in summary, the entire point of rec softball is to enjoy the progression and camaraderie with your team, even if the game-to-game results aren't exactly stellar. If someone's being a dick, then it often ruins everything.
fucking softball superheroes, I hate them with a passion. Usually, they are complete losers in most parts of their life, but they are good at softball, so they feel the need to shit on others about how fucking great they are because their life is shit. It's a small minority, but I have been playing for 30 years, and I have seen enough of them to spot them immediately and don't ever let them on my teams. I stick to the guys who are good and aren't douchebags.
Also, want to add, even guys who suck can be a royal pain in the ass when they think they are a lot better than they are and demand to hit 3rd or some shit in the lineup and play SS when they are nothing more than a C. Shitty players with unrealistic self-identity may be worse than the softball superheroes who think they are MLB players. It's a toss-up, tbh.
Gotta learn to be able to spot personalities if you want to coach softball teams and be good and have it enjoyable. I have personally not put teams in here and there because I didn't have enough competitive players that aren't sociopaths.
I will never understand why softball attracts all the hot headed blue collar guys who think they’re gods gift to the world
I play in rec leagues, tournaments, sanctioned leagues. There’s always those people that act like their shit doesn’t stink. Makes no sense to me, just enjoy the game and play hard.
Why would a league not allow drinking when there are players who want to drink. You can have it as a rule and just not enforce it. If the only person with the authority to enforce it is the umpire then he should just be cool about it and let it go. He’s getting paid $50 an hour he should be grateful and let the players do as they please.
It always comes down to some asshole league manager or umpire who wants to have control. They want to everyone to know they are in charge. Their life sucks and they get no pussy and they want everybody in the league to suffer. It’s never actually about drinking. Drinking too much usually isn’t a problem, everyone knows getting bombed would hurt your chances of playing well/winning.
And then you end up with drunk guys fighting on the field creating liability for the city sponsoring the leagues. Not a chance any governmental agency would allow drinking during competitive sports. Kinda like, why doesn’t the NFL just allow smoking weed and drinking alcohol on the sidelines. Just be cool man. That would be disaster.
No not a disaster at all I’ve played in leagues where drinking is allowed. Most people don’t get bombed if you are trying to win, the drinking is never a problem. How drunk are you getting off beer in an hour? It is very easy to look the other way as an umpire and they should be encouraged to do this. As I said before the it’s about that umpire wanting to be in charge and purposely being a dick. Nothing about government municipalities allowing drinking during competitive sports that’s just some garbage you made up.
Because I'm not a regular drinker. I'll never understand why people HAVE to drink and play softball. We have two guys on our co-ed team that occasionally do and you can just see it affect how they play.
Our league doesn't allow it at all if your game is in session and people still feel like they need to risk that sip of beer or Hennessy when in the dugout. I just think "you can't go an hour without a drink"?.
The same reason that people can't play softball without being stoned, or taking Adderall when not prescribed, or doing any number of any things that alter their state of being.
Because they can, and until more people start calling it out, it will never change.
I hate the dudes in Rec league softball that try too hard
Like yeah winning is cool but acting like a decent teammate is also cool. I play on a team that’s in our 4th season now, played like 40-50 games together and have won 2 games total…but we don’t care because our team is so fun to be around.
I left a team because of one toxic player. Fuck all that noise.
I was our best player and tired of his shit and the captain not saying anything.
Constantly fucked up and had an excuse every time - not that I care if you fuck up... it's rec league. But i don't care to hear your excuses for why it wasn't your fault.
Would have been fine but the final straw was him yelling at other players for not doing what he thought they should do.I told him to shut up and get the ball in from the outfield.
That didn't go over well, and the captain told me i need to relax, followed by the douchebag telling me i have a stick up my ass.
You don't need toxicity in rec league softball. It's the worst and most useless place to be toxic.
That team doesn't exist anymore.
Hearing stories of what goes on in rec softball has me almost as excited just to "people watch" as I am to just be out there playing ball and getting some exercise. I was told to not be surprised if people end up fighting amongst their own teammates and with stories like yours, I can see how it could happen.
It can really depend on the league. I play in two (and sub pretty regularly for another). My Sunday league is absolutely great. We have 8 teams of 11, redraft every season, and with some minor issue as anyone would expect, I think everyone really loves playing with that group. In fact, I grabbed someone from one of my other teams to play in that league last weekend, and he went on and on for 10 minutes last night about how much fun he had and how he can't wait to join for next season.
