Baseball is a sport played between two teams which have nine players each. The goal of the game is to score runs against your opponent, by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching four markers called bases that are arranged at the corners of a ninety foot square,
Skills – Strength: 5, Balance: 2, Flexibility: 2, Agility: 4, Coordination: 5
Time needed: 1 hour or more, Cost to try: £8 for a baseball bat and ball
Baseball, How to Play the Game
by: Robert Kleine
Baseball is a sport played between two teams which have nine players each. The goal of the game is to score runs against your opponent, by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching four markers called bases that are arranged at the corners of a ninety foot square, called a diamond. Players who are on the batting team will take turns to hit while the team called the fielding team will try to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters out in any number of ways. When a batter hits the ball they run from home plate to first base and try to reach the base before the ball is either caught in the air (fly ball) or before the fielder can throw the ground ball (ball hit along the ground) to first base. If the ball reaches the first baseman before the batter, the batter is “out”. If not the batter is “safe” and remains at first base until another batter hits the ball and advances the player on base to the next base (second base) or further if the player running the bases can reach the next base (third base) or even all the way back to (home base) in which case the batting team would score a run. The teams switch between batting and fielding when the batting team gets three outs. One turn at bat for each team makes an inning; nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.
Even though a similar game was played in England as early as the mid-eighteenth century the modern version of baseball developed in The Untied States of America in the late nineteenth century, where baseball became widely recognized as the national sport. Baseball on the professional, amateur, and youth levels is still popular in North America, parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean and parts of East and Southeast Asia.
How to Play Baseball for Beginners
. There are a number of basic tools used to play the game. Some equipment that are necessary to play the game are: the bat, the glove, the ball, protective equipment (batting helmet, catcher’s mask etc.), bases and lets not forget “the field”.
The bat is offensive baseball equipment – usually made either of wood or of aluminum (aluminum bats are used in amateur leagues). It is a stick which is long and hard with an approximately two inch diameter – except at the handle, which is smaller, about one inch.
The ball is approximately the size of a fist and is usually white with red lacing (though other colors are also used). The baseball glove or mitt, is defensive baseball equipment. It is usually made of leather and is worn on the hand of the player opposite their throwing hand to help in catching the ball. To meet the need of the defensive position of the player, the glove can take different shapes and sizes.
The other basic equipment that you just can’t do without is a field. This is the place where the game will be played and its dimensions vary according to the age of the players and in some cases the available space. The field, however, always has a diamond shape with bases at its corners. The first, second and third bases are 90 feet apart and are canvas bags. The base called ‘home’ is a rubber plate in the approximate shape of a house or home.
The area of the field that is closest to the bases is referred to as the infield and the area behind and most distant from the bases are referred to as the outfield. The outfields (there are three) are named “right field”, “left field”, and “center field”.
Other baseball equipment used includes, a batting helmet, baseball cap, catcher’s helmet and other protective gear (like a chest protector and safety mask). The batting helmet protects the head and the ear of the batter that faces the pitcher, from the thrown ball. The baseball cap is worn by all players to shade their eyes from the sun. Catcher’s helmets are protective equipment that guards the face of the catcher using a face guard or mask. Good care needs to be taken of this equipment- as without them, the game will not continue.
The highest level of play in North America is professional or major league baseball. Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National and American Leagues, by means of a joint structure that has developed gradually between them since 1903 (the National has existed since 1876). In 2000, the two leagues were officially disbanded as separate entities and consolidated in the commissioner’s office. Major League Baseball (MLB) effectively operates as a single league and as such constitutes one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States. It is currently composed of 30 teams 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada.
Each season consists of 162 games (with an additional game, or games, in case of a tie breaker needed to determine playoff spots). The season generally begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the first Sunday in October, with the playoffs played in October and sometimes into November. The rules of play between the two leagues are the same with one exception: the American League operates under the Designated Hitter Rule, while the National League does not. Utilization of the DH Rule in inter league play, the All-Star and World Series games is determined by the home team’s league rules.
In MLB the overall champion is decided in a series of best of seven games between the winner of the National Conference playoffs and the American League Conference winner. The series of games is called “The World Series” and is one of the best known sporting events on Earth.
Baseball, although perhaps not as popular as it once was, is still one of the most played games on the planet with fans that number in the multiple millions.
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