Thursday, May 17, 2012

The Exact Distinctions Between Softball and Baseball

Baseball and softball are approximately identical in many areas, but you'll notice a number of major differences regarding the two sports once you start to match. You must know the differences if you plan to train beginning-level softball if all of your experience has been in baseball - and the other way round.

This list will give you a view at several of the more glaring distinctions:

Pitching area - Youth baseball programs, particularly at the advanced levels, include a pitching mound how the pitcher throws from ( younger levels may demand hitters to hit off a tee or from a ball pitched from their coach). That isn't the way it is in softball - at any level. The pitcher delivers balls on level ground using the batter. Another major pitching difference is always that softball pitchers deliver the ball in an underhand motion; baseball pitchers can throw overhand or perhaps sidearm when they choose.

Distance from your pitcher's area by plate - The overall game of fast-pitch softball puts a greater focus on pitching, because of the pitcher throws from the distance much nearer to home plate in comparison with baseball. At the start stages of youth softball, pitchers typically deliver pitches about 35 feet from home plate. At the higher levels of play, pitchers throw balls from 40 feet.

Base paths - The base paths in softball are some feet shorter than those in baseball. When pitchers throw from 35 feet, the bases typically are 55 feet apart; when pitchers deliver balls from 40 feet, the bases are often 60 feet apart. The smaller base paths consequently create a smaller infield area, which has an effect on the defense of the infielders.

Field size - Outfield dimensions vary greatly. Perhaps the most common distance at home plate to the outfield fence in softball is 150 feet for the younger kids, while for the teens it reaches to 225 to 250 feet.

Scale of the ball - A regulations softball is significantly bigger than a regulation baseball. A softball measures between 11.88 and 12.13 inches in circumference and weighs between 6.25 and 7.00 ounces; a baseball measures between 9.00 and 9.25 inches in circumference and weighs between 5.00 and 5.25 ounces.

Sometimes, leagues for the youngest softball players use smaller and softer softballs, because a girl's hand from the outset variety of play isn't large enough to grip and throw a regulation softball.

Bats - With the youth level, bats used by baseball and softball are interchangeable. In the advanced amounts of play, players use softball-specific bats, that can come in a variety of different materials, for instance graphite, carbon, Kevlar, and liquid metal, to name a few. Many softball programs only allow specific kinds of bats to be used.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5579361

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