Softball

 

The case for growing the 16-inch No Glove Softball game…

…the greatest form of baseball ever devised:

 Most of the fun in baseball is in the action of hitting and fielding. There is less fun in other forms of youth baseball or fast-pitch softball when you have dominating pitchers striking out batters, or weaker pitchers walking batters, while fielders are just standing around having very little action. Youngsters cannot develop skills while standing around. They need continuous action to develop situational instincts.

 The concept described here can apply to any age group, boys, girls, or co-ed.

 For younger players, use a 14-inch “Gymball” for safety and developmental reasons. As kids get older, they will be more ready to handle the 16-inch ball.

 Start with low-cost youth softball in middle school leagues, parochial schools, and park districts.

 Budgets should not be an issue because there are no recurring costs and no equipment needed other than one reusable ball, one bat, and makeshift bases. Also there is no need to have a formal diamond or fences because this game can be played on grass if necessary. For younger boys and girls, this can even be played indoors in a gym.

 Here is a good way to get as many as 9 action-packed innings played in one hour:

·       Eliminate walks and strikeouts by pitching to your own team. This eliminates petty bickering at umpires on proper calls for balls, strikes, illegal pitches, etc.

·       To keep the action moving, have a rule that the batter only gets 2 pitches to hit a fair ball, or else the batter is out, so the batter is more encouraged to take a swing.

·       Involve more players by using a continuous batting order, which means the entire roster gets to bat whether they are playing in the field or not.

·       Reduce forfeits by allowing teams to play with as few as seven players because you don't need to field a pitcher or a catcher.

·       Optional:  You can also choose to allow extra fielders such as a defensive pitcher, 4th outfielder or an extra infielder behind second base.

·       Optional:   reduce blowouts by using a 5-run limit to the amount of runs scored per inning except for the final inning, which has no limit.

In summary, players will have many more at-bats per game with this format without using up too much time. The action will be so continuous that it will only take about one hour to finish a 9 inning game. During that hour there will be very little standing around because the ball will constantly be in play, so more players will be involved, and that leads to having a lot more fun.