Obviously we are gunning for them to go one step better and take the Gold, but one could ask the question, will they be able to hold their competitors this time?

As an outsider looking in, there isn’t a great mixture of experience and youth, with an average age of 30 years old. Compare them to a team as great as the United States, 3 time Olympic Gold Medallists, who have an average age of 25.  However, statistics aside, the Aussie team is compiled of a lot of older first time Olympians. It could be their advantage or downfall.

Who is the player to watch? I will say 21 year old Victorian pitcher, Justine Smethurst, who will be making her debut. It will be interesting to watch her deal against some of the most dangerous hitters in the world!

Have your say; what are your predictions for Beijing and who is your player to keep an eye on?

How many times had he heard someone say it? How many times over the past 22 years had some catcher or coach or broadcaster said, "Greg Maddux? I bet you could catch him with your eyes closed"? Sounded plausible enough, maybe coaxed a chuckle or two from the pitcher, but mostly it was just something to say. Nobody realized it was just a matter of time before somebody decided to prove it.

This was in mid-September, in the home bullpen at Petco Park. Maddux, the human metronome, kept going into his windup with the same hands-over-the-head motion he's used since he was a kid in Las Vegas. Pitch after pitch hit the mitt, wherever it was placed, like always. Padres bullpen catcher Ben Risinger, perhaps bored with the persistent perfection of it all, turned to bullpen coach Darrel Akerfelds and said, "I bet I could catch him with my eyes closed."

That was all fine and rhetorical until Akerfelds said, "Okay, let's go for it."

First, a system had to be put in place. It was quickly decided that Akerfelds would stand a few paces in front of the plate and to the side, so he could track the path of the ball and yell "Now!" to let Risinger know when to squeeze his mitt.

"I KNOW I DON'T THROW VERY HARD ANYMORE. BUT I'D LIKE TO THINK I CAN STILL HURT A GUY WHO'S NOT LOOKING."

Risinger, a blocky Australian who spent some time in the minors, promised not to cheat. Maddux, despite his long-standing commitment to the pursuit of a good laugh, was lukewarm on the exercise, citing liability concerns. "I know I don't throw very hard anymore," he said, "but I'd like to think I can still hurt a guy who's not looking." His protestations were ignored. There are times when a legend must bend to the public's will, when the accumulated weight of transcendent talent forces him to display his gifts for the amusement of those less burdened. This, apparently, was one of those times. Risinger closed his eyes, and Maddux threw.

A catcher's mitt is roughly 33 inches in circumference. To be caught, the ball must hit an area that is roughly one-third the size of the mitt. A regulation major league baseball has a diameter of roughly 2.9 inches. We're not talking about throwing a strike here; we're talking about hitting the palm of a hand from 60 feet 6 inches away. You can do the math, or just take Risinger's word for it: "He's the only guy I'd even come close to trusting with my eyes closed."

The first pitch glanced off the top of Risinger's mitt and hit him in the mask.

"That's enough," Maddux said, walking off the mound.

"One more," Risinger said.

The second pitch hit Risinger square in the pocket, but something went awry. Either Akerfelds' "Now!" was too late or Risinger's mitt squeeze was too slow. The ball dropped at his feet.

"That's enough," Maddux said.

"One more," Risinger said. "Please?"

Maddux wound up and threw. By now, pitching coach Darren Balsley was watching, along with a few other Padres who had received word that a strange experiment was taking place involving a catcher attempting to catch without the benefit of vision. The ball left Maddux's hand, and Akerfelds yelled "Now!" and Risinger clenched his mitt around the ball.

He opened his eyes. There it was, in the mitt.

Arms were raised in celebration. It was a beautifully stupid scene. Risinger laughed so hard he fell down. Akerfelds was doubled over, laughing to the point of tears. Maddux looked on with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"One of the most amazing things I've ever seen," said Akerfelds, who is 45 years old.

And so it was proved, once and for all: You really can catch Greg Maddux with your eyes closed.

Matt Kennelly:  Power Hitting phenom now playing with the Atlanta Braves.

Both played junior baseball with the Melville Braves AND IMPORTANTLY played on the U14 WA State Team in 2002.

Rumour has it that Chelsea actually won the batting average award for the U14 Melville Braves team that year, thereby outgunning one of the best hitting prospects ever to come out of Western Australia.

