The game of baseball has a slew of complicated rules when it is played at any organized level. Some of the rules may come into play once every five years, and it's not essential for everyone to know all of their intricacies. However, when young people take the field for the first time, they must know the basic rules of the game in order to have a chance to have fun and compete at the game.
Length of Game
A baseball game is nine innings long. An inning consists of two teams batting and both sides getting three outs before they change places in the field. The team that scores the most runs in the game wins. If the game is tied at the end of nine innings, teams play extra innings with both teams getting a chance to bat until the tie is broken. The game is considered official after five innings have been played. So if two teams have played five innings and the home team is ahead 4 to 2 at that point, that team is credited with a win.
Batting
Batters try to get on base by hitting a pitched ball in fair territory. Fair territory is defined as being between the right field foul line and the left field foul line. A ball that hits any part of the foul line is considered a fair ball. Batters get three strikes when they are at the plate. If they do not hit the ball after strike three, they have struck out and must go back to the bench. If the pitcher does not get the ball in the strike zone on four pitches, it is considered a base on balls and the batter gets to go to first base. If the batter hits a flyball that is caught by a fielder, he is out. If a batter hits a ground ball to an infielder and the infielder throws the ball to the first baseman before the batter reaches first base, the batter is out.
Home Run
A ball hit over the fence in fair territory is considered a home run. On a home run, any runner on base and the batter are all allowed to run home and the fielders cannot make any plays on them. A ball that hits the foul pole that extends upward at the fence is considered a fair ball and a home run. A ball that bounds out of the outfielder's reach and the base runner runs all the way around the bases is said to have hit an inside-the-park home run. This counts the same as a home run that is hit over the fence.
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