Rams Record

Softball Vs. Baseball

By Brooke, Rams Staff Editor

Softball was invented in 1887 in Chicago, Illinois. It was created by chance during a football game when a Yale alumnus, playfully threw a boxing glove at a Harvard supporter and the Harvard fan hit the glove with a stick. Nowadays the rules and the equipment for softball and baseball are very different. Now we use circular shaped balls that are bigger in size and weigh more than a baseball. In baseball the bases are 90 feet apart. As for in softball they are 60 feet apart. The pitcher's mound is 45 feet from the plate in softball and 60 feet from the plate in baseball. Pitching is different for both sports. In baseball you throw overhand or even side arm and in softball you throw underhand. The bats are different too. The bat's barrel is only two and a quarter inch thick whereas baseball bats are traditionally two and five eighths inches thick. These are just some of the ways that the two sports can differ.

Some towns, colleges, and even countries have made softball one of their top attractions for people to watch and enjoy. Japan has the best softball and baseball teams in the world. Even though these softball players have spent a lifetime in the sport, their pay is a very small amount compared to what professional baseball players can make. The average softball player can make roughly five thousand dollars to six thousand dollars where their salary would top out at roughly twenty thousand dollars. Furthermore the average baseball player can make roughly 4.5 million dollars and having salaries top out at 20 million dollars. The highest paid softball player, Monica Abbott, makes roughly 1 million dollars which is an extraordinary amount of money compared to the rest of professional softball players. Whereas the highest paid baseball player, Alex Rodriguez, is paid nearly 30 million dollars. This shows how, even though softball players can play all over the world, they make nearly nothing compared to baseball players and players of other sports.

There are many countries that are considered to be amazing softball powerhouses but many colleges in the United States are also known for their softball talent. Some of the top softball colleges include the University of Florida, Baylor University, and the University of Notre Dame.  Also famous softball players such as Jennie Finch have graduated from top colleges, among them, Arizona University. Some of the top baseball colleges include Vanderbilt University, USC, Cal-State Fullerton, and Florida State. Many baseball colleges are also known for their softball but since the MLB is a bigger platform than professional softball, the colleges tend to get recognized for their baseball talent and not softball. All in all, softball and baseball have many differences and they are both past times of the United States, although they are now popular in other countries across the globe.