"Losing pitcher"

[Smallpotatoes]

I received an e-mail tonight from a reader who was bothered to one of my stringers referring to a player in a high school softball game as "the losing pitcher."
The reader was not the pitcher's parent, though I'd be willing to bet the pitcher's parent may have gotten that reader to send the e-mail because she thought it would have more credibility coming from a third party.
Rather than getting into an e-mail pissing contest, I let the reader know she could call me.
Should the reader call does this sound like a good explanation: "The term 'losing pitcher' is a stat in the game and not a pejorative. I trust my writers' judgement about what facts to include in their work. If a reader concludes that the player in question is a bad pitcher, it's unfortunate, but that was not what was said in the story."

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Please tell her that the term "losing pitcher" is very clearly defined in the rules of softball (Rule 12.7):<blockquote><b>Sec. 7. PITCHER CHARGED WITH A LOSS.</b>
A pitcher shall be charged with a loss, regardless of the number of innings he has pitched, if he is replaced when his team is behind in the score and his team thereafter fails to tie the score, or gain the lead.</blockquote>If she gets argumentative, point out that she can download the rules from the Internet. Thank her for her time and for returning your call.

 

[tagline]

"The term 'losing pitcher' is a stat in the game."

I think you could stop there.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

"The term 'losing pitcher' is a stat in the game."

I think you could stop there.

Given the mindset at hand ... nope. "Well, how can that be an official statistic?!?"

I've had this conversation. The only way to shut them down is to tell them where they can find it in the rulebook.

 

[zebracoy]

Holy goodness. Are some people really that thick?

 

[BillySixty]

I agree that losing pitcher is the proper stat.

However, I think there needs to be some caution when pointing out the losing pitcher, especially in roundups. Often times the pitcher on a softball team is the best player, especially if the team is horrible. If you have a team that goes 2-18 or whatever, and the only noteworth statistic worth pointing out from the losing team is the losing pitcher, such as "Jane Doe walked eight in a losing effort for Bumble****" or plainly "Jane Doe took the loss for Bumble****." Call me a wuss, but I think you need some sensitivity there. Poor kid is having her name in the paper every day in a somewhat negative way (in a losing effort, took the loss, etc.), when chances are she's the only good thing the team has going for it and more often than not was not the reason the team loss. I actually had a softball player ask me one time why she was always the one "blamed" for the loss. I explained the reasoning behind it, that she wasn't being blamed for the loss.

But the more I thought about it, you can just name that Jane Doe struck out seven and walked three in five innings for Bumble**** without saying she was charged with the loss, or picked up the loss, or did so in a losing effort and not lose anything from the roundup or story.

Just my two cents. Not saying that losing pitcher is wrong. Not at all.

 

[Fredrick]

Yep, just go by the rulebook. No need to discuss it much further. "No offense to the pitcher, but that's what he's called in the rulebook, maam."

 

[shotglass]

Quote verse and letter, and she can have no problem with you. Unless she's dense. And then she's dense.

 

[zebracoy]

I agree that losing pitcher is the proper stat.

However, I think there needs to be some caution when pointing out the losing pitcher, especially in roundups. Often times the pitcher on a softball team is the best player, especially if the team is horrible. If you have a team that goes 2-18 or whatever, and the only noteworth statistic worth pointing out from the losing team is the losing pitcher, such as "Jane Doe walked eight in a losing effort for Bumble****" or plainly "Jane Doe took the loss for Bumble****." Call me a wuss, but I think you need some sensitivity there. Poor kid is having her name in the paper every day in a somewhat negative way (in a losing effort, took the loss, etc.), when chances are she's the only good thing the team has going for it and more often than not was not the reason the team loss. I actually had a softball player ask me one time why she was always the one "blamed" for the loss. I explained the reasoning behind it, that she wasn't being blamed for the loss.

But the more I thought about it, you can just name that Jane Doe struck out seven and walked three in five innings for Bumble**** without saying she was charged with the loss, or picked up the loss, or did so in a losing effort and not lose anything from the roundup or story.

