My DD maimed me, forcing me to buy more softball equipment!

[InsidePitch]

LOL, walking back out to resume catch DD throws one at me. My first hint was the whack against the side of my head. Maybe better I never saw it out of the corner of my eye or I may have turned my face into it. Payback from the times she got beaned in the head learning not to take your eye off the pop fly.

 

[Down and Out]

It started years ago and has now become tradition...When pitching wiffle balls to the girls at one of the batting stations, if they can hit you with the ball they get an ice cream sandwich. Imagine 6 girls in a semi circle around you, all trying to leave wiffle welts on your body. They think it is hilarious and they'll do anything for an ice cream sandwich.

 

[tghorley]

Have you noticed, the girls get older, stronger, and smarter and the parents get older, slower, and dumber. Just saying....

 

[pitchmom]

Thanks to a dropball, I now have a dead knee cap for the restof my life. Well, actually, it's an area about 1X1 inch on the outside of the cap.

I swear that ball was coming right to my glove, then at the last minute, it went under the glove. At the time, I was wearing a helmet, but no leg gards.

I actually saw stars. Once out of the pitching cages, I sat in a chair and all of a sudden, I could hear voices, but sounded like they were way down the street. I was literally trying to pass out. It took about 15 minutes to get myself to where I could walk to the vehicle. Another parent volunteered to finish catching her lesson, so luckily, she didn't see what I went through. She just thinks it stung a little

To this day.....over a year later, I have no feeling in that spot and the doctor said it killed my nerves and I probablynever would.

Went the next day and bought leg guards

 

[chinamigarden]

OK so here is my story.
1st of all my dd tends to make her mistakes low, so I know if she misses its going to be on the ground, when I catch her in our barn its a concrete floor so the ball ends to skip and stay low. Occasionally it would get under my glove and hit me dead on the toe. So I decided it would be smart to wear my steel toe shoes. So one day I am sitting on my bucket, knowing that my toes are protected and I am scooted back on the bucket so my "boys" are protected by the bucket. Well she throws one low and I reach for it, not thinking about the fact that I am now all the way forward on that bucket. The ball goes under my glove and hits me on the steel toe. The ball rockets straight up my leg and hits me in a very tender spot. Knocked me right to the ground. I am lying on my side. At first I was afraid I was going to die, after a minute I was afraid I was going to live. I took a peek back and dd is edging toward the door, like she is about to run to get her mom. The look on her face was priceless a combination of 'oh my god I just killed dad, and OMG I better not laugh right now" Needless to say we were done for the day.

A few months later she started working on a drop curve and thats when, after several knots on my shin from the balls that moved like they should and a couple of pitches to the chest on those that didn't move at all, I ended up with full gear.

 

[rdbass]

We are all nuts for what we do for our kids. Pitching batting practices and catching for them at pitching practices. We cry know but, some day they will be a parent, and they will take our place on the bucket or mound. So our tears of pain will soon turn to tears of joy. I will be more than happy to pass the glove down to my DD.

 

[nanotech14]

heres my story,This is before I learned that yelling at your dd doesn't make her better. I was pitching to her in a cage, no screen and was not happy with her effort. I was on a roll, just being a complete rear, that crazy dad.Telling her to swing harder and it seemed no matter how hard she hit the ball, it was not good enough. Well my mom was watching this go down and grammie is not happy with me.

I threw one right down the middle and it came right back up the middle. I played slowpitch for many of years and pitched. I didn't have a prayer, right back faster then any men I have faced.The ball came right back into the twins, no glance off the thighs or leg, nothing but net, swish to say the least. I can still hear and see my mom laugh, with tears running down her cheeks and tears of pain running down mine. Then my dd 9yo at the time, saying did I hit those last two balls hard enough? My mom, I think all most had a heart attack at that point when my dd said that to me, I think she laughed for 20 mins. I learned two lessons that day,1) yelling makes you look like a fool and 2) use a screen from then on.

 

[Axe]

I always use a screen in our basement batting cage. Its a big help but the ricochets off of the wall studs can be lethal!

 

[Westwind]

I also got dropped br a drop ball. She was only 10 and her best movement pitches were more of an accident than anything. PC is showing her how to throw a drop and at the same time has to try to convince the bucket dad that the shin guards right by the bucket would be a good idea. Bucket dad was not smart enough to listen to PC.

First pitch had really nice 12/6 spin. Good girl. Pc makes some adjustments. Second pitch was like a fastball but made a strange buzzing noise, dove under my glove hit the ground and could not have hit my shin more square, took me off the bucket, hurt like hell but all I could do was lay on my back laughing like a maniac.

All I could think was its the best pitch she has ever thrown and no way we can throw it in a game.

Second one was in cage warming up for a game. I'm about 15 feet back, no screen, pitching real softballs for the girls to bunt. Girl comes up who I had pitched a lot of batting practice to from behind a screen. In other words, she is heavily conditioned to hit screaming line drives when I pitch her a ball. I say " we're bunting". She nods her head, I pitch, in slow motion I see toe touch, heel plant, a beautiful swing and as usual she creams the ball which goes by my right ear at about 3,000 miles per hour. Wow was that an eye opener.

To this day, I think she heard me but when she saw the ball she wen on auto pilot and did what she had done many times. Now I say it twice and make sure they are thinking about what we are doing.

I pitch from behind a screen in my shed. I have recently started to wear a batting helmet and I think I'm going to start wearing a cup. Even behind a screen those girls are hitting the ball back hard and while nothing SHOULD happen, why take a chance.

 

[3'sDad]

I gear up to catch DD when she pitches. Bought a full set of catchers gear this Spring on sale.

While to drop curves are bad, the pitch that is trurly lethal for the bucket dad is the riser/screw-rise. I've had many glance of the edge of the golve as the DD is just getting the hang of the rise and many times it comes out as the combination pitch.

The rise ball thrown properly is catch at my eye level sitting on the bucket. The full faced catchers helmet gives me some comfort.