So... the question is:  who's the best player now?  What sort of comparisson can we do?

  It is no secret that the ABF funnels copious amounts of money into the National team program, you only have to look at who travels with the team and it becomes clear (5 coaches, a physiotherapist, executive officer, strength and conditioning coach, Sports psych and scout).  This is definitely overkill considering the ailing numbers in the sport throughout the country. Perhaps this money could be better put to use in developing young players, educating coaches and perhaps marketing the  "Claxton Shield" that is played on home soil.  The gross over expenditure on the Senior Australian team is definitely a case of the new kid at school trying to fit in with cool kids.

 If you cast your mind back to the 2004 Olympic team Roster it was a who's who list of Australian baseball.  Dave Nielson, Graeme Lloyd, Paul Gonzalez and the list goes on. It was no surprise that the Aussies were going to perform well, they were carrying seasoned professionals that new how to perform.  Jump to 2008 and look at the roster for this years Olympic Qualifiers and you may not recognize to many of the names, and the ones that are familiar, you would be forgiven for thinking that they may be retired.  It is a tough time to secure players as many off the regular national team have reported to "Big League Camp" for there respective professional teams. Names such as Moylan, Stockman, Harman, Huber, Oltjen and Blackley who would all march into any Australian team in History were all unavailable for the National team selection. Missing this many quality players will hurt any team however was the best team selected? I'm not sure?  Something we can be sure of the coaches of the National Team staff definitely did not look ahead and were not preparing players for there pending inclusion in the team for the Olympic qualifiers.

For the first time maybe ever the Helms award (Claxton Shield MVP award) winner was not selected in the initial squad. Clint Balgera of the Perth Heat put up some gaudy numbers while leading the Perth Heat to there first Claxton Shield win in 8 years.  Clint does not run well and his arm is not strong arm,  so he would have struggled to compete for an outfield spot and would have some serious competition for the DH roll, you would still think he was worthy of an invite to camp.  With Brad Harman unavailable, the short stop position was hotly contested between Linger, Kyle, Dutton, Graham and Beresford.  Linger, Dutton and Graham all hit over .300 during the Claxton Shield (linger with only 28 Ab's), Kyle as always is the defensive specialist and Beresford was always rough outside chance.  With Luke Hughes already cemented in the team as the starting second baseman it would have made sense to go with Graham or Kyle as they had both paired Hughes as the Perth Heat Pivots throughout the Claxton Shield. With showing off his great range, amazing hands and possessing more pop that his competition most people thought he was a shoe in.  Then perhaps carry Dutton as a steady back up, with solid glove, compact swing and ability to play all infield positions he would be a big asset coming off the bench.

My point is that there may have been some other options for the coaching staff of the Aussie team. Some of the lesser known players that are older and mature ball players. Guys  that will compete to Keep there team in a ball game and WILL NOT crack under pressure were over looked.  Think of the guys from the ABL days who did not sign a professional contract but played for Australia, names like Shane Tonkin, Jason Hewitt, John Moore and Duane Rochford.  Imagine if we had lost these guys from baseball................................. because we are loosing the next waive of them as we speak.

Game 2 of the day was against QLD in a battle which would go along way to determinning who would finish second after the round robin.  Once again good early hitting saw us out to a 2-0 led after 2 innings.  Qld fought back with 2 of their own in the 4th however the boys rallied to score 3 in the top of the fifth to take back the lead.  The fine hitting continued to see us run out winners 9 - 3.

This game saw Jay Rakich hit his first home run at Men's nationals.   

Today see's the last game of the round robin followed by the start of the finals.

Thanks

Jonesy

Gibson a Kingsley native said "it's an honour to represent your state."

Adam Humble continued his fine form holding the Aussie under19's to nil in game two for the day as we went on to register our fourth win of the tournament 3 - 0.

A number of family and friends have come over to support us in our quest to bring home the shield so to thank them the team enjoyed a meal with all of our supporters.  This was a well organised event through good managing by Justin Morgan.  Thanks to everyone who has come across to support and to those following the results on  the net and sending well wishes.

Regards

Jonesy

A great pitching display by Neal Del Pero in game one in a tough loss saw ACT's Adam Folkard take the victory.  Whilst you never like loosing we were in the game through out and could of easily come away with the victory.

