Baseball fans are ardent about the sport, but some have never paid much attention to it. If you're one of them and about to attend your first game, and you don't have a clue what the players are doing on the field with that little white ball, there are some basics that will help you figure out what's going on.
Game Format
A baseball game has nine innings, and during each inning, each team bats until it accumulates three outs. The teams then change sides, with the batting team taking the field and the defending team having an opportunity to bat. There are some exceptions. The game can't end on a tie, so if after nine innings, the teams are even, they'll keep going into extra innings until a full inning ends with the tie broken. The visiting team bats first in each inning and the home team bats second. If the home team is ahead after the visiting team accumulates three outs in the last inning, the game is over after 8 1/2 innings, because there's no need for the home team to bat.
Outs
Outs can occur in a variety of ways. A batter can strike out. This doesn't just mean swinging at a pitch and missing. There's an invisible strike zone around home plate where the batter stands to hit the ball. If the pitcher delivers a pitch within this strike zone and the batter doesn't swing, this is also a strike. After three strikes, the batter is out. He can also hit the ball into the air, a "pop-up," and if a player on the other team catches it before it hits the ground, the batter is out. Finally, if the ball does hit the ground before a defending player fields it, and the defender throws to a base before the runner who must reach that base on the play arrives, it's an out.
Hits
When the batter does hit the ball, it can be foul or fair. A foul ball is hit outside the lines running from home plate to first and third base. It's not on the field, so it doesn't count. The first two fouls a batter hits are strikes. After that, he can foul indefinitely without repercussion. Fair balls may be hit just well enough that the hitter can run to first base and reach it before the fielder can throw the ball there. Doubles and triples occur when the ball is hit into the field and the batter reaches second or third before the defense can get the ball in. A home run is "out of the park," into the stands, when no defending player even has an opportunity to catch it. The hitter runs all three bases and returns home to score without interference.
Runs Scored
If the first batter gets to first base on "a single," and the next batter gets a hit, the player on first must move up to second before the ball arrives -- to make room at first -- or he is out. Runners on first and second must advance to second and third on a subsequent hit. With each hit, as the runners advance and eventually reach home plate, a run is scored. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.
Member Comments