Post by hank on Sept 5, 2013 21:55:58 GMT -5
Since Bill wrote an excellent article about the speed limit, why not bring it up for discussion?
I can't check Bill's math because I am a humanities guy, but I can say that it jives with everything I have always seen during the LL World Series and women's softball games on tv when they compare it to MLB pitch speeds.
Bill slightly mentions--but does not put heavy emphasis because of his focus on speed in the article--movement, and I would like to make sure that I call attention to the physics defying movement of a wiffleball as well, before I even begin my argument.
We all can agree that a wiffleball is not a baseball, and if we are hitting a 103 mph MLB fastball then we must state that a wiffleball acts nothing like an MLB fastball also. It moves far, far more, and we all know how hard it can be to hit even a slow pitch from a good pitcher.
Lastly, by allowing scuffed balls in the league we increase that movement vastly more than that factory in CT had intended when they created their first ball, making our tasks as hitters even more difficult than they would be without scuffing.
So that leaves SRL hitters potentially facing:
1. 103 mph pitches
2. 103 mph p[itches that defy physics
3. Scuffed 103 mph pitches that REALLY defy physics.
I would say that is a hell of a task ahead of a hitter in our league.
So that is the dilemma that a league must face when choosing a speed limit. How do you maximize the difficulty and avoid eliminating the fun of playing?
Like the members of the Washout who have been playing together for a number of years, I have played wiffleball in the past in a few different ways. I can tell you from my past experiences--and reaffirmed this past weekend at Modrovsky--that a no speed limit league is not fun at all. I say this coming from the perspective of a person who actually enjoys and has decent success against high speed pitches, but when you factor in the movement of a scuffed wiffleball from a skilled pitcher into the equation, it takes a special hitter better than me to have routine success.
Washout has faced those kinds of pitchers in the past in our valley. Jabronis faced one this past weekend at the Modrovsky tourney as well. I faced my share in the past and know how futile you feel at the plate. So in the end, my feelings about the SRL speed limit presented right now to Bill and Beau in lieu of any kind of governing committee is best summed up in two simple statements:
DO NOT RAISE THE SPEED LIMIT OF THE SRL.
DO NOT LOWER THE SPEED LIMIT OF THE SRL.
If I was forced to choose between the two, I would say lower the speed limit, but that raises so many other problems and as of right now I see no problem with 70 mph.
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On a completely unrelated note, I stand with Josh when he said he hated scuffed balls. My Wiffle Ball patron gods run their league with only factory balls and yellow bats.
(Bill and Beau don't read that as a critique, it is just my personal taste and I will have to duke it out with Josh because he likes that stupid fat bat everybody uses.)
I can't check Bill's math because I am a humanities guy, but I can say that it jives with everything I have always seen during the LL World Series and women's softball games on tv when they compare it to MLB pitch speeds.
Bill slightly mentions--but does not put heavy emphasis because of his focus on speed in the article--movement, and I would like to make sure that I call attention to the physics defying movement of a wiffleball as well, before I even begin my argument.
We all can agree that a wiffleball is not a baseball, and if we are hitting a 103 mph MLB fastball then we must state that a wiffleball acts nothing like an MLB fastball also. It moves far, far more, and we all know how hard it can be to hit even a slow pitch from a good pitcher.
Lastly, by allowing scuffed balls in the league we increase that movement vastly more than that factory in CT had intended when they created their first ball, making our tasks as hitters even more difficult than they would be without scuffing.
So that leaves SRL hitters potentially facing:
1. 103 mph pitches
2. 103 mph p[itches that defy physics
3. Scuffed 103 mph pitches that REALLY defy physics.
I would say that is a hell of a task ahead of a hitter in our league.
So that is the dilemma that a league must face when choosing a speed limit. How do you maximize the difficulty and avoid eliminating the fun of playing?
Like the members of the Washout who have been playing together for a number of years, I have played wiffleball in the past in a few different ways. I can tell you from my past experiences--and reaffirmed this past weekend at Modrovsky--that a no speed limit league is not fun at all. I say this coming from the perspective of a person who actually enjoys and has decent success against high speed pitches, but when you factor in the movement of a scuffed wiffleball from a skilled pitcher into the equation, it takes a special hitter better than me to have routine success.
Washout has faced those kinds of pitchers in the past in our valley. Jabronis faced one this past weekend at the Modrovsky tourney as well. I faced my share in the past and know how futile you feel at the plate. So in the end, my feelings about the SRL speed limit presented right now to Bill and Beau in lieu of any kind of governing committee is best summed up in two simple statements:
DO NOT RAISE THE SPEED LIMIT OF THE SRL.
DO NOT LOWER THE SPEED LIMIT OF THE SRL.
If I was forced to choose between the two, I would say lower the speed limit, but that raises so many other problems and as of right now I see no problem with 70 mph.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a completely unrelated note, I stand with Josh when he said he hated scuffed balls. My Wiffle Ball patron gods run their league with only factory balls and yellow bats.
(Bill and Beau don't read that as a critique, it is just my personal taste and I will have to duke it out with Josh because he likes that stupid fat bat everybody uses.)
