Friday, February 28, 2014

How to tune trampoline effect in softball bat

The performance of a bat can be improved when the trampoline effect of the barrel in the bat improves or enhances. When the bat collides with the ball, the barrel acts as a spring with elasticity in nature. When the spring of the barrel is hard the ball compresses when it hits and looses considerable amount of energy. The ball comes back to its original position after some time. When the spring of the barrel is softer, the ball compresses to a minimal amount when it hits and looses very minimal amount of energy. The energy stored in barrel is ultimately transferred to the ball. After the collision the batted-ball speed increases with a great margin.

The trampoline effect can be increased by using thinner walls. If the barrel of the wall is thinner then the bat will gets cracked when the ball collides with it. Fastpitch bats are also used to produce more performance when compared with the rest of the bats.  

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

History of Softball

Softball, known as the softer version of baseball, is known to derive its roots from various sports. The rules and concepts, though similar to baseball, are entirely different and complex on their own. What is interesting and not known to quite a few of us, is that softball was born at a football game, played long back in the 1880s. Here's a look into how this world famous sport was born.

Softball was first introduced in 1887 at a Harvard-Yale football game. When one from the group of Yale and Harvard alumni, waiting for the results of the Harvard-Yale game (which Yale won),picked a glove and threw it at an Harvard alumni, it triggered the start of a game. This hit was met by the Harvard alumni by hitting the glove back with a stick. George Hancock , the founder of softball, a reporter back then, started the idea of a new game – Softball. The attempt to create Softball batting helmets was introduced in 1905.


Hancock divided the people into two teams, marked the bases, and played the game for a while. But little did they know how popular this sport would become in the coming days. On gaining popularity in Chicago, the game was played outdoors and special rules were also adopted. Softball gained popularity in other states as well, and by 1889, a winter league was formed. By 1913, after undergoing few changes, softball was officially adopted by the Minneapolis Park Board.

Also known to be played majorly by women, softball went on to attain its highest peak when it became an Olympic event in 1966. This also marked the introduction of technology in softball and how popular it was to become in the future. 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Softball vs Baseball game

Often confused as synonyms of the same sport, baseball and softball are two entirely different
sports. As the normal misconception goes, softball is mistook to be the female version of the
baseball. However similar the sports might appear to be, even more so because softball initially emerged as indoor baseball, all the rules and concepts of softball in today's game vary from that of baseball. The differences are many and range from the equipment used to the way the game is played.

Pitching is the foremost technique which differs in either games. Baseball involves overhand throwing, while softball involves underhand pitching. The pitching distance also varies, because the pitching distance is 60 feet and 6 inches, whereas in softball the distance is between 35 feet to 43 feet.

The kind of Bats which is used, varies for both baseball and softball games. Bats vary in both weight 
and barrel. The only similarity the bats have is in the length, maximum of which is 34 inches in 
length. The weight of a softball bat is anywhere between 26oz to 30oz, while that of a baseball is
between 28oz to 31oz. In addition, the baseball bat has a bigger barrel, and hence heavier, than 
compared to a softball bat, which is lighter with a smaller barrel.

Composition and shape of the bats are also major elements to be looked into. Composition of the bats is different as baseball bats can be made of either wood or metal, where as softball bats are always made of metal. Softball is slender and has a diameter of 2.25 inches, wheres baseball has a diameter of 2.75 inches.

Balls are much different, in a way that baseballs are much small in size and dense, while balls used in  softballs are softer comparatively. But softballs are bigger. Softballs tend to change color to yellow, whereas the baseballs remain white.

The game as such also varies a lot between the two sports. Here's looking into these variations:

Baselines are different, as for baseball the length between bases is 90 feet, while for softball, it is 60 feet.

Innings are of seven for softball, while baseball has nine.Tie breaking methods vary for the two sports. For baseball, when a game is tied, the game goes on till a team leads. While in softball, the same applies, but there is an extra runner on a second base till one team leads.

Lead-offs for baseball is allowed for a runner, where as in softball the runner is allowed to leave the bag once the ball is released.

Apart from the differences listed above, many minor differences exist. It is still difficult to comprehend the complexity of each of the games over the other as both have their own set of rules and reaction times. However, the popularity of softball is on the rise and both sports are being played across the world. Players who are playing softball often prefers best slowpitch softball bats  and best fastpitch softball bats for better and higher performance.