Baseball/Softball

HISTORY OF BASEBALL
The game of baseball is said to have begun in
the early 19th century, but that's just half the truth. The
game was played much before but the first baseball
clubs were formed around that time. An Englishman
named Alexander Cartwright in the year 1845 devised
the first set of rules baseball. In fact, many of the rules
listed out then are still used in the game.
 In the early 20th century the concentration was
more on hitting the home runs. Babe Ruth changed
the course of the game with his magical abilities to
achieve home runs. It was due to sportsmen like Babe
Ruth that baseball achieved the levels of popularity
that it did. The popularity of Babe Ruth also helped in
improving the money in the game, since people just
went to watch Babe Ruth in action.
 Baseball became a game of strategy and hitting
throughout the last part of the 20th century. However,
pitching and home run hitting are the baseball
benchmarks of today. Depending on the strength of
their bullpens and their home run hitters, baseball
teams are either big winners or big losers. The one
thing that is consistent is that the cost of admission still
continues to rise.
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.
Baseball/Softball Equipment
Gloves
In the beginning baseball players did not wear gloves.
Today there are several different kinds of gloves. The
catcher's mitt is big, round, and padded. The first
baseman's mitt is longer than the other fielders'
gloves, and an outfielders' glove is larger than an
infielders' glove.
Gloves
Bases
The first bases used in baseball were four-foot high
stakes. Too many players ran into them and were hurt,
so they tried big flat rocks. Players were still being
injured, so they finally filled soft sacks with sand. The
modern day bases are made similar to the sand filled
bags.
Baseball Court
Safety Gear
The first catchers in baseball did not wear any gear for
protection. Today's players wear a face-mask, helmet,
chest protector, shin guards and a cup. In 1952, the
Pittsburgh Pirates were the first team to wear helmets.
They wore them when they were batting and when
they were playing in the field.
 Catchers Equipment
Helmet Leg Guard

Chest Protection
Catchers Mitt
Bats
In the major leagues, only wooden bats are used. The
rules say that the bat can only be 42 inches long, and
can only be 2 3/4 inches in diameter at the thickest
point. White ash is the best wood to use to make a
bat. A bat made out of white ash helps absorb some of
the shock when hitting a 90 mile-per-hour pitch.
Bat
Baseballs
All baseballs are made the same size and weight.
They are 9 to 9 1/4 inches in circumference and weigh
5 to 5 1/4 ounces. The center of the baseball is cork.
The cork ball is covered with rubber. Cotton and wool
yarn are tightly wound around the cork and rubber
center. 150 yards of cotton yarn (450 feet) and 219
yards of wool yarn (625 feet) are used to make a
baseball.
Ball
Helmet
Shoes
Jersey
THE FIELD
The 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.
Baseball Court
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 GAMES
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." 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)
SKILLS IN BASEBALL
Baseball requires a high degree of skill to play well.
Athletic ability will help a player compete with other top
players, but the specific skills of hitting, throwing and
catching the baseball require significant work and
practice to acquire. Many of the top hitters in the game
don't have a tremendous speed or strength, but they
all have a high- level of eye-hand coordination.
Hitting
Hitters who can drive the ball over the fence, such as
Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, are lionized, but many
hitters who don't hit frequent home runs can be just as
important to their teams. Hitting the ball consistently
takes timing, hand-eye coordination and confidence.
These skills are developed through regular batting
practice. Hitters must be balanced when standing at
the plate and drive their hands through the ball with all
their strength and momentum behind their swings.
Catching
Catching and fielding the baseball takes athleticism,
aggressiveness, timing and coordination. Fielding
ground balls requires the player to get to a spot on the
field quickly, to get his body in front of the ball and to
catch it out in front of him. Catching fly balls takes
speed, timing, anticipation and coordination. Fielders
need to catch hundreds of ground balls and fly balls in
practice to learn how to field consistently.
Throwing
Throwing the ball well requires arm strength, balance
and timing. Baseball players must build the strength in
their arm by throwing regularly with the proper
technique. That means players must step toward the
target when they throw and must get their momentum
traveling toward their target.
Base Running
Having speed alone does not make one a good base
runner. Speed helps, but understanding the route to
run, the arm strength of opposing outfielders and the
game situation are more important skills than flat-out
speed. A good base runner will listen to advice from
coaches on the base paths, but will make the final
decisions whether to run or stop based on his
knowledge.
Base Running
Having speed alone does not make one a good base
runner. Speed helps, but understanding the route to
run, the arm strength of opposing outfielders and the
game situation are more important skills than flat-out
speed. A good base runner will listen to advice from
coaches on the base paths, but will make the final
decisions whether to run or stop based on his
knowledge.
Baseball Rules & Regulations
Former Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck
famously said, “I try not to break the rules but merely
to test their elasticity.” A certain amount of rule-bending
is likely to exist in any sport, but no game has a set of
rules as well established as baseball, where the
regulations have been virtually unchanged for over a
century. For newcomers to baseball, the following is a
brief overview of the game‟s essential tenets:
 Each team in a baseball game starts nine
players. The game is broken up into innings, during
which each team plays both offense and defense. A
regulation baseball game consists of nine innings
(many levels of youth baseball, including high school,
play only six- or seven-inning games). An inning starts
with the home team on defense and the away team on
offense. The offensive team attempts to score runs,
while the defensive team attempts to record outs.
 One inning is completed after each team makes
three outs. The team that has the most total runs after
nine innings are completed is the winner. If the score
is tied, play continues, with each extra inning
functioning as sudden death.
Positions & Lineups
On defense, the players occupy nine positions.
