Playing Baseball Again

[Kevin26385]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

Any reason why they don't let 18 year olds pitch...like any reasoning behind the rule?

I have no idea

[nyisles16]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

simple.. they dont allow 18 year olds to pitch in T-ball

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

You think that's bad, I haven't played baseball since I was 7 years old (and I quit after like 10 games with only like 10 AB's), and I'm thinking about playing JV next year in my junior year of high school. I'm screwed.

[ndeezlo]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

Any reason why they don't let 18 year olds pitch...like any reasoning behind the rule?

It could be because they are legally adults, and that changes the leagues insurance or something, that's my guess.

I stopped playing baseball when i was like 13 or 14 after 8th grade I think, I was pretty bad to be honest, but I came back to the game my senior year of highschool, and amazingly enough I was much better. I played all infield positions except first (mostly third) and a little outfield, defense was fairly easy, and about halfway through the season my hitting came together. Batting cages are your friends.

[bkrich83]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

I'm only 24, but I consider picking it up every Memorial Day after my highschool alumni game. It's tough playing softball now, just throws you off...but catching my whole life till recently there's just no substitute to baseball. I'd love to get my arm healthy so I could really entertain the idea...

I really recommend it. I really enjoy it. The first year was a little rough, because I really lacked confidence, from such a long layoff, but once I got in to it and got my confidence back, it really took off for me.

[Scottdau]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

I have decided to start playing baseball again, im 16 right now and havent played since i was 12.

I was just curious if any of you have left a sport for that long and still been pretty good when you came back..

Im only worried about lead offs, i never used to do that..Batting i should be fine, considering 18 year olds cant pitch.

Thanks

Good luck! Baseball is one sport that if you take a long break, you will be in trouble! But still go for it, if you are really good you might be OK, but that is a real long shot!

[Kevin26385]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

Good luck! Baseball is one sport that if you take a long break, you will be in trouble! But still go for it, if you are really good you might be OK, but that is a real long shot!

Not to toot my own horn at all, but coaches just stopped calling me last year about rejoining the team. I played 6 years, each year I made the all star team.

My positions:
Pitcher- Pretty slow pitcher, but i had better accuracy than anyone in the league.

Shortstop- My favorite position to play.

Thats all i really did, Pitcher or Shortstop. I was never a huge hitter ( never hit a homerun) But i was actually pretty decent hitting..i just wasnt a power hitter.

I know i can compete with these guys, but obviously it will take time to get re adjusted..Im playing with the same guys when i was 12.

Im kindof curious what 17 year olds could throw..because when i was 12 we had 2 pitchers in the league who could throw 70.

[mjb2124]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

Im kindof curious what 17 year olds could throw..because when i was 12 we had 2 pitchers in the league who could throw 70.

From my personal experience:

Some 12 year olds around me were throwing 80 MPH. That was close to tops with 70 MPH being average. Most of them lived and died on a fastball and changeup. That's all they needed from that distance.

Onto 17 year olds. Everyone threw 80+ with a few throwing 90 MPH (I pitched and was throwing comfortably at 85 MPH). You'll see "drop off the table" curveballs, 2 seam fastballs with a lot of movement, sliders, sinkers and splitters. I even faced a knuckleballer at 16 - tons of movement, but he couldn't find the plate a lot of the time. He came in after we were blowing his team out.

I was right-handed and threw a 4 seam fastball (85+ mph), 2 seam fastball that tailed into a RH hitter and jammed them (80 mph), changeup(low 70's) that sunk and 12-6 curveball that dropped right off a table (mid 70's).

[mgoblue]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

I was right-handed and threw a 4 seam fastball (85+ mph), 2 seam fastball that tailed into a RH hitter and jammed them (80 mph), changeup(low 70's) that sunk and 12-6 curveball that dropped right off a table (mid 70's).

musta been fun to be versatile like that (if you were able to hit your spots)...you can really make some batters look bad if you win the mind game aspect of the pitcher/batter duel. Watching a batter expect fastball and get changeup is always fun to watch.

[mjb2124]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

musta been fun to be versatile like that (if you were able to hit your spots)...you can really make some batters look bad if you win the mind game aspect of the pitcher/batter duel. Watching a batter expect fastball and get changeup is always fun to watch.

I could hit my spots pretty well. I had a great pitching coach (friend's father) who taught me how to pitch. He played in the minors against Reggie Jackson and other guys from that era. Lots of knowledge and worked with me and his son all the time in his backyard. They had a pitching mound inside a batting cage so I was over there all the time.

My biggest downside was I wasn't physically big (5'10 155 back then) and was injured my entire Senior year of high school (car wreck that tore my MCL). So I got a scholarship to a D2 college, pitched 2 years and then decided I couldn't handle the travel and get the grades I wanted. So I hung em up.

Thought about playing in a men's league locally like BK does. I'd have to wait until next summer though because my arm and legs are in no shape to pitch again!

Anyhow, back to KEV5890. I'd recommend finding someone who pitches in the league and see if they'll pitch to you. Batting cages are nice, but more often than not, everything is straight. Having someone pitch will give you a good view of the movement to expect, rotation on different pitches and help with picking the pitch up out of the pitcher's hand.

[Kevin26385]

Re: Playing Baseball Again

Thanks for all the advice.

Its in the middle of the season, only 7 games left..So i think im going to train this summer and do it next year so i will be more prepared. I dont want to put the team in a position where they have no idea where im coming from, and they HAVE to play me. I want to be there for practice, but now its the middle of the season..so they obviously arent practicing

I have no doubt in my fielding skills, they will come back to me...I just need time on my batting.