A big part of the enjoyment of going away to these tournaments is the enjoyment you get from seeing your team mates succeed.  Participating in his first nationals Greg "kegs" Pooley in only his second at bat of the tournament provided one such moment.  Kegs came on for a late inning pitch hit against the hard throwing James Darby and with a swashbuckling swing of his easton reached base safely with his first hit.

Kegs stated that the moment was "fully sick"  (I think the words speak for themselves).

Currently we are sitting in second place behind the ACT.

Today we again play the ACT and then the Aussie under 19's.  In typical Melbourne style the weather was 32 but today it looks like its going to rain.

Thanks

Jonesy

The morning game saw us play the Australian under 19 team preparing for the world championships later in the year.  A good solid team performance saw the sticks come alive as we won 11 -3.  All 4 WA boys in the under 19's team saw game time with Beau getting a couple of hits.

Game 2 was a big test as we took on the undefeated home team in the final game of the day.  With a healthy crowd out to watch, the ball was give to our couregous capatain Adam Humble who didn't fail to deliver.  Adam threw a 1 hit win as we beat the home team 3 - 1.  

A modest Humble who recorded 10 strikeouts for the game said he was just "happy to be here and happy to play his part for the team."

Day 3 will see another big test as we take on the current John Reid Sheild holders ACT in a re-match of last years final.  Lets hope the result goes our way this time.

Jonesy

These will be written by myself Nathan Jones the Team Vice Captain.  Hopefully I will be able to give you some insight into the team and how we are going.

Our first game was against QLD which we dropped 4 - 3.  A late rally saw the boys come back from 4-0 down in the bottom of the seventh  to almost snatch victory.

The team will be better for the run, having caught the midnight horror to arrive in Melbourne on the morning of the game.

Congratulations to Jay Rakich making his debut for the Open Men starting at 3rd base.  Jay showed he is a player that the other states will need to look out for during the rest of tournament.

I look forward to my next report when we hope to have 2 wins facing the Australian under 19 team at 230pm edst and the host team Victoria tonight at 730pm edst.

We will worry about beating Victoria after taking care of the Aussie U'19's make sure to "take it one game at a time" and not get ahead of ourselves.

Thanks

Jonesy

There are three things in my life which I really love:  God, my family, and baseball.  The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit.  ~Al Gallagher, 1971


Baseball is the only sport I know that when you're on offense, the other team controls the ball.  ~Ken Harrelson, Sports Illustrated, 6 September 1976

Good pitching will beat good hitting any time, and vice versa.  ~Bob Veale, 1966

Strikeouts are boring - besides that, they're fascist.  Throw some ground balls.  More democratic.  ~From the movie Bull Durham

I don't care how long you've been around, you'll never see it all.  ~Bob Lemon, 1977



It's hard to win a pennant, but it's harder losing one.  ~Chuck Tanner

]]> 2/29/2008 1:47:00 AM http://www.fielders.net/blog/?view=plink&id=132 132 The Black Ducks have gone on a remarkable winning streak since The Christmas Break. So over a few drinks it was decided to go into the Records Book at the BWA website and see if there any records there. Alas there were none.

 

So perhaps we can answer these questions – for future Quiz nights at the Baseball Club.

 

Which team has the longest winning streak in BWA History?

Which Team has the longest losing streak in BWA History?

Which Team (s) has won the most Premierships?

Which Team (s) has the longest drought between winning a premiership?

Who has hit the most home runs in a season? How Many?

Who has the best batting average?

Who is the oldest person to hit a home run in a State League Game?

Who is the youngest person to hit a home run in a State League Game?

Who has the most K’s in a season

Who had the best ERA

 

Those are some sample questions. Answers to be provided by the all knowing baseball public. There may be more questions that you could ask, Questions relate to State League only

 

 

Pudge]]> 2/28/2008 4:59:00 AM http://www.fielders.net/blog/?view=plink&id=131 131 Who is the Barbagallo Perth Heat MVP for 2007/2008 ?



My initial reaction is Mitch Graham. 

• He played 2nd, 3rd, SS and Left Field. 


• Hit GREAT in the lead off spot all season and led off the championship game with a Home Run.

• Luke Hughes, played well all season.


• Alan DeSanMiguel had a break out year.


• Clint Balgera did more than enough with the bat.


• Tim Kennelly - all season in the 3 hole and playing a superb Right Field.

• I need to see some stats? (anyone know where I can see these?)


