Baseball has been played in the United States since the 19th century. While baseball is played throughout the world, Major League Baseball is considered the highest form of the sport. Many rules of the game have stayed the same for decades; others have changed throughout the years.
Game Length
A professional baseball game consists of nine innings. Each team gets to bat during each inning and is entitled to three outs. The visiting team bats first; the home team bats in the bottom half of the inning. For a game to be official, 4 1/2 innings must be played, if the home team is winning; otherwise, five innings must be completed. There is no time clock in baseball. Depending on the pace, the game can be completed in less than two hours, or it can last four hours or more. If the teams are tied at the end of nine innings, extra innings are played. If the visiting team scores in the top of the inning, the home team gets a chance to score in the bottom half. If the home team scores and the visiting team has not, the home team wins the game. This is often referred to as a walk-off win.
Pitching
The pitcher puts the ball in play from the pitching rubber on top of the pitcher's mound. The pitcher must be in contact with the rubber as he begins his motion and must remain in contact with the rubber until he throws the ball towards the plate. If any of the bases are occupied, the pitcher must complete his motion and deliver the ball to home plate. If the pitcher stops in the middle of his delivery or even hesitates in his motion, the umpire will call a ball, and each base runner will be able to move up one base.
Fielding the Ball
The fielder always has the right to field the baseball. If a batter or runner gets in the fielder's way while he is making a play or preparing to make a play, the umpire will declare the runner out for interference. If the shortstop comes charging in to field a ground ball and is in the baseline and the runner crashes into him, it is interference--even though the runner was within the baseline. The rules of baseball always give the "right of way" to the fielder when has a chance to make a play. However, if the fielder does not have a play on the ball and gets in the way of the base runner, then the fielder will be called for obstruction. If the umpire believes that the contact between the fielder and the runner prevented the runner from advancing on the base path, he may award one or two extra bases.
Number of Players
Major League Baseball is played under two different sets of rules regarding the number of players. In the National League, each team plays the game with nine players: pitcher, catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, left field, center field and right field. All players bat in the game, and the manager of each team determines the batting order. In the American League, teams are allowed to use a designated hitter to bat for the pitcher. The designated hitter cannot be used to bat for any other player. The designated hitter has been used by the American League since 1972; the National League has never seriously considered using the designated hitter in its games.
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