“In 2015, the Women’s College World Series viewership bettered the Men’s College World Series by 31%” (Sports TV Ratings). The sport’s name is quite misleading, considering that the ball itself is not spongy and the level of skill it takes to play the sport properly. Softball has come far from its humble beginnings to the major sport it is today, and while many people think softball and baseball are basically the same sport, there are some pretty important differences.
After Yale’s victory against Harvard’s football team on Thanksgiving Day, 1887, a Yale alumni, in Chicago, jokingly threw a boxing glove at one of his Harvard buddies, who then swung at the glove with a broomstick. George Handcock playfully yelled “Play ball!” and unknowingly …show more content…
One of the main differences, is the pitching style. The pitchers in softball use the underhand, windmill pitch, and in baseball, they pitch overhand. In fast pitch, girls pitch underhand because they have more power in their lower body, and that pitching style allows them to use their strength. The boys’ strength comes from their upper body, so they use a pitching style that focuses on their arms. Arm injuries are more common in baseball players than in softball players because the overhand pitch is not a natural motion, unlike softball’s windmill technique. Baseball players pitch from an elevated mound, while softball players pitch from a flat, level mound. In baseball, the pitching distance is sixty feet, and in softball, the pitching distance is forty-six feet. The circumference, distance around the ball, of a softball is 12 inches, and the circumference of a baseball is 9.4 inches. Softball is more of a mind game than baseball because of how close everything is and it’s a faster pace. Baseball is slower due to the long distance between the bases and the size of the field. Another difference is the size of the fields and the distance between the bases. Baseball infields are covered in grass except for the baselines, but in softball the infields are covered in dirt. Softball fields range from 230 to 250 feet in length, and lengths of baseball fields range from 300 to 450 feet. The distance between a base and the next base on a softball field is sixty feet, while in baseball the baseline measures ninety feet. Baseball bats are usually aluminum, short, and thick while softball bats are composite, longer, and thinner. In high school and college, both softball and baseball last for seven innings, but in Major League baseball the game lasts for nine innings. In softball and baseball, the positions, the number of bases, and some of the rules are the same. You can steal in both baseball and softball. The
After Yale’s victory against Harvard’s football team on Thanksgiving Day, 1887, a Yale alumni, in Chicago, jokingly threw a boxing glove at one of his Harvard buddies, who then swung at the glove with a broomstick. George Handcock playfully yelled “Play ball!” and unknowingly …show more content…
One of the main differences, is the pitching style. The pitchers in softball use the underhand, windmill pitch, and in baseball, they pitch overhand. In fast pitch, girls pitch underhand because they have more power in their lower body, and that pitching style allows them to use their strength. The boys’ strength comes from their upper body, so they use a pitching style that focuses on their arms. Arm injuries are more common in baseball players than in softball players because the overhand pitch is not a natural motion, unlike softball’s windmill technique. Baseball players pitch from an elevated mound, while softball players pitch from a flat, level mound. In baseball, the pitching distance is sixty feet, and in softball, the pitching distance is forty-six feet. The circumference, distance around the ball, of a softball is 12 inches, and the circumference of a baseball is 9.4 inches. Softball is more of a mind game than baseball because of how close everything is and it’s a faster pace. Baseball is slower due to the long distance between the bases and the size of the field. Another difference is the size of the fields and the distance between the bases. Baseball infields are covered in grass except for the baselines, but in softball the infields are covered in dirt. Softball fields range from 230 to 250 feet in length, and lengths of baseball fields range from 300 to 450 feet. The distance between a base and the next base on a softball field is sixty feet, while in baseball the baseline measures ninety feet. Baseball bats are usually aluminum, short, and thick while softball bats are composite, longer, and thinner. In high school and college, both softball and baseball last for seven innings, but in Major League baseball the game lasts for nine innings. In softball and baseball, the positions, the number of bases, and some of the rules are the same. You can steal in both baseball and softball. The