• I need to hear  some other opinions?

I just thought that I would take this time to present a few facts that are common knowledge with in professional baseball ranks.

- Until 2004 Major League Baseball had no official drug policy or testing procedures implemented.  The only testing carried out on MLB  players was paid for and provided by each individual Club.  These tests only screened for social drugs and could be refused by the player.   These test were mandatory for all minor league players.

- The Major League Clubs, MLB front office and MLB players association were all aware that performance enhancing substances were commonly used and chose to turn a blind eye.  At the end of the day the Clubs want there players to perform at there peak level, a winning team means bums in seats, which means a profitable team.  Major League Baseball wants records to be broken.  Barry Bonds breaking the all time home run record would have made them millions.  The players association wants there players contracts to be lucrative.  By putting up greater numbers forces the clubs to offer larger contracts.

- In clubhouse's throughout America in the Minor Leagues and Major Leagues "Greenies" were used on a regular basis. These are essentially an amphetamine that heightens awareness and increases the heart rate creating a sense of energy and alertness.  I have personally heard stories of a clubhouse having two coffee pots, one contained coffee with dissolved greenies and the other was regular.  This was common practice and provided by the clubhouse manager of particular teams.

While I do not condone the use of steroids or human growth hormone etc I do feel as though todays current high profile players are being used a scape goats after a 15 year steroid era.  For arguments sake lets say Rodger Clemens used HGH.  At this time the use of these performance enhancing substances were as common as taking a panadol for a headache.  He created himself a level playing field to compete and he just happened to be the best,  yet we don't seem to care about the guy who used HGH and had a 6.50 ERA.  Now all of a sudden everyone wants to criticize him, how can you do that when the very organizations that were implemented to protect players do the opposite. In my opinion it is not important to find out who used steroids, what is important is that young players today are not put in the same situation.  The organizations that are there to protect the players should be accountable for just that and baseball can move on.

The new additions to the PL have seen Eastern Hills and Kalamunda join the league and not have much success. Although they haven't had success the wheels are in motion at both these clubs. With a bunch of youth with raw talent, decent coaching at a few experienced players could make all the difference at these 2 young clubs. Eastern Hills have already put a plan in place advertising for a head coach and also know how to play to their strength with quick outfielders to cover the large space in Eastern Hill's outfield.

Curtin has seem to have a fall from grace this year as some of the PL players from last season have gone down a grade or 2. Curtin is starting to see the effects of not having a junior program and relying on keeping current players and influx of new player each season. Curtin has struggled all season to beat teams higher on the ladder except for UWA who they have beaten 2x this year. But as always in the PL league Curtin could be 2 solid players away from being back in the finals next season.

Kelmscott with the addition of Rowan Street have become more competitive this year but are unlikely to make the finals needing to win the last 2 games of the season without UWA winning. This will be a hard task given they have to verse the PL leaders Carine this weekend. Next season could see a more competitive Kelmscott unit

UWA last years premiers are suffering a major hangover!! Last season form start to finish many considered UWA the team to beat. This season with injuries to all of UWA PL pitching staff (Ben Pascoe back and shoulder, Adam Barrell elbow and Macca back) and the UWA bats going to sleep quite regularly during the season, with most player under achieving with the bat. Even with all injuries and not being able to field the same team 2wks in a row UWA is sitting in 4th. UWA like Curtin is starting to feel the effects of not having a juniors programs and relying on new player and keeping current players to fill teams. Although come finals anything can happen, but it looks like it could be a rest and reload for next season for UWA.

Rockingham are sitting pretty in 3rd and will face either UWA or Kelmscott in the first round of the finals. Rockingham with a re jigged lineup are having another successful season due mostly in part to Jeff Wishart and the bats of the Rockingham team. Although in fairness Rockingham are solid throughout the lineup and deserve to be where they are on the ladder. In many games Rockingham have enough confidence that they can start one of their lesser starters knowing their bats will keep them in the game and then bring Jeff in to close. Come finals times with Jeff on the mound Rockingham will be competitive.

Balcatta 2nd on the ladder have been as impressive as seasons past, but forthis season for different reasons. Balcatta has always been known for their hitting ability. Although they still have a solid hitting lineup they don't pack the punch of previous seasons. Balcatta this year with the addition of McCloud and Wishart to the already established Needham gave Balcatta one of the strongest pitching rotations in the league. Come finals and with rumors that Carine could be minus a few top players in the finals series Balcatta is definitely looking the goods at getting some revenge from last season and taking the flag.

