I can't tell you how many times I've cut a throw and wheeled to whip it home only to realize our catcher is standing there with her glove at her side, and I'm 40 feet away from her about to throw a ball as hard as I can at her.
That usually ends with me either almost breaking my arm trying to stop myself from throwing or me sailing the ball to the backstop. Or humming a throw that hits her in the glove but she drops, then tells me not to throw it so hard next time.
I was talked into playing shortstop for our company team when I was younger (about 40 lbs ago). This was my second job so I thought "why not" and went with it. I had never played softball in my life, so this was going to be a new adventure for me. I later found out it was a co-ed team. "COOL!" I thought and continued to go with it. First game, man on first, the next hitter, a pretty good woman player, hits a smash at me at short. I pick it cleanly, look to throw to second base and the second baseman (a guy) is still standing at the normal second base position looking at me with the "oh, am I suppose to do something?" type of look. So I run to second base to get the force out and just on instinct whip a throw to first base to try for the double play. We had a woman who had never played ball before at first (she was in accounting and every guy in the office hit on her daily, and she never once gave them the time of day). So I watch as my throw sails towards her and the look on her face is shear terror. Her glove is down by her side and all I can see is the ball traveling straight to nose. I was sure I was going to be charge with softball manslaughter after this play. Instead the ball took a last minute turn to the right, whizzing pass her face about half a foot or so. Thank goodness for sliders, because I must of thrown one that time.
The woman just walked off the field after that, even though we still needed one out to get back to the dugout. This was my very first time, very first inning of playing softball. I knew after that, something was terribly wrong with this game and I would be jinxed if I kept playing. So we secure the next out and run into the dugout and the guy who spent all his spare time trying to convince me to play for the team comes up to me and says "You need to calm down and stop playing like this is a professional baseball game or something. You're going to kill somebody out there!" I look at him and then look at everyone else who is standing behind him nodding thier heads, some still consoling the now crying former first basewoman. I said "sure, no problem" not knowing eggszactly how one would ratchet down a simple double play? I think they were really talking about the speed of the ball I threw so I processed the information and decided to lob each and every throw from then on (and this was to everyone, guys and gals).
So was anyone else hurt that day playing this godforsaken game? Yeah, me! Same woman who hit a shot at me comes up later in the game and hits another screamer at me. Softball fields are nothing but dirt infields and my normal ritual of clearing the dirt clumps and mounds in front of me was forgotten for this last inning. Bad mistake. Ball coming right at me, I'm in position to grab and lob a throw to first, but instead the ball jumps up after hitting a clump of sand and hits me right on the kisser. I immediately start to bleed all over the place while both teams are cheering. I was not a hot-dog or anything that day, but they thought so, so that is all that matters in terms of their reaction to me lying on the infield bleeding to death.
I get off the field, grab a towel from my bag (something everyone else was also very upset about... I brought a bag with towels, eye black, spikes, bat, water bottle, and a chage of clothing plus sandals to walk off the field... all most of my teammates brought was a gatorade bottle and cigarettes) and place it on the deep cut. I drive myself to emergency to get stitches.
I never played for that team again, something they appreciated as much as I did. Oh, the following year, the same guy walks up to me and says "Hey, I'm putting together a tea..." "NO!" I scream and start to walk away.
