Baseball is a very intricate sport; full of rules, nuances, and multiple ways of measuring players, feats, and talent. It can be as simple or as complicated as you would like to make it for your own enjoyment, but it is tantamount that you learn the basic rules, setup and strategy to when becoming a fan.
Baseball is made up of two main sides on the field; offense and defense. When a team is on offense, nine players in a lineup take turns hitting the ball. This is called the batting lineup. When the team is on defense, these players are out in the field, at nine different positions:
Pitcher
Catcher
First base
Second base
Third base
Shortstop
Left field
Center field
Right field
The game of baseball starts with the home team on defense (out in the field), and the visiting team batting. If you picture the baseball field as a diamond, the bases go counterclockwise, with first, second, third, and home plate at the corners. The visiting team will send the first player from their batting lineup up to bat against the other team’s pitcher. The starting pitcher starts the game by throwing the ball across the plate. If it crosses the plate in what is called “the strike zone” (usually from the batter’s knees to chest and right across home plate), that is a strike. If not, it is a ball. Three strikes and the batter is out; four balls and the batter gets to go to first base. The batter must hit the ball within the fair/foul lines to get a hit, and reach base, without recording an “out”. The batter is “out” when a defensive player catches the ball on the fly, or when a defensive player fields the ball and throws to the first baseman before the runner reaches the base.
The point of the game is for the batter to reach first base, then second base, then third base, and finally, cross home plate. When the batter crosses home plate, that scores a run for the team on offense.
Each team on offense gets three outs to work with at each time. To start the game, the visiting team will hit until the defense gets three outs, and then they switch sides. The home team comes in to bat, and the visiting team takes the field for defense. When each team has used their three outs on offense and has made three outs on defense, that is called the end of an inning. There are nine innings in a standard game, which means each team bats nine times, and takes the field nine times. Games take roughly three hours, but since there is no limit on runs scored, there are many different variables that affect the time of game, and baseball is the only sport without a running clock, no game time is ever the same.
The point of the game, aside from the excitement in the crowd, the crack of the bat, the brilliant blue sky against the green of the field, is that whoever has the most runs at the end of the game wins.
Baseball teams keep 25 “active” players on their roster at all times. This number consists of 10-13 “pitchers” (players who throw the ball) and the rest are “position players”, players who play the field, and can be in the batting lineup. Before each game, the manager of the team chooses eight (nine in the American League) starting players, a starting pitcher, and puts them 1-9 into the batting lineup. Each player has a specialized position that they usually play every day. There are a few subs on the bench, for injury reasons, to switch the lineup up a bit, and because 162 games in six months only allows an off-day every eight days or so.
The major difference between the American and National Leagues is what is called the “designated hitter rule” on offense. In the National League, players 1-8 will bat, and the pitcher will almost always hit in the 9th spot. In the American League, the pitchers do not bat. There is a “designated hitter” on the bench who hits in the lineup in place of the pitcher. He does not play defense; only offense. By the very nature of pitching (a starting pitcher will only be out on the field every five days or so), there are very few good hitting pitchers. Their role is usually to move a runner on base to the next base, if there is a runner on base at the time; and if not, just to not get hurt while batting.
The major positions in baseball are the infield; catcher, first base, second base, third base, and shortstop--outfield; left, right, center fielders--and the pitchers; starting, middle relief, setup, and closers. Once a player is out of the game, they are finished for the whole game. They can’t come back in. This is true for pitchers, as well. A team usually has anywhere from 4-6 starting pitchers in their “pitching rotation”, and they pitch, on average, every five days. A starting pitcher usually throws between 5-7 innings; the more innings thrown, the likelier it is that the pitcher is having a good game. When the pitcher is tired, or is no longer effective at getting outs, the team manager will “make a call to the bullpen” and bring in a relief pitcher to finish the inning. All pitchers that come into the game after the starting pitcher has left are called “relievers”, but a pitcher that specializes in pitching the eighth inning is commonly called the “set-up man”, and a pitcher that just pitches the ninth is called the “closer”. Relief pitchers do not start games, and they can pitch in multiple games in a row.
As we have already learned, when any pitcher throws four balls out of the strike zone, the batter gets to walk to first base. Similarly, if a pitcher hits the batter, the batter gets to walk to first base. Another way the batter can reach base is by hitting a “single”, a one-base hit. If a batter hits the ball out into the outfield, and no one can get it, the batter can run to second base for a “double”, or to third base, for a “triple”. In very rare cases, a very fast runner might get all the way home on a hit; this is a “homerun”. The much more common type of a homerun is to hit the ball over the fence. The batter can take his time running the bases; his run will count when he crosses home plate.
Sometimes there will be a runner (or two or three runners) on base when a homerun is hit. These runs score automatically. If there is a runner on first, second, and third, we call that “the bases are loaded”, and if a homerun is hit, it is called a “grand slam”. Grand slams are worth four runs and are the most runs that can be scored in a single swing of the bat.