What else is there to say about Carine other than they have been unbeaten all season. Carine have had an influx of new players into the PL team with only 1 or 2 players from last season PL on the team. With Henderson in charge and all the new players Carine has gone from bottom to top in one season. Carine are just solid all round, they can hit, field and have a great pitching staff headlined by Sherman. Carine have look the goods all season and have only really been challenged by Balcatta. Rumors have it though that some players might not be available for Carine come finals time which could prove costly in their search for the PL flag.

As far as Wembley, West Stirling and Vic Park          Nothing

Wembley, now officially the worst team maybe ever in State League history are coming off a horror year, with only three wins, there were few highlights.

Vic Park has some good young talent but struggles to get them all together to play in one team. A club environment which seems to relish in winning lower grade Championships could quite possibly be a finals threat if they could get all of there best players in there State League Line up.  The VP single A team reads as a who's who list of Perth Heat Players from the ABL days.  Perhaps these guys are past there prime but  could still help steer some of the young guys down the right path and create a strong dedicated close knit club environment as Jason Hewitt,  Simon Eisson, Michael Hodge and Brett Walters have done with the Cubbies.

West Stirling's saving grace was dipping into there bulging bank account and sending over two Import Players.  With a little help from the USA the young crew of Indians have done a decent job.  Eight wins hardly suggests it's time to throw a party but has perhaps given the Indians hope for another year.  They need to find themselves a dedicated coach who may bring a few players along with him.  If the Indians fail to wrap up a super coach then the argument for them to merge with Wembley to a West Coast team would start to ring extremely loud.

The Morley Eagles have dispelled any rumors that they are the perennial Brides maids. Many teams would have come out and dominated the following season to ensure these rumors were dispatched quickly, not the Eagle's they have just decided to make sure they do not make the finals, intern making it impossible to finish second.  The Morley team is not lacking in talent, represented by 5 Perth Heat Players and two imports the Seagulls at times seem more pumped up about there fine sessions than winning baseball games.

The Melville Braves have again confirmed that they are absolutely no threat to winning a flag unless the finals campaign is re-scheduled to December. The annual Christmas cup winners are sinking faster than the Titanic in the run home.  This is a team that consists of three current professional players, on former professional, former Heat Players and some young future stars in the making.  Matty Capel would have been clapping his hands together as he wrote his first line up for the season.   He will hope to add a bit a toughness over the remaining months.  With Mitch Graham reporting to National Team Duties, Tim and Matt Kennelly and Brendon Wise reporting to spring training, you tend to think that the Monkeys are in a boat with out paddles and the water is turning brown.

The Swan Districts Hang over from lasts years Championship may be starting to wear off.  After possibly the worst start ever by a defending Champion, the Black Ducks may have slowly figured it out.  Loosing to Vick Park,  Wembley  and West Stirling earlier in the season has made things extremely difficult for the reigning champs.  An injury plagued pitching staff and a batting average lower than Peter Torpy's weight in kilo's (not pounds) has made winning tough.  The return of a Healthy Dylan Peacock has helped shoulder the burden of losing last years finals MVP Liam Baron and warming bats of Toby Barnett and Clint Balgera have helped to add a spark that has been missing all year.  The Black ducks will need to win all of there remaining games to ensure themselves of a finals birth and a possible repeat.

Wanneroo has been the surprise packet of the season,  after a departing Floyd clan the Giants looked to be in a spot of hot water.  Appointing former import player Steve Fish has proved to be a master stroke.  Fish has managed to mash together an unlikely bunch including two 15 year olds to create a possible championship team.  Fish himself has carried the team much of the year,  what could only be described as "DEALING" Fish has limited opponents to less then 3 runs per 9 innings and still managed to be an effective coach, he is surely the prime candidate for the presidents medal.

South Perth have re affirmed there dominance as a State League Powerhouse. As mentioned earlier, the Club Culture is so strong at the Cubbies that young up and comers will happily wait there turn. As they wait they learn there craft from some of the best,  and develop themselves in to extremely good players. As the finals draw near the only question will be "can they score enough runs?" There bats have been silenced many times against good pitching, while they will certainly limit there apponents............will there bats be hot at the right time.  

