Slightly OT - question after watching Ken Burns "Baseball"

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Posted By: Joann

Watched the first two segments - covering everything up to about 1910 - this weekend.

I think it's awesome to see images that I recognize from vintage collecting, especially the photos that became T206 poses.

I was thinking at one point that whoever invented softball ought to be shot in the a$$ because it pushed baseball aside in this country everywhere except the MLB/minor system, and the college and lower educational system.

At the turn of the century, people formed baseball teams - men, women, all races, etc. Now if you aren't in school or in the minors/majors somewhere, chances are pretty good that softball is the primary option.

So did the introduction of softball help or hurt baseball? Did softball dilute baseball? Or did it make the essential structure of the game, and being able to play at all, more available to those with lesser skills, aging, etc?

Just curious as to where people think softball fits in, and whether the early 1900's were better in that it was more baseball focused.

J