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Previous Issues > May 2007 > Come Out & Play > Softball
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 Come Out & Play
Softball
One of my favorite things to do during the spring and summer is to play softball and baseball with my friends! The game of softball developed from baseball. You probably know that softball uses a bigger and softer ball than baseball. There are some other important differences, too.
Softball is played on a smaller field than baseball, and games last seven innings. In fast-pitched softball, you are allowed to steal bases. This means that if you are on a base, you can run to the next base while the other team is not looking. However, unlike in
baseball, in softball the runner has to stay on the base until the ball leaves the pitchers hand. In slow-pitched softball, you are not allowed to steal bases.
There are many different varieties of softball. In the United States, the most common are slow-pitch and fast-pitch. In these games, a ball with a 12-inch circumference (that means 12 inches measuring around the ball) is used. In some types of softball, an even bigger ball 16-inches in circumference is used, and they play without gloves! Besides the ball, one of the main differences between baseball and softball is that only underhand pitching is allowed in softball.
It is believed that softball originated as indoor baseball in Chicago, Illinois, in 1887. The members of the Farragut Boat Club were said to use a boxing glove as a ball and a broom handle for a bat! Softball was originally called other names, such as indoor baseball, playground baseball, mush ball and even kitten ball!
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica Online; Brittannica Student Encyclopedia.
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