Perth is another big surprise,  ask anyone and they will tell you "love him or hate him, Ken McGee knows how to win" .  He certainly does and it shows with Perth Taking over second place on the ladder and after this weekends games.   The only uncertainty will be if they have the pitching the battle out a three game series. 

It is no surprise to me the The Gosnells Hawks at the top of the ladder.   With the inclusion of the Floyd's, Drew Harris and a superstar import Gosnells we always premiership favorites.  They young nuggetty team lead by the hit machine Aaron Ottaway will lack some finals experience however there classy play over the year makes you think they will take a playoff series in there stride.  The only concern for the Hawks is losing some players to professional baseball.  Sam Dew and Alan De San Miguel will leave a big hole, however with a deep squad Gosnells should find the answers they need and it why they are my tip for the 08 Flag.

And I'd hate to name names and embarrass anyone, but Gordon Gerlach has got to pull his thumb out and use Whitey properly!!!

The guy's a Five Tool Player! Come's off the bench and hits a 2 run double, drops bunts, gets moved from shortstop -where some of the mind blowing plays he makes are happening so often now that we all take them for granted - to centerfield where he plays it flawlessly........

and then there's the pitching - don't see many runs getting scored off this guy, let alone hits!!!

Kinda reminds me of the story of the guy who has the really great bottle of wine and he's going to put it in the cellar and drink it when the time is right.............but when he eventually goes to drink it - it's gone off, turned, become nothing more than vinegar.....

Will somebody please paint this guy a picture!!

For me it is a really hard choice to pick which movie I prefer over all of them. I am a big fan of comedy movies and Major League definitely delivered on that front, not to mention it has a good storyline and actors that are able to play baseball.

However my choice is between Field of Dreams and The Natural. These 2 movies are not only great baseball movies, but people who don't even watch or know anything about baseball love these movies. My pick however would have to go to the Natural on the simple fact that it actually has more baseball shown throughout the movie. One of the best feel good stories of all time and in my mind the best baseball/softball movie of all time.

"There goes Roy Hobbs, the best there was"

If you follow the local State League competition you would have noticed a few missing faces,  Simon Eissen's and Brett Walters have decided enough is enough. Simon the winning-est pitcher in the history of the ABL and Brett Walters, former Professional with the San Diego Padres and one was of the few players to both pitch and hit at ABL/Claxton Shield level.

If you listen closely there is some scuttle bug about who may be hanging them up after this season.

While he may not be known to all Rick Stevens a Single A player for Swans and former reserves and State Leaguer from Wanneroo has retired as of this week.  Due to on going work and family commitments and the fact that he is just plain old Rickster has decided enough is enough.  He went out in style pitching a complete game and registering the win,  he also went BIG FLY in what has been called the biggest home run in Single A history.  Rickster is also known as the founder of the "Team Spencer" Foundation which raises money for Princess Margaret Hospital in  Honor of his late Son Spencer.

If you track over to the Cubbie's Clubhouse and hide in the air conditioning ducts you may here that the ever green Michael Hodge may be looking to spend his time at home next summer.  While he is not slowing up and still throwing up ridiculous numbers the cubbie's are flush with young stars in the wings.  This would signal a great time for Hodge to leave the game on his terms as one of State Leagues best ever.

As we all know Clint Balgera is a confidence player and after a slow...... some would say sub par start to the year Baggy, rumors were beginning to surface that he may be done with baseball in WA.  A recent return to form has rejuvenated the veteran Lefty and after clinching (unofficially) the Claxton Shield Batting title he is now convinced that he is on his way to the bigs,  some interested on lookers have suggested that he has even hustled after one or two fly balls while playing in the outfield.

Dion Sapelli has also been rumored to be hanging them after taking the advice of some hecklers during Sundays game "get a hair cut and get a real Job"

My 10 in batting order

P. Walter Johnson (Career 2.17 ERA, 417 W, 3509 K)

What do you rate higher AVG, HR, SB, defense etc....??

OF- Hands down i would have to go with a guy that has it all. Bat, glove, arm and speed. There are a few guys in the MLB that have all the tools with some being stronger in certian categories than others. Andruw Jones has long been considered the best defensive CF in the game. He is already getting jumps on the ball before its even hit, and the boy can layout for a catch. Jones also has some serious pop in his bat, although his average and strike outs hurt him. Even though he had a rough season last year im still going to go with andruw jones being the best OF in the MLB atm with players such as Ichiro and Sizemore a close second.

