User:Kennaalexus/Softball

History
The earliest known softball game was played in Chicago, Illinois, on Thanksgiving Day, 1887. It took place at the Farragut Boat Club at a gathering to hear the outcome of the Yale University and Harvard University football game. When the score was announced and bets were settled, a Yale alumnus threw a boxing glove at a Harvard supporter. The Harvard fan grabbed a stick and swung at the rolled up glove.George Hancock, a reporter there, called out "Play ball!" and the game began, with the boxing glove tightened into a ball, a broom handle serving as a bat. This first contest ended with a score of 41–40. The ball, being soft, was fielded barehanded.

Hancock is credited as the game's inventor for his development of a 17" ball and an undersized bat in the next week. The Farragut Club soon set rules for the game, which spread quickly to outsiders. Envisioned as a way for baseball players to maintain their skills during the winter, the sport was called "Indoor Baseball". Under the name of "Indoor-Outdoor", the game moved outside in the next year, and the first rules were published in 1889. Indoor baseball player, 1907 In 1895 Lewis Rober, Sr. of Minneapolis organized outdoor games as exercise for firefighters; this game was known as kitten ball (after the first team to play it), lemon ball, or diamond ball. Rober's version of the game used a ball 12 inches (30 cm) in circumference, rather than the 16-inch (41 cm) ball used by the Farragut club, and eventually the Minneapolis ball prevailed, although the dimensions of the Minneapolis diamond were passed over in favor of the dimensions of the Chicago one. Rober may not have been familiar with the Farragut Club rules. Fire Station No. 19 in Minneapolis, Rober's post from 1896 to 1906, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in part for its association with the sport's development. The first softball league outside the United States was organized in Toronto in 1897.

The name "softball" dates back to 1926. The name was coined by Walter Hakanson of the YMCA at a meeting of the National Recreation Congress. (In addition to "indoor baseball", "kitten ball", and "diamond ball", names for the game included "mush ball", and "pumpkin ball".) The name softball had spread across the United States by 1930. By the 1930s, similar sports with different rules and names were being played all over the United States and Canada. A tournament held in 1933 at the Chicago World's Fair spurred interest in the game. By 1936, the Joint Rules Committee on Softball had standardized the rules and naming throughout the United States.

Sixteen-inch softball, also sometimes referred to as "mush ball" or "super-slow pitch" (although the ball is not soft at all), is a direct descendant of Hancock's original game. Defensive players are not allowed to wear fielding gloves. Sixteen-inch softball is played extensively in Chicago, where devotees such as newspaper columnist Mike Royko consider it the "real" game, and New Orleans. In New Orleans, sixteen-inch softball is called "Cabbage Ball" and is a popular team sport in area elementary and high schools.

The first cork-centered softball was created in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, by Emil Kenesky (Emil "Pops" Kenesky).

By the 1940s, fast pitch began to dominate the game. Although slow pitch was present at the 1933 World's Fair, the main course of action taken was to lengthen the pitching distance. Slow pitch achieved formal recognition in 1953 when it was added to the program of the Amateur Softball Association, and within a decade had surpassed fast pitch in popularity.

The first British women's softball league was established in 1953.

The National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum was opened in Oklahoma City, United States in 1957.

In 1991, women's fast pitch softball was selected to debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The 1996 Olympics also marked a key era in the introduction of technology in softball. The IOC funded a landmark biomechanical study on pitching during the games.

In 2002, sixteen-inch slow pitch was written out of the International Softball Federation (ISF) official rules, although it is still played extensively in the United States under The Amateur Softball Association of America, or ASA rules.

The 117th meeting of the International Olympic Committee, held in Singapore in July 2005, voted to drop softball and baseball as Olympic sports for the 2012 Summer Olympics. They were reinstated for the 2020 Summer Olympics held in 2021.

Other sanctioning bodies of softball are AAU, NSA, PONY, Babe Ruth League, ASA, ISC, USSSA and Triple Crown.

Adding to History
After 13 years, the Olympics welcomes back Softball. When Softball was removed from the Olympics, many of the softball players had to move on with life. They went to school, they played professionally, worked as coaches, started businesses, got married, had children, contended with injuries and other challenges and several retired. However, the 10 veteran girls of 2008 are back this summer and are playing for their national teams. The veterans return has shown the dedication and talent that they have to compete in the Olympics.

Adding to History
In 1933, at the Chicago World’s Fai r, softball made its competitive introduction to Fastpitch, which used a hard to hit underhand technique. Slow-pitch, which is less competitive, involves a slow underhand toss, and is more primarily seen at young children's playgrounds. Fastpitch is known to be a common community game. In 1933, the national tournament began, which then featured a women's category and by the end of the 1930s women's Fastpitch teams were vastly popular. At a point when there was no sports teams open to women, softball provided the opening to female athletes. During the Depression softball became easily accessible those in poverty due to the low prices: the smaller field dimensions, originating from its indoor game roots, and was easily held at local parks. The games were short, comparing seven innings to baseball’s nine, allowing people with complicated work schedules to attend games.

