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Captain Marauder Canadian Marauding Pirate
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The 2-time World Champs, Fab three plus one
celebrate gold in St. George, Utah Oct. 18/02
Don't forget
to Pledge your financial
support!
are you wondering what
type of husband can best serve the Marauders in their quest
for
Slow Pitch Domination?
Is it through the honorable profession of softball free agent or
mercenary?
Here's a
few communiqués
from Pro-Marauder-oriented
souls who
have obviously got
the right
spirit and or mentality
for dangerously
exotic & superbly exhilarating world
championship
operations. Read of
their
zeal and try your hardest
to
be
inspired!
Senior Simpatico
Life Slowpitch News Magazine
MSPC was
featured in their July/August print issue (pg. 32) as a "top slow
pitch site". We were given 4-stars out of a possible 5. Because they
described us as, "well-designed, with lots of attention paid to
detail" we will refrain from officially punishing the Simpatico
people for neglecting to grant us the final star.
Molson Canadian Online - We were selected as the I Am Canadian Cool Slow Pitch Site of the
Week. Our reward was a mousepad. We would have
preferred a week's worth of beer. Punishment would have been rapid
(and rabid), but Captain Marauder was fond of the mousepad
and talked General Campbell out of storming the brewery to teach the
Molson people a lesson in how to properly reward the TWO-TIME WORLD
SENIOR SENIOR SLOW PITCH CHAMPION.
Looksmart Radio
(June 30, 2001)
- Captain Marauder was interviewed by the
amiable Spike 'M-Walters of Slo-Pitch-TV who was
doing a broadcast on senior slow pitch tyranny. The show's theme
that week was "Seniors on the World Wide Web as it relates to
seniors & slow pitch tyranny." Spike commented, "If we as a team
ever have to lose, I hope it's you guys who win and take us over!"
and thus earned himself and his loved ones favorable status come our
dispersion of beaver tales and spiked maple syrup. Topics of
discussion included the "12-Ornery Old Men" movie, hate MSPC mail
that couldn't be read on the radio, and challenges to MSPC bid
for future domination of senior slow
pitch. |
We do get around
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Sad News
Bruce Fulton
{ Piggy } has passed
on After some medical problems Bruce was 58 years old You will remember
Bruce as he was the pitcher for the Bulldogs who played out of South
Memorial in Vancouver
The Hitter's Checklist
What do you do when it's your turn at the plate? Do
you follow a plan? Do you have a strategy? Does that strategy change
in different situations? Or do you just get up there and try to make
contact?
I believe it's important to have a plan every time
you step up to the plate. Next time it's your turn to bat, think about
what goes on in your head.
Here's a checklist I use every time it's my turn to
hit:
 What's
the pitcher's arc like.
What's
the umpire's strike zone like.
How
is the ground in the batter's box. Usually I'll stand where I'm most
comfortable, then depending on the pitcher's pitches and the strike
zone of the umpire, I'll make adjustments from there.
What
are the elements, ie. wind and sun.
How
are the fielders positioned.
What
is the current game situation, ie. what runners are on base, what's
the score, and what is my minimum job.
What
are the tournament rules.
Some of these points you address before you step
into the box. For example, if there's a strong wind blowing in, maybe
you can't go yard; so instead try to hit hard line drives. If there is
tough sun for the fielders, always run hard. A routine fly ball to
left field could end up being a double. Look at the defensive
alignment. If one fielder is too deep, a ground ball in their
direction could end up being an easy double. Also, pay close attention
to where the strong and weak arms are in the field.
Determine what your minimum job is at the plate
depending on the current situation. It's great to hit home runs, deep
line drives etc., but let's face it; no one can do that all the time.
If there's a runner on second with none out, your minimum job is to
advance that runner to third. Likewise, with less than two outs with a
runner on third, your minimum job is to hit a deep fly ball for a
sacrifice. You get the idea. Always know what your minimum job is.
Be ready for this situation. I'm amazed how many
times I see this throughout the season: You are leading off the
inning, the pitcher delivers the ball, and one of the outfielders is
not ready. Usually, hitters may choose to take the first pitch, but in
this case it may be applicable to swing away and try to hit in the
direction of the out-of-position fielder.
So you've assessed the situation and now you step
into the batter's box. Now what are you doing? Here are some tips that
may help:
Keep
your hands loose.
Don't
be oxygen deprived. Breathe!
Try
not to squint. Open your eyes!
Get
comfortable in the batter's box.
Don't
fall into the trap of allowing the pitcher to "quick-pitch". You
control the timing. Don't be afraid to call time and step out or do
some grounds keeping to get set in the batter's box.
Don't
grit your teeth. As crazy as it sounds, relax your face.
Keep
your mouth slightly open. You'll have a greater chance of not
blinking so much.
Focus
on the ball leaving the pitcher's hand.
Between
pitches, visualize success. Tell yourself that you will
Finally,
try this technique. Are you ever nervous? When you are nervous or
outright scared, what happens is that the blood in your body
rushes inward towards your major organs. Hence, your hands and
arms may feel weak and shake. In the on-deck circle, squeeze and
release your hands on your bat. Do this several times. This will
pump more blood towards your hands so they won't feel as shaky.
(This also works while playing pool! When it's your turn to try to
sink the eight ball for that twenty dollar bet and you're nervous
as heck.)
Develop an awareness of these points next time you
do batting practice. There are a lot of points here to consider
at first. When the ball leaves the pitcher's hands, ideally you
shouldn't be "thinking". Your goal is react naturally
with the end result being that you'll apply a mechanically sound
and strong swing on the right pitches to hit in such a way that
the ball comes off your bat with the maximum speed possible.
I'm sure you've heard the statement, "in the
zone". Many times you'll make a play or produce a hit and it
seems like you were "unconscious" while doing it. That's
the mental frame of mind you want to be in all the time. The points
discussed above are checklist items you should be aware of. However,
once the pitcher starts his/her delivery, clear your mind and usually
good things will happen
win this battle.
| The ball is the
hitter's only focus! |
Need
help getting permission from your sweetie to go...Call
me!
More Velocity - More Pop - Less Denting
Excited
visitors have been to this site since April 2001.
g_masters@shaw.ca
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