Baseball
Content
BASEBALL
Group 6
History
The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is
difficult to trace with precision. A French manuscript from 1344
contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly la
soule, with similarities to baseball. Other old French games
such as théque, la balle au bâton, and la balle empoisonée also
appear to be related. Consensus once held that today's
baseball is a North American development from the older
game rounders, popular in Great Britain and Ireland. Baseball
Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game (2005),
by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England;
recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position.
Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually
regional variants of each other, and that the game's most
direct antecedents are the English games of stoolball and "tutball". It has long been believed that cricket also descended
from such games, though evidence uncovered in early 2009
suggests that the sport may have been imported to England
from Flanders.
Baseball Field
Unless otherwise noted, the
specifications discussed in this
article refer to those described
within the Official Baseball
Rules, under which Major League
Baseball is played. The starting
point for much of the action on the
field is home plate, which is a fivesided slab of whitened rubber, 17inches square with two of the
corners removed so that one edge
is 17 inches long, two adjacent
sides are 8½ inches and the
remaining two sides are 12 inches
and set at an angle to make a point.
Adjacent to each of the two parallel
8½-inch sides is a batter's box. The
point of home plate where the two
12-inch sides meet at right angles,
is at one corner of a ninety-foot
square. The other three corners of
the square, in counterclockwise
order from home plate, are
called first base, second base,
and third base. Three canvas bags
fifteen inches (38 cm) square mark
the three bases. These three bags
along with home plate form the
four bases at the corners of the
infield.
All the bases, including home plate,
lie entirely within fair territory.
Thus, any batted ball that touches
those bases must necessarily be in
fair territory. While the first and
third base bags are placed so that
they lie inside the 90 foot square
formed by the bases, the second
base bag is placed so that its
center (unlike first, third and home)
coincides exactly with the "point"
of the ninety-foot infield square.
Thus, although the "points" of the
bases are 90 feet apart, the
physical distance between each
successive pair of base markers is
closer to 88 feet. This positioning of
the second base bag creates an
"offset" (of one-half of its bag
width) from pure "alignment" with
the first and third base bags - an
anomaly which does not seem to
have affected play over the years
and generally goes unnoticed by
players and fans.
The lines from home plate to first and third
bases extend to the nearest fence, stand or
other obstruction and are called the foul
lines. The portion of the playing field
between (and including) the foul lines
is fair territory; the rest is foul territory.
The area in the vicinity of the square
formed by the bases is called the infield;
fair territory outside the infield is known as
the outfield. Most baseball fields are
enclosed with a fence that marks the outer
edge of the outfield. The fence is usually
set at a distance ranging from 300 to 410
feet (90 to 125 m) from home plate. Most
professional and college baseball fields
have a right and left foul pole. These poles
are at the intersection of the foul lines and
the respective ends of the outfield fence
and, unless otherwise specified within
the ground rules, lie in fair territory. Thus, a
batted ball that passes over the outfield
wall in flight and touches the foul pole is a
fair ball and the batter is awarded a home
run. Another common feature of baseball
fields is a warning track, a narrow dirt path
that follows the outer edge of the outfield
at the fence to serve to warn outfielders of
their proximity to the wall.
How the game is played
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two
teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by
hitting a thrownball with a bat and touching a series of
four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot
square, or diamond. Players on one team (the batting
team) take turns hitting against the pitcher of the other
team (the fielding team), which tries to stop them from
scoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways.
A player on the batting team can stop at any of the
bases and later advance via a teammate's hit or other
means. The teams switch between batting and fielding
whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn
at bat for each team constitutes an inning and nine
innings make up a professional game. The team with the
most runs at the end of the game wins.
Persons in the game
PLAYERS
Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different
levels of organized play. Major League Baseball teams maintain
twenty-five-player active rosters. A typical twenty-five-man roster in a
league without the DH rule, such as MLB's National League, features
eight position players—catcher, four infielders, three outfielders—who
play on a regular basis
five starting pitchers who constitute the team's pitching rotation or
starting rotation
six relief pitchers, including one specialist closer, who constitute the
team's bullpen (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up)
one backup, or substitute, catcher
two backup infielders
two backup outfielders
one specialist pinch hitter, or a second backup catcher, or a seventh
reliever
The manager, or head coach of a team, oversees the team's
major strategic decisions, such as establishing the starting
rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each
game, and making substitutions during games—in particular,
bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are typically assisted by
two or more coaches; they may have specialized
responsibilities, such as working with players on hitting,
fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning.
