Baseball

BASEBALL

RULES OF THIS SPORT

Batting, Outs, and Strikes
A youth baseball game usually consists of 6 innings. In each inning, each team will pitch and
field while the other team bats. When the batting team gets 3 outs, the other team bats.

Outs
A batter is out when any of the following occur:
 They get 3 strikes
 They hit a ball that is caught before the ball hits the ground
 The ball is thrown to the first-baseman and the first-baseman touches the base with their
foot while the ball is in their glove or hand.
 Any member of the fielding team tags the batter with the ball or the glove containing the
ball before they get safely to 1st base.
 Any member of the fielding team tags the batter with the ball or the glove containing the
ball when the batter is on their way to 2nd base, 3rd base, or home.
Any base-runner is out if any of the following occur:
 The base runner is forced out before arriving at the next base. (See Force Out vs. Tag Out
below)
 The base runner is tagged out while off base.

Strikes and Fouls
A batter may get a strike in 3 different ways:
 A swing and a miss at a ball
 A ball thrown into the strike zone that is not swung at but called a strike by the umpire
 A ball hit "foul".
A "foul" ball is one that is hit so it rolls to the outside of the line from home plate to 1st base or
outside the line from home plate to 3rd base. A ball that is hit within the two lines previously
described is a "fair" ball. A batter never receives a 3rd and final strike for hitting a foul ball. If
foul balls are hit after 2 strikes are obtained, the batter keeps batting. The exception is that if a
foul hit ball (or fair ball) is caught before it strikes the ground, the batter is out.

The Strike Zone
The strike zone is approximately the width of the home plate (or a little wider) and has height
from about the knees to the shoulders of the batter. This zone will vary slightly among leagues
and umpires. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, if the pitched ball is within the strike zone
and the batter does not swing, the umpire will call a strike.

Balls and Walks
If the pitcher pitches to an area outside the "strike zone" that is called a "ball" by the umpire and
the batter does not swing, this will count as a "ball". If the batter is awarded 4 balls before
striking out or getting out in any other way, they will be given a "walk". In a walk, the batter is
allowed to safely proceed to first base.


Running the Bases
After a batter hits a fair ball, they will attempt to do one of the following:
 Run to 1st base only.
 Run to 1st base, then 2nd base (called a double).
 Continue past 2nd base and run to 3rd base (called a triple).
 Continue past 3rd base to home plate (called a home run).
In addition, any previous batters that are on one of the bases may advance to subsequent bases
and finally home. A run is scored for each player of the batting team successfully reaching home
plate.

Over-Running the Bases
After a fair ball is hit, the batter proceeds to run to first base. If the batter is only going to run to
first base, they are allowed to overrun the first base and are "safe" if they touch base before the
first-baseman catches the ball while standing on base. The batter is still safe even if they are off
base, provided they run straight past the first base and turn to their right. If the batter, however,
tags first base and rounds the corner to 2nd base, they may be tagged out if they are not
successful! Also, players running from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd base may always be tagged out if
they overrun the base and the 2nd or 3rd baseman tags them. So in summary, overrunning a base
without danger of being tagged out is only allowed for a batter running straight past first base.

Tagging Runners Out
Any player of the fielding team may tag any runner out by touching the player with the ball in
hand or the glove containing the ball provided the runner is off base with exception of the first
base over-run covered in the previous paragraph.

Force-Out vs. Tag-Out Situations
Two runners of the batting team can not occupy a base at the same time. This means that if there
is a runner at 1st base and the next batter hits a fair ball, this runner on 1st must advance to at
least 2nd base. This is known as a "force out at 2nd" situation. If this is the case, the second
baseman only has to tag the base before the runner arrives, rather than tag the runner. If the
second baseman has enough time, they may even throw to first base to get the hitter out as well -
if successful, this is known as a "double play". In a "bases loaded" situation with runners at each
base, a force out is possible at 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, or home since all of the runners and
batters are forced to advance to the next base. On the other hand, if a runner is already at 2nd
base with 3rd base empty and the ball is hit, the 2nd base runner trying to reach 3rd may only be
tagged out by actually tagging with the ball (as opposed to simply tagging base). This last case
is a "tag out" situation. So in summary, if a runner is forced to advance, a force out is possible.
If a runner is not forced to advance, they must be tagged out. A force-out on the batter is always
possible at first base.

Rule Concerning Runs Scored When 3rd Out Is Made
All runs scored before the 3rd out is actually obtained will count if the third out occurs in a tag-
out situation. So for example, if there are two outs and runners at 2nd and 3rd and the batter hits
a ball that results in the 2nd base runner being tagged out at 3rd for the 3rd out yet the 3rd base
runner made it home before the actual out was made, the run would count. If on the other hand,
the runner made it home after the 3rd out was actually made, the run would not count. If the 3rd
out occurred on a force-out situation, the run at home would not count, even if it was achieved
before the 3rd out was made.


