Editing Softball (section)

===Types of leagues===
[[Image:Exxon Intramural Softball League - SU&P vs Defectors - Field 2 - handshakes after Championship Game - 12 Aug 1997.jpg|thumb|right|Handshakes at the conclusion of a championship game in a co-ed recreational league, as seen in New Jersey in 1997.]]
It is estimated that 14.62 million Americans played at least one game of softball during the spring of 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/227429/number-of-softball-players-and-baseball-players-usa/ |title=Number of softball players & baseball players in the U.S. 2016 &#124; Statistic |website=Statista.com |access-date=2017-01-28}}</ref> It is played by men and women both recreationally and competitively.

Softball is especially popular as a recreational activity for adults. Leagues for such play are often characterized as either "fun leagues", in which the outdoor exercise and player camaraderie is more important than the final result, or "serious leagues". The distinction is not absolute and there can be gradations within each. Softball teams are often organized around groups of employees who play in the early evening after work in the summer. In many{{quantify|date=November 2017}} US cities, adult softball teams are organized by bars and clubs, hence the popular term "[[beer league]]" softball. The teams can be men's, women's or co-ed, and skill levels can range from novice to elite, with league composition reflecting that. These leagues are typically either slow-pitch or modified.{{original research inline|date=November 2017}}

Co-ed recreational leagues, where men and women play on the same team, generally have provisions to keep men from dominating the game. League rules may stipulate that there must be an equal number of men and women on the team, or that batting order alternate male and female batters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://recsports.tamu.edu/programs/intramurals/handbook_rules/rules/softball_coRec.stm |title= CoRec Softball: Rules: Handbook & Rules: Intramurals: Programs: Rec Sports|website=recsports.tamu.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811121422/http://recsports.tamu.edu/programs/intramurals/handbook_rules/rules/softball_coRec.stm |archive-date=August 11, 2010}}</ref> Some leagues only require three women to play but they must be present on the field at all times. Others will allow a game to proceed when a team does not have the requisite number of women available but charge the batting team with an automatic out whenever the missing woman's place in the batting order comes up.