Softball is a popular game throughout the world. Softball resembles baseball, but the rules of the sports differ in several ways. Softball pitching must be underhand. Softball requires less space and equipment, and regulation games last seven innings instead of nine. A softball is also larger than a baseball.
Types of softball.
There are two types of softball games, slow pitch and fast pitch. Slow-pitch games account for about 90 percent of the softball competition in the United States. Pitchers in slow-pitch games must throw the ball slowly enough to make it arch on its way to the batter. Slow-pitch teams consists of 10 players. They are a pitcher, a catcher, and eight fielders. Nine positions are the same as those in baseball. On most teams, the 10th person plays as a fourth outfielder. Many slow-pitch teams play with balls about 12 inches (30 centimeters) in circumference. Others use 11- or 16-inch (33- or 41-centimeter) balls. Slow-pitch rules prohibit bunting and base stealing.
Fast-pitch teams use a 12-inch ball. Some players can pitch it more than 85 miles (137 kilometers) per hour. Teams have nine players who play the same positions as those in baseball. Batters may bunt, and runners may steal bases after the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand.
Field and equipment.
The infield in softball is smaller than that in baseball. The bases lie 65 feet (19.8 meters) apart in adult slow-pitch games. They are 60 feet (18.3 meters) apart in adult fast-pitch games. The pitcher stands 46 feet (14 meters) from home plate in men’s fast-pitch games and 43 feet (13.1 meters) away in women’s games. The distance is 50 feet (15 meters) for men’s and women’s slow pitch.
Softballs are filled with a soft material called kapok. Kapok is a mixture of cork and rubber, a plastic material called polyurethane, or other materials. They can have a cover of cowhide, horsehide, or synthetic material. Softball bats may be made of such materials as wood, metal, plastic, or fiberglass. Softball bats cannot be thicker than 21/4 inches (5.7 centimeters) or longer than 34 inches (86.4 centimeters). All players may wear gloves, but only catchers and first basemen may wear padded mitts.
History.
Softball was developed as an indoor game in 1887 by George W. Hancock in Chicago. He used a 17-inch (43-centimeter) ball whose seams looked like ridges because they were turned to the outside. In 1895, Lewis Rober of the Minneapolis Fire Department adapted the game for outdoor play. Rober used a 12-inch ball that had a cover like that of a baseball.
In 1933, the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) was founded to govern and promote softball in the United States. The ASA set up a committee that established one set of rules now used by teams in all parts of the world. The International Softball Federation, founded in 1952, governs international competition.
