![]() ![]() There are many different perspectives to take into consideration.Īccording to The Denver Post, many softball players and their coaches believe that softball pitchers, unlike their baseball counterparts, are not at risk of injury from throwing too many balls. THOUGH THE SDSAB DOES ITS BEST, THESE COLUMNS ARE EDITED BY ED ZOTTI, NOT CECIL, SO ACCURACYWISE YOU'D BETTER KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED.Coaches, athletes, and sports medicine professionals are debating whether a pitch count limit is necessary for the health and safety of softball players. Send questions to Cecil via REPORTS ARE WRITTEN BY THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD, CECIL'S ONLINE AUXILIARY. The fact remains that softball pitchers are doing the best they can in a game whose rules are stacked against them. ![]() If you’ve seen fast-pitch softball, you know that styles such as the ‘slingshot’ and ‘windmill’ deliveries have evolved, to take maximum advantage of this motion. But you’ll notice that the method of throwing a great underhand softball pitch is quite different from a good baseball pitch. There are some great fast-pitch softball pitchers out there, of course. In fast-pitch, of course, softball was more competitive, without restrictions on speed, arc, or wind-up (well, sometimes some leagues restrict certain wind-ups to this day), but the legal throwing motion was still limited to underhand. No pitcher’s mound is used in softball, even though the game is played outdoors now, because it would give the pitcher a mechanical advantage. In the ’50’s, in order to accommodate less skilled players, some more recreational leagues restricted the pitch to underhand throwing, no wind-up, a reasonable speed, with a perceptible arc. Being indoors, there was no pitching mound, and throwing from this position was considered potentially harmful to a pitcher’s mechanics, so often a coach or manager would simply toss the ball, underhanded, to put it in play for practice purposes.Ĭompetitive softball started to take off in the 1930’s. Softball was created as a way for ball players to play indoors in the winter, and was necessarily slower paced than baseball, with more fielders, a smaller field, and a bigger ball. Then, why must softball pitchers throw underhand? Because historically softball pitchers weren’t supposed to throw fast. While it’s not impossible to pitch with major league speed and precision throwing underhand, I venture to say it’s more difficult. So much about baseball control and speed comes from an overhand motion, including the wind-up, the whiplike explosion off the mound, and the follow-through. If your parents, little league, high school, or college coaches don’t know about the mechanics of underhand pitching, you’ll likely be discouraged by them, or by the batters who hit you, or who you hit. ![]() So, why don’t more pitchers throw this way? Partly because it’s simply unconventional. In 1998, Rolando Arrojo pitched his rookie season for the Devil Rays (14-12 in 1998, with a 3.56 ERA), although, like Marichal, he varies his delivery among overhand, sidearm, and submarine, giving the illusion that he has a dozen or so pitches in his bag. Quiz finished his career with 244 saves out of 674 relief appearances, and an ERA of 2.55. Dan Quisenberry was a sidearmer whose delivery became more submarine later in his career, after working with Pirates submariner Kent Tekulve. Juan Marichal was known for throwing overhand, underhand, and sidearm, and had six 20-win seasons and a career ERA of 2.89. There have been several sidearm pitchers, and a couple of submarine (underhand) throwers, in the major leagues, with varying degrees of success. Dear Straight Dope: My barber asked me this: why is a softball pitched underhand and a baseball overhand? I know it’s in the rules, but why? Zach P.īrace yourself, Zach: there’s no rule that requires a baseball pitcher to deliver the ball overhand. ![]()
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