Friday, July 10, 2020

Cat Osterman of Team USA

I first saw Cat Osterman pitch for the National Pro Fastpitch USSSSA Pride. My interview with her from then can be found at On the Beat With Cat Osterman.
Of course, I had heard of Cat long before her NPF days. She was a star pitcher for the University of Texas.
In her four seasons with the Longhorns, Cat went 136-25 with a .50 ERA. She had 2265 strikeouts in 1105.2 innings pitched. Basically, she was dominant.
Cat was the first pick in the 2006 NPF draft. Ultimately, she wouldn't make her pro debut until the following season with the Rockford Thunder. In eight NPF seasons with the Thunder and the Pride, Cat went 95-24 with a .91 ERA and 1260 strikeouts in 809.1 innings.
Throughout her college and pro careers, Cat also pitched for Team USA. On the international stage, she went an incredible 63-4 with a .39 ERA and 878 strikeouts in 446.2 innings.
With softball returning to the Olympics in 2020, speculation started that Car would make a comeback. The talk ended quickly as it turned into a reality.
Turning 37 in 2020, Cat wasn't exactly a senior citizen, but she was a bit old for Olympic softball, especially after being retired for a few years. Of course, "retired" didn't mean inactive for Cat. I am quite sure she remained in great shape. Still she had a way to go to get into game shape, but I had no doubt she would get there and she did. I discussed all of this with her in my interview which can be found at On the Beat With Cat Osterman of Team USA.
When Team USA played exhibition games in Rosemont last year, I requested an interview ith her. It' not often I can interview one of the greatest of a given field. Actually, within minutes, I interviewed Cat and Monica. That is a 1-2 greatness combo.
With the pandemic, the Olympics have been postponed until 2021. The good news is nothing was canceled and we just have to wait one more year. That's one more year for Team USA to get ready.
I cannot wait to see Cat and all of my other softball friends go for the Gold medal.
You can follow Cat at CatOsterman.com. You can go to TeamUSA.org for all the info on the team and individual players. As always, I will be covering the team here, for Global Traveler and the Patch.
Cat Osterman and me in Rosemont, IL-June 2019.

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