“Oh, I’d take you 450 dead center,” is the most common response you receive from a baseball player after you tell them you play softball. It doesn’t matter what position you play, if you were even talking about hitting or not, you will always be undermined for any accomplishment you ever receive by those seven hurtful words. But why is it so normalized to act that way? Softball is only 30 years younger than baseball. Infact, it’s almost a completely different sport in itself! Some would even argue that it’s more engaging to watch and more difficult to play than your common baseball game.
There are many ways you could argue about how engaging softball is compared to baseball. A major difference between these two sports is the field size. In baseball, the field stays the same all the way up to the MLB. Average field dimensions being a 90 foot square for the infield, 60 feet from home to the mound, 127 feet from home to second, and about 400 feet from home to the center field fence. This information can be found on both the NCAA’s and MLB’s websites under rules and regulations. This is drastically different from softball as the field dimensions stay the same from 16u Little League all the way to the Olympics. In softball the infield is a 60 foot square, 43 feet from home to the mound, 84 feet from home to second, and about 220 feet from home
to center field. This main difference is an argument boys use to say “baseball is harder because we have so much more field to cover.” or “It’s so much harder to hit a home run on a baseball field.” This is actually a valid argument and the size of the field does make baseball very difficult. But you also have to take into account a few other factors.
A big reason that a lot of people don’t watch baseball (or play) is because of the game speed. A common complaint is how slow the game moves. Players taking their time in between pitches, ground balls being fielded sloppily yet the out still being made. The time it takes for a college level softball player to get out of the box and to first base is about 3 seconds or less. By the time a player fields the ball and goes to throw it, the runner is most likely already halfway to the base. This makes it so there is no room for error. The player has to make a clean play to ensure the out. Yes, it is from a shorter distance, but being that close creates stress and doubt in a players mind. In baseball it takes about 4.35 seconds for the average MLB player to make it to first base. That extra second gives the players safety with room for error. There have been many instances where a player will bobble the ball and still get the out. You don’t see that in softball. This speed also creates a more engaging game to watch in softball. Everything is so much closer together that the game moves faster with more chance of error.
Hitting a baseball is often regarded as “the hardest thing to do in sports.” Pitches can reach speeds of up to 105 mph, giving batters the blink of an eye to react. Also when taking into account the movement of the ball, it most likely is the hardest thing to do in sports! An aspect baseball players don’t have though is the ability to throw a riseb
all. This is a pitch that starts in the middle of the zone but quickly rises above the bat and out of the zone. But you also have to look at pitch velocities between the two sports. In research done by FSN Sport Science, they found that a softball pitched underhand at 65 mph from 43 feet is very similar to the speed a baseball moves at 95 mph from 60 feet. So in short, college softball players are pitching faster than many college baseball (and some MLB) players! For college softball, you’re expected to pitch around 58–65 mph. Collegiate baseball is between 80–95 mph.
Most viewers don’t even know that there is a professional softball league that travels the world playing in various tournaments. University of Maryland alumni, Courtney Wyche, plays for the New York Rise. This team is one of many that compete globally. During her time at UMD, Wyche made quite the name for herself. Some of her achievements include leading the Big10 in strikeouts, 126 career appearances, made the All-Met team when she played at Montgomery Blair High School, and had 5 no hitters during her time at Blair. She has had a total of 14 years on the diamond, starting her career at 9 years old. Wyche says she “fell in love with the sport instantly.” Her star studded record has proven her to be one of the most dominant in the circle of all time. Wyche agrees that softball is more engaging to watch than baseball. She thinks one of the biggest reasons for that is the energy softball players create, “Even with bigger stadiums, it still can feel very loud and hype. Softball players are their own cheerleaders, we create and thrive off our screaming, chanting and playing styles.” She says some of her best memories are during high intensity games. One moment she believes softball is definitely more exciting is during certain double plays. But another one in particular takes the cake. She calls this a “Strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out” play. This play is when the pitcher strikes out a batter then the catcher throws the runner out that’s stealing on the same pitch. You don’t see that play much in baseball! Wyche does acknowledge that the fans that do come to softball games are the most energetic people alive. “I think softball players have more opportunities to interact and engage with fans, which only makes their experience that much more memorable. Girls and women tend to be friendlier at games even if they aren’t doing well, whereas boys and men aren’t as likely to engage. Fans love seeing women compete at high levels and get after it, so hustling and going all out in softball matched with the energy difference tends to lead people to like watching softball more than baseball.” She loves the audiences that come and support her career and appreciates all of them. She says that softball players are always “getting after it” and you’ll never see a girl walking on or off the field. She believes that’s a part of the built in energy making the pace of the game faster.
It is still a mystery on why softball gets less viewership than baseball. If the game speed is faster, there are more creative plays being made, and there’s a smaller area to watch, then why aren’t more people watching softball? It is the same core concept of hitting and throwing but is much less popular than baseball at any level. The only major difference is the gender that plays.
