Softball is a complicated sport with many players, positions, plays, and callings. However, the sport can only begin with a batter hitting a softball pitched to them. When a softball, with a standardized mass of 0.198 kilograms, is thrown from a pitcher’s hand towards the batter, that ball now has a certain velocity (William). This velocity multiplied by the ball’s mass is known as momentum. Momentum can change due to “a change in mass, a change in velocity, or a change in both mass and velocity” (Michelle 3). When the softball is flying through the air, about to be hit by the bat, the momentum has changed from when it was originally pitched. This is because the velocity was changed and decreased the momentum of the ball. However when the bat and ball come into contact and the ball is hit, the velocity changes again. This time, the velocity increases due to the force of the bat hitting the ball in the opposite direction. This is all proven by the impulse momentum theorem, which allows for a change in momentum. The theorem states that impulse is equal to the change in momentum, and momentum may change if either mass or velocity changes (2). Because the velocity increases, the momentum changes.
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