Can of Corn Challenge: Swing and a miss (May)

Even Mighty Casey did it.

Baseball is a funny sport. So is softball, for that matter. If you break it down to its simplest terms, baseball can be explained quite easily.

Somebody throws a small round object at you and you are trying to hit it with a stick. It could come at high velocity, or slower and moving all over the place. If you should happen to hit the ball, the idea is for somebody else to catch it and get you out, either by catching it in the air, or by throwing the ball to another person to get you out.

Simple.

Or is it?

Strikeouts are a way to for pitchers to, sometimes, show some dominance. The idea, of course, is for batters to swing and miss … and then pitchers know they’ve done an excellent job.

Strikeouts come at all levels of baseball. I remember many of mine, be it in baseball or softball. I always prided myself on behind a good hitter and being able to make contract. Still, strikeouts happen — and often it’s a swing and a miss that gets you.

Think about this — the top 10 pitchers in MLB history have combined for 40,726 strikeouts. Let that sit in for a bit. That’s a ton of strikeouts and, most likely, a lot of those have a lot of swing and misses.

I’ve played softball for more than 25 years. That’s a long time to play modified pitch softball. Yes, I’ve struck out. I even remember a few games where I struck out more than once.

It’s all part of the game.

As much frustration a batter gets when he or she swings and misses, remember that more often than not, batters make contact with the ball. So think of the frustration a pitcher must feel!

Back to Mighty Casey, though. Let me leave you with this YouTube video of James Earl Jones reading the famous story of Mighty Casey.

If you are taking part in this month’s Can of Corn Challenge, link up below and visit any others who might be doing the same! You can see the remainder of the themes for this summer (and join us in any that you would like) by clicking here.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!