Talk:Softball

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Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 22 September 2020 and 12 December 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Gma78, Ksl66.

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Introduction needs work
The introduction has a lot of redundant or conflicting information. It (and the rest of the article) does not indicate the basepath lengths can vary, and are typically 65-70 feet for slowpitch softball. I will consider revisions, but I encourage others to revamp the article! Mdewman6 (talk) 03:35, 16 August 2019 (UTC)

Metric conversion
In the article on softball sizes, the diameter conversion for fast- and slow-pitch softballs gave 12" = 30.5 cm, which is correct (it's 30.48 cm), but the conversion for the 11" ball was given as 29.7 cm, which is not correct - it's 11x2.54 = 27.94. Looks like a transposition is involved. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jagordon3 (talk • contribs) 20:07, 23 May 2010 (UTC)

Clarification needed
I think the ending sentence in the introduction is missing something, and I can't find any information to fill it out "It is dominated by Lauren Clarke, overall stud". It doesn't make any sense, and if someone agrees with me, maybe it should be deleted in order to avoid confusions. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mikewik (talk • contribs) 08:50, 7 June 2010 (UTC)

Kcallan16 (talk) 21:05, 9 May 2011 (UTC)In the pitcher section, when it lists the description, it says that the fielders attempt to field balls that are played in the middle of the diamond, but this places a limitation of the fielders because they can attempt to field a foul ball, a ball that is in unfair territory. This is extremely minor, so I think I may go ahead and fix it myself.

MGM (talk) 19:06, 23 Sep 2011 (UTC) "fences are 220 feet (67 meters) for females and 250 feet (75 meters) for males (the corresponding baseball field average distances are 410 and 325 feet)" - the way this is written avg softball fence distances are 220 feet for females and 250 feet for males, and avg baseball distances are 410 feet for females and 325 feet fo males - which seems backwards to me for sexes in baseball. The baseball distances given look more like men's avg left/right 325 and center 410. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.0.243.73 (talk) 23:07, 23 September 2011 (UTC)

Additional information needed
There seems to be very specific information regarding the weight, size, and composition of the softball itself. It may be helpful if detailed information about the softball bat and glove were added. The bat and the glove are essential pieces of equipment to the game as well as the ball. The softball bat in particular has evolved drastically from the wooden baseball and aluminum bat. Now the composite bat, which helps increase the distance of the batted ball, is becoming controversial because it creates an unfair advantage for the batter (although, this particular topic may create a bias opinion among some of the more passionate people in the softball community). It has also caused the distance from which the ball is pitched to be pushed further back in recent years. Kcallan16 (talk) 20:59, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

I play softball.:D — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.8.155.57 (talk) 19:52, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Outfield dimensions
The article states that the outfield is at all points equidistant from home plate. This is clearly not always true, it often is deeper in center field than down the lines. I would change it, but it may be true that in some cases, depending on things like age, governing body, etc., the requirement is for equidistant fence. 173.22.149.127 (talk) 12:52, 29 May 2012 (UTC) That is correct; more times than not the fence is farther to centerfield than it is to the foul poles in both right and left field. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Murphdawwg (talk • contribs) 23:03, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

Foul tips
A foul tip is very important in the game of softball. It is an interesting rule that is easily looked over. A foul tip is described as a ball that is tipped off of the bat and land directly into the catcher’s glove, which furthermore counts as a strike. According to the NSA rule book the ball that is batted can’t go over the batters head or it is not considered a foul tip. If it is caught by the catcher by the third strike then the batter is out. (Browna48) Cantrell, Eddie R., Don Snopek, and Sonja Ritchie. "NSA Rule Book." NSA Rule Book. NSA, 2012. Web. 2014. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Browna48 (talk • contribs) 17:28, 16 March 2014 (UTC) (Browna48 (talk) 17:37, 16 March 2014 (UTC))

Jewelry restrictions
There are some minor restrictions in certain level of the game in fast pitch softball. One of the minor things that are easily looked over is the fact that jewelry is strictly prohibited on the field. There are a lot of injury hazards when it comes to jewelry so it is strictly prohibited. In some extreme cases players can wear, “Medical alert bracelets and necklaces are not considered jewelry. These rules do not apply to adult players. ( browna48) "USSSA Fast Pitch Clarification & Interpretation." USSSA Fast Pitch Clarification & Interpretation. National Umpire Commmitee, Feb. 2013. Web. Mar. 2014. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Browna48 (talk • contribs) 17:33, 16 March 2014 (UTC) (Browna48 (talk) 17:38, 16 March 2014 (UTC))

Protective gear (continued)
Softball is considered a contact sport. With that being said it is important to protect yourself and there is protective gear that you can wear. One of the many things that you can wear is a mouth guard. The mouth guard can protect your mouth and teeth from potentially getting injured during the game. The ball can take some bad hops when it leaves the bat so some players wear mouth guards,” to prevent any damage to their mouth, teeth, and tongue”.(browna48) "Sports and Exercise Safety." KidsHealth. Ed. Alfred Atanda Jr. The Nemours Foundation, 01 Nov. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Browna48 (talk • contribs) 17:36, 16 March 2014 (UTC) (Browna48 (talk) 17:38, 16 March 2014 (UTC)) In addition, a piece of protective equipment arising in popularity due to increased speeds of the ball off of the bat are facemasks. Many young girls wear facemasks when learning the game. They are most commonly worn by pitchers, first basemen, and third basemen because of their close proximity to home plate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Murphdawwg (talk • contribs) 23:05, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

The designated player
According to the International Softball Federation Playing Rules Committee, “There can be a 10th player in the lineup known as the designated player. This designated player can hit for one of the players on the team. He or she is also known as the designated hitter. This player is also known as the flex player. The flex player can sub in and out for other players on the team.(Browna48 (talk) 17:43, 16 March 2014 (UTC)) "Offical Rules of Softball." Offical Rules of Softball. International Softball Federation Playing Rules Committee, 2013. Web. 2014.

