Understanding the Game: The Basics of Baseball
Baseball is a complicated sport. I’ll admit it. But once you learn about America’s national pastime, other sports don’t come close to the strategy, complexity, and moving parts of the game. This is why I wrote this article. To make sure YOU know all about baseball and all the rules that go along with it. If you don’t know much about baseball then this is the article for you. Let’s start with some basics:
- There are 9 players on each team.
- There are 9 innings to a game.
- 1 inning is defined by each team playing both offense and defense.
- Extra innings may be needed if the score is tied and the ninth inning ends.
- The away team bats first.
- A pitch is called either a ball or strike.
- If a pitcher throws four balls, the batter walks to first base.
- If the pitcher throws three strikes, the batter is out.
- The batting team only has three outs to try and score.
- If the batter swings and misses, it’s a strike. If a batter swings, makes contact, and the ball goes out of play, it’s a foul ball and it’s a strike, unless there are already two strikes on the batter. If there are two strikes, the at-bat keeps going.
- If a player is hit by a pitch, he automatically gets to go to first base.
Goal of the game:
The goal of playing a baseball game is to score more runs than your opponent when all 9 innings are completed.
How to score:
When the runner goes around the bases and touches home plate without getting out, that is counted as a run.
Bases:
There are 4 bases. First base, which is where the player runs to after hitting the ball. Second base (the next base after first base). Third base, which is the closest base to home plate. And home plate/home base/home. If a player touches all four of those white bases, they score a run for their team.
A baseball game:
A baseball game is 9 innings and around two and a half - three and a half hours. It is played at a baseball stadium, where the dimensions of the park can vary, but it’s usually about 320 - 340 feet in left field, 390 - 430 feet in center field, and 310 - 375 feet in right field.
A baseball field:
A baseball field is the venue in which the game is hosted. The dimensions of a ballpark are stated above. MLB stadiums can hold anywhere from 20,000 - 56,000 fans at one game.
Players:
9 players take the field while fielding, and 9 players are in the starting lineup when batting. The 9 players taking the field have a position name and a number assigned to that position.
Pitcher = #1
Catcher = #2
First base = #3
Second base = #4
Third base = #5
Shortstop = #6
Left field = #7
Center field = #8
Right field = #9
Each player batting in the lineup has a spot assigned to him in the batting order of 9 players.
Teams:
There are 30 teams in MLB. Here are all of them (in alphabetical order).
Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Guardians
Colorado Rockies
Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers
Miami Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals
Games:
The baseball season ranges from late March to late September, and during these months teams play exactly 162 games.
Playoffs:
If a team wins enough ballgames out of the 162 that they play, they go on to compete in the playoffs, with each round being a series of games. Teams must win a certain number of games to move on. The last two teams play in the World Series. The winner of that is the World Series champion for that season.
That’s the very basics of baseball.