What are Softballs Made Of?
What is a Professional Softball Made Of?
Despite the name, softballs are not soft at all! Other than the size difference, they look nearly identical to a baseball. Much like baseball, a softball is constructed from the same types of materials and in a similar fashion. They contain a cork rubber core and a leather covering held together with figure 8 stitching.
Synthetic Leather Softballs (Vegan Softballs)
With the growing popularity of synthetic leather for use in sports gear, synthetic softballs are a great option.
Like baseball, many softballs are typically used by teams in both practice and games. Switching to eco-friendly TPU leather sports gear, including softballs, can help reduce negative environmental impact. The solvent-free manufacturing process used to create TPU leather is much less harmful to the environment than the process used to produce real leather products. With the same look and feel as a standard leather softball, synthetic softballs are a terrific option.
Softball and baseball are two different sports that share a lot in common. Both sports play with similar rules, fields, and equipment, but some important aspects of each sport make them unique.
The origins of softball date back to 1887, when students from the renowned United States colleges Harvard and Yale spontaneously broke into a game using a tied-up boxing glove and a broken-off broomstick. A man named George Hankock famously yelled, "Let's play ball!"
The most noticeable difference between a softball and a baseball is the difference in size. A baseball measures between 9.00 and 9.25 inches in circumference and can weigh from 5.00 to 5.25 ounces. In contrast, softballs are a little bigger, measuring between 11.88 and 12.13 inches in circumference and weighing between 6.25 and 7.00 ounces.