The Pitcher's Father

[JJS]

Averaging 2+ or even 3 K's an inning at 10U and 12U doesn't make a girl a phenom. Half the girls they're playing against won't be playing softball in a few years and in rec ball K's are often the way teams get most of their outs. If she can still dominate at 16U/18U Gold/Premier then she's a phenom.

That is a great lesson you just taught me. We all have different realities based on where we are, and where our DDs our in this game. Our team is an older TB team. What is absolute for us, may not be absolute for you. Even the definitions of Rec League and thoughts regarding HS ball vary so much from state to state. Really even the difference between A, B & C are different from region to region.

Heck, the most important player on a 7U machine pitch team may be the 1st baseman since they are needed to catch the ball on almost every out in the infield.

 

[smddad]

Aye! Reminds me of a pitcher's parent, who was doing the book, and a line drive into left center field was ruled an error. There explanation was that if the outfielder had made the proper drop step, she would have caught it. Their DD never lost a game because the earned runs. Lowest ERA on the team, but she had the highest UnERA on the team.

*face palm*

 

[bucket pinata]

Never seen a pitcher score a single run from the circle, Ive seen pitchers lose games but have never seen a pitcher win a game, If you look at the WHOLE game, that's where Team comes in. This becomes clear when you are cheering up your DD after she gave up 1 run each in two games and lost them both.

 

[Eric F]

...on average the pitchers dad is probably more likely to be very into the game, more so than another parent, probably because of all the work he sees his daughter put in...

If the catcher isn't working just as hard, she's doing it wrong. (IMO, YMMV)

So hypothetically if the pitcher Ks 6 batters in an inning whose fault might that be? Asking for a friend.

Depends. In 10U, batters will swing at anything.

A related story...

A little more than a year ago, after a particularly poor performance behind the plate holding on to strike 3 (which resulted in runners getting on, scoring, and a loss for our team), my DD and I sat down with the scorebook, and I helped her understand how missing those outs affected the score. In that moment, she understood the importance of her job.

Today, 14 games into the spring rec season, my DD has turned 10-of-10 D3Ks into outs.

Having said that, a strong catcher makes a very good pitcher look great. A poor catcher can make the very good pitcher look pretty good.

Agreed. A poor catcher can make a TEAM look pretty bad, too.

 

[Dabears17]

I am a pitcher's father. I sent her to the NECC last summer to appreciate how hard her catchers have to work. After every session, she told me being a catcher is a lot of hard work.

 

[BT3100]

I think if you look at the average bucket dad's shins, knees and ankles you will reveal a man who truly understands just how hard it is to be a catcher for his DD.
I respect catcher's with the same furor that I do pitchers. No one here can put a gauge on work and determine who works harder or puts more hours in to get better. I know my DD pitches year round. On days when her friends go skiing or ice skating we are in the gym working on the change up. December 24th when her friends are getting ready for Christmas we are running through K drills and trying to move the ball all around the plate. So YES pitchers and catchers DO work harder and put in more work than the average position player on the team.

 

[Boggs]

I'm a pitcher's dad. I don't think she is the most important player on the team, but she is in the most critical position. To me the most important player is the player who is either holding the ball or the ball is on the way to her. Once my dd lets go of the ball, the catcher and the batter now become the most important players on the field. If the ball is hit, the fielder it is heading too becomes the most important player on the field, once its thrown, the player it is thrown to becomes the most important player on the field...

It just so happens that because the pitcher begins every single play, she is the most important more often which is why her position is so critical.

My dd was playing first base yesterday and I was talking to another dad who has coached my dd for many years in TB and I said, I wish I could watch her play a whole season at first base, it would be so much less stressful.

So well said!