Fun facts and pictures

Softball ball is similar to baseball, but you use a larger ball in softball than you do in baseball. You pitch the ball underhand in softball. You throw fast pitches and you are allowed to steal bases in fast-pitch softball games. You must pitch the ball with an arc that is 3 to 10 feet high and you may not steal bases in slow-pitch softball.

According to the International Softball Federation website, softball originated on Thanksgiving Day in 1887 in Chicago. A football fan celebrating victory for his team threw a boxing glove at a fan of the opposing team. The fan hit the glove with a stick and a reporter named George Hancock witnessed this. Hancock was inspired to initiate a game and bound the glove into a sphere, marked lines on the floor with chalk and used a broomstick handle as a bat. Hancock held the first softball game the night he witnessed the glove toss and held games ever Saturday night. Hancock issued the first rulebook in 1889.

A fast-pitch softball team may consist of nine players or nine players plus one designated player. The designated player is an offensive player who bats in place of a defensive player. Slow-pitch softball teams that are not co-ed must have 10 players and may have an optional 11th player. Co-ed softball teams must have five male and five female players. Two extra players may participate on a co-ed team but one must be male and the other must be female.

A batter must have his feet inside the batter's box when he makes contact with the ball. The batter may not touch the home plate with any part of his foot when he makes contact with the ball. An illegally batted ball occurs when the batter steps completely out of the batter's box and returns to the batter's box to make contact with the ball. Batters must use approved and unaltered bats. Bats must be wood or another material approved by the ISF Equipment Standards Commission. Metal bats must be made of angular metal and must not have a wooden handle. Softball bats must not exceed 34 in. or 38 oz.