Softball

1
Softball
Coe-Brown Northwood Academy Physical Education
Department
2
History

• The game of softball originated in Chicago on
  Thanksgiving Day, 1887. A group of about twenty
  young men had gathered in the gymnasium of the
  Farragut Boat Club in order to hear the outcome
  of the Harvard-Yale football game. After Yale's
  victory was announced and bets were paid off, a
  man picked up a stray boxing glove and threw it
  at someone, who hit it with a pole.
• George Hancock, the inventor of softball,
  shouted, "Let's play ball!" He tied the boxing
  glove so that it resembled a ball, chalked out a
  diamond on the floor and broke off a broom handle
  to serve as a bat. What proceeded was an odd,
  smaller version of baseball. That game is now,
  111 years later, known as the first softball
  game.

3
Fast Pitch Softball

• Players and Positions
• Pitcher 1
• Catcher 2
• First Base 3
• Second Base 4
• Third Base 5
• Shortstop 6
• Left Field 7
• Center Field 8
• Right Field 9
• As an example if you heard someone say, it was a
  4 to 3 play. You would take the numbers above to
  find out who made the play. 4-Second Base to
  3-First base out.

• The bat used by the batter is made of metal or
  composite materials. It may be no more than 34 in
  long, 2.25 in diameter.
• A softball game can last anywhere from 3 to 9
  innings, depending on the league, rules, and type
  of softball however 7 innings is the most
  common.
• In fast pitch softball the ball MUST be pitched
  underhand. It also has to be thrown by the
  pitcher using the windmill pitch.

4
Slow Pitch Softball

• All player positions are the same with the
  exception of ONE! Slow pitch has an extra player
  10. They are deemed as the short fielder and
  they play in the outfield to help fill gaps.
• Players and Numbered Position
• Pitcher 1
• Catcher 2
• First Base 3
• Second Base 4
• Third Base 5
• Shortstop 6
• Left Field 7
• Center Field 8
• Right Field 9
• Short Field 10

• Bases will be 65 feet apart in the men and
  women's.
• Games are still 7 innings, or longer if in a tie.
• There is NO base stealing!
• The pitch must be thrown underhand (slingshot)
  and have a minimum arc of 6 ft. from the ground.
  The maximum allowable arc is 12 ft. from the
  ground. If the pitch does not meet these
  requirements, an illegal pitch shall be called.

5
Field of Play (fast pitch)

• The pitcher's circle is a a circular area with an
  8 foot radius measured from the center of the
  front edge of the pitcher's plate (rubber).
• The distance between all of the bases is 60 feet.
• The distance from home plate to the pitching
  rubber is 43 feet (College and Pro) 40 feet for
  most high schools.

6
Softball Field
7
Safe or Out? You be the judge!
8
Vocabulary

• Batting Average Percentage of times a player
  gets a base hit.
• Diamond Nickname for the infield, sometimes used
  to describe entire field.
• Double Play When two outs are made on a single
  batted ball.
• Earned run A run that is scored without the aid
  of an error.
• Hit-and-run play First base runner tries for
  second base when the pitcher throws the ball.
  This is used to get infielders moving in the hope
  that a hit would allow the runner on first to
  reach third.
• Sacrifice When a batter bunts a ball and is put
  out, but the play allows a runner to take a base.
• Squeeze play The batter bunts the ball, allowing
  the runner from third base to score.
• Triple play When three outs are made on a single
  batted ball.
• Dead Ball Is not considered in play again, until
  the pitcher is stationed within the 16-foot
  circle and the umpire calls play ball.
• Foul Tip Is a batted ball, which goes directly
  and speedily from the bat to the catchers mitt
  or hand not higher than the batters head and is
  legally caught by the catcher, ball remains
  alive.
• Crow Hop Is the replanting of the pivot foot
  prior to delivery of the pitch.
• Strike Zone Is that space over home plate, which
  is between the batters forward armpit and the top
  of the knees when the batter assumes a natural
  batting stance. Any part of the ball passing
  through the strike zone in flight shall be
  considered a strike the umpire shall determine
  the batters strike zone according to the
  batters usual stance.
• Bunt Is a fair ball, which occurs when the
  batter does not swing to hit the ball, but holds
  the bat in the path of the ball to tap it slowly
  to the infield.
• Drag Bunt Is a bunt where the batter attempts to
  bunt the ball by running forward in the batter
  box, carrying the bat with her. The movement of
  the bat is in conjunction with the batters
  forward movement.
• Attempted Bunt Is any movement of the bat toward
  the ball when the ball is over or near the plate
  area. The mere holding of the bat in the strike
  zone is not an attempt to bunt. If an attempted
  bunt results in a foul ball, it is treated as any
  other foul ball, if the batter has two strikes
  and this happens, he is out.
• Slap Hit Occurs when the batter gives the
  appearance of bunting, using a modified swing or
  slap at the ball as it approaches home plate. If
  an attempt to "SLAP" is a foul ball, it is
  treated the same as any other foul ball including
  an attempt by the batter with two strikes.
• Wild Pitch A wild pitch is a pitch that cannot
  be handled by the catcher with ordinary effort.
• Passed Ball A passed ball is a pitch which the
  catcher fails to stop or control with ordinary
  effort and which enables a runner to advance.
• Catch Is the act of a fielder getting secure
  possession in a hand or glove of a live ball in
  flight and firmly holding it, provided a cap,
  protector, mask, pocket or other part of the
  uniform is not used to trap the ball. It is
  considered a catch. If a fielder catches a fair
  or foul ball and then leaves live-ball area with
  both feet by stepping or falling into a beach,
  dugout, stand, bleacher or over any boundary or
  barrier, such as a fence, rope, chalk line, or a
  pre-game determined imaginary boundary line of
  the field of play. Falling into does not include
  merely running against such object. It is not a
  catch when a fielder touches a batted ball in
  flight and the ball then contacts a member of the
  offensive team or an umpire and is then caught by
  a defensive player.

9
Worksheet

• THE GAME OF SOFTBALL WAS INVENTED IN WHAT YEAR?
• WHERE WAS THE GAME OF SOFTBALL INVENTED?
• WHO INVENTED THE GAME OF SOFTBALL?
• ONE PITCH SOFTBALL MEANS YOU GET HOW MANY
  PITCHES?
• HOW MANY INNINGS ARE IN A SOFTBALL GAME?
• WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR SLOW-PITCH SOFTBALL?
• THE MAXIMUM LENGTH FOR A SOFTBALL BAT IS?
• IN SLOW-PITCH AND FAST-PITCH HOW MUST THE BALL BE
  PITCHED?
• WHAT PLAYER POSITIONS ARE INVOLVED IN A 6-4-3
  DOUBLE PLAY?
• Draw and label Softball field, include lines
  bases, fielders by position and numbered
  positions.
• Define 15 of the 24 Softball vocabulary terms.

10
Work sited

• Information
• Keene State College Softball hand Book- Charlie
  Beach
• http//www.campusrec.uiuc.edu/intramurals/images/
  sport_rules/softball.pdf
• http//www.softballsearch.com/softballrules.html
• http//www.dudleysports.com/tips/terms.html
• Pictures
• www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/5312444.stm
• www.wiaa.com/athletics/softball/