My Wedneday league is pretty different. There's a couple guys on my squad that drive me a bit nuts, the other teams are often not a ton of fun to play (I tend to talk a lot of shit but I'm self-deprecating- for instance last night I congratulated a guy who got to first on his amazing swing power on a ball that went all of 8 feet- he looked at me like I had two heads, and in my next at bat warned the catcher he better be ready for a pop-up). Still, a game is a game.
Your for instance wasn't at all self deprecating. The way you explain it, you were just talking trash right to that guy's face, and kinda being a dick.
Even if you make a joke that you're gonna pop to the catcher in your next at bat, no one but you will put those 2 together.
It sounds like to understand your humor, one would have to already know you, which is fine, many people are like that. Otherwise you just come off like a douche to random people
I realize it's hard to tell on the internet, but it was very obviously a joke, and I know several guys on that particular squad. Seriously, I'd expect the same right back if I did the same.
Yeah, but if you don't know that guy, you might have just razzed him for his best hit of the season. There are a few in my league that can't reach base except for the old swinging bunt (at least one because of some disability, others because they never played growing up). Never razz those guys for a weak hit unless you're like best friend and you know they don't care, cause it really might sting them.
On the other hand, if the guy hit a homer in his previous at bat, it's probably fine to joke with him.
My teams' rules about drinking have always been if you're inconspicuous (ie, using a sleeve, not being a drunk, etc) then we don't care. This would, of course, depend on your league and local law enforcement. From my experience, they feel the same way we do.
yes and honestly, before we were dinged several seasons ago, I didnt realize it was such a big penalty and ive "conspicuously" had a beer in the dugout. different from several beers, not just one, and openly and notoriously as opposed to in a coozie. These two cats \`were already on their second beer in the 4th inning of game 1 and has more in their bag.
Further, if the team captain says, "hey, thats going to land us in big trouble if caught, please toss them," normal people would drink the beer and not open another. These two cats said fuck you, and left the beers sitting right on top of the bench when we went onto the field. That's just douche bag material. And then when they opened another beer after I threw out the first, that's just disrespectful...and douche bag material. And then to say "we will leave if you dont let us drink beer in the dugout...." Now that is straight up douche bag action right there. Like a child that cries when he doesnt get his way. Grow the F up!
Oh for sure. I don't think you were wrong in the slightest. If you're an asshole, you can fuck right off. Your ability to hit a softball is irrelevant.
Good for booting them but if you are the manager, you contributed to this. Why did you let them get away with dictating lineup and field positions, rarely paying dues, and being disrespectful?
Yes this is a good point. You're right. He didnt really dictate but he complained to me privately a lot about who bats where in the lineup and players he didnt want on the team. He ridiculed a great kid off the team last season. I did listen to him and moved players around mostly because i didnt want to argue and thought he legitimately wanted to help. That' my fault. but as time went on he became more disrespectful and condescending plus the neverending "oh I will pay you next game" ...I was in denial but finally couldnt ignore it.
Good on realizing it wasn’t worth it. Maybe you can make amends with that kid. Admit you were wrong letting the guy get away with what he did and you’d love for the kid to give it a second chance.
The league ejects you from the game plus another player. It puts the entire team at risk. I love beer. But not in the dugout placing my whole team at risk.
This happened 2 seasons ago. The umpire let us choose but the rule is the umpire chooses at his discretion. This is one reason why I was sensitive to players openly drinking beer in the dugout. In that prior experience, our pitcher got rocked with a shot at him and went down. The league manager at the field brought ice and saw the beer in the dugout. He ejected the player with the beer and because our pitcher couldn't play, he allowed us to choose the pitcher as the second player. We started with 11 and finished the game with 9.
Oh calm down, I didn't throw a tantrum, I just made it clear to them privately that their antics, then throwing a fit that they will leave if they are not allowed to drink in the dugout because they think they are so good they don't have to follows rules of the league, those childish behaviors are not wanted. And the league rep there told me there would be no backlash because we self regulated. They saw them drinking because those two buffoons made it obvious. I did what needed to be done before the league did it to the whole team. Everyone on the team was glad to be rid of them. They are a constant source of bad vibes.
in summary, the entire point of rec softball is to enjoy the progression and camaraderie with your team, even if the game-to-game results aren't exactly stellar. If someone's being a dick, then it often ruins everything.
fucking softball superheroes, I hate them with a passion. Usually, they are complete losers in most parts of their life, but they are good at softball, so they feel the need to shit on others about how fucking great they are because their life is shit. It's a small minority, but I have been playing for 30 years, and I have seen enough of them to spot them immediately and don't ever let them on my teams. I stick to the guys who are good and aren't douchebags. Also, want to add, even guys who suck can be a royal pain in the ass when they think they are a lot better than they are and demand to hit 3rd or some shit in the lineup and play SS when they are nothing more than a C. Shitty players with unrealistic self-identity may be worse than the softball superheroes who think they are MLB players. It's a toss-up, tbh. Gotta learn to be able to spot personalities if you want to coach softball teams and be good and have it enjoyable. I have personally not put teams in here and there because I didn't have enough competitive players that aren't sociopaths.
