Softball: Throwing like a girl

Softball season is underway and girls everywhere are out there practicing their skills. So you probably know that if you’ve ever been told “You throw like a girl,” it means your throw kinda sucks.

The “girl throw” refers to a wimpy style a lot of girls seem to have. Girls often face the target with their forearm cocked back and the ball in their upturned palm. Then they throw with just the arm (rather than the whole body). The action is usually limited to a quick extension of the forearm. Essentially, girls tend to “push” the ball rather than hurl it.

Well, before we go any further – let’s get one thing straight. Girls can throw. In fact, many girls can throw harder and faster than a lot of guys. Softball players like Jennie Finch can pitch a ball close to 90 miles per hour.

Some people think the reason for the “girl throw” is based on physical differences between guys and girls. Not. If you ask an orthopedist, an anatomist, or a coach of a women’s softball team, they’ll tell you that there is no anatomical reason why boys and girls throw differently.

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Natalie Gulbis throws out first pitch at A’s game

We’ve written about a lot of ladies throwing out the first pitch this baseball season.  LA Sol Soccer player Marta,  golfer Michelle Wie,  and Sparks players Delisha Milton Jones and Tina Thompson graced the blue carpet by throwing out the first pitch at a Dodger Game.  Serena Williams showed up to toss the pitch out at a recent Yankees game while  Jackie Joyner Kersee and Cammi Granato had the honors at a pair of Chicago games. And tonight, golfer Natalie Gulbis threw out the first pitch at an Oakland Athletics game.

So that got us thinking? What’s the story behind the ceremonial first ball? According to Wikipedia, the first pitch is a longstanding ritual of American baseball in which a guest of honor (dignitary, celebrity, former player, etc.) throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from his/her place in the grandstand to the pitcher or catcher of the home team. At some point, this morphed into the guest standing in front of the pitcher’s mound and throwing towards (but rarely reaching) home plate, though sometimes he or she may stand on the mound (as a pitcher would). The recipient  is usually a player from the home team.

Tonight’s pitch looks like a fast curve ball.  You throw, girl.

Golfer Michelle Wie throws out the first pitch

On Saturday, August 8th, golfer Michelle Wie threw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium when the Los Angeles Dodgers played the Atlanta Braves.

Before taking the mound, 19-year old Michelle took part in a putting contest against Los Angeles Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton in the dugout!

She said she was having a great time this year on the LPGA tour as a rookie, and was honored to be selected to the US Solheim Cup team.

Check out more pictures from the day.

Japan’s first female professional baseball player makes debut

Japan’s first female professional baseball player made her debut Friday, striking out one batter in the ninth inning.

Eri Yoshida, a 17-year-old who throws a sidearm knuckleball, took the mound during Kobe 9 Cruise’s 5-0 season-opening win over the Osaka Gold Villicanes in the newly formed Kansai Independent League.

The 5-foot, 114-pounder walked the first batter leading off the inning on four pitches and allowed a stolen base before striking out the next batter swinging at Osaka Dome. She was then replaced after facing two batters.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything other than just going out there and giving it my all,” said Yoshida, who is hoping to stick with the Kobe team. “I think this was a bad result but the stadium is great and the fans were really cheering me on. I want to be able to pitch more innings and become a pitcher who can be relied upon.”

Yoshida created a stir when she signed a contract in December. Some speculated the move was more of a publicity stunt to generate interest in the new league. There were 11,592 fans in the 45,000-seat stadium Friday.

Yoshida started playing baseball when she was in second grade and hopes to emulate Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

Until now, no woman had played against men in Japan. A women’s professional baseball federation was established in 1950 but it stopped after two seasons.

The Cruise and the other three teams in the Kansai league are similar to American farm teams but still a huge step forward for this teen, who is making her pitch for the pros.

You throw, girl!

(via AP)

March Madness: Basketball Jokes

Q: What do basketball players and babies have in common?
A: They both dribble!

Q: What’s harder to catch the faster you run?
A: Your breath!

Q: Why do basketball players love cookies?
A: Because they can dunk them!

