Church BBQ softball game

[LuckyLarry]

In a few weeks we are having a BBQ after church, and I was thinking about organizing a "pick-up" softball game. There will be adults and kids playing. Do they make a "safer" softball?, and if so I'm looking for a recommendation. Thanks
Larry

[Chris Counts]

For years, I've played in a wood bat softball league. A ball comes off a wood bat much slower than it does off a metal bat. We had to ban metal bats, because the ones today are so juiced, and some guys were even modifying them. We also don't allow sliding into home, and all plays at first and home are force plays without tagging, which reduces collisions.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by LuckyLarry

In a few weeks we are having a BBQ after church, and I was thinking about organizing a "pick-up" softball game. There will be adults and kids playing. Do they make a "safer" softball?, and if so I'm looking for a recommendation. Thanks
Larry

Not sure regarding actual softballs, but what about using wiffle balls instead? Guess it depends on how old/big the kids are that are going to be playing.

And for the record, the term "softball" is a misnomer. Have one take a bad hop, or come off a bat funny, resulting in your getting hit in the head, and then tell me how soft that ball really is. LOL

[NiceDocter]

When I was a kid in the 1960s we really had a softer mushy softball in gym class which could get out of shape easily when hit hard . By the time I was playing Fire Department ball 10 years later the ball was more like a giant hard baseball with all the trauma that can bring. I’m sure they still make some kind of a non regulation mushy ball somewhere…..

[robw1959]

Larry, what you need are some rag balls. I have been a P.E. teacher for nearly 20 years, and currently teach elementary kids on the Arizona border. They don't have money for gloves, and neither does my school, so I use rag balls in my P.E. program. They are the same size and weight as softballs, but are made with compressed rags which take the sting out of catching them with bare hands. However, they are not so easy to find. Try this link:

http://512-067.net/rag_ball_no_sting..._109411745.php

[steve B]

The modified pitch league and think the co-ed league I played in both used limited flight softballs. If I remember right they had blue labels instead of red or something like that. A little softer and maybe a little heavier.

I've seen some very soft ones for kids. My brother had one and hitting it any real distance was a huge challenge.

And don't forget the fun of tossing the big slugger a white painted grapefruit!

[chalupacollects]

You are looking for "Clincher " softballs. Same size as a blue or red dot ball but somewhat softer...

If some gets hold of a blue or red dot and whacks you in the knee, that's gonna leave a mark...lol

Any decent sporting goods store should have them...

[tschock]

One thing to consider doing is what we used to do. Have the men and older boys bat the opposite of how they normally do. Right-handers bat lefty, and vice versa. But that's probably a sexist assumption today.

[LuckyLarry]

Thanks for all the replies! Not sure how I proceed but I have some great ideas...
Larry

[commishbob]

Look up 16 inch or Chicago softball. The ball is soft enough that none of the players use gloves in the field. I had my high school PE classes playing it every spring and they enjoyed it. We could mix the boys and girls classes without a problem.

[earlywynnfan]

I'd like to request that you do the bat toss/knob method for choosing who bats first. Do kids even know what that is anymore??

[JollyElm]

Every time there is a movie set in Chicago (at least back in the day), they seemed to have always included a softball game scene where they are using some sort of squishy ball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LFjvkDnwZA

3 minutes in on this one, the background players are warming up...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YArFtPW98qg

(Whoops! I see Bob already mentioned the Chicago angle.)

[LuckyLarry]

Thanks for all the replies!