Rules Concerning Pop Fly Balls
A "pop fly ball" is a ball hit into the air so a fielder can catch it before it hits the ground. If a pop
fly is caught before it hits the ground, the batter is automatically out. In addition, any runners
that start to advance to another base before the ball is caught are out if the ball is thrown back to
the baseman and the baseman tags the base with his/her foot before the runner returns back to
base. So for example, a pop fly is hit. While the fly ball is in the air, a runner on 2nd base
advances to 3rd. The ball is caught and thrown back to the 2nd baseman and he/she tags base
before the runner can get back on base. The runner would be out. A runner may "tag up"
however, and then safely run to the next base. "Tagging up" means the runner waits until after
the fair-hit pop-fly ball is caught and then runs to the next base. So, if our 2nd base runner had
waits until the ball is caught before proceeding to 3rd base, the runner would be safe, provided
they did not get tagged out at 3rd base.

Stealing Bases
In youth baseball leagues for ages 9 and below, stealing bases in generally not allowed although
there are exceptions. For youth baseball leagues for ages 9-12, stealing bases is allowed. An
existing runner may run to the next base after the pitch is thrown and arrives at the catcher, even
if the ball is not hit. This is known as a steal. The pitching team may try to tag this runner out.
This is a tag-out situation. Note that a runner may not steal on a ball hit foul - in this case the
stealing runner is allowed to safely return to the original base. Also note that some leagues may
allow stealing bases before the ball gets to the catcher. Check your local rules.

BRIEF HISTORY
Professional baseball was built on the foundation of the amateur leagues that preceded it.
Interest in baseball as a spectator sport had been nourished for more than 25 years when the first
professional league began operation. The National Association fielded nine teams in 1871, and
grew to 13 teams by 1875.
The National Association was short-lived. The presence of gamblers undermined the
public confidence in the games, and their presence at the games combined with the sale of liquor
quickly drove most of their crowds away. Following the 1875 season, the National Association
was replaced with the National League. Previously, players had owned the teams and run the
games, but the National League was to be run by businessmen. They established standards and
policies for ticket prices, schedules, and player contracts.
The businessmen demonstrated that professional baseball could be successful, and a rival
league soon emerged. In 1882, the American Association started to compete with reduced ticket
prices and teams in large cities. Rather than fight each other, the two leagues reached an accord,
ratifying a National Agreement. It called for teams in both major leagues and all of the minor
leagues to honor each other’s player contracts. In addition, the agreement allowed each team to
bind a certain number of players with the Reserve Clause. This clause granted teams the rights to
unilaterally renew a player’s contract, preventing him from entertaining other offers.
Needless to say, this infuriated the players. In 1884, they tried to form their own league, the
Union Association. Many players left their teams for the freedom of the Union Association, but
the league lasted only one season. The teams lost too much money to attempt a second season.
Another attempt was made in 1890, when the Players League was formed. Most of the best
players from the American Association and National League joined, but like its predecessor, the
Players League went bankrupt after one season. The competition and loss of players forced the
American Association to fold, too, with four of its best teams joining the National League.
The turn of the century brought another challenger, the American League, which started
play in 1901. They raided most of the National League’s best players. In their attempt to meet
the challenge, the National League owners turned on each other. A court injunction impaneled a
three-man commission to run the league, and they found a way for the two-leagues to co-exist
peacefully
At a time when interest in baseball seems to be on the rise again, it seems fitting to
review the history of the sport. A sport that has such a rich past should get some respect. Not
only can it be intense and exciting, it should be appreciated for it's universal qualities.
It seems that every culture, since very early, has had some sort of ball and bat game. The idea
of hitting an object with a stick of some sorts seems to be indigenous to the human condition.
Baseball is one of the many sports to come out of this tradition. Other sports, like cricket, are
also born of a similar idea.
Amazingly, not much is known, or accepted to be true about the beginning of baseball. Over the
past century or so, intrigue surrounding the history of baseball has been governed by a large
amount of debate and conflict. Folk games greatly influenced a number of games involving bats
and balls. The original versions of these games were similar to one another, with slight variations
based on regional and national nuances. At the end of the day, Rounders is generally accepted
are the game that evolved into what we know as baseball.
Rounders is an English pastime called. A form of this is game is still played in parts of
Ireland and various games that are a cross between baseball and Rounders are played around the
world. The game involves a Feeder, who resembles the modern day pitcher. A mound called The
Castle Rock, or what we might call home plate, and sanctuaries. The sanctuaries are even
distances from The Castle Rock and are represented by stakes. The game came to England
during the 16th century. As English settlers began to populate different parts of the world they
brought Rounders with them. By the 17th century the game had been revolutionized and
Americans took to calling it Townball. It was around this time that Alexander Joy Cartwright
took the sport a step further by creating the first baseball field.
From the beginning of 1800s, little towns put together baseball teams and bigger cities organized
baseball clubs. Alexander Cartwright was the guy who decided to set up a bunch of rules and
apply them to the game. Some of the rules Cartwright put in place are still in place. Despite the
fact that there is a fashionable myth that baseball was discovered Abner Doubleday, Cartwright
is accepted as baseball's pioneer.
A year after Cartwright established the rules of baseball, the first documented baseball
game as recorded. Cartwright team, the Knickerbockers, fail to the New York Baseball Club in a
match at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey. As popularity and the frequency of games
grew, the game spread. A bunch of teams came together in 1857 met talk about the future of
baseball. Delegates from twenty-five amateurs baseball teams met to discuss the game. The next
year, the National Association of Base Ball Players was created and first regulated baseball
league was underway. The league began charging admission and generating a fan base.
As the price to keep the league going increased, the cost of playing the game climbed as
well. Paying to see games began to be the norm. Trips were financed by donations or funded by
sponsors. The better the team, the easier it was to gain the necessary money to sustain it. Many
players were paid under the table even though everyone was supposed to be an amateur.
The first actual professional baseball team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings. In 1869
Harry and George Wright collected the most talented baseball players across the country, making
the Cincinnati Red Stockings a star studded team. At the end of the season the Red Stockings
were unbeaten. The success and profitability of the professional baseball team became very
attractive. Thus, the birth of baseball being a viable business venture began; a notion that
baseball fans are all too familiar with these days.
Over time the desire of some purist to keep baseball amateur gave way to profitability.
By 1871, the National Association became the choice of good baseball players around the United
States. It became the first organized baseball league that year.

