softball

Bat-and-ball game similar to baseball. Among the differences between the two sports are playing-field dimensions and equipment specifications; softball diamonds are smaller overall. The distance between bases is 60 ft/18.3 m; pitchers stand 46 ft/14 m from home plate; and the softball itself (which is about as hard as a baseball) is approximately 12 in/30.5 cm in circumference (a baseball is about 9 in/23 cm). In proportional terms of weight to size, a softball is lighter than a baseball and therefore, when pitched or batted, generally will not attain the speed and distance of a well-hit baseball. Softball bats can be no longer than 34 in/86.4 cm.

A regulation softball game is seven innings (for baseball it is nine), but actual play (rules, actions, and objectives) is so alike in both games that the technical differences cannot disguise the fact that softball is the legitimate offspring of baseball. The one element of play that is significantly distinct, however, is the execution of the pitch; a legally delivered softball must be thrown underhand. Pitching defines the two styles of softball play: fast pitch and slow pitch. There are approximately 250,000 teams registered with the US Amateur Softball Association, and more than 80% of them play slow-pitch softball.

The slow-pitch game customarily is played with ten-player teams, the tenth being a fourth outfielder or a ‘short fielder’ (covering the area between infield and outfield). The arc of a slow-pitched ball must not be less than 3 ft/0.9 m, and the ball must cross home plate in a downward motion. Both bunting and base stealing are illegal in slow-pitch games. Some slow-pitch teams use a ball that is as large as 16 in/40.6 cm in circumference. Bunting and stealing are allowed in fast-pitch games, but it is never legal in softball for a runner to leave the base before the ball is pitched.