Baseball is an interesting bat and ball sport. The main baseball equipment include bat, ball, gloves and protective gears. There are two teams, each of which has nine players. The umpires closely examine the sport so that each player follows the rules. One team serves as the batting team, while the other team is fielding. The batting person hits the ball thrown by the pitcher of the fielding team. Runs are then scored by touching the four corners (bases) of a ninety-foot square field (diamond). The fielding team try to stop run scoring by getting the ball as soon as possible.
How to Play Baseball
There are certain rules and regulations for playing baseball. Hence, before playing baseball, it is mandatory to understand some basic tips on how to play baseball.
Baseball Field
The four bases start in an anticlockwise fashion from the starting base (home plate) that has five sides. In addition, there are two main parts of the baseball field – infield and outfield. The former represents the ground where the four bases lie, whereas the outfield lies outside the infield, between the first and third bases. There are two foul lines, one stretching from the home plate to the first base and another from the home plate to the third base. The portion outside the line is called foul territory.
Player Position
Each player participating in a baseball sport is assigned with different positions. One player from the batting team bats at a time. He stands at the batter box in the home plate. Other players of the batting team are positioned at the three bases, they are collectively known as the base runners.
The pitcher stands in the pitcher’s plate or mound (at the center of the field), while the catcher is positioned behind the batter. Four players, called infielders, stand near the bases, within the infield. Remaining three players of the fielding team who stand in the outfield are called the fielders.
Strike and Ball
When the pitcher throws the ball, the umpire checks whether the pitch was in the strike zone or not. If the thrown pitch is within the strike zone, then it is called a strike, otherwise it is called a ball. In case, there are four balls before three strikes, then it is called a walk. In such a condition, the batter gets the chance to walk to first base. On the contrary, if there are three strikes before four balls, then it is called a strikeout, in which the batter loses his batting turn.
Scoring Runs and Declaring Out
While playing baseball, there are nine innings (six for younger players). In an inning, one team bats and the remaining team pitches (defense team). The batter hits the thrown ball and scores run by touching the bases. Whereas the pitcher throws the ball in such a way that the batter misses it. It is to be noted that the batter should always hit the ball within the foul lines.
In case, the ball hit by the batter is caught in air by the defense team, then the batter is declared out. Another way to get an out is to touch the batter by the ball before he reaches the first base. If three players from the batting team are out, then the position changes, in which the defense team gets a chance to bat. The winning team is the one who scores maximum runs at the end of nine innings.