Batting takes place at home plate from within a “batter’s box.” The “batter” stands at the plate and swings his bat in an attempt to hit the pitched ball as far as possible into fair play. Batters can choose to swing at the ball when it is pitched in the “strike zone” or else the pitch may be called a “strike.” Batters can also choose [...]

A baseball park, also known as a baseball stadium or ballpark, is the venue where baseball is played. While the areas denoted by white painted lines adhere to strict rules, the guidelines for the rest of the field are very flexible. This allows ballparks on all levels of baseball, amateur and professional, to have their own special characteristics related to size and distance. The infield [...]

Two teams of nine players compete on a baseball field, which is divided between an infield and an outfield. The infield, called the “diamond,” is where the bases or “bags” are located. Players in the field include three outfielders, four infielders, one pitcher, and one catcher. Substitutions may take place any time the ball is not in play. Once a player is substituted, he may [...]

In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. Pitchers throw a variety of pitches, each of which has a slightly different velocity, trajectory, movement, hand position, wrist position, and/or arm angle. These variations are introduced to confuse the batter in various ways, and ultimately aid the defensive team in getting the batter or base runners [...]

The baseball is a sphere formed by yarn wound around a small core of cork, rubber, or similar material, covered with two stripes of white horsehide or cowhide tightly stitched together. It shall weigh not less than 5 ounces nor more than 5 1/4 ounces and measure not less than 9 inches nor more than 9 1/4 inches in circumference. An official major league baseball [...]

A regulation baseball game is played in nine “innings”. The “visiting team” plays in the “top” half of each inning, and the “home team” plays in the “bottom” half of each inning. The top half or bottom half of the inning ends when the team scores three outs. No time clock is used in the game of baseball. Extra Innings If the game score is [...]