Softball Rules.docx

8/14/2019 Softball Rules.docx

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Softball Rules

The Game

There are 9 players on a softball team. The playing field is divided into the infield and

outfield

The lines between the bases are 60 ft. apartwhen joined they form a diamond inside the

baseline is known as the infield

Outside the baseline but inside the playing thefield is called the outfield.

Any ball going outside the 1st or 3rd base lineis a foul ball (runners cant advance the

batter gets another try unless the ball was

caught in the air which translates to an out.)

An official game is seven innings (a innings iswhen both teams have had their turn to bat.

Pitching

The pitcher must have both feet on thepitchers

rubber and can only take one step forward

while

pitching

The ball must be thrown underhand Both hands must be on the ball at the start of

the pitch.

Batting

Batters must follow the same order throughoutthe whole game

The batter is out if and whenA) three strikes have been called

B) a fly ball is caught

C) the batter does not stand in the batters box

Base Running Runners must touch each base in order starting

at

1st base to last hitting home plate.

Runners may overrun 1st base only all otherbases the runner may be tagged and called out

if

they are off the base.

Runners cant lead off a base they must be onthe base until the ball has left the pitchers

hand

After a fly ball has been caught the baserunner

must tag the occupied base before advancing

to

the next base.

One base runner cant pass another baserunner

that is ahead of them

Stealing a base is allowed but after the pitcherhas released the ball from her hand

A runner is out if they are tagged w/the ball before reaching a

base

the ball gets to 1st base before the runner they run more than 3ft out of the base line

to avoid being tag.

Terms

Ball-a legally pitched ball that doesnt enterthe strike zone

Four balls equal a walk

Grounder- a ball hit on the ground Force out-when the runner has to advance to

the

next base to make room for the following base

runner

Fly ball-ball hit up in the air On deck-the next batter Strike-term used when a ball is swung at

missed

or is called when the ball enters the strike zoneis not swung at all.

Strike Zone-the ball passes the batter over theplate between their chest knees.


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History of Softball

Softball developed as a younger version of baseball. Softball was started by elements of other sports of

which were boating, boxing and football. A boating club, a boxing glove and a football game were key

parts in the very first game of softball.

Softball was first introduced on Thanksgiving Day in 1887 at a Harvard-Yale football game. A man from

Yale playfully threw a boxing glove at the Harvard grads after the game was done and bets were paid. A

fan from Harvard hit the glove away with a broom handle. A game of indoor baseball commenced as a

result. George Hancock, part of the Harvard and Yale Alumni who gathered at the Farragut Boat Club in

Chicago that day to hear the score of the annual football game, made a large, soft ball by taking a boxing

glove and tying it. The ball was fielded barehanded since it was soft and didnt require gloves like those

used in baseball. He did a small baseball diamond with chalk inside the boat club and the game was

underway. The game lasted an hour and ended with a score of 41-40. Hancock wrote down rules and

came up with a big soft ball and a bat that had a rubber tip that was good for indoors. He even painted

permanent foul lines on the floor of Boat Club.

Indoor baseball became very popular in the Chicago area that winter. It was meant to be a way for

baseball players to keep in practice during the winter. By 1889, a winter league was formed. When the

weather became warmer, softball was taken to outdoor field (all of which were too small to be baseball

fields.) The same large and soft balls that were anywhere from 10 to 20 inches in diameter that were

used indoors were also used for the outdoor games. A fireman, Lewis Rober, played a very big role in

developing the game. He needed something to keep his Minneapolis firemen busy while waiting for fire

calls. He marked a field in a lot next to the fire station. The smaller field and softer ball used in the game

of softball made meant more offense and action in the field than baseball. Rober decided to limit games

to seven innings because this allowed games to be completed in an hour while being active and

competitive. Contests between different firehouses began to draw as many as 3,000 spectators. By

1913, the game was officially adopted by the Minneapolis Park Board and was played in parks and on

playgrounds all over the city.

The game that started in Chicago and Milwaukee became very popular and spread through the upper

Midwest and Canada. The first softball league outside the United States was organized in Toronto in

1897. The game had many different names. It was known as a different game (popular names were

cabbage ball, mush ball, or pumpkin ball,) depending on the area in which it was being played. The size

of the bat and ball as well as the exact rules changed as much as the name. Men and women of every

age participated in the sport. In 1931, a team of men who called themselves the Kids and Kubs traveled

around the country playing softball. What made them so unique was they were all at least 75 years old

and played the game in their suits. The game finally took on the name softball in 1926 after a Denver

YMCA official brought the name up as a suggestion. Softball made a huge leap in 1933 when a reporter

from Chicago and a salesman of sporting goods made a softball tournament to go along with the worlds

fair. Leo Fischer (the reporter), and Michael Pauley (the salesman) invited 55 teams to compete in three

tournament divisions: mens fastpitch, mens slowpitch (which is sixteen inch softball and is a direct

descendant of Hancocks original game does not allow defensive players to wear gloves,) and womens.

A total of more than 350,000 people watched the games at the field inside the worlds fair grounds. This

tournament was what propelled softball onto the world stage. Teams, leagues and tournaments started


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to pop up in tons of U.S. cities and around the world. During the next seven years, it was estimated that

more than five million people played softball. After World War 2, Canada soldiers introduced softball to

the Netherlands. In 1939, softball was introduced to Australia. Softball was introduced to the United

Kingdom in 1962 when the movie A Touch Of Class was being filmed in London. The first British womens

softball league was established in 1983.

Also as a result of the success of the tournament, the Amateur Softball Association was founded in the

fall of 1933. The Association brought rules that became standardized and were needed to the game. The

association set rules for different age groups because it feels that softball is a game for all ages. A 12-

inch ball is the standard with a lot of youth leagues. The size of the field varies with age and between

the fastpitch and slowpitch games. The pitching rubber is anywhere from 35 to 50 feet from home plate

and the distance between bases ranged from 55 to 65 feet. The fastpitch game has caught the most

attention internationally. A fastpitch softball pitcher can send the ball to the plate at speeds equal to

those of major league baseball pitchers.

In 1977, the American Professional Slow Pitch League became the first of three mens professional

softball leagues to play between 1977 and 1982.

Since 1951, the International Softball Federation has governed worldwide softball competition. The first

women fastpitch world championships were played in 1965 in Melbourne, Australia. The host team

won the fiveteam competition. The US womens team has won six out of the eight tournaments. The

first mens world championships were played a year later in Mexico City. The US mens team won the

1966 title. Since 1970, softball world championship tournaments have been played every four years.

In 1996, womens softball hit its highest peak when it became an Olympic medal event. The 1996

Olympics also marked a key era in the introduction of technology in softball; the IOC funded a landmark

biomechanical study on pitching during the games. The US Womens team has won all three softball

gold medals awarded in the sport. The US womens fastpitch teams strength reflects how popular the

sport is in the United States. More than 25 million people in the United States alone now actively play

the game of softball. Unfortunately during the last meeting of the International Olympic Committee,

held in Singapore in July 2005, softball and baseball were voted to be dropped as Olympic sports for the

2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Documents

Softball Rules.docx