Bryan and I have joined a softball and baseball club in Munich. It’s actually in Gauting, south of Munich. It’s not co-ed…I play softball and he plays baseball. When I was younger and really into softball, we literally played ALL year…Rec., Travel and then Fall Ball. It was never an issue in Florida since we could always be outdoors. Well in Germany, it’s cold, it snows and the ground freezes so we practice indoors. What I didn’t realize was that there are indoor tournaments. This was a whole new arena for me. I had no idea what to expect.
Indoor softball/baseball is not your typical ball game. It’s fast-paced and there’s a lot of action. Games are either 20 minutes or 7 innings – whichever comes first. Each team has 6 players playing at one time with open substitution. Batting orders and subbing is not really paid much attention to like it is in traditional games. The games are played in gymnasiums...about ½ - 1/3 the size of a full-sized basketball court. The infield is much shorter and in most cases a wall is a few feet behind third and short stop. “Right field” is a little bigger, typically about maybe 20 feet deep. On the wall in right field is a basketball hoop. Any ball that directly hits the backboard is an automatic homerun. The ball used is rubber and very bouncy, but the same size as a regular softball or baseball. The bases are taped to the ground and not actually raised. When scoring a run at home plate, the runner must touch the base with his/her hand. This rule is implemented to reduce the impact/collisions of the runner with a defender. You are only allowed slide head first. There is no stealing bases…I believe in baseball too.
There isn’t a tradition pitcher as there is in a standard game. The umpire tosses the ball in front of the batter as you would with soft-toss. When exchanging defense to offense, players are sprinting into position. Once the batter is at the plate, the ump can toss the ball, even if the defense isn’t in position. On the other hand, if the batter is taking too long to get up to the plate, the ump can toss the softball and if the batter isn’t there, the untouched ball is counted as a strike. Also, the automatic count is 1 strike…basically, a batter gets two strikes instead of three. You’re probably thinking to yourself, how do you strike out?? It actually happens (although never to our team J ) that a batter can swing and miss the ball. Also, if you hit two foul balls they count as strikes. Unlike traditional softball, you can strike out on a foul ball. There is another unique way to foul a ball. There is a horizontal line about 6 feet high that lines the outfield. To prevent batters from pounding the ball downward and having it bounce high into the air (remember, the ball is rubber) and making it an easy base hit...if a ball hits the ground and then rises over the outfield line, it’s a foul ball. Also, if the ball slams into the left field wall, goes untouched and then crosses over the foul line on the opposite side (first base line), the hit is considered a foul ball since it is unplayable.
If a ball is hit upwards and hits the ceiling or any other structures attached to the ceiling, it’s an automatic out. A ball hit off of a wall and caught is an out. If a ball gets stuck in an obstruction in the outfield or is overthrown and goes into the crowd or behind a structure, it’s considered a dead ball. Any runners get to advance one base automatically. Also, to end a play the ball is thrown or rolled to the ump. Once that occurs, runners can no longer advance.
I find indoor games exciting since there’s always action. Sliding is much different since you slide really far on the court. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get burned if your skin contacts the court while you’re in motion…it hurts! Sometimes there is a pad against the wall to the first base side of home plate since players can slide so far. It’s sort of fun as long as you don’t get burned…I got my hip bone last week…ouch! The downfall of indoor games is that if the defense has one bad inning, it’s hard to come back sometimes, especially late in the game. It’s very frustrating to know you’re a better team but your opponent had a few lucky hits that you didn’t have time to recover from since there are only 20 minutes in a game. It’s a very different game but I find it fun. I think it would be a great adult game to implement in the States, similar to the adult kickball leagues…light on the competition and heavy on the social aspects and Jello shots.
Speaking of Jello shots…Bryan and I found some of the events at our home tournament a little unorthodox. Our first tournament we participated in was our own, held in Gauting. There were 50+ teams that entered our tournament and 4 or 5 different divisions /age groups. The tournament was held Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was standard play to determine Sunday brackets. We were at the court for 12 hours and exhausted. However, there’s a party…?!? Over at where our outdoor fields are located there is another gymnasium with indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a restaurant attached to the gymnasium and to our surprise….a bar in the basement. Although I quit playing competitive softball when I was 14 , our coaches would have a BIG objection to partying the night before playoffs….let alone hosting the party. I mean, we had 10pm curfews. The gym was used as a huge dormitory where the visiting teams set up camp. There were air mattresses and sleeping bags set up all over the place…it looked like a refugee camp. Downstairs there is a small room consisting of a bar, a dance floor and disco ball and a DJ booth. Being a part of the home team had its advantages at the bar…too many advantages. We had originally intended to stay for a few beers, mingle a little and head home to Munich. Well, we all know how good intentions go down the drain when we’re having a good time. Sunday morning was a little rough but both of our teams placed 2nd in the tournament.
