Softball At Southmoore, and Other Delights

Last night I was supposed to be calling a JV doubleheader at Southmoore. It didn't work out, because the other team (Edmond North, in this case) thought the games were tomorrow. And so I got a rare no-games-but-I-still-get-paid scenario; if we are scheduled and show up for scheduled games that fall through for any reason, we still get some money. Sometimes it's less, maybe only one game's pay instead of two, but still not too bad. This never happens with varsity, but it happens from time to time with sub-varsity, since no one cares near as much about those games. Scheduling mishaps occur all the time; in fact, this is the third time this has happened for me this season.

So, since there was a varsity softball game going on at the adjacent softball field, and since 30+-year veteran official, the legendary David Gore* (who also happens to be one of my assigners for both baseball and football), was working those games, I stuck around to watch and chat with David between innings.


What was doubly interesting, as you can see from the above photo, is that this was not fast-pitch softball, but SLOW-PITCH softball. David is behind the plate for this one; notice he wears no protective gear, as it's not really needed as it is in fast-pitch and in baseball. Also, notice the ball on its way to the plate, WAY up in the air. Colleges and most states go with fast-pitch softball as the only version, and they play it in the spring. In Oklahoma, extracurricular fast-pitch is played in the fall (as well as fall baseball), and extracurricular slow-pitch and non-scholastic fast-pitch is played in the spring. Oklahoma maintains OSSAA-sanctioned slow-pitch primarily for the many small schools that have played it since the middle of last century.

I've heard a great deal about softball, as many veteran (read that, older and not as physically agile as they used to be) baseball umpires are moving to softball because there's a lot less movement, and they still get to work in the spring. Besides, many have told me, to quote, "it's almost stealing!" Apparently, games take about half as long as with baseball, and you run a lot less because the field's so small. Most importantly, NO ONE EVER ARGUES. This point has been reiterated to me many times by the vets I've worked with, precisely because arguments of all kinds are so common in baseball. To illustrate, as I watched the first game, the visiting coach asked where a pitch was, and I jokingly thought, "and he didn't throw her out??"

David told me he almost never works softball and only took the game as a favor to one of the other assigners. As a final demonstrator of why it's becoming preferred, in his words, "the biggest danger is falling asleep."

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While pulling these out, I found some other pics that I had taken but neglected to post, even though I fully intended to. So let's go ahead and get them up!

Here's a visit I made to Lexington, OK, a couple of weeks ago. We changed in the coach's office upstairs next to the "press box". Not a bad affair, though I am frankly leery of changing in an area frequented by coaches. (I'd hate to have to change there, on the off-chance I have thrown one of them out.)


Here's look out onto the field from said press box. The glass is heavily tinted so it appears much darker than it actually was that day.


The last is a rare treat, because it was a shot I got as the result of a mistake. The place: Westmoore High School. The mistake: I walked out onto the field and realized that my cell phone was still in my pocket. It was a single game, with me working in the field, so no harm done, really. But it did give me the opportunity to actually get a shot during the game. Note that nothing very interesting or important is happening here; I'm not dumb enough to try to take a picture with my cell phone while actually making a call, or even while the ball is in play. This shot was taken between innings, from my normal position down the right-field line, about 15 feet behind first base.


Maybe one day I'll invest in one of those little flash-based wearable head-cams, and I'll take some video while actually working. THAT would be fun.

* I say "legendary," because David has been involved with Oklahoma sports, mostly at the high school level but also some at the college level, for over 30 years. He was the athletic director for Norman Public Schools for many years, is the regular official scorer for University of Oklahoma men's and women's home basketball games, and has officiated football and baseball at every level up to college in his time. He is the official Technical Advisor for Football for the Oklahoma City Metro Officials' Association, and is widely acknowledged as one of the best veteran officials in the state. (Not that there aren't others, because there are; David is just one of them.)