Just my two cents. Not saying that losing pitcher is wrong. Not at all.

No. There's a winning pitcher and a losing pitcher. It's a stat; it's not about self-esteem. A variation of the advice my parents and coaches always told in me: If you're not happy about your performance, do something about it.

If the girl is the best player on a 2-18 softball team, not only does she probably know it, she should try to do a little more next time.

 

[spnited]

I agree that losing pitcher is the proper stat.

However, I think there needs to be some caution when pointing out the losing pitcher, especially in roundups. Often times the pitcher on a softball team is the best player, especially if the team is horrible. If you have a team that goes 2-18 or whatever, and the only noteworth statistic worth pointing out from the losing team is the losing pitcher, such as "Jane Doe walked eight in a losing effort for Bumble****" or plainly "Jane Doe took the loss for Bumble****." Call me a wuss, but I think you need some sensitivity there. Poor kid is having her name in the paper every day in a somewhat negative way (in a losing effort, took the loss, etc.), when chances are she's the only good thing the team has going for it and more often than not was not the reason the team loss. I actually had a softball player ask me one time why she was always the one "blamed" for the loss. I explained the reasoning behind it, that she wasn't being blamed for the loss.

But the more I thought about it, you can just name that Jane Doe struck out seven and walked three in five innings for Bumble**** without saying she was charged with the loss, or picked up the loss, or did so in a losing effort and not lose anything from the roundup or story.

Just my two cents. Not saying that losing pitcher is wrong. Not at all.

Hate to tell you this, Billy, but using the term "losing effort" is a lot worse than saying someone was the losing pitcher.
"Losing effort" should never be used as far as I'm concerned because it implies the team/player didn't make enough of an effort to win when in fact, they probably did give their best effort but just weren't good enough.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

The e-mail included the obligatory "this is not the pros."
That's true, but it's not t-ball, either.
For whatever it's worth, the kids on a varsity team in a sport like softball are the best athletes in the community. They started playing the game several years before they got to high school and were good enough to stay with it and earn a spot on a varsity team while their less athletically gifted peers were weeded out.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

The e-mail included the obligatory "this is not the pros."
That's true, but it's not t-ball, either.
For whatever it's worth, the kids on a varsity team in a sport like softball are the best athletes in the community. They started playing the game several years before they got to high school and were good enough to stay with it and earn a spot on a varsity team while their less athletically gifted peers were weeded out.

Honestly ... you'd have been better off just deleting the e-mail.

 

[BillySixty]

I agree that losing pitcher is the proper stat.

However, I think there needs to be some caution when pointing out the losing pitcher, especially in roundups. Often times the pitcher on a softball team is the best player, especially if the team is horrible. If you have a team that goes 2-18 or whatever, and the only noteworth statistic worth pointing out from the losing team is the losing pitcher, such as "Jane Doe walked eight in a losing effort for Bumble****" or plainly "Jane Doe took the loss for Bumble****." Call me a wuss, but I think you need some sensitivity there. Poor kid is having her name in the paper every day in a somewhat negative way (in a losing effort, took the loss, etc.), when chances are she's the only good thing the team has going for it and more often than not was not the reason the team loss. I actually had a softball player ask me one time why she was always the one "blamed" for the loss. I explained the reasoning behind it, that she wasn't being blamed for the loss.

But the more I thought about it, you can just name that Jane Doe struck out seven and walked three in five innings for Bumble**** without saying she was charged with the loss, or picked up the loss, or did so in a losing effort and not lose anything from the roundup or story.

Just my two cents. Not saying that losing pitcher is wrong. Not at all.

Hate to tell you this, Billy, but using the term "losing effort" is a lot worse than saying someone was the losing pitcher.
"Losing effort" should never be used as far as I'm concerned because it implies the team/player didn't make enough of an effort to win when in fact, they probably did give their best effort but just weren't good enough.