HOW TO SCORE
Scoring a baseball game with paper and pencil is a tradition that goes back to the early
days of the game. Keeping score is a great way to get more involved as a fan. You’ll get really
engaged in the game. Moreover, each scorecard is a story of each game that you go to.
Scorecards make a great memento of all the baseball games you’ve attended. Unfortunately, with
the rise of high tech scoreboards and cell phones that can give updates right in the palm of your
hand, keeping score with a game card is becoming a lost art. Here’s how to do it.

Ready the card
Write each team’s batting line-up down the left hand side of the card. In addition to the players’
name, include their position number (see below) and jersey number.

Learn the code
There’s a shorthand that has developed to assist in scoring baseball games. You can develop your
own style, but here’s the standard method:

Position numbers. Each position is assigned a number. These numbers will be used when you
record fielding plays.
 Pitcher- 1
 Catcher- 2
 First Base- 3
 Second base- 4
 Third base- 5
 Shortstop- 6
 Left field- 7
 Center field- 8
 Right field- 9
 Designated hitter- DH
Batter shorthand. When a batter is up, keep track of whether he hit, got walked, or struck out
with these basic abbreviations:
 Strikeout- K
 Looking strikeout (where the batter doesn’t swing)- backwards K
 Walked- BB (base on balls)
 Single- 1B
 Double- 2B
 Tripple- 3B
 Homerun- HR
 F- flyout
 DP- double play

Follow the game
With your card ready in one hand and a hot dog slathered with mustard in the other, you’re ready
to score the game. Each player has a row of squares with baseball diamonds next to their name.
We’ll use these squares to track the progress of each batter.
If a batter hits a single, write 1B outside the diamond and darken the line from home plate to
first. If the runner on first advances to second, darken the line from first to second. And so on
until the runner gets home. Here’s an example:

If the runner scores, fill in the diamond with your pencil.
If a batter strikes out, write a K in the middle of the diamond. If that batter was the first out, write
a “1″ with a circle around it. Indicate subsequent outs in the similar fashion.
If the batter makes an out after hitting the ball, you want to record how the play happened. Going
back to our Jeter example. Say Jeter hits a grounder to the pitcher and the pitcher fields it and
throws it to first base, the out would be recorded by writing “1-3″ across the diamond. This
indicates that the pitcher fielded the ball first and then threw it to first getting Jeter out.


Easy enough. How about double plays? Let’s say we have Jeter on first base after hitting a
single. The scorecard will look like this:


Now, Giambi is up to bat and hits a grounder to the shortstop. The shortstop throws it to second,
getting Jeter on the force out. The second baseman throws it to first, getting Giambi out. Here’s
how we record it. First, we want to indicate Jeter got out at second on a grounder by Giambi. Do
this by darkening the line from first to second only halfway. Write 25 next to that line indicating
that it was Giambi that hit the ball that caused Jeter’s out. Jeter’s row will look like this:


On Giambi’s row, we’ll write “6-4-3″ across the diamond indicating the fielding sequence.
Above that we write “DP” indicating that he caused a double play. Don’t forget to add a “2″ with
a circle around it indicating that he was the second out. Giambi’s rowwill look like this:


If a batter flys out, write “F” followed by the fielder who caught the ball. So, if the centerfielder
catches a fly ball, you would write “F8″ inside the diamond of the batter who hit the ball.
If you want to show a runner on base getting tagged out or forced out, draw a line half way to the
base they were headed to as well as the fielding sequence of the out. For example, say Jeter was
on first after hitting a single. Giambi hits a grounder to third. Third baseman fields and throws it
to second getting the force out. This is what Jeter’s row would look like:



HOW MANY PLAYERS COMPOSED?

Player rosters
Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different levels of organized play.
Major League Baseball teams maintain 25-player active rosters. A typical 25-man roster in a
league without the DH rule, such as MLB's National League, features:
[104]

 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