Baseball

We all have heard about it. Those baseball games in fully booked stadiums, where two famous teams are playing against each other and everyone in the audience is singing songs, trying to catch a ball and is having fun. However, not that many people have played it before, especially in Europe. Do you think you know all the rules in Baseball or are there still many things you don’t know? I think the last. There are so many rules in baseball. In this article I will only tell you more about the basics in baseball, because otherwise you will have to read a whole book.

Gameplay

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two team of nine players each. The teams make turns batting and fielding. The team that is batting is called the offensive team, they are trying to score as much points as possible by hitting the ball with their bat. The team that is fielding is called the defensive team and they are trying to stop the other team from making points by making ‘outs’. When the defensive team proceeds in getting three batters (person who is hittting the ball) ‘out’, the defensive team becomes the offensive team and vice versa. The defensive team can make an out in four ways.

  1. Catching the hitted ball, without the ball touching the ground.

2. Touching a batter, who is not touching a base, with the hand that is holding the ball.

3. A baseman is touching his/her base with the ball in their hands before the batter arrives at the base. This only counts when the batter has no other option then to run to this base. For example, when he/she is running to first base or when there is an other batter directly after him/her and there is no other option then running to the next base.

4. If the pitcher throws three strikes the batter is out too. A pitcher throws a strike, when the ball goes over the home plate in the right area (strike zone).

The defensive team (Fielding)

There is a specific line-up for the fielders. Let’s start with the pitcher (1), that is the person who throws the balls to the catcher (2). In front of the catcher stands the batter from the opposite team (#). At bases 1,2 and 3 are also players (3,4,5). You can see that their position is not directly next to their base, as there is some space left. The reason for this is the higher chance to field (=catching a rolling ball on the ground) the ball that the batter hit. The positions of those players can change a bit during the game, depending on the situation.

The shortstop is the player that stands between second and third base (6). A lot of hitted balls go in that direction and that is why there is an (extra) player standing there. Finally, the three players (7,8,9) standing in outfield. When a batter hits a ball really far, they are the last person to stop the ball from going even further.

The offensive team (Batting)

Before the game starts, every team has to make their line-up for batting that they have to follow during the game. When it is your turn as a batter, you have to try to hit the ball in the best way possible for that situation.

A runner is a person that runs from base to base, and his/her goal is to finish at the home plate by touching it. There are three ways for a batter to become a runner.

  1. By hitting the ball and running to first base before the first baseman has the ball and is touching first base.
  2. When the pitcher throws the ball and the umpire (=referee) counts it as ‘ball’, the ball was not in the right area above the home plate. When this happens four times during a batter’s turn, the batter didn’t get a chance to hit the ball and he/she can go directly to first base and becomes a runner.
  3. When the pitchers hits the batter with the ball, the batter can also go directly to first base and become a runner.

Special Rules

There are a lot of different situations during a baseball game and therefore also a lot of rules. I will not explain them all, but I will tell you a bit more about three of those situations that are really common.

Stealing a base

When there are runners in the game, they have the right to steal a base. ‘Steal a base’ is the term for running from one base to the other one without help from a teammate’s hit. You can steal base at every moment during the game (f.e. when the pitcher is preparing to throw the ball), except when there is a time-out.

Don’t run if there is a chance that the ball can be caught

This is not a rule, but it is important to know this when you are playing baseball. When you are standing at a base as a runner and you see that one of your teammates hits a ball that the defensive team could possibly catch, it is recommended to stay at the base where you already are. Once the defensive team catches the ball, you can leave your base and run to the next one. Think about this carefully though, because it can be very risky.

Uncaught third strike

When the pitcher throws a third strike and the batter missed the ball and the catcher failed to catch the ball and it therefore hits the ground, the batter can try and run to first base, as long as there is no other baserunner already there.

Special Tactics

There are also a lot of tactics that you can use as a baseballteam, to make it harder for your opponent. You can read more about those tactics for pitching and batting.

Pitcher

As a pitcher, you can release the ball in a certain manner and speed. As a result of that, it is harder for the batter to hit the ball, because the ball can arrive at the home plate in different ways. There is a wide range of variations of pitches that can be thrown, but the four most famous ones are the curveball, the slider, the fastball and the change-up. The catcher signals the pitcher what type of pitch to throw. The pitcher has the right to shake this sign off and the catcher has to call for a different pitch.

Batters

As a batter, there are more options than to just hit the ball. Of course, it is good to hit a ball out of the park, also know as home run. Nonetheless, sometimes it is also smart to do something else. A batter can chose to make a bunt. A bunt is the batting technique, where the batter holds his/her bat loosely infront of the home plate and only touches the ball when it arrives infront of the home plate. The ball goes straight to the ground and will only roll a few meters. You can also try to hit the ball between the infielders and outfielders. It will take more time for the defensive team to get the ball and throw it to a base.

As you have read in this article, there are a lot of situations, rules and information in baseball. Almost every situation in a game is different and therefore you really have to think about your next move as a baseballplayer. In Baseball you of course use a lot of physical strength, but this is not the key to be a good baseballplayer. Your mental strength is almost as important and you have to be able to play the game smart. With smart tricks it is even more fun to play baseball.

Have fun and play clever!

November 2, 2022

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