Any baseball game involves one or more umpires, who make
rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one
umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of
the strike zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires
may be stationed near the other bases, thus making it easier
to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In
Major League Baseball, four umpires are used for each
game, one near each base. In the playoffs, six umpires are
used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul
lines.
Rules and regulations
The
Game
A baseball/softball game is played by two teams who alternate between offense and
defense. There are nine players on each side. The goal is to score more runs than the
opponent, which is achieved by one circuit of four bases that are placed on the diamond.
The
Equipment
The defense wears baseball/softball gloves, a leather contraption that fits on the hand, to
catch the ball. A baseball is a white ball roughly three inches in diameter with red
stitching. A softball is roughly twice as big, sometimes yellow (but no softer).
The offense uses a bat, which is made of wood in the professional ranks, and likely made
of aluminum or a metal composite at amateur levels. Almost all softball bats are
aluminum or metal.
The
Field
part of the field closest to the bases is called the infield, and the grassy farther
reaches is called the outfield.
The bases are 90 feet apart on the diamond, closer in children's leagues and softball.
Other fields are variable, and the outfield fences or the amount of “foul territory” - the
amount of ground that borders the field between the long white lines that connect first
base to home plate and third base to home plate – varies from field to field.
The
Defense: The Positions
There's a pitcher in the middle of the mound who initiates the action by throwing the ball toward home
plate. The catcher catches the ball if it's not hit. The infielders are the first baseman, second baseman,
shortstop (between second and third base) and the third baseman. There are three outfielders: The left
fielder, center fielder and right fielder.
The Game
There are nine innings in professional baseball games (sometimes fewer in lower levels), and each
inning is divided in half to the top of the inning (when the visiting team hits and the home team plays
defense) and the bottom of the inning (when the home team hits and the visiting team plays defense).
Each team gets three outs in each half of the innings.
On Offense
Each team has nine players in its batting order, and they must stick to that order throughout the game
(players may substitute in for other players). A play begins with a batter waiting to hit a pitch from the
pitcher. If the batter hits the ball into the field of play, the batter runs to first base and can run to as
many bases as he or she deems fit without getting "out."
A batter gets three strikes (a swing and a miss or a ball over the plate in what's deemed the “strike
zone” by an umpire) or he or she is out. If there are four balls (a pitch that is not in the “strike zone”),
the batter is automatically allowed to go to first base.
When a batter begins running, he or she is then referred to as a "runner". Runners attempt to reach a
base, where they are "safe" and can remain on the base until the next hitter comes up. The defensive
players attempt to prevent this by putting the runners out using the ball; runners put out must leave
the field.
A batter gets a "hit" when he or she reaches a base without getting out, or forcing another runner to
get out (and without the defense making an error). Runs are scored when a player completes a circuit
of the diamond before there are three outs in the inning.
If a players hits the ball over the outfield fence in fair territory (between the foul lines), it's a home run,
and the batter can circle all four bases.
On Defense
There are many ways that the team on
defense can get an offensive player out.
Four common ways are:
Strikeouts (hitter misses three pitches)
Force outs (when, after the ball is hit, the
defensive player with the ball reaches a
base before the runner)
Fly outs (when a player hits the ball in
the air and it's caught by a defensive
player before the ball hits the ground)
Tag outs (when a runner is touched with
the ball, or a glove with the ball in it)
Terms used
There are 156 examples of terminologies in baseball. Here
are some examples.
0-1 (i.e., "oh and one"), also, 1-0, 0-2, 1-1, 2-0, 1-2, 2-1, 30, 2-2, 3-1, 3-2 The possible instances of the "count", the
number of balls and strikes, in that order, currently totaled
for the batter. Japanese baseball reverses this. So 1-2 is 1
strike and 2 balls instead of 1 ball and 2 strikes.
12-to-6 A curve ball, the motion of which evokes the hands
of clock. The ball starts high (at "12-o'clock") and drops
sharply as it reaches the strike zone ("6-o'clock"). Also
known as "12-to-6 Downers" or a "12-to-6 Drop". Barry Zito
is perhaps baseball's best current practitioner of the 12-to6 curve.
