You are watching: Can you use a baseball bat for softball
Newcomers to the games played ~ above diamonds might be unaware the the bats are really different in baseball and also softball.No respectable league would enable use of a baseball bat in a soft ball game. In fact, all well-known youth, college and adult soft ball leagues follow strict rules regarding the dimension and types of bats offered ~ and also baseball-sized and -shaped bats room never amongst those allowed for usage in softball.Perhaps there room rogue leagues that allow baseball bats come hit fastpitch or also slowpitch softballs; but we space unaware of them. There space unorganized, occasionally casual leagues with weird or various rules, though.There are numerous reasons for the differences, which we research below.
Contents1 general Differences in between Softball and also Baseball Bats2 Why the Difference?3 last Words ~ above Baseball vs. Soft ball Bats4 connected Questions4.1 Question: Why don’t they change softball rule to permit use the baseball bats?4.2 Q.: What about wood baseball or soft ball bats?
General Differences in between Softball and also Baseball Bats
The key difference between baseball and also softball bats is the barrel size. If you can only judge what type of bat it is indigenous a distance, if it has a barrel much thicker 보다 the handle, that a baseball bat.Softball bats space shaped more like longneck beer party ~ whereby the barrel is still larger than the thin handle, but the thickened barrel part is constant throughout the length. The is, the whole barrel is cylindrical.Baseball bats proceed to enlarge indigenous the peak of the handle, virtually to the finish of the barrel, sort of choose an elongated funnel. This is specifically true of metal bats, which sometimes have barrels looking oddly oversized.However, all baseball leagues have borders to the size of the barrel, through circumference. (The best MLB barrel can be 2.75 inches in diameter; adult soft ball bat barrels cannot exceed 2.25 inches).Softball bats also tend to be lighter in weight, despite in terms of lengths and weights, soft ball bats don’t need to be much different than their baseball counterparts. Typical adult softball bats are 34 customs long, possibly 28 to 30 ounces in weight. Basically, a little smaller than baseball bats overall, however large, strong softball players deserve to go increase in weight.Why the Difference?
Baseball bats have progressed much since their first appearance in the mid-1800s, beginning as pretty lot a long stick, and slowly gift crafted into the version we check out today. The alters are because players wanted help hitting a tiny round object coming in ~ them at a high rate of speed, v a round bat.So the barrels acquired bigger. There were other improvements, too, favor thinner handles, tape for handles, and a knob at the very end to help with control, but as whole the baseball bat’s barrel prospered to assist with the very hard sporting activities act that hitting a fast-pitched tiny ball.
Softball came along much later than baseball, and also when fastpitch was invented, video game creators found that it was ideal for the pitcher to be closer to home plate contrasted with baseball (in high school and college soft ball it’s 43 feet, contrasted with 60.5 feet because that baseball). Due to the fact that of the nearness, soft ball batters should react very fast to strike the oncoming ball.So the bats tended to it is in lighter. Since softballs to be so lot bigger, the large barrel to be not required to assist with contact. The crucial for softball was bat speed, not slugging for street (though today’s peak softball players certainly can perform that; their hitting layouts have occurred much like peak baseball football player today).So basically it’s a issue of this:The smaller sized the ball, the enlarge the bat barrel.The enlarge the ball, the smaller sized the bat barrel.Then shave off a little weight also, and you have softball bats ~ also those offered in adult soft ball leagues.Anyone who’s tried to hit a softball v a baseball bat will certainly realize, there’s fixed a benefit to it. Baseball bats often tend to be much more end-loaded, or heavier towards the finish of the barrel, therefore they are harder to regulate through the hitting zone. The bigger barrel go not help much, except maybe to aid prevent absent a pitch entirely.Vice-versa, using a softball bat for fastpitch baseball is ill-advised. Not just is it much harder come do, considering the smaller barrel, however they space not produced to resist the hardness of a baseball and therefore are an extremely prone come damage. Lock are called “soft” balls because that a reason; the interior string within baseballs room wound tighter, so the sphere is much harder.