Actor Tim Robbins famously summed the overall simplicity of baseball in the movie "Bull Durham," when he said the following: "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." While there was truth to the quote in a basic sense, there are also plenty of rules to know once you begin to play the sport.
Hitting
In every at-bat, a batter can reach no more than three balls or two strikes before either reaching base or being retired by the pitcher. When a batter takes four pitches deemed by the umpire to be balls, he is awarded first base via a walk --- also known as a base on balls. When three strikes are thrown, the batter is out via strikeout. Balls hit into foul territory --- marked by the lines that jut diagonally from home plate to the outfield walls --- are also counted as strikes, if they are not caught before they hit the ground by fielders. However, a batter cannot strike out on a foul ball. When a batter strikes the ball into the field of play and it's not caught in the air or fielded and throw to first base before he reaches the bag, he's safe.
Pitching
Pitchers can throw to first, second or third base in attempts to pick off runners who are leading off from the base they are at. But the pitcher must throw home once he begins his pitching motion toward the plate, or risk being called for a balk. When a pitcher balks, a ball is awarded to the hitter and all base-runners advance one base.
Baserunning
Teams score runs when their players advance around the bases, beginning at first base and moving in a counter-clockwise motion around the basepaths. When a ball is caught in the air, a base-runner must return to his previous base. If the ball is caught and thrown to that base before the runner can return, he's out. If the ball is hit on the ground, any runner at first base --- or the runner on first base and any subsequent runners at the next successive base --- must advance to the next base. If the ball is thrown to the next base and the receiving fielder touches the bag before the runner arrives, the runner is out. This is called a force out.
Fielding
In order to record a fly-ball out, a field must catch the ball cleanly without using the ground to trap it in his glove. When there's a force out in play, the infield fly rule prevents fielders from intentionally dropping the ball in an effort to record multiple outs by quickly fielding it and throwing it to a teammate, who would then throw to the next base for a double play.
Other Rules
Once a team has recorded three outs in a half-inning, the half-inning is over and the other team comes to bat. The home team always bats in the bottom of every inning. When the home team is in the lead when the top half of the final inning is complete, the game is complete and the final at-bats are deemed unnecessary. When a game is tied at the completion of the pre-set number of innings, the game carries over into extra innings. Base-runners who are hit by struck balls are automatically out.
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