Baseball for Ladies

Baseball is a favorite with  players of both sexes and all ages, because of its unique combination of  individual skills into coordinated team play. It's also a favorite with spectators who  enjoy a colorful, exciting, clean game. We will study the fundamental skills of  throwing, catching, batting, and fielding. The battery - the pitcher  and catcher - work together, sizing up batters and determining strategy. The pitcher takes her position facing  the batter with both feet on the plate. She uses her entire body to  get speed on the ball and still keep from wearing herself  out before the end of the game. She takes one step forward and throws  underhand with her arms parallel to her body. And now it's batter up. To avoid pitching too high, the pitcher brings her arm forward low  and follows through with her entire body. Strike one. One job of the catcher is to figure  out the type of pitch the batter likes leaves and signal this information to the  pitcher, hiding the signals with her mitt. She then rises to a semi-standing position, relaxed, balanced, ready to  reach or step in any direction. Fingers of the bare hand are relaxed, with  fingertips out of the way of the ball. The mitt is the target for the pitcher, so the catcher holds it where  she wants the ball to be thrown. Here's the legal pitch in slow motion. After the wind up, watch how  she swings her arm forward low, parallel to the body, and follows  through with her entire body. The batter goes down swinging. The catcher brings the ball back as  far as her ear and makes a snap throw to the pitcher's glove hand, about shoulder high. Now it's a windmill pitch. And it's a foul fly. Flipping off her mask with her thumb, the catcher  keeps her eye on the ball and gets under it. She catches it, not over her  head but in front of her chest. So it's two up and two away. Here's the pitch. And it's a fast grounder. The first baseman feels the ball as the pitcher  runs over to cover the base and the runner's out. Perfect teamwork has retired the side. And the spectators find softball  as exciting as the players. The new team in the field warms  up by pegging around the bases. To catch the ball, relax your hands  and give slightly as you catch it. Balls above the waist are caught with the  fingers pointed up, thumbs toward each other. Below the waist, fingers point down  with little fingers toward each other. The whole body is used in throwing. Here's the overhand throw. Hand back of the head about shoulder high. Left shoulder pointing in  the direction of the throw. Weight back on the right foot. The arm comes forward in  the direction of the throw. Body turns, weight transfers to left foot. Arm, trunk and legs all work to  give the ball force and speed. The underhand throw is used only for fielding a  low ball which is to be thrown a short distance. Now before the game continues, let's  look into the positions of the fielders. The pitcher and catcher are more or less  fixed by their boxes until the play begins. The first baseman normally stands back of the  baseline and a bat length in from her base. The second baseman plays toward first. Shortstop plays between second and third. Third baseman plays in toward second. And like the others, back of the baseline. And here are the approximate  positions of the outfielders: However, fielders move about  according to the batter and the play. With a left-handed batter, move to the right. Play closer for weak batters  and those expected to bounce. But it's better to play too deep than too close, since it's easier to run up  for a ball than back for it. Fielders should learn the batting habits of  each opponent and place themselves accordingly. A fielder stands with eyes on the batter, hips  and knees slightly bent, hands resting on thighs. Weight on the toes, ready for a  quick push off in any direction. When the batter steps up, she stands far enough  from the place that the strong part of the bat, marked here by white rings, will be over  the center of the plate when she swings. Some batters stand with their feet in  a comfortably wide stance when batting. Others start with a narrow stance  and step into the pitch as it is hit. In either case, her feet point  directly toward the plate and her left side is turned squarely toward the pitcher. For powerful batting, the hands are held  close together at the end of the bat. Normally, the grip is just  a little higher on the bat. The choked grip is more accurate for  placing a hit, especially for lighter girls. Holding the trademark out will minimize  the chance of cracking the bat. The bat is swung around parallel to the  ground so that the ball is hit squarely. The batter watches the pitcher so she can keep  her eyes on the ball all the way to the plate. Here it comes! It's a hit! Dropping the bat, she starts for first,  run on every hit, and she's safe. Let's go back and review that play in slow motion. The batter keeps her eyes on the ball. She swings the bat parallel to the ground,  then she drops the bat and heads for first. The left fielder backs up the third  baseman in case she misses the ball. There's a peg to first. Since the runner is forced, the  first baseman need only tag the bag, so she doesn't block the path of the runner. Good fielding. But the runner was fast and she's safe. The next batter steps up. The fielders take their positions, ready to size up the play and back up their  teammates, ready for a hit on every ball. The runner on first is prepared to lead  off on the pitch in case she gets a chance to advance. Here's the play. It's a grounder to shortstop. Shortstop misses. But left fielder is backing her  up and fields the ball in time to play for the most advanced  runner, holding her at second. Here's that left fielder again. Notice how she keeps her eyes on that grounder  as she runs up on it with knees and hips bent. Holding her glove so that the  ball goes directly into it. Getting into position to throw  the ball as she fields it. Now a left-handed batter steps up, so  the fielders move over to the right. Here's the pitch. It's a fly, but she runs. The center fielder turns and runs back for it. She doesn't try to back up. For that catch, she held her hands chest high. The quick throw to second stops  the runners from advancing. So there's one out. For this right-handed batter, the fielders  shift back to their normal position. This would be a good spot for a home run. But no, it's a surprise bunt! The pitcher fields it and  pegs to first for the put out. First base flips the ball home  to hold the runner on third. To make that bunt a surprise,  the batter took her usual stance. Now watch how she turns to face the pitcher. Slides her right hand down the  bat and uses her left hand to angle the bat and send the ball  slowly down the first baseline. Now it's two out with runners on second and  third, both ready to lead off on the pitch. Here it is. It's high and fast down the third baseline. It's too fast for a clean catch, so the  left fielder knocks it down and it's fair. That fast throw to the catcher  puts the runner on third in a trap. The left fielder backs up third,  the pitcher backs up the catcher. Since the runner is not forced,  she must be tagged with the ball. Perfect teamwork among the four fielders closes the trap for the third out  and the end of the game. Some of the spectators are  naturally happier than others, but the rooters for both  teams have enjoyed the game, as have all the players, winners and losers. Yes, softball is good fun and good sport, and both the fun and the sport  of the game can be improved by intelligently practicing individual  skills and coordinated teamwork.