I assure you that even if you do not like watching baseball on TV, you would enjoy hitting.

Somebody who doesn't like soccer would still enjoy kicking the soccer ball at a goal, no? (Of course its inherently fun!)

Hitting is very difficult. In 'Little League' the mound is 40 feet away and the pitchers all throw fastballs (straight). When you turn 13, you start to play on the large field and the pitchers are 60 feet away now, so at first its an advantage for the hitter because the pitchers aren't throwing fast enough yet, but as you get older, it starts coming faster and faster. In high school, the typical pitcher is throwing 80 mph (pros throw it 90mph+) and starts to throw curves. {By comparison, as a fielder, I could throw as fast as 70mph, but I would feel like my arm would want to fall off and I wouldn't be accurate}

During batting practice they put you in a cage with a pitching machine which has two round 'tires' spinning which 'spits' the ball out at you at a constant speed. Since you're facing 80mph, they set it to 90mph and its very hard at first because the ball just comes out at you, BUT the ball is coming in the same spot, so after a while you know where to expect it and can hit it (a real live pitcher throws it in different spots of course). When they want you to face curveballs, they change the relative speed of the tires so that it puts a spin on the ball as it comes out.

This is when I realized I would not be a professional baseball player. Could not hit curveballs for the life of me.


Slow-Pitch softball is a different thing though. ANYBODY can hit the ball. Its popoular among many segments of society too. Here, many immigrants play, it is not uncommon for women to play (and the ones who do are actually good). The game is typically played 'to win' but not 'for blood' and serious injuries are very uncommon.

__________________