Softball is a variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a field that has base lengths of 60 feet and a pitcher's mound that ranges from 35-43 feet away from home plate. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago, Illinois, United States as an indoor game. The game moves at a faster pace than traditional baseball. There is less time for the base runner to get to first while the opponent fields the ball; yet, the fielder has less time to field the ball while the opponent is running down to first base. The name softball was given to the game in 1926, because the ball used to be soft, however in modern day usage, the balls are hard.
Antonio Rafael Armas Machado is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother of outfielder Marcos Armas.
Jennie Lynn Finch is an American, former collegiate All-American and medal winning Olympian, retired 2-time pro All-Star, right-handed hitting softball pitcher and first baseman originally from La Mirada, California. She pitched for the Arizona Wildcats, the USA national softball team and the Chicago Bandits. Finch won the 2001 Women's College World Series and helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Time magazine described her as the most famous softball player in history.
Luis Beltrán Sojo Sojo is a former Major League Baseball infielder and right-handed batter.
The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as California or Cal, the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I primarily as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Over the course of the school's history, California has won team national titles in 13 men's and 3 women's sports and 107 team titles overall. Cal athletes have also competed in the Olympics for a host of different countries. Notable facilities used by the Bears include California Memorial Stadium (football) and Haas Pavilion. Cal finished the 2010–11 athletic season with 1,219.50 points, earning third place in the Director's Cup standings, the Golden Bears' highest finish ever. Cal did not receive any points for its national championships in rugby and men's crew because those sports are not governed by the NCAA. Cal finished 12th in the 2014-15 standings.
Softball at the Summer Olympics was on the Olympic programme from 1996 to 2008. Softball was removed from the programme for 2012 and 2016, but was added, along with baseball, for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Laura Kay Berg is an American college softball head coach of the Oregon State Beavers and former collegiate four-time All-American, left-handed softball player at the position of center fielder originally from Santa Fe Springs, California. She played for the Fresno State Bulldogs from 1994–1998 where she was a Women's College World Series National Champion in 1998. She is one of only four women to have won four Olympic medals in softball, having won a medal at every Olympics the sport was contested. She owns batting records at Fresno State and is second all-time in NCAA Division I career hits and at-bats. She is also a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.
Amanda Louise Freed is an American softball coach and former pitcher.
Billy Ray Butler, nicknamed "Country Breakfast", is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals from 2007 to 2014, the Oakland Athletics from 2015 to 2016 and the New York Yankees in 2016. Butler was an MLB All-Star in 2012, and won the Silver Slugger Award and Edgar Martínez Award that season.
The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by USA Softball and takes part in international softball competitions. The US team has been dominant in international play, taking the gold medal in three straight Olympics and seven straight world championships. They won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In the 2004 Olympics the team held its opponents to one run scored in 7 games. The lone run came in a 5-1 victory over the Australian team. It was the first run scored by an opponent against the US softball team in 9 games.
Travis David Wilson is a current member of the Black Socks, New Zealand's national softball. He first played for the Black Socks in 1994 and was an integral part of their ISF Men's World Championship winning team in Midland, Michigan in 1996.
Hugh Donald McCutcheon, a native of Christchurch, New Zealand, is the former head coach of the US men's national volleyball team, the former head coach of the US women's national volleyball team, and the current head coach of the University of Minnesota's women's volleyball team.
Natasha Renee Watley is an American former softball player for the UCLA Bruins, USA Softball Women’s National Team and USSSA Pride, originally from Irvine, California. She played the position of shortstop and first base, and helped the Bruins win a national championship and Team USA the gold medal for softball at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and the silver for the Beijing Olympics. She is the first African-American female to play on the United States Softball team in the Olympics. She is the career batting average leader in the National Pro Fastpitch. She owns numerous records for the Bruins and is one of select NCAA Division I players to bat at least .400 with 300 hits, 200 runs and 100 stolen bases.
Michele Mary Smith is an American, former collegiate All-American, two-time medal winning Olympian, international pro left-handed hitting fastpitch softball pitcher and current sports commentator, originally from Califon, New Jersey. Smith played her college career for the Oklahoma State Cowgirls for the years 1986-89 where she set numerous records in the now defunct Big Eight Conference. She is also a double Olympic Softball gold medalist with the United States women's national softball team, having played in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. She has been ESPN's lead college softball color analyst since 1998. In 2012, Smith became the first woman to serve as commentator for a nationally televised Major League Baseball game. Smith is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.
Michael John Collins was an Australian baseball manager and player for the Canberra Cavalry and in the San Diego Padres organisation. As manager of the Canberra Cavalry, in 2012–13 he took the team to win the Claxton Shield as Champions of the Australian Baseball League, and Champions of the 2013 Asia Series. He is currently the catching coach for the Houston Astros.
The Cal State Northridge Matadors are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Northridge in Northridge, Los Angeles, California. The Matadors field 17 teams in nineteen sports.
Daniel Edward Lamb-Hunt is a New Zealand professional baseball player who plays as a utility infielder for the Auckland Tuatara in the Australian Baseball League and the Bonn Capitals in the German Bundesliga.
The Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Dominguez Hills, located in Carson, California, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Toros compete as members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association for all 9 varsity sports.
Kere Johanson is a New Zealand men's softball player and coach. He coaches the Australia women's national softball team.
The California Golden Bears softball team is the intercollegiate softball team of the University of California, Berkeley. The team plays its home games at Levine-Fricke Field, which is located in Strawberry Canyon near California Memorial Stadium. While the stadium was built fairly recently in 1995, it is not up to the standards of the NCAA, and therefore cannot host NCAA tournament games. California softball is one of the most consistently successful programs at the school with a current 26 year NCAA tournament streak and a national championship in 2002. The current head coach is Diane Ninemire, who began her tenure in 1988 and has the most wins of any coach in California athletics history.
