Coed softball - question about rules

[carom]

Ok, quick question and I would appreciate feedback and opinions.

First a little background: I play in a coed recreational softball league that has divisions with teams that run the gamut from very serious teams who practice multiple times a week and play tournaments around the country to pretty novice. My team falls in the lower category as I really have no interest in practicing and I like to get together once a week with friends, drink some beers, and hit some dingers. Anyway, the league is about to introduce a rule where next year the game will be played with two different size balls (11" for female batters and 12" for men). The thought being that women are not as strong and can hit a smaller ball further.

I had never heard of this before, so my first question is has anyone ever had any experience with this before? Apparently it has been in the ISF rulebook for years.

Secondly what do people think about this? I am not in favour as I think it is discriminatory, reinforces stereotypes, and needlessly complicates the game. I am very interested in hearing what people think about this.

[FLAMESRULE]

Sounds stupid and very gimmicky. It's coed for a reason...everyone plays by the same rules. I dont see an issue with men/women only leagues if they want to use a smaller ball though. If anything it will just mean girls get out more often since the smaller ball will travel a bit faster + farther.

So you need to change balls every batter as well??

[East Coast Flame]

I have played in a couple tournaments that used different balls. Never really gave it much thought - really wasn't that big of a deal.

[PeteMoss]

If the females on the team are fine with it then I'd be fine with it. Nothing really changes for males.

[carom]

Yeah new ball every at bat.

I don't think implementing it is going to be a huge deal, maybe a minor annoyance. It's more the principle of it being the same rules for everyone and the fact that it will disproportionately advantage females with stronger abilities and discourage males with not as good abilities all on the basis of their sex.

[brocoli]

Every tournament we play in we change balls for girls vs. guys. It ends up being more competative as the smaller balls general fly further and thus the female hits end up being a little better. Although if a female can't hit it won't make that big of a difference. As someone who pitches, that's where it sucks as the flight on pitches and weight screws you up a little bit.

[Muffins]

I play in a league that does this.

The one thing I find it does is it keeps the outfielders from moving way in on most girls.

The one issue I have with it is that throwing that smaller ball sucks when you're used to the normal size. I can't even count how many times i've thrown it into the dirt to 1B because of that oddly sized ball.

[bc-chris]

i've never heard of that rule before

as others have mentioned, if the ladies are fine with it then who cares - it's rec co-ed softball

[octothorp]

My league does this, both in league play and tournaments. Personally I'm a fan of it... it definitely prevents outfielders from crowding in, and actually eliminates the need for a 'respect line', which perhaps your league has (I know CSSC did). Back when we were playing in that league, for most girls we'd just line up our outfielders four-across around the respect line, and have them ready to run in on anything. Sometimes, there just wouldn't be any place where a girl could realistically get a base hit.
Now, we actually need to plan our strategy for different girls, same as we would for guys. And it's not like it advantages girls so much that they'll start cranking it further than guys or hitting it to the fence (although with a really good batter it can happen); in my experience, a good female batter hitting a small ball, will typically hit into the same distance as a weak guy, but as always it has more to do with technique than power.

[Brewmaster]

The league I play in uses the same size ball for everyone, but I wouldn't be opposed to 2 different sizes. It gives the girls a better opportunity to get on base and really isn't difficult to change out between batters. Calling it 'discriminatory' is making a big deal out of something that really isn't.

[Travis Munroe]

I play in 1 league which does this. It is not uncommon for women to say they are fine with the regular ball. Honestly, there is little difference. Your catcher sees a girl coming up and throws the pitcher the right ball and play on with no delay.

[Weitz]

That would be cool. With the smaller balls the girls on my team could probably hit to the fence instead of just hitting it over the out fielders heads who cheat in.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by carom

Secondly what do people think about this?

[Raekwon]

Our league would play with normal balls and then pull this big/small ball crap out during tournaments. Its fine if you do it all of the time but when they would spring it on us the biggest factor was wild throws to first base as they weren't familiar with the ball size/weight.

[Rjcsjc62]

I play in the same league as Realtor 1, and it has always been this way in our league. Girls can choose, but almost all of them choose the small ball.

Like others mentioned, it keeps the defense more honest, because some girls can really pound it.

I wouldn't want to play in a slow pitch league without a small ball for girls. By giving them this small advantage, I think it helps include them because they can contribute more to the team, vs. anything negative that you pointed out in your OP.

What could be more discouraging than lining up to hit and watching all of the outfielders jog in after they yell "girl" to each other. Then you finally get a good hit and you watch it sail right to the outfielder who is standing behind shortstop.

Realtor1: Did you guys ending up winning the final?

[Locke]

I see. In our league this is common-place. Small ball for ladies and large ball for the guys. I assumed it was standard.

[undercoverbrother]

What about beercans?


Do males drink Tall Boys and girls Regular Cans?

[Titan]

I have also seen this lots. The only thing I hate is if they allow women to use the small ball but bunt as well. With the better women you can eat one if they fake bunt then smash it. I found the small ball comes off the bat of a good woman hitter as fast as a large ball hit by a guy. I think the cor in the small ball is denser as well. I have seen small balls hit out by women. I miss slowpitch.

[carom]

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated. I have found it a bit difficult to find information on this. I didn't realize this was so prevalent.

[northcrunk]

I've seen this but don't play softball.

Are there any coed or just adult baseball leagues that use a real ball and not a beach ball? Nothing against softball but I grew up playing baseball and played at a high level so theres not much challenge in it. It's good fun to meet up and have a few beers in the sun while whacking some homers but not very competitive.