What is harder softball for men, or baseball for men

• Heretic

  

  j_crazy wrote: golfing 18 holes and staying sober.

  Now that's IM-FUCKING-POSSIBLE!!!!! All these other athletic feats at least CAN be performed!
• Quint

  

  I was a state player of the year in baseball, but I can't hit for shit in slow pitch softball. . . so I would say softball.
  
  But the obvious answer is baseball. How many people do you know that are comfortable hitting 90 mph pitches? Or that can throw the ball 90 mph? I've seen a lot of old, unskilled guys play softball. Baseball is something you have, or you don't. Softball (and marathons for that matter) is something that can be picked up by just about anybody.
• jmog

  Quint wrote: I was a state player of the year in baseball, but I can't hit for shit in slow pitch softball. . . so I would say softball.
  
  But the obvious answer is baseball. How many people do you know that are comfortable hitting 90 mph pitches? Or that can throw the ball 90 mph? I've seen a lot of old, unskilled guys play softball. Baseball is something you have, or you don't. Softball (and marathons for that matter) is something that can be picked up by just about anybody.

  Trust me, as someone who was all state in HS baseball and played college for 2 years before I blew out my shoulder, I understand the initial slow pitch softball hitting debacle.
  
  I sucked at first too with the timing. However, once I "got it", trust me, hitting in softball is 1000 times easier than hitting in baseball.
  
  In softball I actually get kind of upset if I make an out at all, in baseball that obviously happened over half the time almost 2/3 of the time.
• Quint

  

  jmog wrote:

  Quint wrote: I was a state player of the year in baseball, but I can't hit for shit in slow pitch softball. . . so I would say softball.
  
  But the obvious answer is baseball. How many people do you know that are comfortable hitting 90 mph pitches? Or that can throw the ball 90 mph? I've seen a lot of old, unskilled guys play softball. Baseball is something you have, or you don't. Softball (and marathons for that matter) is something that can be picked up by just about anybody.

  Trust me, as someone who was all state in HS baseball and played college for 2 years before I blew out my shoulder, I understand the initial slow pitch softball hitting debacle.
  
  I sucked at first too with the timing. However, once I "got it", trust me, hitting in softball is 1000 times easier than hitting in baseball.
  
  In softball I actually get kind of upset if I make an out at all, in baseball that obviously happened over half the time almost 2/3 of the time.

  It is horrible. My friends are thinking they have brought in a ringer, and there are 50 year old fat, out-of-shape guys on the team hitting better than I do! I will admit though. . . the extracurriculars associated with softball are a lot better than they were with HS/College baseball.
• jmog

  Quint wrote:
  
  It is horrible. My friends are thinking they have brought in a ringer, and there are 50 year old fat, out-of-shape guys on the team hitting better than I do! I will admit though. . . the extracurriculars associated with softball are a lot better than they were with HS/College baseball.

  I'll give you what my time frame on hitting on slow pitch softball was as a reference.
  
  It took me a good 2-3 weeks (5 or 6 games) to even hit anything what wasn't a pop up.
  
  After that I could hit line drives, but could not hit anything to the right (2nd base side) of SS, I pulled everything HARD from the timing.
  
  It took me a good whole season or two to really learn to place the ball in soft ball anywhere I want, now I hardly ever pull it unless the left field shades way in, I hit from LC to RF.
  
  Just as an FYI how long it took me to adjust from hitting 90 MPH fastballs to the melon they toss in softball.
  
  Now, season to season there is zero batting practice required, just go out there and swing for game one. You and I both know that wouldn't work in baseball, at the beginning of each season you had to go through PLENTY of BP to get the timing back down.
  
  Once you get it, softball hitting is a joke.
• darbypitcher22

  

  BR1986FB wrote: I got into this argument with a 40-some year old man when I was about 13. He said "slow pitch softball is much more difficult...it's an 'art form." I said "it's a pussy sport for a bunch of baseball 'has beens' who want to relive their glory days and drink beer." Try hitting a 90 mph fastball or a slider that drops off the table vs an egg tossed, grapefruit sized sphere.

  This pretty much sums up my feelings on the whole subject.
• HitsRus

  

  Comparing slow pitch to baseball is a no brainer.
  
  How about men's fastpitch? Still feel the same way?
  http://www.batspeed.com/messageboard/30423.html
• dancinbear

  swamisez wrote: I find that baseball players struggle hitting softball because the timing mechanisms they use to hit actually hurt in softball.
  
  Hitting a good fastpitch softball pitcher is guess work, you essentially have to shorten your stroke to the point it is hard to generate power. It becomes all hands no lower body.
  
  That being said, you have to have extremely quick hands to hit. Most women don't this is why softball games seem to end up 1-0 when a good pitcher is on the mound. Great pitching in baseball still rarely yields 1-0 games.
  The mound in fastpitch is probably a little too close for competition to occur at the highest levels. Its more like bowling with the pitcher hitting spots and the batter serving only to occasionally reach base via the walk or an error.

