World Cup of Softball

Interview with Michele Smith Pt. II

Michele Smith is one of the greatest softball pitchers of all time. She has won countless gold medals and helped put USA Softball on the international map both with her work at the Olympics and playing abroad in Japan. This is Part II of our discussion where she talks about the future of softball and the IOC's controversial decision to drop the sport from international competition. Be sure to check out Pt. I of our conversation.

You’re right the pitching staff is young and talented with the likes of Cat Osterman, Jennie Finch, Jamie Southern, Monica Abbott, and Alicia Hollowell. And they’ve been dominant so far in this tournament but how do you think they will fare in Beijing?

It’s easy to play when you’re 14 runs up. The pressure is going to be when they have to perform in 0-0 games and when that one bad pitch can lose the game for your team. I think they can. They just have to be in that situation.

Turning to something a little less pleasant what happened with the IOC dropping softball from the Olympics?

It’s very political. I think they made a decision in July. I think they expected to make that decision for baseball and not for softball. It was a comedy of events for softball to get voted out. It just kind of happened.

Then when we appealed to have a re-vote they voted not to have the re-vote simply because they were afraid it would look bad if the sport was voted back in. so now they’re more worried about what they look like rather than doing the right thing. That’s politics. That’s terrible.

Do you think it possibly has an anti-American component to it?

Oh, I think so as well. And I think they categorize it as female baseball, but softball is a completely different sport. We’re drug-free; we’ve done a lot of great things. I mean the rest of the world has to catch up to the U.S. a little bit. We’re the benchmark. Everyone else has to keep working hard.

How can we get softball back at the Olympics?

Well, I definitely think we have to keep fighting for 2016 and if we can get one of the North American cities named as the host city I think there’s a good chance we’ll get put back onto the program.

There might need to be some changes to the game too. Nobody wants to keep watching games that are 14-0 wins.

What kinds of changes do you think those might be?

I think there’s a couple different things that could potential happen. In 2000 when the games were at 40 feet the games were exciting. Now granted they did go too long but at least they were competitive and everybody had a chance to beat us. Australia had a chance to beat us and did. Japan had a chance to beat us and did beat us. China did the same thing. That’s exciting.

That will gather fans. When it’s blowouts all the time and those other programs can’t step up to play this game it’s a little bit tougher. In the 40 feet game it was more difficult to hit no matter who you were. The thing with the 40 feet game is that they should have shrunk the strike zone. They probably should have moved back the fences, shrunk the strike zone, and make the pitchers throw it over the plate. Then you would have gotten your hits. At 43 feet the U.S. is just so dominating—it’s very difficult to shut them down. As an American I’m always happy to see then do well. As a fan of the game I want to see the sport grow. I do think we have some work to do.

What direction do you see softball going in the next 10-15 years?

Well I think it’s going to continue to be strong in the NCAA here in the U.S. My main concern is what’s going to happen to all these international programs that now don’t have International Olympic funding from their national governing bodies. Not as much Japan because there’s great corporate sponsorship.

But I worry about the Chinese teams---the Australian teams—Italy, Great Britain, and Greece. Any of the teams that were really starting to make some progress in the European countries where we have to get stronger—it’s essentially going to kill them over there. So we have to continue to grow and find a way to get back on the program.

I challenged a lot of the players on this team that it’s their job to continue to carry the torch and help grow the sport worldwide. Being strong in the U.S. isn't enough anymore. Nobody wants to watch a one-team tournament anymore.

Jamie Southern on rivalries and preparing for Canada

Finishing off a great run at Fresno State Jamie joined the U.S. National team last year and has continued to be a powerful force in the pitching staff. We spoke to her as she prepared for her game against Canada and touched on important subjects such as the future of Fresno State softball and why the 'Panthers' wear pink.

You’re pitching your first game against Canada. Are you pretty familiar with that squad from the North?

Yeah. We had a win against them in the qualifier for the Pan Am games back in November so we know themn pretty well. It will be a challenge playing them again.

What’s the key to pitching against Canada?

Keeping them off-balance. Using all my pitches. Showing them a lot of different looks. Making sure that they don’t pick up on any patterns.

Is there a good rivalry with Canada?

I think with every team you have to build those rivalries within yourself. We won the Pan Am games and I’m sure they’ll be coming here for some revenge.

You’re a proud alum of Fresno State. How do you think the Bulldogs will do next year?

I don’t know. They have a great pitcher in Robin Mackin. It’d be great if they could find some other pitchers to take the pressure off of her.

I’ve noticed there’s some friendly rivalries on the team regarding what college the players attended.

There’s a bit of that. But actually there’s more of a rivalry about what under-18 team you played for such as the ‘Bat Busters’ and the ‘Panthers.’ The other day I heard Stacy say “Who in heck would ever wear pink? Oh yeah…that was me!”

Post-Game Comments from Lovie Jung

Your grand slam home run in the 4th inning was quite a shot. It almost hit the SUV out there beyond the fence.

No it didn’t. (laughs) That’s Bruce Lee power.

What pitch were you looking for in that situation?

I was just looking for something down. My first at-bat I was a little passive and wasn’t really into my game mode just yet. Second at-bat I was looking to get a little more aggressive. Find something down in the zone and just jump on it.

Do you think you guys could have drawn up a better start to the World Cup?

Probably. (Laughs) Just kidding. Actually it’s more of a relief than anything else—knowing how much pressure we put on ourselves.

Post-Game Comments from Cat Osterman

Canada was a tough opponent. What was the gameplan tonight facing Canada?

I was just going right at people. That’s my gameplan. Just get comfortable and get an inning or two before a start. So I felt good.

Did you know you were going to pitch tonight?

I knew I was the first in the bullpen. But there was no guarantee I was going to pitch tonight.

