Before I commence with this, I would like to make one thing perfectly clear:

This is not, in any way, shape or form, a diatribe against women's fast pitch softball or its players or coaches.

Indeed, I am among the millions of people who have an appreciation for the game and the athletes that play it. Anyone who can pitch a ball underhand at speeds up to 80 miles an hour and strike out major leaguers gets respect from me.

It's good to see that softball has gained big strides in recent years, from the U.S. National team in the Olympic Games (even though the sport has been cut from the 2012 Games in London) to the broadening appeal of the Women's College World Series, shown yearly on ESPN.

Having said that, I've come up with some ideas on how softball, at the collegiate level and higher, can rise even farther in popularity to where it can match baseball...

1.  Change the number of innings played in a game from seven to nine. Seven inning games, to me, indicate that women are thought of as incapable of playing nine innings on a regular basis like their baseball counterparts. That is a form of sexism.

2.  Get rid of the mercy rule that says that a game ends when a team is up by eight or more runs after five innings. Baseball doesn't do that—Florida State recently beat Ohio State 37 - 5 in a regional match—and no one suggested ending the game early then. Why should softball?

3.  Get rid of the international tiebreaker rule that states that every extra inning starts with a runner on second base. Again, baseball doesn't do that—what on earth is the point to a rule so ridiculous? I wish someone could explain that to me.

4.  Change the rule that says the outfield's dimensions have to be 190 to 200 feet and symmetrical. I have one word for that—BORING.

A large part of baseball's charm is the fact that the stadiums are as diverse as the teams that play in them. Softball desperately needs places that have features like the Green Monster in Fenway Park, or ivy-covered walls at Wrigley Field.

Features like that adds more variety and appeal, which results in more popularity.

5.  Move the pitching rubber from 43 feet to 45 feet, which will give hitters even more of an advantage that they have gained when the rubber was moved from 40 feet to 43 feet a few years back.

Let's face it: the average fan is more entertained by home run slugfests that games where the pitcher strikes out 20 batters and dominates. And it's the average fan that softball needs to attract.

As Kevin Costner said in the movie Bull Durham, "Strikeouts are boring and worse yet, they're fascist."

6.  Get rid of the rule that states that a softball's umpiring style—how balls, strikes, and outs are called—have to be exactly the same. I have six words for that—TOO RESTRICTIVE, CONFORMING, AND BORING.

Baseball's umpires, through the years, have had more colorful and diverse styles, which like the stadiums makes the game more attractive and interesting to the fans.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?