Hkoening12 (talk) 18:12, 27 January 2015 (UTC)SlappingHkoening12 (talk) 18:12, 27 January 2015 (UTC) When Slapping normally a lefty batter would be the only one to really slap if they can, but right batter hitters can also slap. Its called slap for a base hit. If a right handed batter is slapping then normally want the ball to stay on the ground just how the left handed batters do it.

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I have just added archive links to 16 one external links on Softball. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100327134311/http://www.16inchsoftballhof.com:80/history.asp to http://www.16inchsoftballhof.com/history.asp
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20061212040653/http://www.internationalsoftball.com:80/english/the_isf/history_of_softball.asp to http://www.internationalsoftball.com/english/the_isf/history_of_softball.asp
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20070218104659/http://www.internationalsoftball.com:80/english/rules_standards/Rulebook_2002.pdf to http://www.internationalsoftball.com/english/rules_standards/Rulebook_2002.pdf
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20110720061906/http://www.tulane.edu/~im_sport/softball.htm to http://www.tulane.edu/~im_sport/softball.htm
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20070304214343/http://www.internationalsoftball.com:80/english/events/06_09_05_wwc.asp to http://www.internationalsoftball.com/english/events/06_09_05_wwc.asp
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Sbw template
Hi the template is redirecting/linking to the men's team and not he women's. I cannot work out how to fix.121.98.106.119 (talk) 11:38, 9 July 2016 (UTC)


 * Thank you for pointing this out. The problem is with Country data New Zealand. I've filed an edit request here, and I anticipate this will be resolved in a day or two. Rebb  ing  15:59, 9 July 2016 (UTC)


 * ✅. It now shows as:  Rebb  ing  18:09, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

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Asher r1 (talk) 03:15, 16 September 2016 (UTC)Everything in this article is relevant to the subject of "Softball". It is a very general topic with much history and many components. Nothing really distracted me while reading this article. I felt like it provided a wide range of information and would be very helpful if I had never heard of softball before.

This article seemed fairly neutral to me. It provides information on both men and women forms of softball and doesn't veer towards one more.

Most of the sources seem neutral as they are from museums, softball rules and regulations, etc. However, one source did stand out to me. It talks about how coed softball rules have institutionalized sexism. I actually think it is really cool that they cited this source as to not take away from the fact that softball is mostly played by women and is looked at as a "weaker" form of baseball. The article that is cited explains how the rules of coed are made with the stereotype that men are stronger than women.

I checked a few of the links and they do work and I even found some interesting.

This article is definitely updated as it tells how softball and baseball are being brought back to the Olympics, which was just established recently. Asher r1 (talk) 03:15, 16 September 2016 (UTC)

Outfield Fence Distances
Hello! I was just thinking that it might be good to add the different distances from home plate to the outfield fence for the different types of softball. Women's fences are 220 feet on average, men's fast pitch extends to 250 feet, and slow pitch fences range from 275 to 300 feet depending on age and league type. Samijowilliams (talk) 01:56, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

confused by final sentence in introduction
I'm not a softball wizard and I'm confused by the final sentence in the introduction. It reads:

"Also the infield in fast pitch softball does not have grass verses baseball at any level that does have grass.

Does it need to be rewritten for clarity? I think I might have an idea what it means, but I might have no clue. 162.196.161.203 (talk) 16:51, 3 February 2017 (UTC)


 * I think it's trying to say that fastpitch softball uses sand for the whole infield whereas baseball has a grass-covered infield with sand for the bases (and usually base paths).


 * Rebb ing  17:54, 3 February 2017 (UTC)


 * Thanks. That's what I thought; I have changed "verses" to "whereas" which I think is better.

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Another clarification needed
I think the article could avoid some confusion with the ball sizes from the outset, eg, saying that the small ball, for youth softball, has a circumference of 11 inches (and thus a diameter of 3.5 inches), and the big ball has a circumference of 12 inches (and thus a diameter of 3.8 inches). In a style versus clarity question, clarity is always more relevant. 200.187.118.13 (talk) 07:01, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

Pitching
Is it against the rules to use submarine or sidearm pitch (as both are underhanded pitches)?? Regardless of their effectiveness. 213.149.61.73 (talk) 15:47, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Confusing Mixture of Different Types of Softball
There should be separate articles for Slowpitch and Fastpitch softball. The rules, equipment, type of play, strategy, etc. are very different for these major categories. In the current article, there are many cases were a statement is made as being general to softball, but it really only applies to slowpitch or fastpitch. The existing article is confusing because it bounces back and forth between these two types of softball. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alanmoll (talk • contribs) 15:50, 13 December 2020 (UTC)

Lead needs to be rewritten
The lead of this article is pretty bad. It jumps and jumbles way too many disconnected items in a terrible fashion. It's also obviously written with the assumption that the reader knows baseball, instead of standing on its own. oknazevad (talk) 05:00, 6 May 2021 (UTC)

There is too much conflicting information on this page. There are also too many other Wikipedia pages about softball that have information in conflict with information on this page.
This page needs a proper disambiguation (see also, etc.) introduction to all the other softball pages that we decide to maintain.Absolutely Certainly (talk) 21:34, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

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