It is stipulated that a pitch must go at least two meters off the ground, but no higher than 3.5 meters, just above the height of an average person. More over the ball must be thrown underhand, so that the ball is necessarily slow and should be easy to hit. A softball bat is about as thick as an egg, thinner than a baseball bat. The ball itself looks like a large Shantung steamed bun. With a large ball and thin bat, though you can't hit very far, it's not easy to miss altogether!
In competitions the team in the field has an extra player, called the "short fielder." This is because every hitter is a "slugger," and is in order to keep things fair and to compensate for those fielders who aren't so skilled.
The rules for slow pitch softball are simple. For example,
--There's no stealing, no bunting, no free pass for being hit by a pitch, and no bases for wild pitches or passed balls. Foul balls with two strikes s till count as the third strike. These are all to avoid people trying to gain an advantage by sneakiness or playing the weak sister, to add to the excitement of the game.
--If a home run king steps up to bat in baseball, he may get an intentional walk--four balls deliberately thrown wide of the mark--to avoid any risk. In softball, there's no need to waste the time throwing the four pitches. The pitcher just tells the umpire and the home run king can go directly to first base. With ideas like these, how hard can it be to play for health, fun, and vitality?