Another way a batter can reach base is by laying down a “bunt”. This means instead of taking a full swing of the bat, the batter holds the bat parallel to the ground and simply taps the ball a few feet away from home plate. Bunts are usually reserved for fast players, who can beat a throw to first base, or for players (pitchers, a lot of the time) who simply want to move a runner over to the next base. It is called a “sacrifice bunt” when a batter lets himself get out at first base in order to move a runner over a base. It is called “bunting for a base hit” when the batter is trying to get on base himself. There is also a “suicide squeeze bunt” which takes place when a runner on third base is sent home as soon as the pitch is thrown; the batter has to make contact with the ball, and put it on the ground. The defense will make the throw to first base, and the runner will score from third, giving the batting team a run.
Runs can be scored in all innings, and most baseball games finish in nine innings. The “top of the inning” is when the visiting team is batting, and “the bottom of the inning” is when the home team is up to bat. All nine innings will be played, unless the home team has more runs than the visiting team by the ninth inning. If the home team is ahead, and gets all three outs of the ninth inning without the visiting team tying the score, there is no reason for them to hit in the bottom of the ninth; they have already won the game. The game is then over.
If the game is tied after all nine innings have been played, the game then goes to “extra innings”. There is no limit to extra innings; the game keeps going until one team has scored, and the home team has had a chance to bat. Runs may be scored in extra innings, and the game will continue if the score is still tied after each full inning. There is no sudden death in baseball; the home team always has a chance to bat at the close of an inning. If the visiting team scores a run in extra innings, and the home team ties the game, they must play on. In 1920, there once was a game that went for 26 innings!
Baseball takes place at many different levels; from the T-ball fields of youth, to the highest level of professional baseball, called “Major League Baseball”, or MLB for short. Players aspiring to this goal usually play baseball in college before being split up into “farm leagues” or “Minor League Baseball”, a series of leagues called single-A, double-A, and triple-A. Each level has many different teams within it, each representing a Major League Baseball team. An entire season of games is played each year at each level, but players will move fluidly up and down the leagues based on their performance during the season. A few select players are chosen to climb the baseball ladder; succeeding at each level, before being called up to play at the professional level. This accomplishment is known as a “call up”, when a player is asked to join a higher level. When he makes his first appearance in the big leagues (becoming a professional baseball player), he is making his “Major League Debut”. This is quite a feat; many players who make up the A, AA, and AAA leagues will never make it.
Learn More about Major League Baseball
Back to Baseball Instruction
Baseball is made up of two main sides on the field; offense and defense. When a team is on offense, nine players in a lineup take turns hitting the ball. This is called the batting lineup. When the team is on defense, these players are out in the field, at nine different positions:
Pitcher
Catcher
First base
Second base
Third base
Shortstop
Left field
Center field
Right field
The game of baseball starts with the home team on defense (out in the field), and the visiting team batting. If you picture the baseball field as a diamond, the bases go counterclockwise, with first, second, third, and home plate at the corners. The visiting team will send the first player from their batting lineup up to bat against the other team’s pitcher. The starting pitcher starts the game by throwing the ball across the plate. If it crosses the plate in what is called “the strike zone” (usually from the batter’s knees to chest and right across home plate), that is a strike. If not, it is a ball. Three strikes and the batter is out; four balls and the batter gets to go to first base. The batter must hit the ball within the fair/foul lines to get a hit, and reach base, without recording an “out”. The batter is “out” when a defensive player catches the ball on the fly, or when a defensive player fields the ball and throws to the first baseman before the runner reaches the base.
The point of the game is for the batter to reach first base, then second base, then third base, and finally, cross home plate. When the batter crosses home plate, that scores a run for the team on offense.
Each team on offense gets three outs to work with at each time. To start the game, the visiting team will hit until the defense gets three outs, and then they switch sides. The home team comes in to bat, and the visiting team takes the field for defense. When each team has used their three outs on offense and has made three outs on defense, that is called the end of an inning. There are nine innings in a standard game, which means each team bats nine times, and takes the field nine times. Games take roughly three hours, but since there is no limit on runs scored, there are many different variables that affect the time of game, and baseball is the only sport without a running clock, no game time is ever the same.
The point of the game, aside from the excitement in the crowd, the crack of the bat, the brilliant blue sky against the green of the field, is that whoever has the most runs at the end of the game wins.
Baseball teams keep 25 “active” players on their roster at all times. This number consists of 10-13 “pitchers” (players who throw the ball) and the rest are “position players”, players who play the field, and can be in the batting lineup. Before each game, the manager of the team chooses eight (nine in the American League) starting players, a starting pitcher, and puts them 1-9 into the batting lineup. Each player has a specialized position that they usually play every day. There are a few subs on the bench, for injury reasons, to switch the lineup up a bit, and because 162 games in six months only allows an off-day every eight days or so.
