Is softball harder than baseball? Some may say softball is so easy, but it’s not. It is ranked the second hardest sport in the world. The first is gymnastics, which I get because they have to perfect so many different things.
Five reasons why softball is harder: the speed of pitches, the reaction time for hitters and fielders, and the distance of the field indicates that softball is indeed harder than baseball. In softball, a pitcher controls the ball with her fingertips on the seam, and she has the ability to cause the softball to change speeds dramatically.
The closest comparison, by reaction time, between men’s fastpitch softball and baseball is a 100 mph pitch in baseball (0.413 seconds to react) and a 75 mph pitch (0.418 seconds to react) in softball. This means that in softball you have to react faster not just as a batter since the field is shorter you have to react faster in the field and won’t have as much time to get the out.
Not only is it harder, it’s also more dangerous. The overall incidence injury rate was 4.5/1000 athlete-exposures, with more injuries overall in softball players (5.6/1000 injuries) than in baseball players (4.0/1000 injuries).
Other points include a flatter slope of the ball’s flight path during a pitch in softball making it harder to get a higher trajectory on a solid hit to hit a home run. Also, softball is a faster running game in general with more runners finding ways to get into a scoring position in softball because of things like the differences in stealing bases, and a lack of technologies and scientific studies on how best to play and move.
