Oakland Park Baseball

Ok... There needs to be some semblance of consistancy in what the umpires are calling strikes. I know Scott and I and a few others were giving the pitchers very "forgiving" strike zones, while others were not. I want to encourage everyone to swing the bat and remember that none of us have pinpoint accuracy. This makes the game more exciting for the players in the field and keeps the game moving along. Keep in mind that I'm not advocating having all the batters just close their eyes and swing, but to swing at pitches in and around the strike zone... if that makes any sense... All I know, is that (with the exception of the bottom of the 7th) the only innings that were grinding to a hault were the ones where the umps seemed not to be giving the pitchers any slack at all.

Of course the strike zone is a judgement call, and no one wants to call their teammate out on a questionable strike 3... but encouraging people to swing the bat is good for everyone and most importantly keeps the game exciting.

From what I heard from Scott and Daniel, not many balls were hit to the outfield (*cough* except my two triples *cough*) and that's also a biproduct of people standing at the plate with walking to firstbase being their first priority.

This also relies on people throwing strikes (nothing against our pitchers in the least bit, trust me, I know how hard it is).

As for the "just swing the bat!" things... well... I'm really selective and patient, which doesn't mean I'm going to the plate thinking, nope, not gonna swing at anything, they'll walk me anyways, but my entire mentality has to be to get on base any way I can. Since I'm not an all-powerful hitter, I have to rely on the walks sometimes, and yes, this means not swinging at borderline pitches. I make things happen on the basepaths, not the at the plate.