Softball

I'll post about backpacking tomorrow or Monday since I don't have time tonight to upload the pictures (I'm on my way to the kitchen to make icing for Miriam's cake asap), but I'm so outraged by the behavior I saw tonight, that I thought I would share with my blogging world.

First off, I know there are lots of jokes about church ball and whatnot (Amy, since you are unfamiliar with "Mormon culture," let's just say that the men have a bad reputation for taking their basketball a little too seriously), but in COED softball, I expect the players to act with a little bit of grace.

Tonight, I saw little grace and lots of outrageous behavior. Not from my own team, or I would have left, but from the other team. I am sure most of you are familiar with the lame coed rule that if you walk a man the next batter, a woman since you switch genders every other batter, can also CHOOSE to walk, should she be so inclined. It is my least favorite rule because I think it allows men to put unfair pressure on women to walk instead of bat. And really, what is the fun in that?

Anyway, me and this other girl had just chatted about this very thing and this very rule and she said, "Oh, I don't think any men would do that." The next time we were in field the very situation occurred. A man got walked and proceeded to his base. The girl after him wanted to bat so she started walking toward home plate with her bat. No less than THREE men on her team started yelling at her (top of their lungs) to walk. The person on third base got called out because he too was incensed that she was hitting and left his bag to go yell at this poor woman.

I am happy to say that she stood her ground and hit--but if I were her I think I would have walked out of the game at that point. Silly thing for me to say. If I had seen how they were acting at the beginning of the game (yelling at people, arguing with the ref), I would have left. I can't handle that kind of behavior.

Despite the other team's poor behavior, I did have fun. I caught a ball thrown too low by the third basemen. It was coming pretty fast, but I was still surprised at the end of the inning when this guy on my team asked if I was scared. Hee hee. I told him my brother played shortstop and that throw was nothing. My fingers didn't turn red or swell up or anything.

Unfortunately--my hitting was a little sad. Popped one up, hit a piddly one right to short. Although, the pitcher used the boy ball so I got to rehit that one and walked--and made it home. One of our two points. So, I guess, all told, I didn't do too bad.

For those of you who are wondering--due to all my problems in the past I did ask Dr. Swift if I could play before I played and he said it was fine as long as I didn't sacrifice my body or slide. No worries. I'm an old woman.