Lack of effort

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

May 29, 2019
269
63
Lol...this is often true for those who should know better. For those who've never fielded a ball in a competitive game, some eye calibration and experience is required. One of the better ways to gauge is to watch a D1 college softball game. You'll see plenty of things scored as hits that one would think were errors.

I'm not quick to assign an error at all, but if a routine grounder rolls by within a step, or a lazy fly ball falls where it should have been easily caught, it's not a hard call.
That's why I HATE it when someone asks "but did it touch their glove?" That is NOT the litmus test for scoring an error, but parents seem to think it is. SMDH
 
Jun 20, 2015
848
93
worse are the easy fly balls that drop ruled hits versus the screaming liner that CF is hauling for and it ticks off her glove and gets ruled an error. Ordinary effort is often lost by the GC or book operator.

And in another point, if a throw from any fielder to 1b is in the dirt, it's an error on the thrower, not 1B. Regardless of how 'pickable' scorer feels the ball was. Or who's kid threw the ball!!! Watched a game recently and 1B was credited with like 5 errors due to the coach's favorite minion at 3b having a hard time hitting a barn from the inside, with her throws.
 
Dec 5, 2017
514
63
Just to be clear, this scenario is not on our team. She's on a former team that we still watch when we can.
 
Apr 11, 2016
133
28
One player on DD's team who plays OF routinely stands and watches the ball drop in front of her, then runs up to the ball and casually scoops it up.

DD played CF once where a ball hit closer to RF, yet she ran as fast as she could and got there before RF, dove, and the ball hit a corner of her glove. Coach told me to score that as an error, despite I said by rule, the scorer (me) had the right to judge it, not him. I've been doing GC for them for 2 years, so I know what I was talking about.

Coach said no, it's an error for DD. I turned off my phone. I'll let him think I changed that play but didn't DD stopped trying so hard afterward.

That day, watching MLB baseball, a ball hit an OF's glove but he didn't catch it, after he made a great attempt at it. No error was given.



One of the many reasons DD has to leave.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
I have wondered about this for awhile and the post below prompted me to go ahead and ask. If a player doesn't attempt to make a play on a ball that is obviously theirs, no one else can get it first, is that an error? Example: ground ball to 3rd that requires nothing more than a pivot and forehand catch. I don't mean a rocket, just a normal ground ball. I know that ss covers a lot of ground and might get to it but lets say they can't get to it and the runner is safe.

It's not an error. Errors are a flawed stat, and one shouldn't expect them to encompass every possible instance of bad defense. Lots of stuff doesn't show up in the box score, but there's no reason why coaches can't separately track plays that should've been made. I tend to mark my scorebook to denote the hits that, technically, are base hits but still should've been outs. I'm a lot harsher on these judgments than I am on actual errors, too.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
It's not an error. Errors are a flawed stat, and one shouldn't expect them to encompass every possible instance of bad defense. Lots of stuff doesn't show up in the box score, but there's no reason why coaches can't separately track plays that should've been made. I tend to mark my scorebook to denote the hits that, technically, are base hits but still should've been outs. I'm a lot harsher on these judgments than I am on actual errors, too.

I always carried a line up card. Not only does that allow me to keep track of the order and know who I have still available, but it also gives me a spot to make simple small notes during the game. I make brief notes of any positive or negative play that may not be readily apparent when reviewing the official book. Consider it a compliment to the book.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,468
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top