# Softball question... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 24, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386 "2007-05-24T19:04:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arrimus\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@Arrimus\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrimus_2)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/1 "2007-05-24T19:04:24Z")
Why? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/2 "2007-05-24T19:31:58Z")
Because a baseball thrown overhand is too difficult to hit for many casual players. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/3 "2007-05-24T19:35:35Z")
It also takes up less ground, which means you can fit a softball diamond into a cramped city park. The ball is less likely to cause damage or injury, and we can’t have our fragile women-folk playing a sport where they might get hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/4 "2007-05-24T20:00:35Z")
[QUOTE=Arrimus\_2] Why? [/QUOTE] Why Not? Have you ever watched Division I fastpitch softball? > **[NCAA.com – The Official Website of NCAA Championships | NCAA.com](https://www.ncaa.com/)** > > NCAA.com features live video, live scoring, rankings, news and statistics for all college sports across all divisions in the NCAA. It’s an awesome sport. E3 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/5 "2007-05-24T20:06:14Z")
I’d much rather stand in the box and try to hit Clemens or Martinez rather than have a college softball pitcher throw at me. The mound is too close and those girls get some **heat** on the ball. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/6 "2007-05-24T20:11:36Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I’d much rather stand in the box and try to hit Clemens or Martinez rather than have a college softball pitcher throw at me. The mound is too close and those girls get some **heat** on the ball. [/QUOTE] On the other hand, I’d rather get beaned in the head by a softball pitcher than by Clemens. ---
**Author:** ![Arrimus\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@Arrimus\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrimus_2)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/7 "2007-05-24T21:45:06Z")
I’m not knocking it, merely curious. My mom played on some local teams when I was a kid, but i couldn’t discern any difference between it and baseball, other than the ball’s size. Are there any female baseballers? ---
**Author:** ![Arrimus\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@Arrimus\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrimus_2)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/8 "2007-05-24T21:46:30Z")
I seem to be steering this into a General Question. Huh. Sorry 'bout that… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/9 "2007-05-24T21:49:59Z")
[QUOTE=Arrimus\_2] I’m not knocking it, merely curious. My mom played on some local teams when I was a kid, but i couldn’t discern any difference between it and baseball, other than the ball’s size. Are there any female baseballers? [/QUOTE] Yes, but for some reason, softball has become the sport of choice for women at a competitive level. This is largely, I assume, because the dimensions of the infield are smaller, making defensive play easier for players with generally weaker arms. There’s no inherent advantage to women in playing _with a softball_; logically, they should use regulation baseballs, which are smaller and thus easier for a smaller hand to use. But, softball has the smaller fields, so softball it is. On a recreational level, I choose to play softball because it means I can play in a mixed league with my wife. It also allows for a wider range of player skill levels in the same game/league. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/10 "2007-05-24T22:26:02Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] It also takes up less ground, which means you can fit a softball diamond into a cramped city park. The ball is less likely to cause damage or injury, and we can’t have our fragile women-folk playing a sport where they might get hurt. [/QUOTE] A good friend of mine got her sinus cavity caved in by a softball while playing third base. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/11 "2007-05-25T00:10:16Z")
[QUOTE=Arrimus\_2] Why? [/QUOTE] Why play it? Why watch it? Why is it round? Why is it a ball? Why is this OP so vague? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/12 "2007-05-25T00:17:59Z")
[QUOTE=Czarcasm] Why play it? Why watch it? Why is it round? Why is it a ball? Why is this OP so vague? [/QUOTE] It might also be a medical question and that is one we certainly don’t want to give advice on. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/13 "2007-05-25T00:19:45Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Yes, but for some reason, softball has become the sport of choice for women at a competitive level. This is largely, I assume, because the dimensions of the infield are smaller, making defensive play easier for players with generally weaker arms. On a recreational level, I choose to play softball because it means I can play in a mixed league with my wife. It also allows for a wider range of player skill levels in the same game/league. [/QUOTE] Yup, I play on a co-ed team. If you don’t have an arm, it’s much easier to get a ball back in from the outfield when you don’t have as far to throw. The other thing is that it’s a recreational league and a lot of people are their to socialize a lot which is more fun when you’re in shouting distance from one another. Our teams are set up so that there are both advanced and novice players on every team. The smaller field sort of levels out the playing field a bit so novice players can still contribute decently and be a good part of the game. The biggest cheer we had ast year was when a newbie - a woman who hadn’t set foot on ball field since middle school and never once caught the ball all season - actually caught a pop fly during our semi-final game. We totally got our asses kicked, but her one and only catch of the season had our entire bench jumping up and screaming our biggest hurrahs. Best moment of the season! ---
**Author:** ![giant\_freakin\_marine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc348/32.png) [@giant\_freakin\_marine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/giant_freakin_marine)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/14 "2007-05-25T01:52:29Z")
played competitive tournement softball, and got “conned” into playing on a coed team for a season. I played first base, and our second baseperson was an alumnus of the oregon ducks womens team. She did not have a weak arm. Our shortstop (male) played baseball in the minors (AAA), and I would much rather he unload at me than her. awsome stroke hitter as well. ---
**Author:** ![Arrimus\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@Arrimus\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrimus_2)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/15 "2007-05-25T21:45:48Z")
Czarcasm, I’ve seen threads started with non sequiturs (can’t cite any, but I seen 'em, I tells ya), so why not a vague question? Just wanted to see where it would go… ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/16 "2007-05-26T13:23:22Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I’d much rather stand in the box and try to hit Clemens or Martinez rather than have a college softball pitcher throw at me. The mound is too close and those girls get some **heat** on the ball. [/QUOTE] Top major league pitchers can throw a ball over 90 mph. The best college pitchers hit 70 mph. Baseballs are smaller and harder than softballs. I’ll take my chances with the softball pitcher. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/17 "2007-05-26T15:42:20Z")
I can follow an overhand pitch because it is something I am used to. Underhand, OTOH… ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/softball-question/405386/18 "2007-05-27T00:47:58Z")
[QUOTE=enipla] A good friend of mine got her sinus cavity caved in by a softball while playing third base. [/QUOTE] I’ve been hit in the face by both a hardball and a softball. I think the hardball is worse because it is denser and smaller, thus localizing and enhancing the damage in a smaller area. I’m pretty sure that a hardball travels at a faster speed when struck, especially when factoring in bat speed and ball velocity while crossing the plate. That said, women’s softball has a mound that is much closer to the plate, and the bases are closer together. I believe that the speed of a fastball softball is around 70 mph and a fastball in the majors approaches 100mph. I believe the amount of time to react is similar. A softball does not travel as fall and decelerates faster. This makes it easier to catch while drinking a bunch of beer.