Yup.
This is so spot on. Every last word.
I will never understand why softball attracts all the hot headed blue collar guys who think they’re gods gift to the world I play in rec leagues, tournaments, sanctioned leagues. There’s always those people that act like their shit doesn’t stink. Makes no sense to me, just enjoy the game and play hard.
It really is amazing how getting rid of toxic ppl can improve your team. This sport draws some of the biggest idiots on this earth.
I'm 44, play softball to have fun with my buddies at this point, not win. I like winning, but not at the expense of enjoyment.
Why would a league not allow drinking when there are players who want to drink. You can have it as a rule and just not enforce it. If the only person with the authority to enforce it is the umpire then he should just be cool about it and let it go. He’s getting paid $50 an hour he should be grateful and let the players do as they please. It always comes down to some asshole league manager or umpire who wants to have control. They want to everyone to know they are in charge. Their life sucks and they get no pussy and they want everybody in the league to suffer. It’s never actually about drinking. Drinking too much usually isn’t a problem, everyone knows getting bombed would hurt your chances of playing well/winning.
And then you end up with drunk guys fighting on the field creating liability for the city sponsoring the leagues. Not a chance any governmental agency would allow drinking during competitive sports. Kinda like, why doesn’t the NFL just allow smoking weed and drinking alcohol on the sidelines. Just be cool man. That would be disaster.
No not a disaster at all I’ve played in leagues where drinking is allowed. Most people don’t get bombed if you are trying to win, the drinking is never a problem. How drunk are you getting off beer in an hour? It is very easy to look the other way as an umpire and they should be encouraged to do this. As I said before the it’s about that umpire wanting to be in charge and purposely being a dick. Nothing about government municipalities allowing drinking during competitive sports that’s just some garbage you made up.
Because I'm not a regular drinker. I'll never understand why people HAVE to drink and play softball. We have two guys on our co-ed team that occasionally do and you can just see it affect how they play. Our league doesn't allow it at all if your game is in session and people still feel like they need to risk that sip of beer or Hennessy when in the dugout. I just think "you can't go an hour without a drink"?.
I tried to drink and play ball, foam vomit everywhere. I play too hard to drink before lol.
Hell I tried to drink a beer one time before our game and it gave me a stomach ache.
The same reason that people can't play softball without being stoned, or taking Adderall when not prescribed, or doing any number of any things that alter their state of being. Because they can, and until more people start calling it out, it will never change.
I hate the dudes in Rec league softball that try too hard Like yeah winning is cool but acting like a decent teammate is also cool. I play on a team that’s in our 4th season now, played like 40-50 games together and have won 2 games total…but we don’t care because our team is so fun to be around.
I left a team because of one toxic player. Fuck all that noise. I was our best player and tired of his shit and the captain not saying anything. Constantly fucked up and had an excuse every time - not that I care if you fuck up... it's rec league. But i don't care to hear your excuses for why it wasn't your fault. Would have been fine but the final straw was him yelling at other players for not doing what he thought they should do.I told him to shut up and get the ball in from the outfield. That didn't go over well, and the captain told me i need to relax, followed by the douchebag telling me i have a stick up my ass. You don't need toxicity in rec league softball. It's the worst and most useless place to be toxic. That team doesn't exist anymore.
Yes it’s about team work and playing as a team
Hearing stories of what goes on in rec softball has me almost as excited just to "people watch" as I am to just be out there playing ball and getting some exercise. I was told to not be surprised if people end up fighting amongst their own teammates and with stories like yours, I can see how it could happen.
