Why Is Softball Better Than Baseball

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Baseball is one of the hardest sports to play in the world. Basketball, Volleyball, and Soccer are difficult sports to play as well. However, softball is considered by many to be easier than baseball. Softball has statistically been proven to be more difficult than baseball. The first reason softball is harder than baseball is because of hitting. Most college softball pitchers pitch the ball up to 70 mph from 37 feet away, from that distance it takes the ball 0.35 seconds to cross the plate. Most MLB pitchers reach speeds of 100 mph from 60 feet away, from there it takes the baseball 0.38 seconds to cross the plate. The decision time for the batter in softball is only .025 seconds which is 55% less time than an MLB player. In baseball …show more content…

The size of a softball field is 7,200 ft2 whereas the size of a baseball field is 16,700 ft2. When balls come off the bat in softball, the velocity is up to 100 mph. A softball player has less time to react from an infield line drive (0.61 seconds) than a tennis player does from a Serena Williams serve (0.65 seconds). When fielding grounders an infielder has to get the ball to first in less than 3.2 seconds which is over a second faster than a typical MLB player can reach first. The infield has even less time to react when facing a slap hitter. Slap hitting allows the batter to move towards the ball while they are hitting. This allows the batter to overcome their resting inertia before the ball is in play. Slap hitters reach speeds up to 19 mph and can reach first base in 2.66 seconds. This means that if a 3rd baseman takes more than 1.5 seconds to field a ball it becomes virtually impossible to throw the runner out because she would have to release the ball at 100 mph. You also have to consider base stealing, even with rules against leading off a quick runner can get from 1st to 2nd in just three seconds. This means a softball catcher has to get a throw off 1/10 of a second faster than a MLB catcher does. The final reason softball is harder than baseball is because of the pitching. A 100 mph fastball in baseball generates a force of 2,411 pounds. A 70 mph fastball in softball had so much force