Get out onto the softball pitch and see what you are made of out there.
If you have always wanted to play for a baseball team, but you’re worried about not being good enough, have you considered learning the ropes by playing softball? As a variant of baseball, softball is a fun starting point to help you get your head around the techniques and strategies required to excel in baseball.
As well as the comparable techniques and strategies employed, baseball and softball games are quite similar in appearance, mostly due to the equipment used and the layout of their pitches.
These similarities make it easy for players that master the game of softball to transition to the more intense form of baseball. However, there are some nuances to softball that make it inherently easier. Firstly, the balls used in softball are larger and less dense.
That makes it harder to hit the ball as far as a baseball. Softballs can be as large as 30.5 centimeters in circumference, which is around 8 centimeters wider than a standard baseball. The other main difference between softball and baseball equipment is the size of the bats. Softball bats cannot be any longer than 86 centimeters and are typically thinner than most baseball bats.
Softball is a good starting point for those new to baseball, as the pitch size of a softball game is somewhat smaller, making it less physical. The perimeter of softball baselines is about 18 meters, compared with 27 meters in baseball, so if you have always liked the idea of being a baseball pitcher, given your accurate throw, softball is also a good proving ground.
Additionally, the length of the pitching distance in softball cannot be any longer than 14 meters, compared with 18 meters in baseball. Such allows you to practice your accuracy and hone your arsenal of alternative throws. However, bear in mind that only underhand throws are permissible in softball.
Another good reason why softball is less intense than baseball for beginners is the shorter games. Softball games contain only seven innings for each team, compared with nine innings per team in baseball. So, even if you are a competitive individual, it’s crucial to view softball as a fun, social sport.
Softball is also an inclusive sport, allowing for mixed-gender teams. Such has helped local communities to develop vibrant and diverse softball leagues, giving newcomers ample opportunities to hone their skills in a relaxed environment.
After mastering the technique and rules of softball, there is no reason why you can’t graduate to the faster-paced game of baseball. Even baseball is not an overly grueling sport physically. The professional baseball teams in the Major League Baseball (MLB) manage to play hundreds of games in a regular season, doing battle for qualification to the MLB World Series, which looks to be as fiercely-contested as ever in 2019 based on the odds of sportsbooks. According to the Oddschecker World Series Odds, the Yankees, the Astros and the Red Sox are all vying for supremacy this year.
If you have developed a solid hitting technique with a softball, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to become a good baseball hitter. Aside from watching and learning the best in the business during the World Series, batting cages are a relaxed way to build up your hitting technique and get your muscle memory used to the smaller, harder baseballs. It’s the same with any other sport that requires hand-eye coordination — repetition is key.
Even baseball experts agree that committing to learning and improving your hitting technique will help you go a long way to become a competent baseball hitter. Mike Doyle, a head coach of a successful Seattle-based high school baseball team, recently spoke to The Season on the importance of situational hitting circuits, allowing you to handle all manner of in-game scenarios. So, whether it’s having a runner on the second or third base or all the bases loaded, knowing how and where to place your hits takes you a long way, regardless of your overall skill level.
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