The major difference between the American and National Leagues is what is called the “designated hitter rule” on offense. In the National League, players 1-8 will bat, and the pitcher will almost always hit in the 9th spot. In the American League, the pitchers do not bat. There is a “designated hitter” on the bench who hits in the lineup in place of the pitcher. He does not play defense; only offense. By the very nature of pitching (a starting pitcher will only be out on the field every five days or so), there are very few good hitting pitchers. Their role is usually to move a runner on base to the next base, if there is a runner on base at the time; and if not, just to not get hurt while batting.
The major positions in baseball are the infield; catcher, first base, second base, third base, and shortstop--outfield; left, right, center fielders--and the pitchers; starting, middle relief, setup, and closers. Once a player is out of the game, they are finished for the whole game. They can’t come back in. This is true for pitchers, as well. A team usually has anywhere from 4-6 starting pitchers in their “pitching rotation”, and they pitch, on average, every five days. A starting pitcher usually throws between 5-7 innings; the more innings thrown, the likelier it is that the pitcher is having a good game. When the pitcher is tired, or is no longer effective at getting outs, the team manager will “make a call to the bullpen” and bring in a relief pitcher to finish the inning. All pitchers that come into the game after the starting pitcher has left are called “relievers”, but a pitcher that specializes in pitching the eighth inning is commonly called the “set-up man”, and a pitcher that just pitches the ninth is called the “closer”. Relief pitchers do not start games, and they can pitch in multiple games in a row.
As we have already learned, when any pitcher throws four balls out of the strike zone, the batter gets to walk to first base. Similarly, if a pitcher hits the batter, the batter gets to walk to first base. Another way the batter can reach base is by hitting a “single”, a one-base hit. If a batter hits the ball out into the outfield, and no one can get it, the batter can run to second base for a “double”, or to third base, for a “triple”. In very rare cases, a very fast runner might get all the way home on a hit; this is a “homerun”. The much more common type of a homerun is to hit the ball over the fence. The batter can take his time running the bases; his run will count when he crosses home plate.
Sometimes there will be a runner (or two or three runners) on base when a homerun is hit. These runs score automatically. If there is a runner on first, second, and third, we call that “the bases are loaded”, and if a homerun is hit, it is called a “grand slam”. Grand slams are worth four runs and are the most runs that can be scored in a single swing of the bat.
Another way a batter can reach base is by laying down a “bunt”. This means instead of taking a full swing of the bat, the batter holds the bat parallel to the ground and simply taps the ball a few feet away from home plate. Bunts are usually reserved for fast players, who can beat a throw to first base, or for players (pitchers, a lot of the time) who simply want to move a runner over to the next base. It is called a “sacrifice bunt” when a batter lets himself get out at first base in order to move a runner over a base. It is called “bunting for a base hit” when the batter is trying to get on base himself. There is also a “suicide squeeze bunt” which takes place when a runner on third base is sent home as soon as the pitch is thrown; the batter has to make contact with the ball, and put it on the ground. The defense will make the throw to first base, and the runner will score from third, giving the batting team a run.
Runs can be scored in all innings, and most baseball games finish in nine innings. The “top of the inning” is when the visiting team is batting, and “the bottom of the inning” is when the home team is up to bat. All nine innings will be played, unless the home team has more runs than the visiting team by the ninth inning. If the home team is ahead, and gets all three outs of the ninth inning without the visiting team tying the score, there is no reason for them to hit in the bottom of the ninth; they have already won the game. The game is then over.
If the game is tied after all nine innings have been played, the game then goes to “extra innings”. There is no limit to extra innings; the game keeps going until one team has scored, and the home team has had a chance to bat. Runs may be scored in extra innings, and the game will continue if the score is still tied after each full inning. There is no sudden death in baseball; the home team always has a chance to bat at the close of an inning. If the visiting team scores a run in extra innings, and the home team ties the game, they must play on. In 1920, there once was a game that went for 26 innings!
Baseball takes place at many different levels; from the T-ball fields of youth, to the highest level of professional baseball, called “Major League Baseball”, or MLB for short. Players aspiring to this goal usually play baseball in college before being split up into “farm leagues” or “Minor League Baseball”, a series of leagues called single-A, double-A, and triple-A. Each level has many different teams within it, each representing a Major League Baseball team. An entire season of games is played each year at each level, but players will move fluidly up and down the leagues based on their performance during the season. A few select players are chosen to climb the baseball ladder; succeeding at each level, before being called up to play at the professional level. This accomplishment is known as a “call up”, when a player is asked to join a higher level. When he makes his first appearance in the big leagues (becoming a professional baseball player), he is making his “Major League Debut”. This is quite a feat; many players who make up the A, AA, and AAA leagues will never make it.
Learn More about Major League Baseball
Back to Baseball Instruction