Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams on a diamond-shaped field, who take turns batting and fielding. There are two primary forms: Fast-pitch and slow-pitch. In both forms, the pitcher throws the ball underhand to batters. In fast-pitch, the ball is typically thrown with a "windmill" motion and releasing the ball at hip level. Pitchers throw balls up to 77 miles per hour (124 km/h). Fast-pitch is played at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Women's fast-pitch softball was introduced to the Summer Olympic Games in 1996. Softball was not included in the 2024 Summer Olympics but will return for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Slow-pitch softball is commonly played in recreational leagues, with the ball being pitched at slow speeds and slightly simplified rules, making it an accessible sport for people of many ages.
Depending on the variety being played and the age and gender of the players, the particulars of the field and equipment will also vary. While distances between bases of are standard across varieties, the pitcher's plate ranges from away from home plate, and the home run fence can be away from home plate based on the players' age. The ball itself is typically in circumference, though this also depends on specifics of the competition: for younger age categories, the ball is smaller. Softball rules vary in certain aspects from those of baseball. The game moves at a faster pace than traditional baseball due to the field being smaller and the bases and the fielders being closer to home plate. Softball is pitched underhand from flat ground, whereas baseball is pitched overhand from a raised pitcher's mound.
Softball is similar to baseball, but played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Additionally, softball games typically only last seven innings.
History
Early history
The earliest known softball game was played in Chicago, Illinois, on Thanksgiving Day, 1887. It took place at the Farragut Boat Club at a gathering to hear the outcome of the Yale University and Harvard University football game. When the score was announced and bets were settled, a Yale alumnus threw a boxing glove at a Harvard supporter. The Harvard fan grabbed a stick and swung at the rolled-up glove. George Hancock, a reporter there, called out "Play ball!" and the game began, with the boxing glove tightened into a ball, a broom handle serving as a bat. This first contest ended with a score of 41–40. The ball, being soft, was fielded barehanded.Chicago History Museum, "Wait Til Next Year" display
Hancock is credited as the game's inventor for his development of a 17-inch ball and an undersized bat in the next week. The Farragut Club soon set rules for the game, which spread quickly to outsiders. Envisioned as a way for baseball players to maintain their skills during the winter, the sport was called "Indoor Baseball". Under the name of "Indoor-Outdoor," the game moved outside in the next year, and the first rules were published in 1889.
In 1895, Lewis Rober Sr. of Minneapolis organized outdoor games as exercise for firefighters; this game was originally known as kitten ball. Rober's version of the game used a ball in circumference, rather than the ball used by the Farragut club, and eventually the Minneapolis ball prevailed, although the dimensions of the Minneapolis diamond were passed over in favor of the dimensions of the Chicago one. Rober may not have been familiar with the Farragut Club rules. Fire Station No. 19 in Minneapolis, Rober's post from 1896 to 1906, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in part for its association with the sport's development. The first softball league outside the United States was organized in Toronto, Ontario, in 1897.
The name "softball" dates back to 1926. The name was coined by Walter Hakanson of the YMCA at a meeting of the National Recreation Congress. (In addition to "indoor baseball", "kitten ball", and "diamond ball", names for the game included "mush ball", and "pumpkin ball".) The name softball had spread across the United States by 1930. By the 1930s, similar sports with different rules and names were being played all over the United States and Canada. A tournament held in 1933 at the Chicago World's Fair spurred interest in the game. By 1936, the Joint Rules Committee on Softball had standardized the rules and naming throughout the United States. In this decade, American women transitioned from playing feminized versions of baseball to mainly playing softball.
Sixteen-inch softball, also sometimes referred to as "mush ball" or "super-slow pitch" and is a direct descendant of Hancock's original game. Defensive players are not allowed to wear fielding gloves. Sixteen-inch softball is played extensively in Chicago, where devotees such as newspaper columnist Mike Royko consider it the "real" game, and New Orleans. In New Orleans, sixteen-inch softball is called "Cabbage Ball" or "batter ball" and is a popular team sport in area elementary and high schools.
The first cork-centered softball was created in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, by Emil "Pops" Kenesky.
Contemporary era By the 1940s, fast pitch began to dominate the game. Although slow pitch was present at the 1933 World's Fair, the main course of action taken was to lengthen the pitching distance. Slow pitch achieved formal recognition in 1953 when it was added to the program of the Amateur Softball Association, and within a decade had surpassed fast pitch in popularity.