IF - This is definitely a hard category with heaps of  infielders being able to hit, defend and run. Alot of people may say well A Rod is the best IF. However my choice would have to go to 1 of the following A Rod 3B NYY, Henely Rameriz SS FLA and Jimmy Rollins SS PHI.

A Rod: .314avg 54HR 156RBI 24SB 13E 370TC (Total Chances)

Henely Rameriz: .332avg 29HR 81RBI 51SB 21E 641TC

Jimmy Rollins: .296avg 30HR 94RBI 41SB 11E 717TC

Given the stats above I would take A Rod as they best infielders in the MLB. He can hit and hit and hit and hit. His glove has improved and he can also swipe a few bags for you to.

C - Joe Mauer MIN, Brian McCann ATL and Russle Martin LAD are the three Catchers that come mind. Joe Maure is a previous batting champion .347 and has a gun of an arm throwing our approx 75% of runners. Brian McCann can sure hit as he put up 24HR and a .333 avg in a season, although he has a weak arm. Russel Martin can also hit for avg and power (.293 and 19HR) and has a good arm behind the dish throwing out nearly 50% of runners. For my pick I cant go pass Joe Mauer, he can hit for average and has one of the best arms behind the plate.

Let us know your thoughts

Clint or "Baggy" as he is known around the WA baseball circles is at the twilight of his career.  As anyone who has seen him hit during batting practice will attest to, it looks as though every swing hurts,  and you would be forgiven for thinking that you are watching a re run of "Mr Baseball" starring Tom Selleck.

However as the batting practice screens are removed, the lights are turned on and game begins "Baggy" puts his game face on, grey hairs shimmering  in the light  and some how manages to get hit after hit after hit.  In fact he is hitting a cool .500 over the 8 games he played in the Claxton Shield. 

Now I have made Clint sound as though he has one foot in the grave when he is only 33 however His strike zone judgment, and at bats are a clinical well put together plan.  Forcing the pitcher to give him his pitch, a pitch which he has hit so many times he will not miss it.

What was the best year of your career ?

Do you think you retired to early or to late ?

Why does experience play such a huge roll in hitting?

WHY???

I'll tell you,  Slow Pitch Softball is a game for the masses.  So you've never played baseball or softball before, no problem, its easy.  Hit the ball and run,  the pitcher is hoping you do so his defense can make outs.  But what about fielding I here you say? In slow pitch .44 core balls are used,  these balls are known as flight resistant balls.  They are difficult to hit hard as the core of the ball is softer than a regular softball.  This reduces the speed of the ball off the bat and keeps reaction times in the infield with in safe parameters.

Want to play with you husband or wife in a mixed team..... sure no problem.  Mixed competitions are extremely popular.

My only question is Why are we missing out on all of this FUN???

The scenario is as follows a baseball and a softball are travelling at MPH and comes in contact with your front arm (tricep) when batting.

Here are the figures for each

Baseball weighs 5 - 5 1/4oz, diameter of approx 3inches

Softball weighs 6 1/2 - 7oz, diameter of approx 4.5inches

The diameter is measured by the distance from one end of the ball to the other like a straight line cutting it in half. On face value with these statistics one would automatically assume that a softball would hurt more because of its greater weight and diameter. However the mass of the balls per inch and the diameter of the ball when making contact would have one believe that a baseball would hurt more.

baseball weight per inch = 5.25oz / 3inches = 1.75oz per inch

softball weight per inch =  7oz / 4.5inches = 1.55oz per inch

This formula shows that a baseball is far more compact in its weight to diameter ratio. Now why is this important you might think. When getting hit by an object with a larger diameter it gives your body more of a chance to absorb the shock through your body's muscle mass. IE getting hit in the tricep with a softball would come in contact with a greater surface area of the tricep than a baseball would.

baseball approx force based on weight per inch would be 1.75oz x 85mph = 148.75

softball approx force based on weight per inch would be 1.55oz x 85mph = 131.75

Therefore I believe that getting hit with an object such as a baseball will hurt more as it is more compact having a higher weight to inch ratio and thus causing a more painful strike to the tricep due to the lower surface area contact.

Let me know what you think.

Please feel free to share any thoughts on this situation.

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