Make sure the catcher wears protective gear, like a face mask, since the pitcher will be throwing balls hard and fast enough to injure them.
Bases are numbered counterclockwise from home plate: first, second, and third. Second base is on a direct line from home plate through the pitcher’s mound. Each base is approximately 90 feet (27. 5 meters) away from the previous one. The lines that connect the bases are made of dirt, so that runners may slide into bases, while the rest of the field is made of grass.
During offensive play, all players act as batters, taking turns trying to hit the ball.
A “strike” is an indication that the batter either could have swung at the ball and didn’t, or swung at the ball and missed. The batter is out on a third strike that is caught by the catcher. A “ball” happens when the pitcher pitches a ball that’s too far outside the hitting area to be considered hittable by the batter and the batter did not swing at the pitch. After four balls, the batter “walks,” which is a free advancement to first base. Batters will occasionally try to crowd the plate and earn a walk rather than hit the ball. A “foul ball” is a ball that the batter hits which lands outside the foul lines or goes into foul territory before reaching first or third base. The ball is then considered “dead,” and all runners must return to their time-of-pitch base without any liability of being put out. Usually a foul ball just counts as a strike; however, in most cases, a foul does not count as a strike if there are already two strikes against the batter. Exceptions are if the batter foul-tips the ball into the catcher’s glove or bunts it foul.
A runner can be tagged out if a defensive player has possession of the ball and touches the runner who is not touching a base (and has not overrun first base). The batter will automatically be called out if the hit ball is caught by a defensive player before it touches the ground or wall. This is called a flyout. If this is not the third out of the inning, all baserunners must return to their time-of-pitch-base after a flyout. Such runners can be “doubled off” by throwing the ball back to the base that must be reached. A batter can get forced out if the hit ball touches the ground, but then a defensive player gets possession of it and touches first base before the runner can get there. Runners who are “forced” to vacate their base on a ground ball can also be forced out in this manner.
Since the pitcher is usually the best thrower on the team, stealing a base at any other time is very dangerous; the pitcher can turn and throw the ball to a baseman instead of the batter, allowing an easy tag out. Many youth baseball leagues do not permit base stealing until after the ball has crossed home plate.
A home run hit while the bases are loaded is called a “grand slam,” which will score four runs (one for each runner). While rare, grand slams can turn the tide of a difficult game or virtually guarantee victory.
The game has nine periods, called innings. They’re each comprised of two parts: a “top” and a “bottom. ” When the offense of one team has received three outs, the game moves either to the bottom of the current inning or the top of the next one. [15] X Research source A run scores for the offensive team whenever a runner safely advances to home plate. A run will not count if: 1) the runner at home plate was not at the time-of-pitch base during or after a flyout; 2) the runner touched home plate after the defensive team recorded a third out; or 3) the runner reached home plate during the same continuous playing action as a force out for the third out, even if home plate was reached before this out was recorded.
The fastball is what it sounds like – very fast – as is the curveball. A changeup involves the pitcher pretending to throw a fastball but actually throwing a much slower pitch, confusing the batter’s sense of timing.
If the ball hits the ground before anyone catches it, the defensive players must get to it quickly and pass it to any teammate close enough to tag or force a runner out.
Triple plays are rare but sometimes possible on line drive flyouts, or if enough force outs are available. Double plays are more common, and they often involve forcing out a runner at second base and then forcing out the batter before they reach first.
Because this can make games drag on for a long time, teams are allowed to have alternates, particularly extra pitchers (called relief pitchers) to keep play fresh from beginning to end. If the teams are tied at the end of the last inning, an extra inning is played. It is very unusual for a baseball game to end in a tie; typically, extra innings are added until one team manages to score. If the team that scored is an away team, then the home team gets to have one more chance to score. If the home team can’t score, the away team wins.
