The post The Main Difference Between Baseball and Softball appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The most obvious difference, which we think you could have guessed, is that the ball used in baseball and the ball used in softball aren’t the same. But what you may not have guessed is how they’re different, and why it’s important.
First off, softballs are slightly larger than baseballs, and they’re also softer. However, when you combine a softball’s softness with its larger size, it makes for a harder ball to hit. It’s not harder to make contact, but it’s harder to hit the ball longer distances.
This is significant because pickup games, where pitchers aren’t exactly pitching 90 miles an hour, would require a ball that’s a bit harder to hit. If amateur pitchers at pickup games pitched with regular baseballs, batters would be sending those balls flying left and right—and the scores would be off the charts. To balance this out, a softball makes for a more calibrated game.
Conversely, in the major leagues, using smaller baseballs makes a lot more sense because pitchers are so dominant that even the greatest batters on earth have a hard time hitting them. Home runs happen in the pros, sure, but not too much that the game loses its gravity as a result.
The post The Main Difference Between Baseball and Softball appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post The Main Difference Between Baseball and Softball appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The most obvious difference, which we think you could have guessed, is that the ball used in baseball and the ball used in softball aren’t the same. But what you may not have guessed is how they’re different, and why it’s important.
First off, softballs are slightly larger than baseballs, and they’re also softer. However, when you combine a softball’s softness with its larger size, it makes for a harder ball to hit. It’s not harder to make contact, but it’s harder to hit the ball longer distances.
This is significant because pickup games, where pitchers aren’t exactly pitching 90 miles an hour, would require a ball that’s a bit harder to hit. If amateur pitchers at pickup games pitched with regular baseballs, batters would be sending those balls flying left and right—and the scores would be off the charts. To balance this out, a softball makes for a more calibrated game.
Conversely, in the major leagues, using smaller baseballs makes a lot more sense because pitchers are so dominant that even the greatest batters on earth have a hard time hitting them. Home runs happen in the pros, sure, but not too much that the game loses its gravity as a result.
The post The Main Difference Between Baseball and Softball appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
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