I'm a big fan of shows like Mythbusters on Discovery, where they take common "myths" and put them to the test. I was informed of this clip by my roommate. It's from the show Sports Science on FSN, which seems to be the sports version of Mythbusters. In this episode, they try to settle the old debate between men and women's claims: Is it harder to hit a softball or a baseball. Before I make my opinion known, watch the following clip and form your own opinion.
After watching this, I have a few comments of my own to make.
One, the equipment is totally different. For one, a softball is BIGGER than a baseball. Basic physics and common sense would tell you that you have a better chance of making any form of contact with a larger object. A regulation size softball is around 11-12 inches in circumference, depending on the level of play, while a baseball is 9. Also, the bats. MLB uses a standard solid wood bat to hit while softball uses a bat made out of composite alloys. The simple truth is that it's more difficult to just swing a standard 36-ounce major league bat.
Two, the greater the force, the harder to hit? Are you kidding me? That simply isn't true. If that were the case then no one would ever have trouble shellacking a change-up into the upper deck. Of course Finch's pitch broke the glass. It's a larger object at closer range travelling at a high speed. That's a recipe for destruction.
Three, and my biggest point, the competition was neither fair or comparable. On baseball's side, there is a college pitcher and a Diamondbacks prospect. Then, for softball, there's world class softball pitcher Jennie Finch. Are you kidding me? A 95 mph fastball in baseball is pretty common. A 70 mph fastball in softball is rare. She is one of the absolute best in the world. To have to amateurs representing baseball is not fair. How come they don't have a great softball hitter going against Jake Peavy? To compare the two highest levels of softball and baseball (Olympic and MLB) you must have them both represented.
Somebody on the comments for this video on YouTube made the comment that some softball pitcher struck out Reggie Jackson 3 times. Good for them. So did about 500 other pitchers nearly 2,600 times. He is the all time leader in strikeouts. And, of course the baseball guy couldn't hit the ball. He's not used to the release point. It would be the same story for any hitter for a matter of time. Give them a little while, and I'm positive they could hit it.
In conclusion, I do not think their answer is necessarily correct. It would be difficult to prove either to be more difficult, because they both are. The tests they did were not very fair and just seemed to want to allow Finch's claim to be proven correct since she was on the show. In my opinion, a baseball is more difficult to hit. As I said, I don't think they did enough conclusive tests.
Nonetheless, it is an interesting discussion topic. I'd love for you to chime in on this in the comments.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
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17 comments:
This is ridiculous. Hitting a round ball with a round bat is the hardest thing to do in sports. Softball bats, while still round, are shaped differently than a baseball bat. They broaden out just past the handle and remain the same width from base to tip, creating a much larger "sweet spot" to hit with. So, bigger bat, bigger ball...hmmm, I think I'll take my chances hitting a softball.
I have no doubt that Jennie Fitch can bring the heat. But let's give Billy Wagner or Joba Chamberlain a chance to bring the cheese and see if they break your plexi-glass equipment.
Like I said, ridiculous.
You're telling me. I'm getting slammed on the YouTube forums for the point I just made. So, of course I seem like a sexist pig because my points agree with baseball.
The distance from the mound to the plate in professional baseball is 60 ft, 6 inches. What is it in softball? I'd like to see Wagner throwing cheese at a batter from 45 feet! No way you could hit that stuff. And by the same token, if you back up Fitch and her underhand pitch to 60 feet, people would be teeing off on it.
Again, ridiculous.
Guys, I'm sorry. I agree that Fox didn't cover all aspects but I also have trouble following your arguements.
Jason, they were comparing hitting in softball and baseball. They weren't comparing if a softball was easier to hit than a baseball.
In addition, were the bat's "sweet spot" is, is not based on were the bat stops changing in diameter. Roughly, the "sweet spot" on a baseball bat and on a softball bat are the same proportional distance from the knob to the tip of the bat.
And Jake, wake up. MLB no longer uses solid wood bats. A softball bat is generally made of the same alloys has baseball bats.
The plate of glass that Jenny broke was measuring force. The larger ball will have greater force when thrown at the same speed as a smaller ball but Fox was comparing the amount of force from the normal pitching distance and speed of each sport. Therefore, Jenny did not have an unfair advantage when measuring the force of a softball pitch. As a side note, a 70 mph fastball in softball is not that uncommon in competitive softball. I will admit however that a 95 mph fastball in baseball is more common than a 70 mph fastball in softball but not by much.