There are five infield positions (pitcher, catcher, first
base, second base, third base, and shortstop), and
three outfield positions (left field, center field, and right
field). The diagram to the left shows the typical
defensive alignment on a basic baseball diamond.
 On offense, the nine starters form a strategically
arranged lineup, which determines the order in which
each player bats. Many baseball organizations allow
the use of a designated hitter. This means that one
player who is not among the defensive starters may
bat in the place of a defensive player. In many cases,
the designated hitter bats for the pitcher.
 The players take turns batting according to the
lineup, and once every player has batted, the order
starts over from the top. It is against the rules to bat
out of order. Substitutions may be made at any time,
but once a player has been removed from the game,
he cannot return (unless specific league rules allow it).
Pitching & Defense
In baseball, play starts when the pitcher delivers
a pitch. There are two positions from which a pitcher
may start his delivery: The wind-up and the stretch.
The wind-up is typically used with no runners on base,
while the stretch is utilized when there are base
runners, because it is a quicker way to make a pitch.
The pitcher must be in contact with the pitcher‟s
rubber when he throws the ball.
 For every at-bat of a game, a “count” is kept in
order to keep track of how many balls and strikes have
been thrown (for example, one ball and two strikes, or
1-2). The strike zone is an area that reaches from the
batter‟s knees to his chest, and spans the width of
home plate. The home plate umpire determines
whether each pitch crossed through the strike zone,
and so strike zones tend to be somewhat subjective. If
the pitcher throws a pitch that misses the strike zone,
it is called a ball.
 If he throws a pitch inside the strike zone, or if the
batter swings and misses, or if the batter hits the ball
into foul territory, it is called a strike.
There are several ways to record an out on defense:
Strike out: After three strikes, the batter is out.
However, a batter cannot strike out on a foul ball. If he
hits a foul ball with two strikes, the count remains the
same.
Tag out: When the ball is in play, any defensive player
may tag a base runner when he is off the base to
record an out.
Catch: If the batter hits a pitched ball in play, and any
member of the defense catches it in the air, then the
batter is out. A runner on base may attempt to
advance to the next base once a catch has been
made by “tagging up.” However, the runner does so at
the risk of being tagged out.
Force out: If the batter hits a pitched ball in play that is
not caught in the air, the defense may field the ball and
touch first base (or more likely, throw it to the first
baseman, who then touches first base) before the batter
reaches the base to record the out. Also, if there are
runners on first base, first and second base, or all three
bases, the runners must advance if a batted ball touches
the ground (they are “forced”). Therefore, the defense
can tag a base in front of a runner for a force-out. It is
possible for the defense to record multiple force-outs on
the same play. This is called a double play.
Scoring
The home plate area consists of home plate, a left-hand
batter's box and right - hand batter's box (on separate
sides of home plate, and a catcher's box (directly behind
home plate). The offensive player stands in one of the
batter's boxes, while the catcher squats down behind
home plate, and the umpire stands just behind the
catcher.
In order to score a run, a batter must safely touch all four
bases (in a counter-clockwise direction) and home plate.
The player doesn't need to touch all four bases duri ng
one play. Once he reaches a base, he may choose to
stay there, and as long as he stays on the base he
cannot be tagged out. Therefore, in order to score a run,
the offensive team typically must get multiple players on
base safely in order to advance them around the
diamond and touch home plate to score a run.
There are several ways that a batter may reach base
safely:
Single: The batter hits a pitched ball into fair territory, and
the defense is unable to catch it in the air. If the batter
makes it to first base without being tagged with the ball
or before the defense can make a force-play at first
base, then the batter is safe with a single.
Double: The batter hits a pitched ball into fair territory,
and the defense is unable to catch it in the air. If the
batter makes it to second base without being tagged with
the ball or before the defense can make a force-play,
then the batter is safe with a double.
Triple: The batter hits a pitched ball into fair territory, and
the defense is unable to catch it in the air. If the batter
makes it to third base without being tagged with the ball
or before the defense can make a force-play, then the
batter is safe with a triple.
Home run: The batter hits a pitched ball into fair territory,
and the defense is unable to catch it in the air. If the
batter touches all three bases and makes it to home
plate without being tagged with the ball or before the
defense can make a force-play, then the batter is safe
with a home run. In addition, if the batter hits a pitched
ball that lands beyond the designated outfield fence, it is
an automatic home run. He is allowed to jog around the
bases and touch home plate, and any runners who were
on base are also allowed to score.
Base on balls: If the pitcher throws four pitches out of the
strike zone (as determined by the home plate umpire)
before the batter hits the ball fair or strikes out, then the
batter is awarded first base.
Hit by pitch: If a pitched ball strikes the batter on any part
of his body, the batter is awarded first base (unless an
umpire determines that the batter intentionally moved in
order to get hit).
Catcher’s interference: If the batter‟s bat makes contact
with the catcher while he attempts to swing at a pitch,
the batter is awarded first base.
Defensive error: If the batter is able to safely reach base
as the result of a defensive player‟s mistake, then the
play is called an error. An error has effectively the same
result as a hit, but officially it is a different type of play.
Dropped third strike: If a batter swings and misses at a
pitched ball for the third strike, but the catcher drops the
ball or it bounces away, the batter may attempt to run to
first base. If the batter reaches first base before the
catcher can tag him or make a force-out, then the batter
is safe.
Fielder’s choice: If the batter hits a pitched ball into play,
and the defense chooses to tag or force-out another
base runner instead of the batter (thereby allowing the
batter to reach base safely), then it is considered a
fielder's choice. This is a less desirable way to reach
base, because an out is recorded in the process.