Amateur hour softball in Portland
In a previous “Between the Horns” article, I lamented the absence of baseball in Portland. Having a deep connection with the issue, I wanted to spread the article beyond Portland State’s campus, so I decided to link the online version of the article on Reddit. I didn’t get too many comments, but one Redditor did point me in the direction of Underdog Sports Leagues—an adult, co-ed sports league that caters to bowling, flag football and, most importantly, softball.
Perhaps the commenter interpreted my article as a cry for any kind of baseball-related activity, even if it was amateur. After browsing Underdog’s softball page, weighing my options and looking at pictures, I realized that the commenter was right on the money.
Before the first matchup, I got some pre-game butterflies. I thought to myself: What if these people are amazing? I haven’t played any kind of baseball since middle school! To pump myself up, I bought new batting gloves and a new mitt, but even after modeling the new look in the mirror I was still a bit nervous. So I went to the only batting cages in Portland, which are in Montavilla. The sign read: Batting Cages/Liquidators. Portland really isn’t a baseball town. After hitting a few balls, I felt a bit more ready for the first game, which was held the following day in Montavilla Park. I walked into my new team’s dugout and was relieved when the team captain asked, “Would you like an Otter Pop or a Capri Sun?”
Underdog manages a number of softball leagues as six-week programs, with seven games played throughout the six weeks. The leagues are organized by the day of the week that each game is played (one day in the program is usually designated as a double-header). The majority of the leagues play on Saturdays and Sundays, but there are leagues that play on Mondays and Wednesdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Fridays as well—a fantastic system to combat any scheduling conflicts an interested applicant may have. Additionally, the best teams go head-to-head in a playoff tournament, which adds a bit of a competitive pressure to the games.
It didn’t take me long to realize that it’s up to each team to gauge and determine the seriousness of the players’ sportsmanship. For our team, we threw away the gauge and lost 3-25. The opposing team, a group of paramedics, had matching shirts, a large array of aluminum bats and a surprisingly large amount of protective gear for a slow-pitch softball game. Although our team resembled the Bad News Bears and dropped more balls than we caught, I had a great time reliving some childhood memories and clearing the melancholy caused by Portland’s lack of baseball.
However, if you are looking for a more serious baseball experience, Portland State Campus Rec has a recreational baseball club. It doesn’t look like the club is holding practices or games this summer, but you can contact the Academic and Student Rec Center to find out more.
