Cool Story
 

about Little League History in our local news today. :)

http://www.annarbor.com/sports/long-...live-and-well/

I love this. Sent it to my family. My 10 year old niece is going to be a powerhouse in softball (she gets it honestly: parents both great athletes) so I know my brother will love this article. Thanks! :)

They shunted the girls into softball. Can you say, "Separate but equal"? Lil Pete loved baseball, but they have different game for girls.

Well, I see what you're saying, but fast-pitch softball ain't nothing to sneeze at. Watching them pitch, underhanded and fast as hell, the glove hitting their leg with a SNAP...love it. I have a wonderful pic of my niece that my brother took. Ball just leaving her hand, perfect form, eyes so focused. Maybe I'll post it in my pics where only those on friends list can see it, because I dont' feel right posting it to everyone without permission .

What do the HS and college male baseball players do in their 30s and 40s and 50s? Play league men's softball. Slow pitch, that is. ;)

That's fascinating. When I was 8, I played in the "boys" Little League, which was by then officially for boys or girls. I had no idea the change had happened relatively few years earlier. There was softball at the time too, but I thought softball was dumb and I didn't want to play it. My dad says he warned me about the boys being mean to me because I was a girl, but I honestly don't remember his warnings, and no one ever was, at any rate. I was a terrible player, but no worse than the worst boys on the team at least.

Mom always told me: whatever you do, don't play like a girl.

I ran track so didn't play softball, but I did do some summer city training like camps.

I'm not saying it isn't athletic, but it is designed for a different body type and is a totally different game. Softball is a punchy sprinter game designed around over-coming an out-sized ball while baseball is a smoother game with longer runs and throws. Lil' Pete fits the mold for baseball, overhand delivery, and a larger diamond requiring a stronger arm and multiple gears. Her best friend pitches softball and loves the game, despite the orbital bone fracture from a line-drive last year. LP actually found the boys more enjoyable to play being much more laid-back and fun-oriented, since girls softball around here, is crazy competitive even at young ages. It just reminds me of the old separate but equal claim because they are different games. Women's sports have come a long way and she's found her niche in a sport that has both women's and combined events so its all good.

Brother had to train A to pitch underhand. She's got a mean throw either way (brother had a college ball scholarship, and coaches kids. She begs him to work with her, and he's been showing her curves and whatever else tricky things there are.) She's tall and lanky too, though, so I suspect volleyball and basketball might be in her future too. As long as they keep loving it, they'll keep playing it.