# Baseball for boys, softball for girls, why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947 "2007-06-14T02:49:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/1 "2007-06-14T02:49:21Z")
I just got back from my nephew’s (4th grade) baseball game. There were a few girls on both teams. But his sister (7th grade) places softball. When I was in high school the baseball team was all-male, the softball team all-female. So why do girls play softball intead of baseball? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/2 "2007-06-14T03:21:16Z")
My WAG is that before the physicality gap was as small as it is now, softball was considered a more “dainty” way to get girls playing sports without subjecting them to the “rigors” of baseball. These days, while the athletic gap is not as great, the sports have evolved enough to become distinct, with divergent skills required for each, and the gender divide is a vestigial trait. In this day and age of gender equality, ether gender can play either sport (remember the guy who played HS field hockey?), but there’s more acceptance in a girl being “good enough to play with the boys” than in a “boy wanting to play softball with girls.” ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/3 "2007-06-14T07:33:22Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Scrappy Hero Pup] My WAG is that before the physicality gap was as small as it is now [/QUOTE] Heh, where did you get this factoid from? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/4 "2007-06-14T12:20:19Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] So why do girls play softball intead of baseball? 😕 [/QUOTE] It’s easier. Very UnPC, but there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/5 "2007-06-14T13:41:14Z")
I’m not sure, but as a guy I find softball a lot harder to play. 1. Catching a baseball (for me) is much easier than catching a softball. 2)I can hit a baseball better than a softball. and 3) The way I’ve seen some of those gals pich softballs I don’t know if I’d even be able to hit the damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![WorkInProgress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@WorkInProgress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WorkInProgress)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/6 "2007-06-14T13:52:47Z")
Ball speed would probably be the issue. A baseball hit with an aluminum bat flies dangerously fast. Guys tend to be bigger, faster and stronger. This would make a big difference in hitting and fielding. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/7 "2007-06-14T13:56:08Z")
Because traditionally girls have been steered to lower-risk sports. A softball is slightly softer (stunner, that) and more importantly is usually not thrown as fast or hit as hard. Thus, it has less chance of injury. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/8 "2007-06-14T14:14:33Z")
Most professional baseball players are considerably taller than average, so height is an advantage. Does anyone know whether tall girls/women make better softball players? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/9 "2007-06-14T14:43:49Z")
[QUOTE=WorkInProgress] Guys tend to be bigger, faster and stronger. [/QUOTE] :rolleyes: Have you ever seen female softball players? They don’t lack athletic ability. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/10 "2007-06-14T14:49:03Z")
Why do girls wear skirts and pants, but guys mostly just wear pants? I mean occasionally you’ll see a guy in a skirt but not too often. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/11 "2007-06-14T15:21:55Z")
[QUOTE=Dag Otto] :rolleyes: Have you ever seen female softball players? They don’t lack athletic ability. [/QUOTE] Nobody said that. The statement is still true if you compare across similar categories of male and female athletes. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/12 "2007-06-14T16:05:02Z")
We discussed the OP at length a couple of years ago [in this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=327663). Our conclusion (at least my own conclusion) was that girls play softball today instead of baseball because of tradition. There’s no other good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/13 "2007-06-14T16:08:51Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Nobody said that. The statement is still true if you compare across similar categories of male and female athletes. [/QUOTE] That’s right. I should have quoted the part about ball speed being the issue. There are certainly plenty of women for which that wouldn’t be an issue. Of course, I’m talking about an all woman baseball game, not men and women playing in the same game. So all women baseball teams - why not? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/14 "2007-06-14T16:09:18Z")
With regard to the OP, I never understood that, or why field hockey is only played by girls. As an aside, oddly, basketball used to be played primarily by girls. If you find some old high schools, like 100 years old or more, and they have historical images on their websites, chances are you will see pictures of basketball teams, and they’re always all girls. By the 1920s the guys were moving in, but in 1900 and before it seems to have been a girls’ game. Maybe because it was played indoors? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/15 "2007-06-14T16:42:07Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] With regard to the OP, I never understood that, or why field hockey is only played by girls. As an aside, oddly, basketball used to be played primarily by girls. If you find some old high schools, like 100 years old or more, and they have historical images on their websites, chances are you will see pictures of basketball teams, and they’re always all girls. By the 1920s the guys were moving in, but in 1900 and before it seems to have been a girls’ game. Maybe because it was played indoors? [/QUOTE] The original game of basketball was a very static game. Players didn’t do much moving around on the court. There was little scoring. Mostly, it was a matter of passing the ball around until someone could loft it into the peach basket. Males had better indoor activities to pursue. A static game was particularly suited for women at a time when women in sport still wore stupid clothing and weren’t supposed to be “man-like.” As to the OP: Men play softball all the time. They even play a fair amount of “fast-pitch” softball. But the main game of the type is baseball, so we have our boys play that as long as we can. Girls were originally though of as needing an easier game to play (hehehe, well, they proved it can be quite the difficult game!! (otherwise known as: hell if I’M standing in front of that Abbott woman while she chucks a ball at me from just over 30’ at 60+ MPH!!!)). Tradition is why they play it now, mostly. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/16 "2007-06-14T16:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=Dag Otto] :rolleyes: Have you ever seen female softball players? They don’t lack athletic ability. [/QUOTE] Really? He said “Guys tend to be bigger, faster and stronger.” You are so lost in the haze of political correctness that you can’t even accept that? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/17 "2007-06-14T17:26:43Z")
[QUOTE=WorkInProgress] Guys tend to be bigger, faster and stronger. This would make a big difference in hitting and fielding. [/QUOTE] In 4th grade? Even in high school, many boys still haven’t caught up to let alone surpassed the girls in terms of height and weight. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/18 "2007-06-14T17:43:59Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] With regard to the OP, I never understood that, or why field hockey is only played by girls. As an aside, oddly, basketball used to be played primarily by girls. If you find some old high schools, like 100 years old or more, and they have historical images on their websites, chances are you will see pictures of basketball teams, and they’re always all girls. By the 1920s the guys were moving in, but in 1900 and before it seems to have been a girls’ game. Maybe because it was played indoors? [/QUOTE] Mom tells me that when she was in high school in the 50’s, the girls’ basketball games had one extra player on each side because girls couldn’t be expected to run up and down the _whole_ court. Ditto other sports. I don’t know if that was universal or just at little Pittsburgh Catholic high schools. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingCowOfDoom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyingcowofdoom/32/21776_2.png) [@FlyingCowOfDoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingCowOfDoom)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/19 "2007-06-14T17:45:48Z")
Because when you take a line shot to the face with a softball, you say, “Hey, that’s Downy Soft! That was like a big ball of cotton! Hey, don’t worry about that! That’s Blood Light! We’re playing SOFTBALL! We’re all going to float around like angels!” –FCOD ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947/20 "2007-06-14T18:03:37Z")
[QUOTE=HowieReynolds] You are so lost in the haze of political correctness that you can’t even accept that? [/QUOTE] Haze of political correctness? Get a grip. I simply failed to make it clear I was taking about the point about ball speed. You on the other hand are pulling things out of thin air. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-for-boys-softball-for-girls-why/407947.md?page=2)