No Soft Toss?

The Game Room
1

We were passing some little league baseball fields where a sign facing out from a chain link fence (running parallel to the 1st base line) read “No Soft Toss”. What does this mean? I WAG it means no playing catch in this area, perhaps for risk of a stray ball getting on the field? Also, we were curious: How many others would know what this sign means?

Note: My wife grew up in a baseball family where her father was responsible for providing umpires to maybe 20-30 games each weekend…and juggling the schedule to make it work for everyone involved. She heard a lot of baseball talk in her family and all kinds of crazy baseball play scenarios, etc., but never this phrase.

2

P.S. Googling, a “soft toss” sounds like what we called a “pitch and toss”, I think…growing up in the 1970s.

3

What it means is that you are not supposed to practice batting by hitting the ball into the fence. The “soft toss” comes from someone standing right next to, or slightly diagonally in front of the batter, and softly tossing the ball to the hitting zone.

4

And the reason it’s forbidden at many fields is that it damages both the fence and the ball (baseballs aren’t cheap) and is dangerous because the ball tends to rebound randomly.

It’s much better to use a soft-toss net which is specifically designed for this purpose.

5

I coached a team this summer and we did soft toss into the fence with whiffle balls. It’s soft toss, so the ball doesn’t matter and it’s not going to damage the fence.

6

stadiums used to have signs “no pepper games” , many still do.

7

Thanks, all! That makes sense! BTW: Years ago, before meeting my wife, I can recall seeing that “no pepper” sign in some old movies, but I never thought to ask.