Softball league heads south

Modified fast pitch players seek teams in Allegheny County

Thursday, March 15, 2007

By David Guo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In the world of men's softball, Mike McGrogan is a "tweener." He's too small for slow pitch, too hit-hungry for fast pitch.

That's why the Ross resident says he's perfect for modified fast pitch, making its first league appearance in Allegheny County since 1992.

Mr. McGrogan is treasurer of the Fieldhouse Mens League, which, after more than 20 years, is moving from Cabot in Winfield to the Culmerville District Sportsman Club on Saxonburg Boulevard in West Deer.

Mr. McGrogan hopes to boost the number of teams from five by tapping a new population base. "We're looking for more teams, more players," he says. "Hopefully we can get more guys who say 'hey, modified's back in Allegheny County.' "

As of Monday, he's got one new team close to joining.

He knows there's something of a base here, from the days of the North Suburban League that dissolved in 1992. The Fieldhouse league season opener is May 19. Organized in 1984, its five teams are made up of players from Butler, Armstrong, Allegheny, Lawrence, Westmoreland, and Washington counties. The league has produced nine state titles in various classifications.

Mr. McGrogan, 39, and other disciples of modified fast pitch know they have some convincing to do. Their message is that there's more to life than slow pitch, which is by far the most popular of the three types of softball.

There's only one or two fast pitch American Softball Association leagues in southwestern Pennsylvania, and about the same number of modified leagues.

Mr. McGrogan doesn't think his sales pitch should be too difficult if athletes understand why his game can be more fun and competitive.

Slow pitch is more hitter-dominated and appeals to men who can boom the ball 300 feet without trying. But there's no base stealing or bunting allowed, and Mr. McGrogan says that can take out a lot of the strategy.

Fast pitch, meanwhile, is pitcher-dominated, with hurlers whipping out 70-mph pitches that can keep the bases empty and hitters bored.

Modified fast pitch allows base stealing and bunting and can favor players like Mr. McGrogan who have some speed. But the pitchers are easier to hit than in standard fast pitch because they are not allowed the windmill windup that fuels a lot of their speed and motion.

All three versions fall under the aegis of the American Softball Association and in Western Pennsylvania, District 9 Commissioner Guy Demaio, of New Castle.

As overall commissioner, he can't play favorites. But if there were to be an edge given among equals, he just might give the nod to modified fast pitch; after all, he recently served as chairman of the national modified rules pitch committee.

While the eastern part of the state -- and Erie -- tend to be more fast pitch-friendly, he says southwestern Pennsylvania just loves high-arc, hit-it-silly, slow pitch play.

"The big guys, the big muscle men, they come up and hit it over the 300-foot fence like they were having batting practice," the commissioner says. "They couldn't run or field," he says, "so they score more runs and they're going to hit the ball over the fence more."

For those who favor small ball, such as 5-foot-9-inch, 160-pound Mr. McGrogan, "it was too easy." This is what forced modified to come about.

"For him to play slow pitch, he'd have a tremendous disadvantage because he's so small," the commissioner says.

At the other end of the highway is the version of softball that most sports fans of the '60s and '70s are familiar with, the game that Eddie Feigner built. Known as "The King and his Court," Mr. Feigner and his teams became a legend for his 100-plus mph windmill fastball.

Since the distance between the mound and home plate is shorter than in hardball, he was virtually untouchable. "He could go out to center field and strike you out," Mr. Demaio says of The King, who was still touring when he died Feb. 9 at age 81.

Nobody on a sandlot can approach that kind of speed, but Mr. Demaio says a top fast pitch ace can clock 70 mph, or 20 mph faster than what Mr. McGrogan would ever face.

"There's very, very few strikeouts in the modified game," the commissioner says, while "in fast pitch they're in double figures" with lots of 1-0, 2-1 scores.

For more information about the modified fast pitch league, visit The Fieldhouse Mens League Web site at leaguelineup.com/fieldhousemodified

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(David Guo can be reached at dguo@post-gazette.com or 724-772-0167. )