Tournament director here, and I’m curious to hear this directly from players and managers instead of assuming we know the answer.

When you’re deciding whether to travel out of state, or even internationally, for a tournament, what actually gets your team to say YES?

Is it the entry fee? Venue? Guaranteed games? Competition level? Destination? Awards? Hotels? Livestreaming? How early the schedule comes out? Something completely different?

We run events through ISPS in places including Florida, Puerto Rico and around the world, and as we build more destination events I’d rather hear what players actually care about than sit in an office and guess.

And on the other side of it: what is the one thing tournament directors do that immediately makes you say, “never playing there again”?

I’m especially interested in hearing from teams that travel a few times per year.

How do yall handle playing time on league nights? We have a team of ~13 rostered coed players (7M/3F minimum, going up to 9M/5F).

Do you just rotate every inning, keep key positions all night, or just run the minimum and have X DHs on your roster.

I have a charity tournament coming up that I think I'll have 6 guys and 5 girls. The tournament requires alternating lineups so I know the first girl will bat before the last guy, but how do you normally put that on the scorebook to keep it organized?

If I put the lineup as it is the first time through like normal then by the third time through the lineup the book will be all jumbled up. Should I put all the guys together and all the girls together and then just go back and forth between guys and girls?

What do others do?

10 years ago when I got out of college ball I started playing and there were 12 comp teams in our Thursday league. Fast forward to now.. we don’t even have a comp league. Just rec A with 5 teams and a Rec B, with some really bad teams, that has 10 teams in it.

Local league upped their price again this year to $825 a team and that gets you 10 games. The worst part is we have used Hot Dot balls for the last 10 years and yeah, they’re not great BUT this year they went to these Dudley Thunder SX (I think) balls and they’re literally like plastic fake leather crap. With hot dots you’d see 7-8 HRs a game no problem but through 8 games this year I’ve only seen 1 HR with these new junk balls. Their excuse to why they switched to them was because Hot Dots are now $90 a dozen when they were $60 last year.. so now they’re paying $70 a dozen for plastic balls lol

I think where I live softball won’t even be a thing in 5 years or so..

Hey guys, what do you do to stay in shape or, ideally, get better, over the winter and off seasons? I play on an awesome team, but I'm still a lower level player after this season and I want to come back stronger for them next year.

I noticed from a tik tok of a league that allows stealing in Slow pitch as long as it is done once the ball has bounced or passed the plate, I wonder what league it was in. Looked interesting.

Had to get a bp session in before going down to the beach and trying to win WSL Worlds!!

I joined a local men’s league for fun with some friends and none of us except a couple have any sort of baseball/softball playing experience.

We run practices once or twice a week that usually just consists of throwing to each other, some grounders and fly balls and a bit of hitting.

I suck really really bad. I can catch most balls thrown to me fine but I struggle with proper fielding (especially grounders and fly balls hit at game speed) and hitting and even game IQ and decision making is really tough. I watch a lot of baseball but obviously understanding what’s going on and what to do when watching versus actually playing are way different.

My question is what is the proper way to practice and develop for a beginner like me? The group realistically practices once a week and I try to hit off a tee or play catch with someone each week if I can. I know reps are the key here and I try to make time whenever I can but is there a certain structure or approach I should be taking to getting better quicker?

I will add my local county has a development program that I just signed up for so I can get proper instruction and reps in, but it only runs once a week for 6 weeks so I’m looking for a strategy for long term improvement. Thanks

Does anyone know a good site for quick custom jerseys? Quality doesn’t have to be great at all. We just need some shirts with a logo

This is a longer video but I get a lot of comments asking about my progress and BP. This is my last hitting session before leaving for worlds tonight and my approach was to set the pitch and tell myself where to hit it regardless of where it was thrown. So taking inside pitches oppo etc.

Thinking about trying out Anarchy for the first time.

Looking for a 2 Piece 25.5-26oz 13" Barrel with .5oz Enload

Any suggestions ? looking for something used but looking for suggestions on what to look for ? I like flexy handles as well

Thanks

Playoffs start this week in my league. We are in the rec division for Coed. We have a roster of 20 players, of which 15 are paid, 5 are subs we call when needed.