Q: Why should you not play sports in the jungle?
A: There are too many cheetahs!

Q: What’s the difference between a dog and a basketball player?
A: One drools and the other dribbles.

Q: Why was Cinderella such a bad player?
A: Her coach was a pumpkin.

Japanese pro team signs 16-year-old female pitcher

November 17, 2008 – The Japanese are always on the cutting edge and this time they’re making headlines by signing the first woman to play pro ball in Japan.

Sixteen year old high school student Eri Yoshida was drafted by the Kobe 9 Cruise, a pro team in the Kansai Independent League that will launch in April.

With a side-armed knuckleball in her arsenal, Yoshida took part in a tryout held earlier this month and passed with flying colors. She threw a hitless inning against male batters during a tryout this month and was among 33 players picked in the draft.

“I always dreamed of becoming a professional,” Yoshida told a news conference Monday. “I have only just been picked by the team and haven’t achieved anything yet.”

At five feet, 114 pounds, Yoshida says her inspiration is fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox.

A female professional baseball federation existed for a few years in the 1950s, but Yoshida will become Japan’s first-ever woman to play alongside professional male players.

No doubt we’ll be hearing much more about this young phenom in the future.

A League of Their Own

Have a listen to Diana Nyad for KCRW’s The Score.

In this segment, Nyad recounts the Women’s Sports Foundation recent celebration of the great female athletes who served as the inspiration for Penny Marshall’s 1992 film A League of Their Own. The tribute sounds like it was heartfelt and even a few tears were shed.  But wait…there’s no crying in baseball. 

Babe Ruth’s daughter tosses out first pitch at final Yankee Stadium game

September 22, 2008 – I’m not a huge baseball fan but I am a fan of sports history and trivia so my interest was piqued when New York’s iconic Yankee Stadium staged its final game on Sunday to end 85 years of history.

Julia Ruth Stevens (92), daughter of legendary slugger Babe Ruth, tossed out the ceremonial first pitch in front of 54,000 nostalgic fans. Ruth hit the first home run on the stadium’s opening day in 1923

“I’m very sad to see Yankee Stadium will not be in existence any longer,” she told reporters. “I will always have memories of my father hitting towering home runs into the grandstands. He was very honored that the writers nicknamed it ‘The House that Ruth Built.”‘

According to MLB.com

Ruth Stevens still has memories of her father slamming long home runs, starting with 1927 in Yankee Stadium. And even though it’s terrible to think the ballpark has reached its final days, she understands that this moment had to come at some point.

While it was fitting for the daughter of the greatest player in franchise history to open the final game in the house her father “built,” Ruth Stevens knew the Babe would have been amused by the sight of the ball falling well short of the catcher’s glove.

When it was completed in 1923, the Bronx landmark, Yankee Stadium, cost a whopping $2.5 million.  The new Yankee Stadium, to be built across the street, is estimated to cost  1.3 billion dollars!

RIP Yankee Stadium. 

The Greatest Catch

June 28, 2008 – By way of my basketball buddy, Judy Naz, comes this great viral video. With over 2 million YouTube views, the girl in this clip has created quite a buzz. Is it real? Clue: Note the bottle of Gatorade in the last shot.

Pitcher Lisa Fernandez, 3-time gold medalist, left off US Olympic team roster

March 31, 2008 – One of our favorite all-time softball players, 3-time Olympic champion Lisa Fernandez, has been left off the U.S. team’s final 15-player roster for the Beijing Games.

It’s really a shame since at the 2004 Games she lead in batting average and was the winning pitcher. Having followed her career since her days at UCLA, it sure feels like the end of an era.  Looks like the time off she took to start a family,  coupled with her age (37) were too big a challenge to overcome in a comeback.

National team coach Mike Candrea kept three pitchers on the roster: returning gold medalists Jennie Finch and Cat Osterman, as well as first-time Olympian Monica Abbott. The U.S. team had its 185-game winning streak in pre-Olympic exhibitions snapped last week, when the Americans were beaten by Virginia Tech. Just hope that’s a glitch and not indicative of future performances.

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