Yes, I'm a girl. But I grew up playing softball and baseball and have had the same amount of training in both. I can hit any pitch in baseball a lot easier than I can hit a softball pitch, especially a change up or riser. I am not comparing distance of the ball after the hit. I am comparing the number of times I come in contact with the ball.
Bottom line, the answer can not be determined by Fox's study and both of you need to rethink your arguements.
My dearest Anonymous... please direct your attention to my most recent post...
I'm not saying that you're a sexest pig and I don't think I was slamming you. I just wanted to clarify that they are considering many aspects when comparing a softball pitch to a baseball pitch.
Hey,Jake you are so right! If they really wanted to test someone, why don't they get someone like alex Rodriguez or some like that. You are correct and very inspiring! Thanks dude! Later
okay anonymous your absolutely wrong go look at the convert a 70 MPH fastball for softball is soo much faster than a 95 MPH baseball from that far away. Besides you say you can hit a baseball better than a softball thats becaus the softball comes from a shorter ranger and its an akward release. Try hitting Johna Santana's Circle Change or Tim Wakefields knuckleball, or randy johnsons slider, or wagners fastball, or penny's 12-6 curve. ya no softball hitter batting .900 in any league would stand a chance at a challenge like that. Besides that prospect hitter hit only .310 in the minors thats not very impressive and that was his first time hitting a softball. You dont see a girl trying to hit the guys fastball. The softball is bigger and the more force the harder the ball comes off the bat and the farther it goes. And i am not a sexist at all but you should understand so should everyone else that softball is a handicapped baseball. Girls aren't as genetically strong as guys so they would never smack 400 foot home runs and the ball is bigger and also the field is smaller. Softball is the game of baseball that has been modified for people that are not capable of playing baseball (not that girls arent capable) but girls play an eaier sport. and yes MLB does use solid wood bats so dont open your mouth when you have no idea what you are talking about. They don't use metal bats in the MLB.
Wow... what has garnered so much attention to this post? For those of you disagreeing with "anonymous", check out my response post: http://jakegriner.blogspot.com/2008/04/uh-are-you-kidding-me.html
'scuse me, but i am a softball player that plays for a high school softball team...this year we faced a sr. pitcher that got a free ride to northwestern and her fastball was 70 mph also. I also played in the world series of softball and my other team faced pitchers throwing that mph too. and just a pointer...i played baseball till i was 12 until i was told i wasnt allowed to be on a boys team anymore...and im glad a switched...softball gives me a challenge
i think that softball is harder than baseball because for starters... i play competitive softball and our pitcher is only 13yrs old and she can pitch a 51 mph. fastball and by the time she is in college she probably be better than Jenny Finch. Baseball on the other hand my brother plays and they hit the ball non stop so... softball is harder than baseball
I totally agree with anonymous. I definitely believe that in the end softball ends up being more difficult. My sister is 13 and pitching an average fastball of 54mph and her fastest recorded is 58mph.
Baseball players have nice grass in their infield to slow down a ball coming at them at high speeds, but in softball it is all dirt and rocks making grounders take horrible hops.
A softball field is also smaller than a baseball field and a fielder standing less than 40ft away from the batter with one of the composite 101moh+ bats that is like a death wish. Baseball player don't have big enough balls to do that!
Being that a softball is bigger mean that is does not travel as hard, and girls have to work twice as hard to get it out of the infield.
Finally the high to low path that a baseball pitch takes makes it easier to one drop your hands to the ball and two you have more time to make last minute batting adjustment. Whereas in softball bringing your hand up to a rising softball is much more difficult and there is barely enough time to make any adjustments.
Anonymous, I TOTALLY am with you on this one!
