From Behind the Plate
Windham Baseball & Softball
April 8, 2010
by David Field
Ok, so the weather has
been favorable. That has to be the understatement
of the year, right? Look back twelve months and I
think we all were praying for the snow to melt in
time for the baseball and softball seasons. With
the seasons in their infancy, many changes have come
to the sports and I will delve into a few of them
and hope to shed some light into High School and
Little League Baseball and Softball topics.
First, softball.
Remember the rule, Ladies first guys. At the High
School, a few significant changes have hit Windham
and all High Schools. The pitching distance was
increased to forty three (43) feet from forty (40).
The Press Herald profiled this change a few weeks
ago. This change will require the pitchers to put
more zip into their off-speed pitches and will give
the batters more time to look at fastball pitches.
At the local level,
let’s all welcome Mark Tucker as the new Windham
High School Varsity Softball Coach. Mark has spent
many years involved in coaching collegiate softball
at a handful of local schools. He also has a
daughter in the Middle School who is a blooming
talent. Mark replaces retiring coach Bob
Blanchard. Mark has his hands full in rebuilding
the weakened softball program in the town of
Windham.
In Little League, the
softball teams have been selected and two teams will
be competing this spring. Right now, Ron Richards
and Dan Merchant will be the team’s managers. With
the schedule yet to be determined, the teams are
looking to battle teams from Raymond, Gray and
Westbrook this season.
With change being the
theme this year, Little League International adopted
a handful of very competitive rule changes to make
the game more like that of competing leagues. The
first rule change is the dropped third strike. If
the catcher drops the third strike, the batter may
become a runner if first base is unoccupied or if
first base is occupied with two outs, and must be
forced out. The second rule change is that of when
it is legal for a base runner to steal. It is now
legal for the runner to steal upon release of the
ball by the pitcher. This rule is the same at the
high school level. The last rule change deals with
a batter. A batter who leaves a bat over the plate
in attempt to bunt a ball but does not offer at the
ball shall have a strike called. The purpose of
this rule is to encourage batters to pull the bat
back to clearly demonstrate that there is no intent
to offer at the pitch. Phew! Can we say
C-H-A-N-G-E? It will certainly make the game more
interesting at the 10-12 year old level.
Now on to baseball.
Mike Fullerton returns to coach the Windham Varsity
squad in his (I think) sixth year. The teams have
been selected this week. Practices have begun
outside in earnest. Look for some great action on
the big diamond. “Fully” and crew will be looking
to make a big statement this year.
In the Little League
ranks, the biggest change is in the structure of
“Major” baseball. Windham used to run two leagues
based on age. The local board approved a
restructuring over the winter and will adopt a more
traditional system. A draft has been conducted and
players aged 9-12 will be placed on eight teams in
the “Majors” program. All 12 year olds will play in
the majors level. All others not being placed in
the majors will play in a “Farm League” system.
From an umpiring perspective, it will mean less
games to umpire as we used to have to schedule 12
teams. The farm teams will have “Non Blues” behind
the plate. While the majors will have “Blue
Shirts”, known as District 6 umpires on the field.
All umpires are volunteers in the Little League
Program. This restructuring, it was felt, will
create a more competitive baseball program in
Windham.
The Little League
season will commence on May 1. To all baseball and
softball players, I can’t wait to say “Play Ball!”
Good luck to all teams and kids playing. May you
all have fun and success.
|
