Softball

Softball, type of baseball played with a softer, larger ball (12 in/30.5 cm in circumference) and a modified bat. The bases are 60 ft (18.3 m) apart and the pitcher stands 46 ft (14 m) from the home plate (40 ft/12 m in women's games). The ball is pitched underhand, and a game lasts 7 innings. Softball was developed in Chicago in 1888 by G. W. Hancock as an indoor form of baseball. Many countries, particularly in the Americas, now compete in the annual amateur world championships.

See also: Baseball.