The first British women's softball league was established in 1953.
The National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum was opened in Oklahoma City, United States, in 1957.
In 1991, women's fast pitch softball was selected to debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The 1996 Olympics also marked a key era in the introduction of technology in softball. The IOC funded a landmark bio-mechanical study on pitching during the games.
In 2002, sixteen-inch slow pitch was written out of the International Softball Federation (ISF) official rules, although it is still played extensively in the United States under The Amateur Softball Association of America, or ASA rules.
The 117th meeting of the International Olympic Committee, held in Singapore in July 2005, voted to drop softball and baseball as Olympic sports for the 2012 Summer Olympics. They were reinstated for the 2020 Summer Olympics held in 2021.
The highest governing body for the sport is the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Other sanctioning bodies are USA Softball, NCAA, NFHS, AAU, NSA, PONY, Babe Ruth League, ISC, USSSA and Triple Crown.
Overview
Field
Fastpitch softball is played between two teams on a large field, with nine players from one team on the field at a time. Slow-pitch softball is played with ten fielders but can be played with nine if needed.
The softball field is usually composed of a dirt or brick dust infield that contains the shape and running areas of a diamond and a grass outfield. However, the field can consist of other solid and dry surfaces such as artificial turf or asphalt. There are four bases on the infield: First base, second base, third base, and home plate. The bases are arranged in a square and are typically apart. Near the center of this square is the pitcher's circle, and within the circle is the "rubber" or "plate", a flat, flush-mounted, rectangular rubber plate in width and in length. The rubber distance from the plate in fastpitch can be as short as for 10u players up to for ages 14 and older. In slow pitch softball, the rubber distance can be depending on age level and the league one is playing in.
Game structure The object of the game is to score more runs (points) than the other team by batting (hitting) a ball into play and running around the bases, touching each one in succession. The ball is a sphere of light material, covered with leather or synthetic material. It is (or, rarely, ) in circumference depending on age group. The game is typically officiated by two or more neutral umpires, but in some instances there will only be one. Players and umpires are generally free to ask for a brief stoppage at any time when the ball is not in play (called a time out), or immediately following a play once its outcome is clear.
The game is played in usually seven innings. Each inning is divided into a top half, in which the away team bats and tries to score runs, while the home team occupies the field and tries to record three outs; then a bottom half, when the teams' roles are reversed. Some leagues play with a reduced number of innings or with a time limit, rather than the traditional seven innings. When a team is hitting they are on the offensive side, and when a team is in the field they are on the defensive side.
Batting and pitching Before the game begins, each coach must create the order players will bat in, and what positions they will play. This list is often called a "line-up", and can be changed throughout the game with a substitution. However, players must not switch positions or batting order without the coach making the umpire aware. To start play, the first batter for the 'away' team is sent to home plate. The defense's pitcher stands atop the rubber and pitches the ball towards home plate using an underhand motion. In fast pitch, the pitcher is allowed to take one step back prior to releasing the ball during the forward movement. The batter attempts to hit the pitched ball with a bat, a long, round, smooth stick made of metal or composite. The pitcher will use all types of pitches when on the mound to try and strike out the batter (fastball, changeup, riseball, dropball, curveball and screwball). There are a few ways to get a batter out, the first being the pitcher throws three strikes against a batter. A strike is recorded any time a batter swings and misses a pitch, when a batter hits a foul ball (out of play), or when the batter does not swing at a pitch that crosses home plate within an area known as the strike zone. In fast pitch, to be within the strike zone, the pitch must cross over home plate, and as it crosses it must be above the knees and slightly below the shoulders (roughly the armpit or the shirt logo). The strike zone therefore varies from batter to batter, and is often up to the umpire's discretion. In slow pitch, the ball must land on a carpet or marked area behind the plate, therefore standardizing the strike zone. A pitch outside the strike zone is a ball. If the batter reaches four balls, the batter is awarded the first base in what is known as a walk. The umpire behind home plate is the sole arbiter of balls and strikes. A foul ball may or may not result in a strikeout depending on the association and local league rules. However, bunting a foul ball when the batter has two strikes will result in a strikeout. In some associations and leagues, bunting is entirely disallowed and results in an out. Also, if a player has two strikes, swinging and partially hitting the ball can result in an out if the catcher manages to catch the tipped ball.
Ball in play