Maggie's Farm

I have another category that I am sure they didn't study very thoroughly. When I was in my 20s and 30s, I played for and eventually coached a pretty good men's slowpitch softball team. When friends and acquaintances found out I could put them on a good team, they inevitably told me they were great players. Then when they got to the field, they almost never knew which hand to put the glove on, much less the subtle things that separate really good players from novices.

It only took one or two dismal failures for me to change the way I responded to their desire to play. From then on, I would say "come out and practice with us. We will see what you've got."

Typically it wasn't much when they sold themselves as the next Babe Ruth. Conversely, the guys I really wanted to play were usually not as into it as I was. Makes sense. If you are great at what you do, why do it any more? Find a new challenge like learning to play guitar.

FWIW, it didn't take long for average athletes to learn how to hit in slowpitch. Fastpitch is tougher than baseball to most people, but slowpitch is all about timing and angles. An old college roommate wanted to play on our team in college but he had no baseball background and was PUTRID at every aspect of the game. He hung out at the fields every night, picking up games whenever any team was short handed. Within three months he was a very good player who was right at home on a good team.