Baseball legend Babe Ruth once said, "I won't be happy until we have every boy in America between the ages of 6 and 16 wearing a glove and swinging a bat." The game of baseball began as a pastime for children in the early 1800s, and became a professional sport by 1870. People of all ages and skill levels play on baseball fields, in empty lots and in back yards all over the country whenever the weather is warm. The sport is as American as apple pie, and attending a professional baseball game with dad is a rite of passage for many young boys.
Teams
Baseball teams have many players, but only nine team defensive player are on the field at any given time. Each player takes a position as a catcher, pitcher, shortstop, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, right fielder, center fielder and left fielder.Teams alternate between being at bat and in the field. When a team is at bat, nine players take turns batting and running the bases.
While Major League Baseball rules stipulate that both leagues can use a designated hitter for the pitcher, only the American League has chosen to do so. When teams from each league meet for interleague contests, which they do for a limited number of games each season, the league of the home team determines whether a designated hitter will bat instead of the pitcher.
Field of Play
Teams play on fields, called diamonds, with the four bases 90 feet apart. The bases are named first, second, third base and home plate, which is called home base in the Major League Baseball rules. A pitcher's mound sits in the middle of the diamond and faces home plate.
Game Play
Baseball games are played in innings, and half an inning continues until the team at bat scores three outs. An full inning allows each team a turn at bat and in the field. The team at bat sends one player at a time to home plate. The pitcher on the other team throws the ball toward home plate. The batter may elect to swing at the ball or not. If he does not, the catcher catches the ball and throws it back to the pitcher. The pitcher must try to throw the ball in the strike zone directly over home plate at a height between the batter's knees and shoulders.
Each player at bat has the opportunity for three strikes and four balls. The umpire calls a strike when the batter swings and misses the ball, does not swing at a ball pitched within the strike zone or fouls the ball off. A batter cannot be out if he fouls off a ball when he already has two strikes, unless his bat tips the ball and the catcher grabs it before it bounces. The umpire calls a ball when the pitcher throws a baseball that does not go into the strike zone and the batter does not swing at it. If the batter racks up three strikes, he is out and the next player takes his turn at bat. If the batter winds up with four balls, he automatically goes to first base and the next batter is up.
If the batter hits the ball onto the field and a member of the other team catches it before it touches the ground, the batter is out and leaves the field. If the ball touches the ground, the batter must advance to at least first base. He can continue to run to second base, which would be a double, and then to third base, which would be a triple, if the defensive players don't throw him out. If the player hits the ball to a difficult-to-reach part of the field, he could achieve an inside-the-park home run. Also, if the batter hits the ball over the outfield fence in fair territory, which is between the foul lines, he would have a home run and all the players already on base would score, as well.
Scoring
The objective of the game is to have each batter make his way around the bases, eventually returning to home plate and scoring a run. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. As batters hit the ball, players advance around the bases in order, with only one player allowed on a base at any given time. If there is a player on first base and another batter hits a ball that hits the ground or a fence in fair territory, the first player must try advance at least to second base, and the batter must advance to first base. In these cases, if either player is not touching a base and a member of the opposing team touches him with the ball, he is out and must leave the field. If a batter hits a line drive or fly ball that the defense catches, a runner who has left a base will be out, as well, if a defensive player with the ball touches the base before the runner can get back.
Game Length
Major League Baseball rules state that a regulation game will consist of nine innings, unless there is a tie score at the end of the ninth inning, in which case additional innings will continue until one of the teams scores an additional run. However, if the home team is trailing after the first half of an extra inning, that team can come to bat to try to tie the score again or go ahead and win the game.
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