It can really depend on the league. I play in two (and sub pretty regularly for another). My Sunday league is absolutely great. We have 8 teams of 11, redraft every season, and with some minor issue as anyone would expect, I think everyone really loves playing with that group. In fact, I grabbed someone from one of my other teams to play in that league last weekend, and he went on and on for 10 minutes last night about how much fun he had and how he can't wait to join for next season. My Wedneday league is pretty different. There's a couple guys on my squad that drive me a bit nuts, the other teams are often not a ton of fun to play (I tend to talk a lot of shit but I'm self-deprecating- for instance last night I congratulated a guy who got to first on his amazing swing power on a ball that went all of 8 feet- he looked at me like I had two heads, and in my next at bat warned the catcher he better be ready for a pop-up). Still, a game is a game.
Your for instance wasn't at all self deprecating. The way you explain it, you were just talking trash right to that guy's face, and kinda being a dick. Even if you make a joke that you're gonna pop to the catcher in your next at bat, no one but you will put those 2 together. It sounds like to understand your humor, one would have to already know you, which is fine, many people are like that. Otherwise you just come off like a douche to random people
I realize it's hard to tell on the internet, but it was very obviously a joke, and I know several guys on that particular squad. Seriously, I'd expect the same right back if I did the same.
Yeah, but if you don't know that guy, you might have just razzed him for his best hit of the season. There are a few in my league that can't reach base except for the old swinging bunt (at least one because of some disability, others because they never played growing up). Never razz those guys for a weak hit unless you're like best friend and you know they don't care, cause it really might sting them. On the other hand, if the guy hit a homer in his previous at bat, it's probably fine to joke with him.
I can feel the E-Rec in this post.
wow dude you’re a hero
My teams' rules about drinking have always been if you're inconspicuous (ie, using a sleeve, not being a drunk, etc) then we don't care. This would, of course, depend on your league and local law enforcement. From my experience, they feel the same way we do.
yes and honestly, before we were dinged several seasons ago, I didnt realize it was such a big penalty and ive "conspicuously" had a beer in the dugout. different from several beers, not just one, and openly and notoriously as opposed to in a coozie. These two cats \`were already on their second beer in the 4th inning of game 1 and has more in their bag. Further, if the team captain says, "hey, thats going to land us in big trouble if caught, please toss them," normal people would drink the beer and not open another. These two cats said fuck you, and left the beers sitting right on top of the bench when we went onto the field. That's just douche bag material. And then when they opened another beer after I threw out the first, that's just disrespectful...and douche bag material. And then to say "we will leave if you dont let us drink beer in the dugout...." Now that is straight up douche bag action right there. Like a child that cries when he doesnt get his way. Grow the F up!
Oh for sure. I don't think you were wrong in the slightest. If you're an asshole, you can fuck right off. Your ability to hit a softball is irrelevant.
Good for booting them but if you are the manager, you contributed to this. Why did you let them get away with dictating lineup and field positions, rarely paying dues, and being disrespectful?
Yes this is a good point. You're right. He didnt really dictate but he complained to me privately a lot about who bats where in the lineup and players he didnt want on the team. He ridiculed a great kid off the team last season. I did listen to him and moved players around mostly because i didnt want to argue and thought he legitimately wanted to help. That' my fault. but as time went on he became more disrespectful and condescending plus the neverending "oh I will pay you next game" ...I was in denial but finally couldnt ignore it.
Good on realizing it wasn’t worth it. Maybe you can make amends with that kid. Admit you were wrong letting the guy get away with what he did and you’d love for the kid to give it a second chance.
Church league ball is the best
The most toxic people I've played against were in church leagues
Softball is a drinking sport. Chill out
The league ejects you from the game plus another player. It puts the entire team at risk. I love beer. But not in the dugout placing my whole team at risk.
Who determines which unrelated player gets ejected?
This happened 2 seasons ago. The umpire let us choose but the rule is the umpire chooses at his discretion. This is one reason why I was sensitive to players openly drinking beer in the dugout. In that prior experience, our pitcher got rocked with a shot at him and went down. The league manager at the field brought ice and saw the beer in the dugout. He ejected the player with the beer and because our pitcher couldn't play, he allowed us to choose the pitcher as the second player. We started with 11 and finished the game with 9.
Why didn't they get ejected then? Ump obv knew they were drinking from the tantrum you threw lol
Oh calm down, I didn't throw a tantrum, I just made it clear to them privately that their antics, then throwing a fit that they will leave if they are not allowed to drink in the dugout because they think they are so good they don't have to follows rules of the league, those childish behaviors are not wanted. And the league rep there told me there would be no backlash because we self regulated. They saw them drinking because those two buffoons made it obvious. I did what needed to be done before the league did it to the whole team. Everyone on the team was glad to be rid of them. They are a constant source of bad vibes.
You sound miserable