Group 6
History
The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is
difficult to trace with precision. A French manuscript from 1344
contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly la
soule, with similarities to baseball. Other old French games
such as théque, la balle au bâton, and la balle empoisonée also
appear to be related. Consensus once held that today's
baseball is a North American development from the older
game rounders, popular in Great Britain and Ireland. Baseball
Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game (2005),
by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England;
recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position.
Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually
regional variants of each other, and that the game's most
direct antecedents are the English games of stoolball and "tutball". It has long been believed that cricket also descended
from such games, though evidence uncovered in early 2009
suggests that the sport may have been imported to England
from Flanders.
Baseball Field
Unless otherwise noted, the
specifications discussed in this
article refer to those described
within the Official Baseball
Rules, under which Major League
Baseball is played. The starting
point for much of the action on the
field is home plate, which is a fivesided slab of whitened rubber, 17inches square with two of the
corners removed so that one edge
is 17 inches long, two adjacent
sides are 8½ inches and the
remaining two sides are 12 inches
and set at an angle to make a point.
Adjacent to each of the two parallel
8½-inch sides is a batter's box. The
point of home plate where the two
12-inch sides meet at right angles,
is at one corner of a ninety-foot
square. The other three corners of
the square, in counterclockwise
order from home plate, are
called first base, second base,
and third base. Three canvas bags
fifteen inches (38 cm) square mark
the three bases. These three bags
along with home plate form the
four bases at the corners of the
infield.
All the bases, including home plate,
lie entirely within fair territory.
Thus, any batted ball that touches
those bases must necessarily be in
fair territory. While the first and
third base bags are placed so that
they lie inside the 90 foot square
formed by the bases, the second
base bag is placed so that its
center (unlike first, third and home)
coincides exactly with the "point"
of the ninety-foot infield square.
Thus, although the "points" of the
bases are 90 feet apart, the
physical distance between each
successive pair of base markers is
closer to 88 feet. This positioning of
the second base bag creates an
"offset" (of one-half of its bag
width) from pure "alignment" with
the first and third base bags - an
anomaly which does not seem to
have affected play over the years
and generally goes unnoticed by
players and fans.
The lines from home plate to first and third
bases extend to the nearest fence, stand or
other obstruction and are called the foul
lines. The portion of the playing field
between (and including) the foul lines
is fair territory; the rest is foul territory.
The area in the vicinity of the square
formed by the bases is called the infield;
fair territory outside the infield is known as
the outfield. Most baseball fields are
enclosed with a fence that marks the outer
edge of the outfield. The fence is usually
set at a distance ranging from 300 to 410
feet (90 to 125 m) from home plate. Most
professional and college baseball fields
have a right and left foul pole. These poles
are at the intersection of the foul lines and
the respective ends of the outfield fence
and, unless otherwise specified within
the ground rules, lie in fair territory. Thus, a
batted ball that passes over the outfield
wall in flight and touches the foul pole is a
fair ball and the batter is awarded a home
run. Another common feature of baseball
fields is a warning track, a narrow dirt path
that follows the outer edge of the outfield
at the fence to serve to warn outfielders of
their proximity to the wall.
How the game is played
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two
teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by
hitting a thrownball with a bat and touching a series of
four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot
square, or diamond. Players on one team (the batting
team) take turns hitting against the pitcher of the other
team (the fielding team), which tries to stop them from
scoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways.
A player on the batting team can stop at any of the
bases and later advance via a teammate's hit or other
means. The teams switch between batting and fielding
whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn
at bat for each team constitutes an inning and nine
innings make up a professional game. The team with the
most runs at the end of the game wins.
Persons in the game
PLAYERS
Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different
levels of organized play. Major League Baseball teams maintain
twenty-five-player active rosters. A typical twenty-five-man roster in a
league without the DH rule, such as MLB's National League, features
eight position players—catcher, four infielders, three outfielders—who
play on a regular basis
five starting pitchers who constitute the team's pitching rotation or
starting rotation
six relief pitchers, including one specialist closer, who constitute the
team's bullpen (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up)
one backup, or substitute, catcher
two backup infielders
two backup outfielders
one specialist pinch hitter, or a second backup catcher, or a seventh
reliever
The manager, or head coach of a team, oversees the team's
major strategic decisions, such as establishing the starting
rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each
game, and making substitutions during games—in particular,
bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are typically assisted by
two or more coaches; they may have specialized
responsibilities, such as working with players on hitting,
fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning.