-Anonymous 2
Anonymous
both of you
i believe that you both are right and for all you softball haters have you ever heard of walking in somones shoes before judging them. Well this is the same with softball and baseball. you should at least try both before you criticize the other. Chris I personally think you are sexist. I am 13 and maby i shouldn't be talking but i throw at 54-56 miles per hour consistently ad that was wat the clock said during the fall and its almost summer and I've been working on my speed.with a lot of movement on my ball. I have already had colleges take notice to me. Softball pitching isn't just about speed or volicity its about movement, control, and what pitches you can throw. I dont think softball is modified baseball. I actually started playing baseball starting at 3 years old untill i was in 4th grade and people were getting mad at me cuz i was on the boys team. So i tried softball. I found that softball was much more challenging. And since then i have played a game of baseball with some of my guy friends who play AAA baseball and i couldn't believe that i could still play. I hate how softball is so under reconized because ya shure mainly girls play the sport but that doesn't mean we cant bring the same level of play. Also at my pitching lessons one night i didn't have a cather and there just happened to be a major league baseball catcher there so he wanted to catch me, He was AMAZED at how fast the ball was and how much movement there was. THen his friend went up to the plate and he couldnt even touch the ball. I know you might not pay any attention to me cauz I'm young and you might think nothing of this but i just want to make a point. Just because mainly girls play softball doesnt mean that its not hard. If you some of the sexist pigs out there would even attempt to play or even go to a game or even umpier a game they would see how difficult it really is. And just remember that I'm going to be in the future of softball no matter how many people criticize me or put me down just because softball is my sport.
softball is harder, deal with it.
dont get all pissy because your wrong.
people who think baseball is harder are too stupid to open their eyes and see what is right in front of them.
GO SOFTBALL!
softball has a bigger softball which makes is easier to hit but wont go as far as a baseball would. and when you throw the ball it goes slower than the baseball.
the pitcher in baseball will pitch the ball faster then the softball player because first of all it goes faster because its smaller and since it throws faster when they hit the ball it will go further...
I think its harder to pitch a softball than a baseball too..
I think that softball has more issues to deal with than baseball but neither one of them are easy..
plus i play softball so my views are different then most people..
if you agree or dont agree with what i say comment about it pleez
Oh and also this is for Chris.. In baseball the guys my age use metal bats and most of them arent event good just because we are girls doesnt mean we can play at the same level... I played with some guys who played baseball since they were 3 and i played for only 4 years and I'm better then them
Chris you probably wont have a gf ever and if you do I feel bad for her because she is either dumb to not realize your a sexest pig!
Watching sportsnet the other day, I saw a Team Australia vs Team New Zealand mens' Fastpitch softball game.
Im sure you've seen Jenny Finch strike out MLB players on tv or whatnot. Well she is a world class GIRLS pitcher but lets put that a side, and compare men with men. Lets take into prospective MENS fastpitch softball which is a big sport here in Canada, and many other parts of the world.
The pitcher from Austalia was only 22 years of age and threw the ball at upwards speeds of 80 - 85 mph, from 46 feet away. thats 10-15 mph harder than Jenny throws with much more accuracy and movement and velocity. I just don't think a baseball player of any caliber would be able to hit that ball.To be perfectly honest though even world class fastpitch softball batters usually do not hit this kind of pitching (shown as he threw a no hitter in the finals of the ISF world tournament against the best Fastpitch hitting team in the world). It isnt uncommon to see pitching of this sort though from other chuckers in the world. Now lets look at fielding, everything is closer in Fastpitch softball, making it harder to field balls. In baseball you can bobble a ball and still make the play at first. Where as in fastpitch softball the bases only being 60 feet away, you bobble a ball and you give up a hit. Turning a double play in baseball is much easier as well due to the bases being much further away. Double plays in fastball are uncommon, making defence much harder.
To contrast your arguments on why baseball is harder I can say this.
First paragraph: For one the equipment in not totally different by any means. Since softball is not taken as seriously as baseball, you dont see juiced up meatheads playing. A barrel in baseball is larger than a barrel in softball. A standard 26 ounce softball bat swings equivalent to a 30 oz wood baseball bat, meaning a 30 oz softball bat is not so much different that a 36 oz baseball bat. Everything really equals out in the long run.
Second Paragraph : Do not really understand point your trying to convey. (no offence should be taken, I'm only 16)
Next paragraph Jenny finch is merely an ameteur compared to mens fastpitch softball players.
All in all I do enjoy both sports but prefer fastpitch softball over baseball because its a high intensity game for usually an hour and a half. I say that because I have never seen a 7 inning baseball game that has gotten completed under 2 hours. ZZzzz boring. Also its funny to see a baseball pitcher that just get entered into the game and gets as many pitches as he wants, I mean its not practice its a little warm up before you take another 2 minutes in between every pitch lol
Anyways sorry for anyone thinking I'm being a bit of a dick, that was not my intention, I look forward to seeing these two sports contrasted some more. And even though I did chirp baseball a bit I still enjoy watching and playing the sport. Both very respectable sports.
Cheers !
Andy
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