Have they told you how much you’re going to pitch in the World Cup?

No, they just told me to be ready everyday. I’m always ready everyday so it doesn’t really matter. I think we’re clicking on all cylinders. Pitchers are getting their innings. Come the stretch we’ll be ready.

You had a lot of U-T supporters tonight. Is it good to be back in Big-12 country?

Yeah it’s nice to be back in Oklahoma. I think the fans here have seen me enough. It’s kind of a second home. Now that I’m not wearing burnt orange they don’t hate me so much. But it’s still nice to see so much burnt orange up there.

U.S. Blasts Canada 6-1

98 degrees with 85% humidity couldn’t keep 5000 people from checking out the World cup of softball between the U.S. and Canada tonight. After three innings of a scoreless stalemate the U.S. team broke out in the top of the 4th on a Lovie Jung grand slam. They later added a few more insurance runs but before you could say ‘Cat Osterman on in relief’ the U.S. team had sealed up the victory. A few things I noticed during the game:

Judging from the lines outside the gift shop it seems very clear that U.S. Softball fever has swept the OKC. (That’s what the locals call it.) I distinctly heard one stadium employee yell “We need more Jennie Finch statues! Now!”

Not only does the U.S. team have outstanding pitching—some think it’s the most talented pitching staff any national team has ever had—but great defense. Laura Berg made an outstanding play to keep the game close early and Natasha Watley made a remarkable play where she dived to retrieve the ball and then leap to touch third base before the runner could.

I will never understand the appeal of Thundersticks.

The loudest ovation of the night came when Cat Osterman walked to the mound from the dugout. I thought the Beatles had arrived judging by the sound. (Maybe they had.)

Did I mention it was 98 degrees? With humidity. That’s hot.

Tomorrow the U.S. team plays a double-dip against China and Australia. I ran into a coach of USA Softball in the hotel lobby and congratulated him on the game. He shook his head and said “Thanks…but save the congrats until after tomorrow.”

A Discussion about ASA and the World Cup of Softball

(Brian McCall is the Communications Director for the ASA. We sat down with him to talk about the organization, the U.S. National Softball team, and the upcoming World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City, OK July 13th-17th.)

So what is the ASA (American Softball Association) exactly?

The ASA is the national governing body of softball and has the largest grass roots softball program in the country. There’s a lot of other softball organizations that have formed outside of ASA at a grassroots level—running things like slow-pitch leagues. But no one has quite the reach that ASA does.

And how does the U.S. National Softball team fit in with ASA?

USA softball is under the umbrella of ASA. USA Softball as an organization focuses just on the national team. But within the national team program the coaches and athletes help develop training programs for coaches and athletes through their involvement with the national team program.

How many teams are under the ASA umbrella?

18 and under we have about eighty-thousand teams—with just under 2 million kids. We host over 20 different national championships in those divisions and all those teams have to qualify to get to those. We’re hosting the Gold National Championship in Oklahoma City for fast pitch players 18 and under. And all these players competing for the U.S. National team have come through that program.

Why Oklahoma City as the headquarters for ASA?

They looked to move the ASA offices out of New Jersey in the 60’s and it became a bid process. Oklahoma City is one of the cities that stepped up and wanted it badly. At this point we’re pretty entrenched in Oklahoma City now with the stadium we have and the support from the city. Most NGB’s (National Governing Bodies) are in Oklahoma City or Colorado Springs.

How big is the stadium in Oklahoma City?

We have a main stadium with five thousand permanent seats and three adjoining fields that have seating for about 500 each. With the support of the city there are going to be some additional renovations in the next few years to add more VIP boxes and expand the press box--because we’re running out of space for media.

And because coverage tends to improve when your media accommodations are better?

Yeah. You could say that. (Laughs.)

So how do you select players to try out for the national team?

Athletes were invited to our camp in late November/early December, and 24 players were chosen for the national training team. That designates you as one of the top 24 softball players in the country and gives you the benefits of monthly training camps as well as training stipends that can really help out. From that group of 24 we selected the group of seventeen we have now.

Of the seventeen players selected how many pitchers will be taken to the World Cup?

Typically we have four on the roster. But we have a few pitchers this year that can do more than just pitch. Amanda Freed is somebody who through the Olympic process in 2004 had really moved onto the outfield. She was an All-American pitcher at UCLA but didn’t fit that role when she first got on the team. Then during last year’s Japan Cup she was used as a pitcher. So she can pretty much do it all. We have a lot of players who provide some flexibility.

And how many games will they play during world cup?

Six. A round robin tournament in which they compete against everyone--with the top two teams playing in the finals.

That’s a lot of pitching for four players.

Actually it’s not. Alicia Hollowell who just won the NCAA championship for the University of Arizona is on the team. She went 5-1 during the Softball World Series and pitched six complete games from Thursday to Monday. And that’s just for one pitcher. So really the struggle a lot of times for us with carrying that amount of pitchers is getting enough innings for people on the roster. It’s definitely not the baseball model.

What’s the mindset of the U.S. National team going into the World Cup of Softball?

This will be an interesting year for us. The U.S. team has been ranked #1 for the last 20 years. And then last year we lost the World Cup—the 1st real international event we’ve lost in almost over a decade. I’d think there’d be an added intensity to this year’s tournament.

Who are the powerhouses—other than the U.S.—that fans can look forward to seeing at the World Cup?

Japan, China, and Australia are the biggies. Japan won the World Cup of Softball last year. China, in hosting the games in 2008 and as well as the World Championships, have been training non-stop and putting all sorts of funding toward every sport that they have. And Australia has always been strong—and have always had a pretty deep rivalry with us. Canada will always be tough but really those are the top three teams we will be facing at the World Cup of Softball.