What Baseball Is

The batting team scores runs; the team with more runs at the end wins.

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The fielding team ends the other side's turn at bat by making three outs.

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The pitcher throws, or pitches, the ball from the mound towards home plate.

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The batter stands in a batter's box on either side of home plate.

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A fly ball caught before it touches the ground is an out.

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Baseball is played with a round bat, unlike the flat bat of cricket.

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First, second, third and home: four bases make the full circuit.

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Runners go round the diamond anticlockwise: first, second, third, then home.

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A ground ball fielded and thrown to first ahead of the runner is the most common out.

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A fair ball hit over the fence is a home run: the batter and any runners score.

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The fielding team is the defence; the batting team is the offence.

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Batters come up one at a time, in a fixed batting order.

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Each team has a dugout beside the field where the players and coaches sit.

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After three outs the batting team takes the field and the other team bats.

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Once on base, a batter becomes a base runner.

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The catcher squats behind the plate, receives pitches and signals to the pitcher.

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The visitors bat in the top half of each inning and the home team in the bottom half.

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In the bottom half the home team bats until it has made three outs.

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The batter stands beside the plate, the catcher crouches behind it and the umpire stands behind the catcher.

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All nine players of the fielding team are out on the field; the batting team has only its batter and runners.

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A regular professional game is nine innings long; youth games are often six or seven.

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The first half of each inning is called the top; the second half is the bottom.

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The home team bats second, in the bottom half, so it always has the last chance to score.

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Three strikes and the batter is out: a strikeout.

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Ball four sends the batter to first base: a walk, or base on balls.

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In a tied game the teams play extra innings until one side leads at the end of an inning.

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Each half-inning ends after three outs.

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From the first inning to the ninth, the visitors always hit before the home side.

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The count is given as balls first, then strikes.

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A clenched fist raised by the umpire means out; arms spread wide mean safe.

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A run scores when a runner has touched every base and crosses home plate.

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A solo home run scores the batter alone: one run.

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Bases loaded means a runner on every base: first, second and third.

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A grand slam scores four runs, the most possible on one swing.

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Driving in a team-mate earns the batter a run batted in, or RBI.

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A walk with the bases loaded forces every runner up one base, so the runner on third scores.

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From second a runner needs only two bases to score; a runner on first usually stops at second or third.

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Each runner is forced up one base, and the man on third walks home.

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Runners score in front of the batter on a home run; both must touch home plate.

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Safe at home: the run counts.

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Only runs count: the team that has scored more runs wins.

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If the home team is ahead after the visitors' last turn, it does not need to bat again.

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A walk-off ends the game the moment the home team takes the lead in its last turn.

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A shutout is a win in which the opponents score no runs.

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In a no-hitter the other team does not get a single base hit.

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Shaking hands after the game is a long-standing custom in youth and amateur baseball.

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A record lists wins first, then losses.

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The winning run in the home team's last turn ends the game immediately.

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The margins are ten, five, two and one run.

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Players crowd home plate to greet the man who scored or drove in the winning run.

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Nine fielders: the pitcher, catcher, four infielders and three outfielders.

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The outfield is covered by the left fielder, centre fielder and right fielder.

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The shortstop covers the gap between second and third, often the busiest infield spot.

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The infielders are the first, second and third basemen and the shortstop.

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Pitcher 1, catcher 2, first base 3, second 4, third 5, shortstop 6, then left, centre and right 7, 8, 9.

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Third base is close to right-handed batters, who pull hard hits that way.

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A manager can bring in substitutes, but in standard rules a replaced player may not come back.

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From first base the infield runs to second base, the shortstop's gap and third base.

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Left, centre and right are named as seen from home plate.

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The shortstop is number 6, so a ground ball from short to first is written 6-3.

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The bowler tries to hit the wicket of three stumps that the batter defends.

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Rounders, with a bowler, a batter and posts to run round, is one of baseball's older relatives.

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Softball grew out of baseball in the 1880s and is played with a larger ball thrown underhand.

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Pesäpallo, Finland's national game, was developed by Lauri Pihkala from American baseball.

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Baseball5 was launched by the WBSC in 2017 and needs only a ball and some open space.

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Lapta is an old Russian game in which a batter hits the ball and runs to a line and back.

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In each game a batter hits a thrown ball and runs to score.

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Cricket is centuries old, baseball took shape in the 1840s, softball in 1887 and Baseball5 in 2017.

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A rounders ball is smaller than a baseball, and a softball is the largest of the three.

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Only cricket uses a flat-faced bat; baseball, softball and rounders bats are round.

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Both are Major League Baseball clubs in the United States.

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Toronto is the only Canadian MLB club since the Montreal Expos moved to Washington in 2005.

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Japan's summer high school tournament at Koshien Stadium is one of the country's great sporting events.

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Hundreds of Dominican players have reached the major leagues, more than from any other foreign country.

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The KBO League has been South Korea's professional league since 1982.

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The Netherlands, with Italy, has long been one of Europe's leading baseball countries.

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Cuba won Olympic baseball gold in 1992, 1996 and 2004.

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From Mexico east across the Caribbean and the Atlantic to Europe, then on to Japan.

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The National League began in 1876, Japanese professional baseball in the 1930s and the KBO in 1982.

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Stickball was played in the streets of New York and other cities, with a stick for a bat.

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Little League was founded by Carl Stotz in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1939.

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The tournament is played at South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

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Omaha has been the home of the College World Series since 1950.

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Pitch limits and rest days keep young arms from being overworked.

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In coach pitch an adult from the batting side throws easy pitches so that young players can hit.

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Amateur players in the US mostly use aluminium-alloy or composite bats; professionals use wood.

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Amateurs play for the love of the game; professionals are paid.

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Many players go from youth leagues to school and college teams, then through the minors to the majors.

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Children start by hitting off a tee, then face a coach's pitches, then pitch to each other.

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In T-ball the ball sits on a batting tee, so even very young children can hit it.

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MLB is the top professional league in the United States and Canada.

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Major League Baseball has 30 clubs, 15 in each league.

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The National League dates from 1876 and the American League from 1901.

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The World Series ends the season in October, sometimes running into early November.

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Minor league teams are where most players learn their trade before reaching the major leagues.

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Opening Day comes in late March or early April, after spring training.

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The Midsummer Classic pits the American League's stars against the National League's.

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Spring training in February and March, the season from spring, the All-Star break in July, then the playoffs.

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Players climb from Single-A through Double-A and Triple-A to the majors.

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The Commissioner's Trophy, with one flag for each MLB club, goes to the World Series champions.

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