Baseball is the classic American game. For beginning players or fans, some rules can create confusion. The basic aspects of baseball involve offense, defense, pitching, scoring and the innings system. When you understand the basic rules, you are better-suited to play or watch this American tradition.
Defense
On defense, nine players spread throughout the field to catch or collect any balls that the batters hit. If a defensive player catches a ball before it hits the ground, the batter is out. If a ball is hit on the ground, a defensive player must collect it and throw it to the base where the offensive player is running. If the ball reaches the base before the offensive player, that player is called out. The pitcher is responsible for throwing balls to the batter.
Offense
Offense consists of batting and running the bases. A player uses a bat to hit balls thrown by the pitcher. Once the batter has hit the ball, he runs to first base. If the defense does not catch the ball in the air or collect it and throw it to first base, the batter is safe and remains on the base. A runner advances to the next base if the next batter hits the ball. The rules for getting called out at second base, third base and home plate are the same as for first base.
Pitching
A pitcher throws at a distance of 60 feet from home plate, where the batter stands. The pitcher's goal is to throw the ball and force the batter to strike out. A strike occurs when a batter swings at a pitch and misses, or when the pitcher throws a ball into the strike zone and the batter does not swing. The strike zone size and location are approximately the width of home plate and are positioned from the batter's knees to his chest. A batter is allowed three strikes and four balls. If a batter accrues three strikes he is out; if he gets four balls, he advances to first base. A ball is any pitch at which the batter does not swing and that lands outside the strike zone.
Scoring
A player scores one point, called a run, when he makes the complete circuit from first base to second and third bases and finally reaching home plate. Players advance through the bases either by standard hits, where players run to the next base without getting thrown out, or by a home run. A home run occurs when the batter hits the ball over the outfield fence. When a batter hits a home run, the batter and any players currently on bases score one run each. If there is a player on each base when a home run is hit, the offensive team scores 4 runs, often called a grand slam.
Innings
One baseball game has nine innings. Each inning consists of two halves; both teams play offense and defense in the same inning. The first team to bat is the visiting team, which is traditionally determined by geographic location. The team with players from the game area is the home team. If visiting teams are not determined by geographic location, a coin toss can substitute. The players on the team at bat switch from offense to defense after three outs. If the score is tied at the end of the ninth inning, the game continues until an inning ends with one team in the lead.
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