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Why Is A Softball A Hardball And A Baseball A Softball???
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The unfortunate deaths of a slo-pitch softball pitcher from GA this year (2002) and a pitcher in modified softball from MI last year as well as the large number of injuries due to batted-balls I have personally witnessed these past few years were my motivation for writing this short article.
Its time to STOP THIS MADNESS!!! |
Rather than repeat the data that we have gathered on this subject, I would recommend that you read the following articles for background before proceeding:
* "Softball" - A Contradiction In Terms (member's section)
* How Ball Circumference And Compression Affect Pitcher Response Time!!! (member's section)
* How Temperature Affects Ball Compression (member's section)
After recently doing ball compression testing on baseballs, I noticed that while the average compression for baseballs has gone down about 15% in the past few years, the average compression value for softballs has not changed much. Based on our initial study in 1997 on Softball vs Baseball testing, the average polyurethane softball was 1.4 times harder than a baseball. Based on our testing for 2001 balls, the average polyurethane softball is 1.6 times harder than a baseball. This is a disturbing trend that absolutely needs to be controlled based on recent reported injuries and at least two fatalities. This information leads to the obvious question of, Why on Earth would we need a softball, which is supposed to be soft by its very definition, harder than a baseball? Below is a table comparing the average baseball to our 2000 and 2001 ball reviews using high-, mid- and low-compression balls.
Ball Compression Table
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Average Baseball |
High Compression Softball |
Increase or Decrease |
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264 pqi |
Yr 2000 (546 pqi) |
+282 pqi or 2.07x |
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Yr 2001 (549 pqi) |
+285 pqi or 2.08x |
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Mid Compression Softball |
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264 pqi |
Yr 2000 (416 pqi) |
+152 pqi or 1.58x |
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Yr 2001 (429 pqi) |
+165 pqi or 1.63x |
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Low Compression Softball |
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264 pqi |
Yr 2000 (274 pqi) |
+10 pqi or 0.04x |
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Yr 2001 (278 pqi) |
+14 pqi or 0.05x |
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pqi =( lbs./0.25)
Taking a look at our previous articles (member's section) and the data listed above, one has to wonder if the sport of softball should be called hardball and baseball called softball? As mentioned previously, two unfortunate deaths so far in recreational softball (both were pitchers) was my motivation for writing this short article. The combination of a high compression ball, an end-loaded bat and an increase in pitch velocity are quite dangerous. Is there a possibility that this can happen again in recreational softball? The answer is obviously YES!!!
P.S. Be sure to send this article to your friend or league director.
http://www.bandnsoftball.com/
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