Any baseball game involves one or more umpires, who make
rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one
umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of
the strike zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires
may be stationed near the other bases, thus making it easier
to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In
Major League Baseball, four umpires are used for each
game, one near each base. In the playoffs, six umpires are
used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul
lines.
Rules and regulations
The
Game
A baseball/softball game is played by two teams who alternate between offense and
defense. There are nine players on each side. The goal is to score more runs than the
opponent, which is achieved by one circuit of four bases that are placed on the diamond.
The
Equipment
The defense wears baseball/softball gloves, a leather contraption that fits on the hand, to
catch the ball. A baseball is a white ball roughly three inches in diameter with red
stitching. A softball is roughly twice as big, sometimes yellow (but no softer).
The offense uses a bat, which is made of wood in the professional ranks, and likely made
of aluminum or a metal composite at amateur levels. Almost all softball bats are
aluminum or metal.
The
Field
part of the field closest to the bases is called the infield, and the grassy farther
reaches is called the outfield.
The bases are 90 feet apart on the diamond, closer in children's leagues and softball.
Other fields are variable, and the outfield fences or the amount of “foul territory” - the
amount of ground that borders the field between the long white lines that connect first
base to home plate and third base to home plate – varies from field to field.
The
Defense: The Positions
There's a pitcher in the middle of the mound who initiates the action by throwing the ball toward home
plate. The catcher catches the ball if it's not hit. The infielders are the first baseman, second baseman,
shortstop (between second and third base) and the third baseman. There are three outfielders: The left
fielder, center fielder and right fielder.
The Game
There are nine innings in professional baseball games (sometimes fewer in lower levels), and each
inning is divided in half to the top of the inning (when the visiting team hits and the home team plays
defense) and the bottom of the inning (when the home team hits and the visiting team plays defense).
Each team gets three outs in each half of the innings.
On Offense
Each team has nine players in its batting order, and they must stick to that order throughout the game
(players may substitute in for other players). A play begins with a batter waiting to hit a pitch from the
pitcher. If the batter hits the ball into the field of play, the batter runs to first base and can run to as
many bases as he or she deems fit without getting "out."
A batter gets three strikes (a swing and a miss or a ball over the plate in what's deemed the “strike
zone” by an umpire) or he or she is out. If there are four balls (a pitch that is not in the “strike zone”),
the batter is automatically allowed to go to first base.
When a batter begins running, he or she is then referred to as a "runner". Runners attempt to reach a
base, where they are "safe" and can remain on the base until the next hitter comes up. The defensive
players attempt to prevent this by putting the runners out using the ball; runners put out must leave
the field.
A batter gets a "hit" when he or she reaches a base without getting out, or forcing another runner to
get out (and without the defense making an error). Runs are scored when a player completes a circuit
of the diamond before there are three outs in the inning.
If a players hits the ball over the outfield fence in fair territory (between the foul lines), it's a home run,
and the batter can circle all four bases.
On Defense
There are many ways that the team on
defense can get an offensive player out.
Four common ways are:
Strikeouts (hitter misses three pitches)
Force outs (when, after the ball is hit, the
defensive player with the ball reaches a
base before the runner)
Fly outs (when a player hits the ball in
the air and it's caught by a defensive
player before the ball hits the ground)
Tag outs (when a runner is touched with
the ball, or a glove with the ball in it)
Terms used
There are 156 examples of terminologies in baseball. Here
are some examples.
0-1 (i.e., "oh and one"), also, 1-0, 0-2, 1-1, 2-0, 1-2, 2-1, 30, 2-2, 3-1, 3-2 The possible instances of the "count", the
number of balls and strikes, in that order, currently totaled
for the batter. Japanese baseball reverses this. So 1-2 is 1
strike and 2 balls instead of 1 ball and 2 strikes.
12-to-6 A curve ball, the motion of which evokes the hands
of clock. The ball starts high (at "12-o'clock") and drops
sharply as it reaches the strike zone ("6-o'clock"). Also
known as "12-to-6 Downers" or a "12-to-6 Drop". Barry Zito
is perhaps baseball's best current practitioner of the 12-to6 curve.
