Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 00:29:51 -0600 (CST) From: S. Calica Subject: LAFF: The Annual Softball Season Announcement Crazy as it may sound, there are *four* dates for this year. I don't expect everyone to show up to all of them, but my hope is to see the regular players at three of them and some new faces to show up to more than one. So you have *no* idea what I'm talking about? Read the details below, then! WHAT: LAFF Softball! and Picnic WHERE: Victory Park, Waukegan, IL This park has been good to us in the past for our games, though there are no good 'picnicking' spots. Belvidere Park, Waukegan, IL While we've only played one game at this venue, it has the most public grills and lots of benches for the post-game social gathering (NOTE: these locations have been chosen as the most centrally accessible to the majority of interested players and are not subject to change without an overwhelming outcry of dissent from other interested players) WHEN: Game 1- Saturday April 27th Game 2- Saturday June 1st Game 3- Saturday July 6th Game 4- Saturday August 3rd All times are 12:00pm Central (that's high noon, folks!) If you show up late, we'll fit you into whatever position we can... and that includes the umpire job! Rain contingencies are still in development. WHO: A minimum of 14 players (7 per team: 2 outfielders, 3 basemen, 1 catcher, 1 pitcher) is requested to *commit* to playing in the game. RANT: Having fun relieves stress. Playing a game with other people who are having fun relieves great amounts of stress. Organizing events causes stress. People who back out at the last minute on their commitments to events causes great amounts of stress. Too much stress leads to unhappiness. Too much unhappiness leads to resignation. And resignation leads to no more events. The point? If you're not serious about having fun, don't commit to a game. This includes those who might have a "condition" or "things that come up". HOW: Either email me off-list or reply to this message (just *don't* copy this entire message in your reply!) with the game date you wish to sign up for. The signup deadline for each game is one week prior to the game date. At that time, if the minimum number of players have committed to playing then each person who has signed up will receive an email reminder and a list of the other players who have also signed up (along with some collected stats). Otherwise, an unofficial softball hit-around will replace the game. RULES: Game is six innings, with a break after four. Approximate game length runs from 2h45 to 4h30. Three outs per team per inning. Balls are not counted until the sixth pitch to a batter. Strikes may be counted starting with the first pitch to a batter. Foul balls or "bunts" that do not go at least five feet are strikes. On strike two, only three foul balls/bad bunts are allowed before strike three is called. Three strikes constitutes an out. Four balls constitutes a walk. Walking in a run constitutes a "grand walk" which is automatically the third out for the batting team but also adds 3 to their score. If a team goes through their entire roster in an inning and have zero or one outs, they will be bumped to two outs automatically. NOTES: Sunburn is always a threat. Each individual is responsible for their own protection; there is no guarantee that there will be a "public" bottle of sunblock available at the game or picnic. Supplies are scarce. Softballs are quite firm and can be very painful to catch without a glove. A lot of people had to borrow or share mitts with others, but there's no guarantee that there'll be one available for you at the game. Same goes with bats and balls, but those are less of a player-related nature. A lot of players end up sore after the game, mostly from overexertion of a body that probably doesn't exercise enough (no offense intended). Make sure to get enough sleep the night before, eat light before arriving, and bring plenty of liquid refreshments (water and Gatorade are good choices, Faygo is not) for consumption during the game. Socializing costs money. A minimum contribution of $5 per player is requested for the grocery run for the picnic. If you'd rather contribute meat, cheeses, breads, and/or drinks, make sure they are stored properly during the duration of the game. Once the game is over, we will caravan over to the picnic site to relax and tally up game stats and honorary awards. EMAIL: stpat@interaccess.com with signups, questions, comments, or anything else softball related :-) -- Steven Patrick Calica | Stefan Edmund Calico stpat@interaccess.com | stefan_calico@furtoonia.net Vice-Chair of Operations | Elder Wizard of Idling Midwest FurFest 2001, 2002 | FurToonia MUCK 1994-present "[Being furry] is to reach out and embrace the unknown; to be surrounded by friends, yet still be alone." --Redlouts