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The Art Of Playing Softball
In today's sports, softball is considered to be the most common
sport that is able to accumulate approximately 56 million
Americans who will vie for anything just to be able to play this
well-loved game in a year.
Before, softball was considered as a game only for women, but
later on gained acceptance and was widely played by more players
regardless of their respective genders.
Basically, the concept behind this very competitive game is for
a player, known as the batter, to hit the ball thrown by another
player, known as the pitcher.
The ring-shaped rod being used to hit the ball is identified as
a bat. To be able to score in the game, the batter has to run
and tap the four bases in the playing field after hitting the
ball.
In reality, the mechanics of softball is not at all different to
that of baseball. Though, they also differ in some ways like the
ball's size, the way the ball is being thrown, the size of the
playing field, and the number of innings in a given game.
Basically, there are two types of softball: fastpitch and
slowpitch. Fastpitch is, generally, focused on the pitcher.
In this game, the chance of winning the game is based on the
ability of the pitcher to release the ball at utmost velocity in
an even curve, thus, making it very hard to hit. With this kind
of ball delivery, the batter is usually blasted with numerous
ground balls and strikeout cases.
The next type of softball is the slowpitch. Here, the batter
gains more confidence in winning the game. However, the
slowpitch softball is still dependent on the pitcher, whether he
or she is an offensive pitcher or a defensive one.
The offensive pitcher is usually employed when playing informal
sets of games. The bottom line here is that the game is more of
a social function
rather than being on its bloodthirsty field
actions.
The defensive pitcher, on the other hand, is normally used in
most slowpitch games. Here, it is required for a thrown ball to
define a curve with the highest point slightly over the batter's
head.
Because of this condition, the pitcher is made to throw the ball
in such a slower pace so as to define the said curve. That is
why most batters achieve considerable scores in this kind of
softball.
Consequently, softball is based on this concept of hitting the
ball and pitching that the score can be identified. A score can
only be achieved if a player makes one complete rotation in the
four bases.
Accordingly, the batter is considered out or is no longer
allowed to hit the ball when he or she had accumulated three
strikes, was hit by the ball or by the glove that contains the
ball, the fielder touched the base even before the batter gets
close to it, and when the ball hit by the batter was caught by a
fielder and had not yet touched the ground.
The conditions of the ball being pitched and hit and the
position of the players in the field while playing softball are
all being decided by umpires. They render their decisions
through the use of hand signals.
Indeed, softball is a more modern way of playing baseball. But
the reason why most players appreciate softball more than the
baseball game is that softball is a game that requires a
combination of constant force and power at the same time use of
strong mind power coupled with skills and determination. It is
certainly an art playing softball.
About the author:
James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor of SoftballHub.com and writes
expert articles about softball.
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