Baseball ≠ Softball

This post is for those of you who – when I say “I play baseball” – say “Oh, you mean softball?”.  The misconception is far far too common, and something needs to be done to educate people that #1, girls can an do play baseball, and #2, baseball is an entirely different sport than softball.

The Gender Bias

I think we all fall into the trap of assuming that baseball is a man’s sport because historically, that is where the focus has been and we have not been taught otherwise.  Shoot, even in this post I found myself color-coding the “baseball” notes in blue and the “softball” notes in pink – obvious subconscious gender bias right there.  There is no sense in denying the facts – baseball used to be a male-only sport and for the most part has remained this way, other than a few instances of exceptional women fighting for a moment in the spotlight. We can’t change that these experiences have helped to form people’s perceptions today.  We accept the past, and the biases that have come along with it – but we can do something about the way people perceive how the sport exists today, and in the future.

The Women’s Baseball Movement

Today, all throughout the world, women’s baseball is becoming more and more prominent.  Currently the movement seems to just be quite granular, lacking in the cohesiveness it needs to come together as a recognized movement – but we’ll save that discussion for another day.  I have a lot to ponder on where I stand and what I am going to do to help move this cause forward, so will save those thoughts for when they are more complete and certain.

For now, the distinct and undeniable differences that make baseball and softball completely different sports:

Baseball is slower and requires more attention to variables.

In baseball, the runner watches the pitcher’s motion, has to know where the fielder is and how fast the catcher is, plays with pitcher to see if they can get an advantage, and then has to watch for an opening to go.  That is actually my favorite part about baseball. Sometimes they might get an opening, sometimes they might not.  But if they misgauge the any of these variables, they can get caught in a pickle or thrown out.  Sure, sometimes they are given the steal and have to go for it, but that is at its simplest form.  In softball if you go and you are fast enough, you are there, period.  Softball baserunning is just baseball baserunning at its very simplest form.

Softball is quicker and more reactionary.

In baseball, typically when a ball is hit to shortstop, shortstop has time to adjust their angle to the base they will make the play to, field the ball, and make a smooth motion to the base with a full throwing motion.  In softball, there is typically no time for this.  You field and throw, period.  Ideally you have a smooth follow-through so your motion is not jarred, but it is all a condensed motion.  I just recently discovered that although shortstop was my spot in softball, 3rd is best for me in baseball because I am still, after more than 5 years, too used to being reactionary and end up thinking instead of reacting with all that spare time.

Baseball requires more finesse

I hate to say this, because I do not intend to bash softball by any means.  I was in fact a softball player for just as long as I was a baseball player – maybe even longer.  Since I have returned to baseball I do admit I prefer it over softball, but I am not trying to pick favorites here but rather explain the distinct differences I have experienced between the sports.  The pure fact that the play is so much quicker with softball, the the movements and decisions are just so much more chopped down for efficiency that the finesse gets lost.

Softball, as it stands today, is a pitcher’s game

As women have become more athletically trained to excel in sports, the game has gotten faster.  Pitchers deliver the ball faster and their pitches are more controlled than ever.  With the shorter distance from mound to plate than in baseball, the time between seeing the pitch and swinging has been cut down so short that if you have a very dominant pitcher, the game can be completely dictated by the pitcher.  It is not uncommon to see a softball game with outs that consist of 90% strikeouts.  In baseball, as dominant as a pitcher may be, even if the pitcher has some heat, the distance between mound and plate combined with the different delivery, gives the batter enough time to actually see the ball and make a decision beyond swing or don’t.  In my opinion, this makes baseball a lot more interesting to watch – from the great Bull Durham, “Ground balls are more democratic”.

The swing, throw and pitch are all completely different

To the onlooker, they may just see it as that – or for the less keen eye, they may just think only the pitch is different.  But because of the different pitch, different distances (which attribute to the different speed of play), and the different size of the ball, these somewhat minor differences make for some very different mechanics, approaches and end products.  The softball is larger and heavier, so its trajectory is different.  Different as a batter as well as to an infielder or outfielder.  The pitch comes in at a different angle for baseball versus softball, making for a different kind of swing.  As I noted before, the different distances means the swing has to be shorter in softball, making for different types of hitting as well.  Less huge home runs because there is not always time for a long drawn out swing that the hips can open up for.

I think I covered those that really define these as two different sports, but I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Related Articles and Websites:

• http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/Equity-Issues/B/Baseball-and-Softball–Should-Girls-and-Women-Have-to-ChooseA-Womens-Sports-Foundation-Position-Stat.aspx
• http://www.baseballforall.com/
• http://saunderz.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/baseball-vs-softball/
• http://ladybaseball.com/
• http://checkswing.net/

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