  Wrong, wrong, and wrong again.
  
  Softball hitting is currently EXACTLY like a baseball swing. Big colleges and smart high school or travel coaches are teaching it. Most use a system called Right View Pro and actually the baseball samples on there which are instructed by Don Mattingly are much more effective and clear. Simply put, the verbage and examples are better. So no, there is no longer shortening the stroke to hit the ball.
  
  Most softball games yield fewer runs typically because of the 60 ft distance between bases, the MUCH SMALLER gaps between fielders, and shit I'd hate to give the pitchers any credit, but the pitching is becoming much more dominating. Even high school pitchers can't survive without at least 3 pitches. Speed/power will no longer get a pitcher anywhere. Without a change, decent drop, and a curve or rise, hitters dominate.
  
  The mound is NOT too close for competition. Don't know where you've been the past few years, but I'm pretty sure people have been putting out info on how hitting a 60 mph softball is harder to hit than a 90 mph baseball....has something to do with science, math, and some distance/speed numbers. Also, hitting spots is actually harder than throwing a few halfway effective junk pitches into the mix.
  
  I don't mean to imply that you're an idiot....but, don't attempt to speak on a subject that you clearly know nothing about outside of your ancient gym class round-robin tournaments.
  
  I am not saying that softball is harder....what I am saying is that they are two completely different games. If a guy grows up his whole life playing baseball, YES, softball would be a somewhat difficult adjustment...at least becoming a pitcher. Strategy is a bit different, but doesn't exacly require a rocket scientist.
  
  Thats enough of my rant for now, though I'm sure I've forgotten a few things.
• enigmaax

  cam93 wrote: my friend

  Thread disqualified for lying in the first two words. Aren't you the same tool who made up the drug-addict-friend-death thing? Clearly you have no friends.
• stroups

  

  I seriously didn't know men played fast pitch softball................ hahahahahahaha
• HitsRus

  

  It used to be pretty big in the heartland...Nebraska, Kansas. But the growth of slo pitch recreationally, and more competition between sports like the growth of soccer has pulled potential players away. It's big up in Canada also.
• Manhattan Buckeye

  It's also big in urban areas where there isn't room for a slow pitch softball field. There are a lot of 'modified' fast pitch leagues in Central Park in New York. I call it modified because from what I witnessed you couldn't do a full wind-up pitching, so you had a lot of interesting techniques. Every now and then there would be a woman pitcher but they also couldn't do a full wind-up. Some pitchers were better than others, but even the best rarely struck out many people.
• Thunder70

  

  Also depends on if Eddie Feigner is pitching...
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Feigner
• Sonofanump

  Thunder70 wrote: Also depends on if Eddie Feigner is pitching...
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Feigner

  I remember him and his female equivalent.
  She struckout Hank Aaron, Ted Williams & Reggie Jackson on three pitches.
  I looked for a video on youtube but could not find one.
• jmog

  Thunder70 wrote: Also depends on if Eddie Feigner is pitching...
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Feigner

  Ah, the "King and his Court"
• cam93

  yes my friend is talking about slow pitch softball
• noreply66

  Hard too say
  
  Softball is a faster game
• jmog

  cam93 wrote: yes my friend is talking about slow pitch softball

  Then your friend is an idiot.
  
  I would say the only position on the field even defensively that is harder in slow pitch softball is 3rd base.
  
  Every other position is easier, and hitting is 1000x easier.
• justcompete

  "the king and his court".......Nobody posting on here could even foul one of his pitches off.
• Thunder70

  

  wouldn't even see...let alone foul off...
  
  i heard stories of how they made him pitch from 2nd base or something like that...
• HitsRus

  

  jmog wrote:

  cam93 wrote: yes my friend is talking about slow pitch softball

  Then your friend is an idiot.
  
  I would say the only position on the field even defensively that is harder in slow pitch softball is 3rd base.
  
  Every other position is easier, and hitting is 1000x easier.

  Spot on.
• justcompete

  He used to play with 5 players. On stood next to him on the right, one on the left, a first baseman and a catcher. The two infielders would play in so they could cover bunts. Unreal....
• jmog

  justcompete wrote: "the king and his court".......Nobody posting on here could even foul one of his pitches off.

  Yup, I batted once against a former college softball pitcher since she coached my younger sister's softball team.
  
  It took me 3 at bats before I got the timing down and got a hit, the first two were KOs.
  
  Someone as good as "the king" I would have never have touched his pitches probably.
• tcarrier32

  

  according to sports science...
  
  
• Sonofanump

  cam93 wrote: yes my friend is talking about slow pitch softball

  If you friend said he was to pick you up at 3pm and said he had to move it back an hour, what time would he show up at your house.