Baseball-Softball: Top things to know

Baseball-Softball is one of the five additional sports proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee for inclusion at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028, pending approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at their session in Mumbai (October 2023).

The final event programme and number of athlete quotas in the additional sports will be finalised in the future.

Baseball was contested at each Olympic Games from Barcelona 1992 to Beijing 2008 before making its return at the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021.

Previously, one-off baseball matches had been held at a number of Games before demonstration tournaments were held at Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988.

Softball made its Olympic debut, as a women’s-only sport, at Atlanta 1996. Like baseball, it was dropped ahead of London 2012 before returning in Tokyo.

Cuba won three of the first four Olympic baseball tournaments with United States defeating them in the Sydney 2000 final. Republic of Korea beat Cuba in the Beijing 2008 gold medal game with hosts Japan victorious at Tokyo 2020.

The United States won the first three Olympic softball tournaments. Sydney 2000 runners-up Japan claimed the last two, both thanks to final victories over the United States, including gold at Tokyo 2020.

What is Baseball-Softball and how is it being played?

As softball is directly derived from baseball, there are several similarities between the two.

In both cases, there is a fielding side and a batting side at each time with the two teams alternating during a period of play known as an inning. So Team A will bat and Team B field in the ‘top half’ of the inning and swap for the ‘bottom half’.

The pitcher throws the ball (overarm in baseball, underarm in softball) towards a batter who tries to hit it forward into a ‘V’ shaped zone which stretches back to the stands.

Having hit the ball in play, the batter runs to the first of four bases which are arranged in a diamond with second base opposite the batters’s box/home base and third base opposite first.

Each batter has a tally or strikes and balls. A strike occurs when a batter either hits the ball ‘foul’ (behind the ‘V’ shaped playing area), swings and misses at a ball, or leaves a ball which passes over home plate in the ‘strike zone’ between the knees and the chest. Three strikes means the batter is out although a foul ball will not result in a strike-out.

A ball is called when a batter leaves a ball which either fails to pass over home plate or is deemed too high or low to hit. Four balls results in the batter walking to first base. The same outcome is achieved if a ball hit the batter’s body.

Should a batter make it to first base, the next batter comes in and faces a pitch with the aim of also making it on base.

The teams swap roles midway through an innings when three batters are out. Batters can be struck out (by swinging and missing a ball or leaving one which passes over home plate) or caught, or tagged or run out while between bases.

A batter scores a run if they make it all the way round to home plate. The quickest way to do this is via a ‘home run’ where the batter launches the ball over the perimeter fence. Any players on base also score.

At the end of the match, the team with the most runs win unless there is a tie necessitating extra innings.

Softball has smaller playing dimensions with 18m between the bases as opposed to 27m in baseball.

In baseball, the pitcher stands on an elevated mound while softball pitchers deliver from a flat circular area.

How long is a Baseball-Softball game?

Another difference between baseball and softball is in the match duration.

Baseball games last nine innings while softball games consist of seven.

Time-wise, baseball matches often take between two and a half and three hours. Softball matches are usually over in less than two hours.

How many players are on a Baseball-Softball team?

Previously, there were just nine players on a baseball/softball team with the pitcher expected to bat.

In recent years, teams have expanded to 10 players with a designated hitter (DH) replacing the pitcher in the batting line-up. The DH does not take the field with the pitcher.

Where did Baseball-Softball originate?

Baseball was reportedly first played in Surrey, England in 1749 before making it across the Atlantic to the United States in the 1770s.

The sport’s first organised professional league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players - was founded in 1875. It is widely recognised as the USA’s national sport.

In 1887 in Chicago, reporter George Hancock drew up rules for a sport having seen supporters from Yale and Harvard Universities hitting a boxing glove with a broomstick during an American football match.

He called it “indoor baseball” with the idea of allowing players to practice in the winter although it soon moved outside into playing areas smaller than those required for baseball proper.

It was renamed softball in 1926 and gained popularity particularly among children and women.