Even though baseball is known as America's pastime, that doesn't mean everyone understands all the rules. Baseball has many complicated rules governing things like the pitcher's balk, baserunner interference and the infield fly. But even a casual fan might find the game more enjoyable by learning a few simple rules of baseball.
Game Play Rules
The object of the game of baseball is to score more runs than the other team. A team scores runs by advancing a player around the bases and to home plate by hitting the ball into the field so that the defense can't catch it. The game is divided into nine periods of play called innings. Within each inning, each team has the opportunity to bat as well as to play defense. The home team always plays defense first, so that it has the opportunity to bat last in the final inning if necessary. A half-inning ends when the team at bat collects three outs. A player is out when he strikes out, hits the ball in the air so that a defensive player catches it before it hits the ground, hits the ball to a defensive player who tags a base while holding the ball before a forced runner reaches that base, or hits the ball and is tagged by a defensive player with the ball. If the game is tied after nine innings, play continues until one team is ahead after a full inning.
Balls and Strikes
The strike zone is an area above home plate that extends vertically from the tops of the knee caps to a point midway from the player's belt to the tops of the shoulders when the player is in a normal batting stance. Any legal pitch that passes through the strike zone is a strike unless the player makes contact with the ball so that it enters fair territory. If a pitch is not in the strike zone and the batter does not swing, that pitch is a ball. Anytime a batter swings and misses at a pitch, that pitch is a strike. A batter is out if he gets three strikes or if he has two strikes and bunts a ball into foul territory.
Baserunning Rules
There are three bases on the infield, as well as home plate. If a player arrives safely at a base, the defensive player cannot tag him out. A player on base with a baserunner behind him must advance to the next base if the batter hits the ball. If the fielder tags that base with the ball before the runner arrives, the runner is forced out. A baserunner must either remain on the base or return to the base and tag up before heading for the next base if a fielder catches a fly ball. A baserunner can steal the next base, and the defensive team can try to throw him out before he reaches that base.
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