Monica Brown
Mr. Dietrich
Honors English three
December 8, 2012
Softball vs. Baseball
Anything a guy can do a girl can do better. Softball is just as great as baseball- if not more difficult. I have played softball since I could throw a ball. I have played catcher and shortstop throughout my athletic career. I also grew up with two older brothers who have always said, along with most males who play or know baseball, that baseball is much more difficult than softball. I beg to differ, given my background.
Baseball and softball have many different aspects to their game that separates the two. Fast pitch Softball plays only seven innings instead of the nine innings in baseball. That means the team has less chances to score and less chances to keep the other team from scoring. In baseball, when you are on base you are allowed to leave that base at any time to steal, as in softball you must wait until the ball has left the pitchers hand. That gives softball players less time to steal the next base. Another difference is the pitching style. The pitcher in baseball pitches over-handed and on top of a mound. In softball, the pitcher must pitch underhanded and “wind up” on a flat ground. Maybe it’s just my opinion but I would rather pitch overhanded because it seems easier. Yes, in softball we use a much larger ball. You have to think though; there is less distance from the pitcher mound and home plate in softball as well. This means the softball pitcher must “wind up” up larger ball from a smaller distance and still have enough power to make it on average about 50 mph or more in high school. In baseball you have a longer distance, smaller ball (less weight to carry), and the average is about anywhere from 65 to 75 mph (fastball) in high school. One last difference is the distance from home plate to the outfield fences is much shorter in softball (60 ft), because it is more difficult to hit a softball the same distance as a baseball. The distance is 90 ft on a baseball field.
“'When you are up, you are up, when you are down, you are down, when you are up against our team, you are upside down.” If you have ever watched a college softball game, you would realize we encourage our teammates differently. We cheer them on like their own personal cheerleaders. When we are in the dugout watching our teammates bat we don’t just sit there and watch or every once in a while say “let’s go” or “you got this”. We clap, we chant, we yell, we go insane; we put our spirit out there for the ones on the field. In softball, you are never bored. There is a lot more spirit and soul put out in softball. There is so much passion in the hearts of the players you just can’t help but to feel it to. This passion keeps the game alive and keeps the drive to win irresistible.
