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Baseball is a sport that dates back to 1744 and the formats of the game have been in place until today. A baseball game is played out between two teams, each made up of 9 players. The game lasts for 9 innings with each team alternating between batting and fielding in each inning. The field is split into two sections, infield and outfield. Separating the infield and outfield is a diamond shape with four bases, spaced at 90 feet apart each. In the centre of the infield is the pitching mound where the pitcher stands and throws the ball toward the batter.
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Each team has three outs per inning before they then swap roles. Each inning can be broken down into the top (where the away team bats), and the bottom (where the home team bats).
While it is a newer sport in a cricket-loving country like India, it surely is an upcoming one. To understand the play and rules of the game better, we have listed down a few baseball rules that’ll help you get started more concisely. Check them out!
The objective of the game is to score more runs than your opponent. The idea is to hit the ball thrown at you as far as you can before running around 4 bases to complete a run. Once a player manages to get around the four bases before being tagged out, then another batter steps in.
Players of the defending team try to out the player who is batting. Both the teams take turns at batting and fielding. Three consecutive outs from each team make an innings, and nine innings make a game. The objective of each team is to win by scoring more runs and try to prevent opponents from scoring runs.
In leagues, the rules vary widely. Some professional teams contain as many as 25 players, including eight position players, five starting pitchers, six relief pitchers, and substitutes. Substitute players include catchers, relievers, infielders, outfielders, and other players specialising in pinch-hitting. If a hitter replaces the starting player in the batting order he is called a pinch hitter. A player replacing a base runner is called a pinch-runner.
Whereas, the offensive team that has to bat sends its batsman as per the batting order decided by the umpire. The batsman, who is at bat, stays in the batting box to hit the balls pitched by the pitcher of the defending team. The Catcher, also called Behind, stays behind the batsman to pick any balls he missed.
Here is a list of all the necessary equipment that is used while playing baseball. Check it out!
A helmet is worn by a batter to protect their head and the ear facing the pitcher from the ball. While some helmets have ear protectors only on one side as only the ear facing the pitcher should be protected. We don’t want our heads to take a hit, do we?
All players wear a hat to shade their eyes from the sun. Baseball hat design has become so popular with the general public that they are also used to make a style statement. They’re not just sporting gear anymore.
Catchers wear a helmet with a face mask similar to a hockey goalkeeper mask to protect both their head and face.
Much different than a cricket bat, a baseball bat is a round, solid wooden or hollow aluminium bat. Wooden bats are traditionally made from ash wood, though sometimes maple and bamboo are also used.
The ball used in baseball is called a baseball (much like the name suggests). Layers of yarn or string are rolled on a cork sphere and a leather coat is stitched over it to make a baseball.
Players wear leather gloves to protect their palms. A webbed "pocket" between the thumb and first finger helps the fielder to catch the ball easily.
The answer is simple, the team who scores the most runs wins the game. A run is scored after a player reaches each base safely and crosses home plate. Usually, a team will score between four to five runs in total each game making each run highly valuable. And now that you know your baseball rules, here are a few other things to keep in mind about scoring in a game of baseball.
With two halves in an inning, both teams receive nine chances per inning. Each team is only able to score during their half of the inning. The road team hits in the top half of the inning and the home team in the bottom half. When a team is not hitting, they field the pitch. Within each of these innings, each team gets three outs before they stop hitting and have to defend.
If the game is tied even after nine innings, the two teams play extra inning until one comes on top.
Players can move from a base to another in a lot of ways but the most convenient way is to move runners over is through hits. Hits can be categorised into singles, doubles, triples and home runs but we’ll get to that in a bit. While there are different ways to get each type of hit, it is understandable through the name of the hits a hitter acquires.
People can also move from base to base by staling one or having teammates move them over with hits, walks or sacrifices.
We are sure that you understand the concepts of singles, doubles and triples by now. So it turns to hit a home run. Probably the quickest way to score in baseball, a home run is achieved by the batter when they either hit the ball over the fence or simply go around the bases while the ball is still in play.
A batter gets a solo home run when they hit a home run with no baserunners, they get two home runs when there is one baserunner, they get three home runs when there are two baserunners. And a grand-slam? That is achieved when the bases are loaded.
The game is predominantly big in North America, Canada and Japan. The game is played worldwide with the pinnacle of sport coming from the World Series of Baseball. Decathlon is the perfect one-stop destination for all your quality sports goods. It provides people across the world by developing innovative and affordably priced baseball equipment.
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