Compare and Contrast Essay

Baseball vs. Softball

Compare and Contrast Paper

By Tara Watnaas

        

Softball and baseball are both really competitive sports for both boys and girls of all ages. Not only do they provide entertainment and exercise, but they are also a skill required to learn to play the sport.  Baseball and softball are very similar, but also very different.

Although baseball and softball seem different they are also in the same in the sense that they are played with sphere balls and they both contain four bases, which are required to be ran around in order to score a run or point. Both softball and baseball fields are diamond-shaped and contain nine positions in which one player takes one position. Games of softball and baseball are both observed by umpires who make sure the rules are followed and determine whether a player is out or safe, a ball is foul, and if a pitch is a strike or a ball, etc..

I have found that there are many differences between baseball and softball. One example is that they each have different sized balls. A baseball is nine inches in circumference, while a softball is eleven or twelve inches in circumference. Another difference is the bats they use when hitting the ball. Softball bats can be no longer that thirty-four inches and baseball can be no longer than forty-two inches. In the professional level of baseball all bats must be made of wood. They both have a different duration of the game. A softball game lasts seven innings and a baseball lasts nine innings, unless there is a need to go into extra innings. Softball has a double first base and baseball has one first base, assuming it is safer to have to bases for girls. Each field has a different length between home plate and the pitchers mound and between all of the bases. In baseball the distance between home plate and the pitchers mound is sixty and a half feet.  The distance between bases in baseball is ninety feet. In softball the distance between the pitchers mound and home plate is forty-three feet and the distance between bases is sixty feet. There are also differences in the distance required for the ball to be hit for it to be considered a home run; Softball is anywhere from 220-250 feet and baseball is anywhere from 250-450 feet.

These were just some of the similarities and differences between softball and baseball. They seem to be so much alike, but it turns out there are far more differences than most people would suspect. Whether it is softball or baseball, they are both fun and entertaining sports that require a certain amount of skill.

I should be reading. But I'm not.

This is a post dedicated to my best friends. Norma and Gene, you guys have always been there for me. Through the highs and lows. I know I can be mean sometimes, but I hope you guys know that I really DO love you!! AND I--------- *scream*Haha oh friends you make me happy. This is for Norma and Gene. I will ALWAYS love you!

Persuasive Essay

                                                    Persuasive Essay
                                                       Tara Watnaas
     Have you ever had one of those days where you are too tired to do anything because
you were up late the night before studying for a test? Or do you sometimes feel like you never see your family anymore because school and extracurricular activities consume your life?
Having too long of school days affects students in all aspects of life.
     One main reason I believe school days should be shorter is because with the eight hours
of sitting in school, plus the amount of homework we are given, plus all of the extracurricular activities students tend to be involved in, amounts to a whole day. I understand that school comes before extracurricular activities, but also, involvement is key. Your parents always want you to be involved, but still do well in school. Sometimes, when it comes down to it, you just can’t do both. For some kids, school is a struggle and perhaps they feel like sports or other activities are all that they excel at, but by not allowing them to be involved in an activity because their school work is overwhelming, are we hurting them or helping them?
     Scenario time! You are in activities after school that take up several of your evenings,
and by the time you get home, you are ready to hit the sack, but you can’t. You need to do
your homework. Even though it is ten-thirty at night, you hit the books. You can hardly keep
your eyes open, but yet you know you must get it done. By the time you are finished it is nearly midnight and you barely make it to your bed before falling asleep. You get up the next morning, but you are barely awake. You drudge through the long day, not paying attention in any classes because you keep falling asleep. That evening you decide to skip your homework because you need to sleep for your mind to function.
     Now if you think about it. You will not succeed in school either way because a) you will
either always be so tired you can’t function, or b) You will end up skipping your homework to sleep. Many people would now say this is where weekends come into play. That is partially true, but shouldn’t we be allowed to spend time with our family or hang out with our friends?
     Maybe it’s just this generation because we are taught to take on too much. Everyone
is always busy and so we just follow their example. Some people can deal with it just fine, but others have to exclude some of their favorite activities because there is just not enough time in a day when you sit in a school building for eight hours.
     That is why I believe a shorter school day would make students less stressed. I think
students would, overall, do better in the academic field. Personally, I would be willing to extend the school year slightly in order to have shorter school days.
     I know the possibilities of this happening are slim, but shorter school days would
increase the effort put into school. It would ultimately allow children to have the time to put onehundred percent in every subject in school.