A really great perk of being a part of the Gauting team is that we both received complimentary gym memberships. It’s an all-inclusive gym membership. It’s not huge like the LA Fitness gyms at home but the equipment is all new and we really like it. It’s probably even smaller than Stayin’ Alive in PBG but way nicer. A fun challenge is that all of the weights are in kilograms and I have no idea how to properly work the cardio machines since they are in German...I just pess "quick start" and hope it works. Before noon, there is dry breakfast usually consisting of cereal, granola and oatmeal. After noon there are snacks such as veggies, fruit, crackers, cream puffs(!) and pretzels. There is a free upscale coffee machine with lattes and espressos, various flavored performance liquid to mix into your water and yogurt drinks. Downstairs there are men’s and women’s locker rooms with lockers, showers and hair dryers (one less thing to lug around). It takes us about an hour to get the gym since it’s in Gauting, so we are happy there are showers so we don't have to be stinky all the way home and are able to continue our day without first having to go all the way home to get clean. Also, we don’t have to worry about having the correct change to pay for hot water like we do at our apartment. However, the showers are communal. I’m not a big fan of being naked and showering with other people. Even at Zeta we had dividers. And Zeta was Zeta…no big deal. But the thought of showering with strangers up to the age of 70 just isn’t my cup of tea. But we’re in Europe and I guess this is all part of the experience. So I suck it up for the sake of being clean and it’s getting easier each shower.
The men’s and women’s locker rooms are on opposite sides downstairs. In between them is an open area with massage machines and rooms with tanning beds. Unfortunately for me, I rarely use tanning beds for the fear of getting skin cancer. I’m starting to get pretty pale. On the back end of the locker rooms, there is another common area accessed only through the locker rooms. There is a relaxation room with great lounge chairs that are super comfortable, two saunas and a steam room. The first time I used these facilities I went to the gym without Bryan and took advantage of being on my own schedule. My mom and I have a love for the PGA spa. PGA has great facilities including the Jacuzzi and sauna. Every time we go, I insist on keeping my bathing suit on even though we’re in female-only facilities. It’s the whole being naked in front of other people. Anyways, I walk into the sauna and there’s two ladies laying naked in the sauna. No big deal, don’t look at anything you don’t want to see and just relax. They were kind of taking up a lot of space since they were so spread out so I decided to sit upright and try to relax. I had positioned myself near the door of the sauna since I didn’t want to cause a lot of noise getting situated. The doors of the sauna happen to be glass so I was able to see out. A few moments into my “try to be relaxed state” I see a man coming towards the sauna. Oh Scheiße, the saunas are unisex! This man is going to come in here.
I was so thankful of my now strategic positioning. I quickly wrapped my towel around me and as nonchlantly as possibly walked out of the sauna like I was finished using it as the man was walking in. I was almost safe when I turn and accidentally see a 70 year old man walking stark naked from the men’s locker room. It was not a pretty sight and I’m going to leave to that subject alone. Again, I think it’s just the European way but I’m American and am just not comfortable being naked in a room with other naked men. I don’t feel it’s possible for a man sit across from or next to a woman and not steal a quick glance...awkward. And I have no interest in seeing strange mens‘ body parts.
I still want to make use of the facilities and have concluded that even if everyone thinks I’m strange, I will keep my towel tightly secure around my body while outside of the female-only areas. Even in the relaxation room, there are men that insist on lying naked. I try not to look at my surroundings too much in fear that I will see the unwanted. I knew going into this adventure that we were going to try to experience as much as the European and German culture as possible, but this is one aspect I just can’t conform to. Maybe the Europeans view Americans in a negative aspect for our cencorship and lack of openess to the human the body...but it’s the culture I was raised in and have no interest in changing my views. Literally.
Link to a slide show of the gym if it works: http://www.workout-fitness.com/Bilder_web/diashow.swf Click the 'forward' icon in the bubble on the top right.
Preseason for outdoor baseball started this weekend and softball will start in a few weeks. It’s been a fun way to exercise and be social. It’s also great to have a gym to work out at even though it’s an hour away, as we weren’t initially planning on getting memberships. It’s nice to arrive and relax with some breakfast and coffee before our workout. Then we try to relax when we have time afterwards and take advantage of the facilities. Our pace of life here has drastically slowed down and I think it’s helped keep our stress down. I don’t miss the go-go-go of work, gym, study, fit in social time, drive to Orlando/Tampa/Lake Placid/WPB. Bryan has started working at the Marriott and I’m interviewing for a full-time position in childcare or English while teaching/tutoring on a freelance basis for now. Life is still treating us well and our biggest concern is trying to find a new apartment. It looks like we’ll be here throughout the year so start saving your money if you want to visit. We can’t wait for our friends and family to visit. Although we miss them very much, we couldn’t be happier right now. J
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