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.

Monica Abbott and her 'Riseball'

A great debut for you pitching three scoreless innings on the first night against Great Britain.

Yeah it was important for us to come out and show that we are ready and make a statement. It was cool to start cos I’m usually in a relief role.

This is your 2nd year on the national team. Is there a special incentive this year because of last year’s result?

Oh yeah. Last year was a bit of a wake-up call. Just to find out that everybody is out to get us. We had to come out very quickly this year.

What’s the softball scene like in Tennessee?

It’s pretty good. Softball is really growing there and the kids really seem to love it—and they’re who is going to carry the sport in the future.

As a pitcher I’d like to ask you…are there different pitches in softball like there are in baseball?

Sure…but they’re a bit different. There’s riseballs, dropballs, change-ups, curves, screwballs and all sorts of pitches. Of course you can modify all of those to be off-speed—such as an off-speed dropball or off-speed curve.

What’s your best pitch?

I think I’d have to say the riseball. But it depends on the day. It depends on who we’re facing and what pitch would be my best option. The key thing is to understand who you’re throwing to.

Are there certain pitches that are more strenuous on the arm than others?

Probably not. If you don’t throw it right a dropball can be tough on your arm. But that pretty much goes for any pitch—if you throw it wrong you’re going to hurt yourself.

Do you consult scouting reports on all the opponents?

We do. We get them at our meetings where we go over our opponent’s tendencies. It sure helped the first night.

About July 13, 2006... from Jessica Mendoza

The World Cup has officially arrived!  There is no way to describe the feeling of playing a game on your home turf.  We always get to the field a couple hours before, do our normal routine that is similar to practice, and it really didn’t hit me until they were announcing the lineups for both teams that we were finally playing. 

As the announcer said, “And here is your team USA” the stadium erupted with cheer and chants.  Then it hit me.  This is what it’s all about.  Wearing this uniform, having USAacross your chest, taking the field and feeling and hearing the thousands of fans on your side.  I love it.  So, needless to say, there was certainly a fair amount of adrenaline and excitement pumping through my veins!   

It was also exciting to have Great Britain be a part of the World Cup.  European countries are getting stronger and stronger. The more exposure and support they get, the better it is for the sport.  Although it took us a few innings to really get going, I was happy with our team in our first game of the tournament and I am even more anxious to see how we will do against everyone else.  But as I said before, the true highlight for me has been the fans and the support our home country brings us.  Even after the game, I was surprised at how many emails and phone calls I received from those who were watching from home.  That is what makes me so proud to wear our country’s name across my chest, and gives me goose bumps every time we take the field!

First Post... from Michele Smith

First of all its really great to be back here in Oklahoma City for the World Cup. I think the excitement has grown a lot since last year and you can really feel that. Its become even more important now with the IOC decision to get rid of softball as an Olympic sport. I think last year’s World Cup came just after the decision or a week after the decision and at that point it really hadn’t sunk in yet. It was a major defeat for the sport but now we have this huge event moving the sport forward. Its exciting for me to look out on the field and see the sponsors out there like Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Nike and AT&T. Its good to see corporate America realize how big of a game softball really is. It really seems like the teams are excited this season. I have talked to the U.S. and Japan teams who are both looking for a rematch and then with Great Britain being here for the first time, there is definitely excitement in the air.

The U.S. vs. Great Britain game was my first game back on T.V. since last years little league softball world series. I still get nervous before the games but its different nerves than when I am out there pitching. There is a lot of pressure because everything is so precise. You are relying on a huge team behind the scenes. The openings for the games are the hardest because you have to coincide the graphics, video, audio etc. To prepare I really try and look over the lineups as much as possible and I also rehearse on the drive over. I will also tape the segments and watch them to see what I need to work on. I have a good friend who worked in broadcast for 20 years so I will study things and get pointers. The World Cup is kind of kicking off my duties for TV for this season. I am going to do some National Fastpitch games, the ASA Gold here in Oklahoma City and also the little league World Series of softball so the World Cup is definitely a great way to get it started. Its definitely going to be a great week of softball!