Posted By:
Dan BrettaI don't think softball can be blamed for the decline in baseball. Kids just have a whole lot more choice when it comes to a sport to play. C1900 basketball was in its infancy, Soccer was a european sport that hadn't really taken hold in the US, only the rich could play golf and football was just not as popular. Softball evolved from the indoor baseball game (and Kitty/Diamond ball) which came about because a baseball crazed nation loved to play the game in the wintertime too...it was a necessity to make the ball larger and softer or every hit would be richocheting off the walls. Softball is big today IMO because it's viewed more as a recreational sport which just about everyone can play....it's beer league stuff.