Actually, 41 mph is pretty impressive on its own. The top women's fast-pitch softball hurlers (Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman, et al) are topping out in the 65 mph range.

It's the different distance that equates it to major league speed -- 40 feet in softball vs. 60 feet in baseball.

But therein is the answer to your question -- I doubt very seriously if any softballer -- collegian, distaff, or otherwise -- has pitched their weight.

I bow to your superior softball knowledge! I had no idea as to the actual speeds of softball pitches in the college or Olympic ranks -- they all look so fast.

That makes those 100mph baseball pitches even scarier!

'You throw like a girl' ..... high praise, indeed.

I have always been impressed by what is expected of the young women who pitch softballs, as opposed to their young male counterparts who pitch baseballs ..... with the girls pitching the whole game, then another, and perhaps a third, all in one day .....

Even more impressive is how these young ladies meet these expectations.

Jeff, I've also noticed that the girl softball pitchers seem to pitch in more consecutive games, although I'm guessing it's due to a combination of factors: less stress in the throwing motion (wild guess), shorter games, and quicker games (ie, fewer pitches).

It's also not unusual to see a high school pitching ace on the boys side throwing in consecutive games (although not in the same day), or at least two out of three, especially in the playoffs.

Eric, wild guess .... but 100% correct ..... the underarm motion is less stressful.

Back about 18 years ago (when I was still in my 20's) I went to an Oriole game (against the Rangers). One of the diversion in the stadium was a chance to throw three pitches to be measured by a radar gun for $1.
I threw the first one. 41.
I threw the second one. 41.
The I decided to go all out. I wound up and put all of my strength into that final pitch. 44.

(I do sometimes mock my daughter because she does throw like a girl.)

SD, that's pretty funny! Of course, given the way the Rangers played back then, you probably could have beat them.

OK, I admit it; you could probably beat them today, as well. ;-)

Didn't some other genius compute a ratio of acceleration to mass?

Your velocity to weight ratio is a derivative of E=MC2, isn't it?

Brillig, Eric, yet not slithy.

Larry, while I really don't see anything wrong with mixing apples and oranges, technically Einstein's equation is relevant to softball pitching only if you're measuring the velocity of the ball against its mass, not that of the pitcher. Now, if the pitcher could transport herself along with the ball, you might have something (in addition to a very confused catcher). ;-)

I actually had to look up the word "distaff". You make me work for my post. ;)

You give an interesting perspective. I think I'll forward your post to my softball friends if you don't mind.

I read, somewhere, that back in the 40s, Albert Einstein was pitcher for Princeton's softball team ..... and Neils Bohr was catcher.

:-)

In 1989 Nolan Ryan was pitching for the Rangers. I don't remember how good or bad they were, but that was probably about the time they were in the playoff hunt so they traded Sammy Sosa to the White Sox for Harold Baines.

Mis_nomer, I have to give credit for the phrase "distaff persuasion" to the greatest cartoonist in history, Walt Kelly, creator of Pogo.

Who says you can't learn anything from the comics? ;-)