ACOG - Softball - IBM

Spectator's Guide to Softball

The Players

Each team consists of nine players: pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, left fielder, center fielder and right fielder. The line-up may include a designated hitter who bats in place of another specified player in the line-up.

Softball pitchers work from a non-elevated pitching circle rather than a baseball-like pitching mound. Pitches must be delivered underhand and can reach the batter at speeds close to 70 mph -- the equivalent of a 100 mph fastball from the pitcher's mound.

Unlike baseball, all starting players(with the exception of the designated hitter) may re-enter the game one time following a substitution. All re-entries must be in the original batting order.

The Field

Bases on a softball diamond are 60 ft apart as compared to 90 ft on a baseball field. The distance from the pitching rubber to home plate is 40 ft. The outfield fences are set at a radius of 61m (200 ft) from home plate.

Equipment

Most bats are made of aluminum alloy, however official bats may be made of hardwood, magnesium, fiberglass or any number of materials approved by the International Softball Federation. Bats can be no longer than 34 inches and must not weigh more than 38 ounces. Because of the closeness of the infielder, a safety grip is required on all bats.

Olympic softballs must be 12" in circumference and weigh between 6-1/4 ounces and 7 ounces. The balls are white with no less than 88 stitches on the cover.

All catchers must wear a mask, throat protector, helmet, body protector and shin guards. All offensive players must wear helmets while batting and running the bases. In the field, all players use thick leather softball gloves with deep pockets to snare fly balls and scoop up ground balls.

The Tournament

The eight teams in the tournament play each other one time in a round-robin format. After concluding round-robin play, the four teams with the best records advance to a semifinal round where the No. 1 team plays the No. 2 team and the No. 3 team plays the No. 4 team. The winner of the 1 vs. 2 game automatically advances to the gold-medal game. The loser of 1 vs. 2 plays the winner of the 3 vs. 4 game. The winner of that game earns the second spot in the gold medal contest while the loser receives the bronze medal.

The Olympic tournament also features the international tiebreaker rule. Starting in the 10th inning of a tied game, the offensive team begins its turn at bat with a base runner (the player schedule to bat ninth in the inning) placed at second base. A run scored by the runner is not charged against the pitcher's earned run average.

Participating Teams

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Howard Thomas.


Olympic Factoid
The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July).