That's what I mean. I don't use "losing effort" or word the sentence in that manner. But I see that all the time in roundups, probably because the scoretaker or whomever is writing it is tired of losing the phrase "was the losing pitcher." That's why I think there needs to be some sensitivity.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

"Suzie Cantpitch (0-34,354)  gave up 10 hits and six runs in the top of the first inning."

Saves the "losing pitcher" phrase and spells out the losing effort without bludgeoning people with detail.

Also gets complaints:

"Did you have to spell that out like that?"
"Yes, ma'am. The reader is owed a fair explanation of why the team lost."
"You hurt her feelings writing that!"
"Actually, giving up the 10 hits and six runs in the top of the first hurt her feelings a lot worse. In fact, she told me that when I talked to her after the game."
"Well, you should never have asked her about that!"
"Asked her? Ma'am, she walked up to me after the game after I interviewed her coach and said, 'I stunk, I let my team down and I want to apologize to my teammates for that.'"
"«speechless»"

At one point in my life, I was surprised at how many sports parents are WAGs. I got over it.

 

[shotglass]

The e-mail included the obligatory "this is not the pros."
That's true, but it's not t-ball, either.
For whatever it's worth, the kids on a varsity team in a sport like softball are the best athletes in the community. They started playing the game several years before they got to high school and were good enough to stay with it and earn a spot on a varsity team while their less athletically gifted peers were weeded out.

Honestly ... you'd have been better off just deleting the e-mail.

The best answer. No matter how badly you want to, sp, you are never going to satisfy everyone. And you've got to stop beating yourself up because you can't.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

The e-mail included the obligatory "this is not the pros."
That's true, but it's not t-ball, either.
For whatever it's worth, the kids on a varsity team in a sport like softball are the best athletes in the community. They started playing the game several years before they got to high school and were good enough to stay with it and earn a spot on a varsity team while their less athletically gifted peers were weeded out.

Honestly ... you'd have been better off just deleting the e-mail.

I don't think I had a choice. The e-mail was not sent directly to me. It was forwarded to me by the news editor. While the news editor is not my supervisor, many readers seem to think she is. Therefore, I had to deal with it. Otherwise, the reader probably would have gone above the news editor to my real supervisor.

 

[write then drink]

The e-mail included the obligatory "this is not the pros."
That's true, but it's not t-ball, either.
For whatever it's worth, the kids on a varsity team in a sport like softball are the best athletes in the community. They started playing the game several years before they got to high school and were good enough to stay with it and earn a spot on a varsity team while their less athletically gifted peers were weeded out.

Honestly ... you'd have been better off just deleting the e-mail.

The best answer. No matter how badly you want to, sp, you are never going to satisfy everyone. And you've got to stop beating yourself up because you can't.

i kind of disagree

i think, considering how valuable our few remaining readers are, we should return all emails, no matter how stupid they are.

as long as they don't use profanity, i return all of 'em. can't hurt

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Immediately change it to "Pitcher whose fault it really wasn't."

PWFIRW.

 

[Mark2010]

The e-mail included the obligatory "this is not the pros."
That's true, but it's not t-ball, either.
For whatever it's worth, the kids on a varsity team in a sport like softball are the best athletes in the community. They started playing the game several years before they got to high school and were good enough to stay with it and earn a spot on a varsity team while their less athletically gifted peers were weeded out.

I had just had this conversation with an AD who was critical of one of my stories about a league championship softball team that has totally gone in the ****ter. Had plenty of facts and stats to back up my work,too.

Unlike baseball, in softball the same pitcher may well pitch most all of the games. So if the team stinks, her record is probably going to stink, as well. At least in baseball, the losses get spread out sometimes.

 

[anotherjrcsurvivor]

They had losing pitchers when "The Greatest Generation" played the game.
We have losing pitchers today.
Just explain it's an official statistic.
No need to apologize.
No need to shield the kid, or any kid.
It's a life lesson: leave the mound (or circle in softball) with your team behind and it stays behind, you get L_Smith (1-4) in the boxscore/linescore.
If that's too tough to take, the kid should play video games.