remember when I first started following the sport in the mid 2010s, every team had at least 1 and maybe even 2 slap hitter specialists. Now you don’t see them as much
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All-In [30837]
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the dug out is something i 'll never get use to
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Mar 25, 2024, 10:11 AM
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None stop cheerleading.
THe TV stations do a pretty good job of muting it so it's easier for me to watch.
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CU Medallion [65514]
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College baseball has gotten to be almost the same as softball in that regard.
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Mar 25, 2024, 10:14 AM
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The bat flipping and other showboating that is going on now would have gotten these hitters a baseball in the earhole a couple decades ago. Could you even IMAGINE somebody in MLB doing that to Bob Gibson? He would have knocked them unconscious their next time up.
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All-In [30837]
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it's times like that i wonder WWTC
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Mar 25, 2024, 10:16 AM
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what would ty cobb do
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Orange Blooded [4693]
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Re: College baseball has gotten to be almost the same as softball in that regard.
Mar 25, 2024, 1:55 PM
[ in reply to College baseball has gotten to be almost the same as softball in that regard. ] |
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Totally agree. All this "hot dogging" and antics to bring attention to one's self shows terrible sportsmanship and is just childish. Softball, maybe you can understand it because young girls are gonna be young girls and do silly spits & giggles. The guys? Can you imagine what Bob Gibson or Nolan Ryan would have done to a "Home Plate Stomper" the next time he came up. OMG......they wudda never been able to get the baseball outa his ear.
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110%er [6084]
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Re: College baseball has gotten to be almost the same as softball in that regard.
Mar 26, 2024, 12:13 AM
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Well they don't play anymore, and times change. Deal with it. God forbid 18-20 year Olds have fun....
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Orange Blooded [3218]
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Re: Confession time: I love Clemson softball. I find it to be really entertaining
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Mar 25, 2024, 10:13 AM
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I hate to argue against slap hitting but there have been just as many successful slap hitters as normal hitters. Slap hitters must have elite speed to start with. Some even have home-run power. I get what you’re saying. It isn’t as sexy as a ball ripped into the gap. I played profession softball as a man for Team DeMarini and the Coors Light Silver bullets. I always hated slap hitters in slow pitch because you had to be perfect to have a chance to throw them out. I was a lead off hitter and had a 15 year career average of .986. That’s hard to do in slow pitch. First inning I almost always was a pinch hitter. A solo home-run did us no good. My job was to get on base and be an RBI for our power hitters. I would usually send a rope down opposite field for a double and wait for our power hitter to allow me to jog home. Which everyone could go yard on those teams. I hit my fair share but would “swing away” until after the first inning. Mackenzie Clark was a prime example whe she was our lead off. She would slap hit at times in the first. It’s a swinging bunt and a smart way to generate base runners.
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CU Medallion [65514]
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As I said, I know it is an accepted part of the game. I just realized, the main
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Mar 25, 2024, 10:18 AM
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thing that bothers me about it is the fact that you are ALLOWED (?) to be out of the batters box while hitting the ball. I know the rule says not, but I have never seen it called, even though some gals appear to be halfway to first base when they make contact with the ball.
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Standout [316]
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Re: As I said, I know it is an accepted part of the game. I just realized, the main
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Mar 25, 2024, 11:52 AM
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If executed correctly it does appear to the naked eye that they are out of the box. In slow motion you will realize that often they are not. It is a reviewable play but unless its egregious the call will probably stand. As a former leadoff hitter in fastpitch softball and baseball, one of my jobs on my first at bat, was to "massage" the batter's box lines. In other words, erase the front and back lines completely. Hard to say you are out of the box if there is no box.
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Standout [316]
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Re: Confession time: I love Clemson softball. I find it to be really entertaining
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Mar 25, 2024, 10:40 AM
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It takes athletes with exceptional bat control and speed. In softball it takes a third baseman with nerves of steel and an insane amount of agility to make a play. You can't play too deep, or the batter can lay down a bunt and you have zero chance. You have to play close to eliminate the bunt and you have to be able to cleanly handle slapped missiles at you from 45-50' away. Think about that for a minute...you are half the distance from home plate as most baseball 3rd baseman. Most of the time the baseball player is on a grass infield and the softball player is on a dirt infield. I've played decades of baseball and slow-pitch & fastpitch softball, and I would rather play 3rd or SS in a baseball game any day. Its waaay easier.
Speaking of baseball; do you find drag bunts in baseball gimmicky? "Slap" hitting has been in baseball for generations... only problem is its rare now because the game has evolved to become all about launch angle and exit velocity. (See Monte Lee's offenses. No HRs = No Runs). If more batters implemented this into their arsenal at the plate the defensive shift would become obsolete. The fact that Coach Bakich believes in both is one of the qualities that makes him elite. FSU hit a ton of HRs this weekend, but the difference in the games was most of their HRs were solo shots. They were feast or famine at the plate. Our team knows how to get runners on base and then do major damage with the longball. Cam Cannarella is essentially a slap hitter with 2 strikes. He shortens his swing and slaps the ball where its pitched.
The slap hit in softball is no different and when executed correctly is virtually impossible to defend.
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Freshman [1]
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Re: Confession time: I love Clemson softball. I find it to be really entertaining
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Mar 25, 2024, 11:51 AM
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Do you hate the forward pass as well?? What about bunts??
First, we have 2-3 slappers on the team, Ariel Oda, Alex Brown and I believe one more. They can also swing away.
Second, there are 3 different types of slap, soft slap, bounce slap and power slap. The soft slap takes incredible precision, hit it too hard or right to a fielder and you are out. Bounce slap, your timing has to be perfect to swing down on the ball. Power slap, the amount of body control it takes to hit the ball squarely while moving through the box is far more than swinging away.
As the father of a converted slapper (can hit for power both right and left), I think nothing is more exciting than a power slap ripped in the 5-6 hole and seeing a single for most turned into a double.
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CU Medallion [65514]
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I certainly seem to have slapped some peoples with this post.
Mar 25, 2024, 1:31 PM
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I wish all the slappers well, even if I don't like it.
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Oculus Spirit [96873]
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Freshman [1]
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Re: Nice first post...
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Mar 25, 2024, 9:31 PM
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Thanks, I thought so too.
My Grandfather was Cpt of Cadets class of 36 and has a class room in the Horticulture Dept named after him. My father was class of 65. One of my aunts played basketball for Clemson and another one tennis. I grew up sliding down the hill on card board boxes.
I graduated from The Citadel, but attended in '00. Lived on Sunset Court behind the Esso, but yeah I'm a coot.
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All-In [36410]
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I confess sometimes wimmenz softball makes
Mar 25, 2024, 11:31 PM
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Me wanna “slap” it
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110%er [6084]
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Re: Confession time: I love Clemson softball. I find it to be really entertaining
Mar 26, 2024, 12:15 AM
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You should never beat out a routine ground ball to second or first base. And yes I've seen it happen multiple times, Ball fielded clean and everything. Just ridiculous
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