Baseball game rules need to cover more than just how many strikes equal an out or whether a runner can overrun a base. The rules for Major League Baseball games also cover the field layout, bat materials, ball materials and base composition. The point of the rules is to make everyone play the same game and not give one team an advantage over the other.
Equipment
Both home base and the pitcher's plate must be white rubber. The pitcher's plate is a rectangular slab, and home base looks like a square with one side extended out into a point, forming a five-sided shape. The bases for first, second and third are soft and made of white canvas. Bats must be wood; the tip can be concave, or cupped, as long as the cup isn't deeper than 1 inch and is within 1 to 2 inches wide. Bats must be one piece, and no metal or colored bats are allowed. However, use of a non-regulation bat is not grounds for dismissal from the game.
Clothing
Uniforms for each team must be identical and in good condition, and the player number on the back must be at least 6 inches tall. Nonregulation uniforms are grounds for ejection from the game. Shoes cannot have cleats, and uniforms can't have metal or glass additions. Gloves must be leather and of specific dimensions depending on the player's role. All batters must wear helmets. Whether the helmet is single- or double-eared depends on the league and the year the player entered the Major Leagues.
Playing
Each team must have nine players. Once the game begins, the visiting team starts at bat. A batter who successfully hits the ball into an area not considered foul becomes a runner and runs to each base in order, in the time before the defensive team can throw the ball back to the bases. The defensive player holding the ball can tag the runners to create an out. If a batter swings and misses the ball, that's called a strike; three strikes equals an out, and three outs signals that the teams are supposed to switch sides. Balls hit into the side areas outside the base lines are fouls; if a defensive player catches the foul ball before it hits the ground, the batter is out. Runners may steal bases, meaning they can run to the next base if it's empty, when other players aren't looking. However, the pitcher and other defensive players can suddenly turn and try to tag the runner who hasn't landed on a base.
Timing
A round in which both teams have played defensive and offensive sides is an inning, and each baseball game lasts for at least nine innings. Tie scores can make the game run over. While baseball rules don't vary that much outside of Major League Baseball, other baseball associations treat extra innings differently. According to the Japan Times, the World Baseball Classic administration in 2009 decreed that if a game reached 13 innings, the 13th inning and all half innings after that would begin with runners placed on first and second, without hits. The move was supposed to help prevent super-long, tied games.
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