Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover

 Before expressing amazement that a (gasp) woman can be baseball athletic, go watch a few college softball games.

Um yeah, really.

Or go see WNBA star Kelsey Plum throw a t shirt.

My mom taught me how to throw a baseball. We played burnout in the backyard when I was growing up and she won up until I was 9 or 10 years old. I was throwing over 90 mph by the time I was 17 and none of my friends would catch me. But my mom would. She put a sponge in the catchers mitt and would catch my bullpens that I threw from the mound I built in the backyard. No mask and no gear. When I realized that I was bruising her hand I stopped throwing to her but if it was up to her she would have kept doing it. 

When I was coaching LL 12 yr old All Stars I had a mom that would throw BP. She was legit, she was also an ex All American softball player that played SS.

I like to think my boys get their smarts and good looks from me. Their athleticism..? Mom is the one sporting 2 D1 national championship rings on volleyball 

My son's youth coach's wife came in one day to tell me she had been catching for my son at a practice when he was about 15. She showed me her hand and it was bruised and swollen. "He was awesome!" she said with a big grin.

She also was his basketball coach, was harder on him than her husband, the baseball coach. I'm not at all athletic, so I'm grateful that my son had the opportunity to see a woman in that environment, and to see her excelling.

Love this thread! I’m not one of those moms who could do this, but so inspired by those who do and can. 

Goosegg posted:

 Before expressing amazement that a (gasp) woman can be baseball athletic, go watch a few college softball games.

Yes indeed!

College softball is a decent watch.  Pace of game is usually good (better than baseball) and the quality is there at least at the highest level. There are some less than athletic big girl types - baseball has them too.  Generally power hitters and/or pitchers. 

One downside - Could do without the chanting and singing.  Never been big on the rally monkey/cap/googles etc.  So this might fit in the "Get off my lawn!" category.

College baseball, I enjoy watching D1 and D3  equally.

College softball, not so much.

D3 softball is seriously less watchable than D1.

When my daughter was playing I enjoyed watching softball. I knew who all the top players in the country were. The last full game I watched was the last game of the WCWS when my daughter was a senior. The last live game was when her team was eliminated in regions. I’ll tune in and watch a few innings here and there. The game is more exciting since it became more about driving the ball.

My daughter is thirty-one now. She said the last high level softball game she attended she played in. She now plays in a lawyers softball league. She said a majority of the players take it as seriously as college ball which amuses her. 

When she was a kid I remember waiting forever to have Natasha Watley (All American UCLA, Team USA) sign her glove.

My son-in-law is athletic in individual sports. He has almost no interest in team sports. My daughter goes to Eagles** games with the girls. She said her kids will play baseball/softball if she has to coach. She commented it certainly won’t be her husband teaching anyone how to throw. 

** I admit to being an abusive parent. I allowed my kids to grow up rooting for Philadelphia teams.

This is the woman I married when she was younger. She played baseball in all the local leagues until they made her play softball. She could keep up with any of the boys. She played softball through HS. 

She had to teach me how to throw a ball. I am so athletic it is hilarious. Only way I could get my sons out during baseball is because I had a natural Eefus pitch (it was my fastball. and I could sometime successful throw a knuckle ball. 

She taught our boys to hit and throw at younger ages. Kept book for them all through school. Every parent meeting for any baseball team my sons were ever on, at a certain point the coach would ask, who is Mrs. Cooper. We knew the next question. Would she be interested in keeping the Book. Same thing with my younger kid with wrestling. 

All her Uncles on the maternal side played pro or semipro baseball in Rhode Island.

In college, my S's GF was the starting CF.

So, I walk over to meet her parents and watch a game. Opposing batter drives a ball 100 feet over the wall - a no doubter from the time it left the bat - and she looked up, trotted to the track knowing it was way gone. Her dad stands up and yells she should have sprinted to the fence and stood on it (6 foot fence).

I knew I had met my brother from another mother.

Heading to the wedding shortly.

PS, she had never played golf. S  has replaced baseball with golf. She picked golf up in the last 6 months; shot a 71 last week. (Grand kids will be lit!)

Goosegg posted:

In college, my S's GF was the starting CF.

So, I walk over to meet her parents and watch a game. Opposing batter drives a ball 100 feet over the wall - a no doubter from the time it left the bat - and she looked up, trotted to the track knowing it was way gone. Her dad stands up and yells she should have sprinted to the fence and stood on it (6 foot fence).

I knew I had met my brother from another mother.

Heading to the wedding shortly.

PS, she had never played golf. S  has replaced baseball with golf. She picked golf up in the last 6 months; shot a 71 last week. (Grand kids will be lit!)

 

One one of my first dates with my (ex) wife she missed a gimme putt and chucked the putter for some serious distance. It’s when I knew I met the girl of my dreams.