Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball team sport that developed from baseball and is played on a diamond with a larger ball. Games usually last seven innings, and the team with more runs wins. The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the highest international governing body, and women’s fast pitch softball has been an Olympic sport since 1996.

History of softball

The earliest known game was played on Thanksgiving Day in 1887 at the Farragut Boat Club in Chicago, and the reporter George Hancock is credited as its inventor. The game was first called indoor baseball. Other early names included kitten ball, diamond ball, mush ball and pumpkin ball, and the name softball dates to 1926.

In the United States, the national governing body is USA Softball, which was founded in 1933 as the Amateur Softball Association and is based in Oklahoma City. Internationally, the WBSC was formed in 2013 and replaced the International Softball Federation as the highest governing body for the sport.

Women’s fast pitch softball debuted at the 1996 Atlanta Games as a full medal sport. The International Olympic Committee removed baseball and softball from the program after the 2008 Beijing Games. On 3 August 2016, at its session in Rio de Janeiro, the IOC voted to bring both sports back for the Tokyo Games, but they were not on the Paris 2024 program. In 2023 the IOC approved baseball and softball as an optional sport for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, along with four other sports.

Rules and how softball is played

Softball has two main forms. In fast pitch, the pitcher delivers the ball with a windmill motion and releases it at about hip level. In slow pitch, the ball is lobbed, usually at 25 to 35 miles per hour, and the form is common in recreational leagues. Fast pitch uses nine fielders, and slow pitch uses ten, or nine when needed.

The teams take turns batting and fielding. A batter tries to hit the pitched ball into play and reach base, and a team scores when its runners return safely to home plate. Games are usually seven innings long, and each team’s turn at bat ends when three players have been put out.

The bases are 60 feet apart. In fast pitch, the pitching distance is 43 feet for adult women and 46 feet for adult men, 40 feet for players aged 12 and under, and 35 feet for players aged 10 and under. The windmill delivery is studied in the biomechanics of movement, because it combines a rotation of the arm with a stride toward the batter.

Equipment and venues

An adult fast pitch ball is about 12 inches around, and a ball for players under 12 is about 11 inches. Slow pitch generally uses a 12-inch ball. Chicago also has its own 16-inch variant, which is a separate tradition with its own rules.

Players use a bat, a glove and protective gear for catchers. Games are played on a diamond with the bases arranged in a square, and the pitching circle sits in the middle.

Devon Park in Oklahoma City, which holds about 13,000 spectators, is home to the Women’s College World Series and to the headquarters of USA Softball. It is the venue for softball at the 2028 Olympics, and staging a tournament away from the main host city is a task studied under sport event management.

Governing bodies and major competitions

The WBSC has been recognized by the IOC as the sole competent authority in baseball and softball. Its headquarters is in Pully, Switzerland. At a board meeting on 28 June 2021 it reported 213 members, made up of 77 national baseball federations, 68 national softball federations, 55 combined baseball and softball federations and 13 associate members. The WBSC was meeting from its headquarters when it also approved two new members, the Bhutan Baseball and Softball Association and the Saudi Arabia Baseball and Softball Federation, pending ratification at the 2022 Congress.

The Olympic Games are the highest-profile competition. Softball returned for Tokyo after the 2016 vote, and its place at Los Angeles in 2028 comes as an optional sport added to the program alongside four other sports. Because baseball and softball share one confederation, decisions about the Olympic program are made for both sports together.

Records and notable moments

Softball has been held at five Olympic competitions, in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2020, and Olympedia counts 447 participants from 14 national Olympic committees. It was one of the few Olympic sports open only to women.

The United States leads the medal table with three golds and two silvers. Japan has two golds, one silver and one bronze. Australia has one silver and three bronzes, China one silver and Canada one bronze.

At Tokyo, held in 2021, Japan beat the United States 2 to 0 in the gold medal game. The most successful Olympic players are Laura Berg of the United States, with three golds and a silver, and Lisa Fernandez, Lori Harrigan and Leah O’Brien-Amico of the United States, who each won three golds. Yukiko Ueno and Eri Yamada of Japan each won two golds and a bronze, and Yukiyo Mine of Japan won two golds.

The 2028 Games will have a six-team tournament. The preliminary round is a full round robin scheduled for 23 to 27 July 2028, the bronze medal game for 28 July and the gold medal game for 29 July, one day before the Closing Ceremony. No softball games are planned in California.

Global reach of softball

Softball is played in many countries under both the baseball and the softball federations. The WBSC counted 68 national softball federations and 55 combined federations in 2021, which means that 123 national federations include softball in their work.

The Olympic medal table shows a spread across North America, Asia and Oceania. Medals have gone to the United States, Japan, Australia, China and Canada. The story of how women’s events entered the Olympic program is told more broadly under gender in sport.

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 4, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue