Softball.

Softball. I INTRODUCTION Softball, game similar to baseball, played with a ball called a softball. Most of the rules of play for softball are similar to those of baseball, with differences in pitch speed, equipment, and field size. Softball has three major classifications: fast-pitch, slow-pitch, and modified-pitch. There are both men's and women's divisions. Slow-pitch is the most popular form of softball across the United States, with adult fast-pitch regionally popular. Girls' fast-pitch softball has grown rapidly in recent years. In the United States the sport is governed by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA), the National Softball Association (NSA), the United States Sports Specialty Association (USSSA), and the Independent Softball Association (ISA). II EQUIPMENT AND FIELD A softball is larger than the regulation baseball. It can be made of kapok (a silky fiber), a mixture of cork and rubber, a polyurethane mixture, or other approved materials. The ball is hand or machine wound with a fine-quality twisted yarn and is covered with latex or rubber cement. The "12-inch" ball measures between 11.88 and 12.13 in (30.2 and 30.8 cm) in circumference and weighs between 6.25 and 7 oz (177.2 and 198.4 g). In slow-pitch softball a special ball measuring 16 in (40.6 cm) in circumference can also be used. Softball bats may not be more than 34 in (86.4 cm) long nor more than 38 oz (1077.3 g) and must meet specific performance standards. Infield measurements in softball are shorter than those in baseball. The bases are 60 ft (18.3 m) apart in fast-pitch and modified-pitch softball, 65 ft (19.8 m) in slowpitch, and 70 to 90 ft (21.3 to 27.4 m) in men's majors competition. The distance between the pitcher's mound and home plate also depends on classification. In women's fast-pitch and modified-pitch the distance is 40 ft (12.2 m). In men's fast-pitch and modified-pitch the distance is 46 ft (14 m). In both men's and women's slow-pitch the distance is 50 ft (15.2 m). III RULES Several aspects of softball's rules of play also differ from baseball. First, pitching in softball is underhand. In slow-pitch the ball is released at a moderate speed and delivered with perceptible arc, reaching a height of at least 6 ft (1.8 m) from the ground while not exceeding a maximum height of 12 ft (3.7 m) from the ground (10 ft, or 3.1 m, in some leagues). In fast-pitch the pitcher can throw the ball at as fast a speed as possible. In modified-pitch there are no regulations for the flight path of the ball, but the technique of the pitching delivery needs to meet certain requirements. A second difference may be in the number of players. Until 1947 a softball team consisted of ten players--the nine that comprise a baseball team plus an extra outfielder called a shortfielder or rover. The ten-player team is still used in slow-pitch softball, but fast-pitch and modified-pitch play use nine-player teams. A third difference of play is that in slow-pitch softball neither bunting nor base stealing is allowed, although they are permitted in fast-pitch, modified-pitch, and men's majors play. IV HISTORY In 1887 softball was invented as an indoor sport by George Hancock, a reporter for the Chicago Board of Trade. The first games took place inside the Farragut Boat Club in Chicago. In 1895 Lewis Rober, a member of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, fire department, invented outdoor softball and called it Kitten League Ball, later shortened to Kitten Ball. Rober invented the game to keep the firemen in shape and busy during the time they spent at the firehouse. In subsequent years the popularity of Kitten Ball spread throughout the United States. In 1922 the name Kitten Ball was changed to Diamond Ball. The name softball was not developed until 1926, when Walter Hakanson of the Denver, Colorado, Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) conceived of it while attending a meeting in Greeley, Colorado, to form the Colorado Amateur Softball Association. In 1933 the first national amateur softball tournament in the United States took place in Chicago in conjunction with that year's World's Fair (see Exhibitions and Expositions: Century of Progress International Exposition). The softball tournament was staged by two American sports enthusiasts, Leo Fischer and Michael J. Pauley, and soon after the Amateur Softball Association was formed. Softball's popularity continued to grow and to spread internationally. By the mid-1990s it was played in more than 85 countries under the auspices of the International Softball Federation (ISF), the international governing body of the sport. The ISF was founded in 1952. The first ISF Women's World Championship was held in 1965 in Melbourne, Australia, and the first ISF Men's World Championship was held in 1966 in Mexico City, Mexico. Both were played in the fast-pitch classification. World championships for boys' and girls' fast-pitch softball were first played in 1981. Softball has become increasingly popular among women, particularly at the youth and collegiate levels. More than 600 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member institutions sponsor women's softball programs, and national championships for women are held in all three NCAA sports divisions (divisions I, II, and III). Women's fast-pitch softball debuted as a medal sport at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2005 the International Olympic Committee voted to drop softball--and baseball--from the 2012 Olympic Games. Reviewed by: National Softball Association Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.