Handedness

[Lions]

It's been a very long time since I played organized ball, but I thought it'd be fun to share a bit about myself:

Throws: Right
Bats: Switch
Primary Position: 3B, also played a lot of outfield and some 2B.
Highest level of ball: High School JV (I couldn't hit from either side!)

How about you?

[Borealis]

It's been a very long time since I played organized ball, but I thought it'd be fun to share a bit about myself:

Throws: Right
Bats: Switch
Primary Position: 3B, also played a lot of outfield and some 2B.
Highest level of ball: High School JV (I couldn't hit from either side!)

How about you?

This is a fun idea...

Throws: Right
Bats: Right
Primary Position: I was an OF, 3B and 1B... kind of evenly split
Highest Level played: JV High School... could never hit a curve. Senior year I started my coaching career coaching my brothers little league team!

Did play years of softball as an adult, if that counts for anything!

[Neil Thomas]

Throws: Right
Bats: Right
CF, RF, 1B.
Played varsity high school ball as a senior. Batted horribly my senior year and had two players in front of me that played college ball. Almost walked on to junior college team, but it didn't turn out.

Loyalty: Very high
Intelligence: Very high(imho )
Work ethic:very high

[Aaron Tassano]

Fun topic.

Throws: Left
Bats: Left
LF, CF.

Contact 3
Gap 3
Power 1
Eye 4
Avoid K's 3

Running Speed: 5
Stealing Ability: 7
Baserunning Inst.:7
Sacrifice Bunt: 5
Bunt for Hit: 4

I was the guy fast enough to play CF, but didn't usually hit well enough to warrant staying there and was put in LF. Played all through high school and made my Junior College team as a reserve, but then realized I was spending a lot of time practicing to sit on a bench and stopped

[Bill]

Throws: Right
Bats: Right
Primary Position: Bench and RF
Highest level of ball: 12yo little league

I was the guy they hid in right field for three innings a game. A virtual Lucy Van Pelt without the heckling of Charlie Brown.

I was never very good at the hand-eye coordination sports. Stationary ball, I hit very much. Moving ball...uhhh, not so good.

[Tyler]

Throws: Left
Bats: Left
Primary Positions: 1B, OF, 3B
Highest Level: 12-yo little league

Contact 1
Gap 1
Power 1
Eye 7
Avoid K's 1

Running Speed: 8
Stealing Ability: 2
Baserunning Inst.:3
Sacrifice Bunt: 1
Bunt for Hit: 1

I never had any baseball ability whatsoever, but I could rest my bat on my shoulder like a champ!

[James Bowman]

Neat topic, Frank. :)

Throws: Right
Bats: Right
Primary Position: P, 3B
Highest Level: Babe Ruth

Stuff - 0
Movement - 3
Control - 11!

I was a pretty decent pitcher in little league. I remember having excellent control, but I couldn't throw as hard as some of the other kids. I have a lot of respect for those types of pitchers I watch today in the big leagues. It really can make a difference if you can put the ball where you want it, and more importantly, know where to put it!

Contact - 1
Gap - 3
Power - 0
Eye - 4
Avoid K - (-3)

I was (am) an awful hitter.

[klewis]

Throws: Right
Bats: Right
Primary Position: IF and P
Highest level of ball: Backyard/Neighborhood/Recreational baseball? Does company softball count?

Baseball was probably my primary sport to play for fun when I was a kid but I quickly gravitated towards basketball as I grew older (requires less people for a pickup game).

I sucked at judging flyballs so never put me in the OF. I had pretty good hand-eye coordination but never faced a live fastball or curveball in my life so who knows how badly I would have looked

The only baseball skill I am proud of is that I had a pretty wicked slider. I could get pretty good break on it. I never could throw the curveball though and didn't even dare try the screwball. Ha as a kid, I used to borrow pitching books from the local library and try to master those grips. The screwball looked too painful for me :eek:

[Matt]

I sucked at judging flyballs so never put me in the OF.

Yeah, I had this problem as well. I generally never picked up the trajectory of a fly ball until it was sailing beyond me. I had to stick with playing 3b. (Where I had a habit of air mailing the throws to first. )

[Jason]

Throws: Right
Bats: Right
Primary Positions: 2B
Highest Level: Babe Ruth LL (pre-high school)

Contact 7
Gap 5
Power 1 (would say 0 if it was a rating)
Eye 8
Avoid K's 7

Running Speed: 7
Stealing Ability: 7
Baserunning Inst.: 9
Sacrifice Bunt: 1
Bunt for Hit: 1

Baseball was probably my favorite sport up until high school. When HS came, I played soccer in the fall and then basketball in the winter. By the time spring rolled around, I was so burnt out -- and also had a spring soccer team to play on - that I did not want to play baseball in the spring. It was a shame because I was actually decent. I never had the size or power, but I probably could have fit in comfortably throughout high school if I kept playing...

My junior year I toyed with returning to play high school baseball but I wussed out. It seemed like everyone I played with growing up progressed beyond belief over the last two years when I took the season off. Overall, my decision not to play was probably more about my own insecurites. So, this was the year that I picked up a tennis racquet for the first time in my life, and played varsity tennis my junior/senior years. I know, I know, I took a lot of heat. But I did do the math and figured out a way to walk out of high school as an 8-letter athlete - a distinction I was proud to say only 2 other guys in my class attained.

In hindsight, I wish I played baseball from freshman year on...

I just re-read everyones posts and realized the above is probably TMI. Sorry...

[Lions]

Does company softball count?

Yes! I was actually on a company softball team a few years ago that had a couple of guys who had played college baseball. We won most of our league games the first two years, but got wrecked when going up against some of the elite teams from higher up leagues. One of my most memorable plays was a laying out diving catch in left field foul territory that ended an inning.

As for my OOTP ratings...
Contact: 5
Gap: 1
Power: 1
Eye: 6
Avoid K's: 3

Not impressive. I was worse on the bases... really had no feel for how to run them at all. My skills were all on the defensive side. I could throw well enough for 3B (although occasionally would send a slider or curve over there - no one taught me to throw fastballs defensively), and could judge flyballs well enough for all the outfield positions. I didn't have the speed for CF then (I'm actually much faster now than I was growing up).

[John]

I just re-read everyones posts and realized the above is probably TMI. Sorry...

Not at all! That's what's great about these threads; we get to know each other better. Thank you for starting up this fun discussion, Frank!

[DanD]

Throws: Right
Bats: Right
Primary Position: C
Highest Level: HS Varsity

I played Freshman and JV my first two years in HS, then screwed up my throwing shoulder playing in an Autumn travel league. That was my junior year and I wasn't ready to go in the spring, so I ended up taking that year off. When the autumn league came around again I ditched my physical therapy and played. My shoulder wasn't 100% yet but I wanted to shake of some rust before my Senior year. I wasn't going to miss out on my senior season

I made the team as the back-up catcher, which was fine with me since my arm still wasn't quite right (my shoulder would sometimes slip when I threw, pinching nerves and tendons). In very limited action, my batting line was something like .667/.750/1.000, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K. Very limited action = 3 AB

[Zephyrs]

Throws: Left
Bats: Left
Primary Positions: 1B, RF
Highest Level: High School

Contact 2
Gap 6
Power 6
Eye 3
Avoid K's 1

Running Speed: 2
Stealing Ability: 2
Baserunning Inst.:3
Sacrifice Bunt: 1
Bunt for Hit: 1

[Bill]

...I know, I know, I took a lot of heat...

If it makes you feel any better, the only sport I lettered in was golf.