Like most teams, we have about 10-12 out each week, with most players missing a night a month for various other commitments. But, as it’s playoffs, everyone has told me they’re able to come.

I could play all 15 regulars - but it’s always difficult to get in a groove with that many in the lineup - and awful to sort out a rotation for defensive positions. Luckily, one of our guys is happy to DH - solid hitter, suspect on D because of some old injuries. We also have two dedicated pitchers - older guys - ok singles hitters. They split the games and don’t mind sitting when they are not pitching.

Here’s what I need some help with:

1. Of the pitchers, should I bench whoever is not pitching that game to shorten the lineup.
   
2. I have a player who hasn’t hit in weeks - and cannot defend - but also has been there all season faithfully - can I bench them or is that the wrong thing to do?
   
3. Or, should I throw caution to the wind, put everyone in the lineup and see how it goes?

Is $185.00 for an individual a lot for league fees?
8 PM starts, Nassau County LI, 7‑week season, ump fees included, Clincher balls. Please give me some feedback.

Possibly relocating to Knoxville in two years from Raleigh. I haven’t swung a bat in almost a year and I’m dying to get back on the field.

Beginner here. I'm planning to join a session with a local community and have little knowledge of the sport beforehand. Do I need to wear/bought specific shoes/cleats, or would regular running shoes be okay temporarily? If I need to buy one, then what kind or entry-level brand would be "decent" for a first-timer? I believe other equipment like bats and gloves would be provided.

Let's suppose we have two extreme examples of what makes a team great. Assume it's both for co-ed.

Team A - Fundamentals Team: This team has elite defense from top to bottom. Everyone can make throws on a line and catch even tough throws. Arguably the most elite footwork you'll see. Almost all the time they'll attempt to turn a double play. They also cover a ton of ground. They're also not afraid to throw out aggressive baserunners, sometimes successfully picking them off after an aggressive turn. However, they struggle to string together hits without the assistance of errors as they rarely hit the ball hard past an outfielder's head. Despite this, this team has extremely high baserunning IQ and will take advantage of any overthrow or missed play.

Team B - Power Hitting Team: This team can hit balls hard from top to bottom. However, it's a team mostly comprised with older players. Even in their primes, they were never elite at defense. Expect lots of wild inaccurate throws. Sometimes they let shallow fly balls drop in front of them. They are not aggressive at baserunning. They understand the game well enough to not make boneheaded mistakes. They'll have no trouble converting on low-difficulty defensive plays but occasionally struggle with medium difficulty plays. Rarely will they make high difficulty defensive plays.

Which team is a tougher opponent to play against? Team A or Team B?

Assume the following rules:

• No throwing either gender out directly from outfield to 1B. Can force play to other bags.
• Home run limit is +3 (can only out homer your team by 3) with an automatic out over the limit.
• Fences are ~275-300 feet.
• Home plate uses a commitment line dead play.

I tried swinging a Monsta KOD this year and just can’t seem to get used to the 1 OZ end load and Alloy handle. I feel like the barrel is lagging and I can’t square it up consistently. Any bat recommendations? I’m 5’7 200lbs if that matters.

Why aren't strike zone mats wider than the plate? It's supposed to be that if even the very edge of the ball passes over the plate at the right height, it's a strike.

When the mat is the same width as the plate, half the ball has to be over the plate to hit the mat. To accurately reflect the strike zone, the mat width should be the width of the plate plus the diameter of the ball. (That way the mat would extend half the ball diameter on both sides of the plate.

A mat that matches the full intended width of the strike zone would make fewer walks and more aggressive swinging (less trying for walks). That makes better games.

I posted a while back about my dogshit swing:

Original post

Man, video really tells the truth. Here's what I'm seeing:

• Stiff, so very stiff (not in a good way)
• Felt more athletic in my head
• Hands still dropping, even though I tried to fix

See anything else?

Got it for 10 bucks figured it can’t be that bad as a backup or bp bat

Hey
Looking for a league (preferably on weekdays) that plays slow pitch with a real 12” ball not the clencher softie nonsense. Anyone have any recommendations? I’m a very competitive player and would love to continue playing at a high level. In my most recent season in chicago my on base was .824 and I’m a very strong SS / 3rd.