What to Focus On and What to Avoid
When the player is fielding, their main focus should be on the pitchers arm, whenever the pitcher releases the ball, the player not only needs to be paying attention to the pitcher but also the ball itself and even the batter and the catcher. The player needs to recognize whether the pitch will be a ball or a strike, or decide if the batter will even swing. Always have a scenario or plan in mind about what should happen once the ball is hit, the player should figure out exactly where their eyes should be at every stage of the pitchers actions. The player should consult with their coach and determine the exact play that they will need to make in the game.

Tips and Rules
In some fast-pitch leagues, base runners are allowed to steal bases. This isn't allowed in soft-pitch because with the lofty pitches, it would be impossible to keep runners from advancing. One unique part of fast-pitch strategy is the slap bunt, in which a batter tries to slap the ball between infielders while taking off for first base at the same time. Bunting isn't allowed in slow-pitch. Fast-pitch games tend to breeze by because of the difficulty of hitting, where as slow-pitch games often last several hours. To prevent games from taking all night, some leagues stipulate that a half-inning ends when every player on a team has come to bat.

Ball
A modern optic yellow softball Despite the sport's name, the ball is not actually soft, though it does have a lower density and greater coefficient of restitution than a baseball.

The size of the ball varies according to the variety played and age of the participants. The circumference for fastpitch for adults is 12±0.125 in (30.5±0.3 cm), with a mass between 6.25 and 7.0 oz (177 and 198 g), while children under 12 use a ball with a circumference of 11±0.125 in (27.9±0.3 cm) with a mass between 5.875 and 6.125 oz (166.6 and 173.6 g). A 12-inch circumference ball is generally used in slow pitch. (For comparison, a baseball is 9 to 9+1⁄4 inches (229–235 mm) in circumference and has a mass between 5 and 5+1⁄4 ounces (142–149 g).)

The ball is covered in two pieces of leather or similar synthetic covering that are roughly the shape of a figure-8 and sewn together along a continuous seam. The core of the ball may be made of long fiber kapok, a mixture of cork and rubber, a polyurethane mixture, or another approved material.

Before 1993, white balls were standard at all levels of play. In that year, a new, fluorescent optic yellow colored ball was first used in college softball. Yellow softballs have become the standard for all levels of play; white balls are also still allowed, but are very uncommon today.

In Chicago, where softball was invented, it remains traditional to play a variant of slow-pitch with a ball 16 inches (41 centimeters) in circumference. The fielders do not wear gloves or mitts. A 16-inch softball when new is rough and hard, with hand and finger injuries to fielders frequent if they do not "give" when receiving a ball, but the ball "breaks in" slightly during a game and continues to soften over time with continued play. A well-broken-in ball is called a mush ball and is favored for informal "pick-up" games and when playing in limited space, such as a city street (because the ball does not go as far). A 16-inch ball is also used for wheelchair softball.

Adding to Ball
It is said that the sport of softball began as an indoor game in Chicago in 1887. Back then the ball wasn't a ball at all, it was a boxing glove wrapped into a more circular and hit with a broomstick. As the game evolved, rules became formalized and the game moved outside. The traditional 16-inch Chicago style was preferred until 11 and 12-inch softballs were incorporated. Presently, slow and fast pitch softball use 11 and 12-inch circumference softballs, depending on the size and age of the players. Teams of boys and girls of the age 10 and under use the 11-inch softball. Women's teams sometimes also use the 11-inch ball. Men's slow pitch leagues primarily use the 12-inch ball, along with men and women's fast pitch teams. The ball being larger means it doesn't travel as far and there are fewer home runs hit.

Article Draft Explanation
When I first came across the article "Softball" there had not been many things added or revised to the article. There has only been a few things added/revised through this year from August-October. I thought this would be a good article for me to choose because softball has been apart of my life since I was 5 years old. I know a lot about the sport but there's always some things back in time that I had not known about or even things that I did not completely know about today, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn more and add more things to the Wikipedia article for myself and for others. In order to improve this article I thought it would be best to add to other sections or even make new sections of my own and add some more up to date facts. I will be adding to the existing section called "History", I will be adding about how softball had been taken out of the Olympics and how it was for some of the softball players back then and how it is now that it is back in the Olympics after 13 years. I think this will help a reader learn a little bit about how the Olympics being taken out for softball has changed some players lives and help them learn more about how it is now that it is back after so long. Without this being added, none of the readers would know completely about it because it is only briefly mentioned in the Wikipedia article. I would also like to add a section called "What to Focus On and What to Avoid." I would like to add this section to talk about things you need to focus on in the field and during the game as well as things you need to avoid. I think this section being added will really help readers understand more about the game and how important these things are if you don't do them. It could also help readers understand more even whenever they are just watching softball, not even playing it. I also would like to add a section called "Tips and Rules". I would like to add this section to talk about some of the things you need to know about batting and even some tips to know about during the game. I think this will really help readers learn some more things that maybe they did not know about like some of the hits you can make as a batter and even how to prevent games from lasting so long. I will be adding to the existing section called "Ball", I will be adding some facts about the three different softball sizes that have existed overtime that had not all been talked about in the Wikipedia article. I think this will really help readers understand more about the sizes of the softballs and even ones that existing back then in time that were used but are not now. And even help readers learn more about which age gaps use which ball during games. Lastly, I will be adding into the section called "History" again. I will be adding more information about when softball became fast pitch and was not only slow pitch anymore. This will really help readers get a better understanding of why and how they invented fast pitch as a game as well as slow pitch.