# What Baseball Is · Baseball Level 1: Beginner

Baseball · Level 1: Beginner · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/baseball/level-1/what-baseball-is/)

The aim of the game, offence and defence, innings and outs, runs and winning, the nine positions, baseball's relatives, where it is played, youth baseball and the professional game.

## Test 1: The aim of the game

- The batting team scores runs; the team with more runs at the end wins. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The fielding team ends the other side's turn at bat by making three outs. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The pitcher throws, or pitches, the ball from the mound towards home plate. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The batter stands in a batter's box on either side of home plate. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A fly ball caught before it touches the ground is an out. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Baseball is played with a round bat, unlike the flat bat of cricket. (Source: General baseball reference)
- First, second, third and home: four bases make the full circuit. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Runners go round the diamond anticlockwise: first, second, third, then home. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A ground ball fielded and thrown to first ahead of the runner is the most common out. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A fair ball hit over the fence is a home run: the batter and any runners score. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 2: Offence and defence

- The fielding team is the defence; the batting team is the offence. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Batters come up one at a time, in a fixed batting order. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Each team has a dugout beside the field where the players and coaches sit. (Source: General baseball reference)
- After three outs the batting team takes the field and the other team bats. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Once on base, a batter becomes a base runner. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The catcher squats behind the plate, receives pitches and signals to the pitcher. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The visitors bat in the top half of each inning and the home team in the bottom half. (Source: General baseball reference)
- In the bottom half the home team bats until it has made three outs. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The batter stands beside the plate, the catcher crouches behind it and the umpire stands behind the catcher. (Source: General baseball reference)
- All nine players of the fielding team are out on the field; the batting team has only its batter and runners. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 3: Innings and outs

- A regular professional game is nine innings long; youth games are often six or seven. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The first half of each inning is called the top; the second half is the bottom. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The home team bats second, in the bottom half, so it always has the last chance to score. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Three strikes and the batter is out: a strikeout. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Ball four sends the batter to first base: a walk, or base on balls. (Source: General baseball reference)
- In a tied game the teams play extra innings until one side leads at the end of an inning. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Each half-inning ends after three outs. (Source: General baseball reference)
- From the first inning to the ninth, the visitors always hit before the home side. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The count is given as balls first, then strikes. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A clenched fist raised by the umpire means out; arms spread wide mean safe. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 4: How a run is scored

- A run scores when a runner has touched every base and crosses home plate. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A solo home run scores the batter alone: one run. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Bases loaded means a runner on every base: first, second and third. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A grand slam scores four runs, the most possible on one swing. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Driving in a team-mate earns the batter a run batted in, or RBI. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A walk with the bases loaded forces every runner up one base, so the runner on third scores. (Source: General baseball reference)
- From second a runner needs only two bases to score; a runner on first usually stops at second or third. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Each runner is forced up one base, and the man on third walks home. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Runners score in front of the batter on a home run; both must touch home plate. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Safe at home: the run counts. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 5: Winning a game

- Only runs count: the team that has scored more runs wins. (Source: General baseball reference)
- If the home team is ahead after the visitors' last turn, it does not need to bat again. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A walk-off ends the game the moment the home team takes the lead in its last turn. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A shutout is a win in which the opponents score no runs. (Source: General baseball reference)
- In a no-hitter the other team does not get a single base hit. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Shaking hands after the game is a long-standing custom in youth and amateur baseball. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A record lists wins first, then losses. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The winning run in the home team's last turn ends the game immediately. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The margins are ten, five, two and one run. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Players crowd home plate to greet the man who scored or drove in the winning run. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 6: Nine players a side

- Nine fielders: the pitcher, catcher, four infielders and three outfielders. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The outfield is covered by the left fielder, centre fielder and right fielder. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The shortstop covers the gap between second and third, often the busiest infield spot. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The infielders are the first, second and third basemen and the shortstop. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Pitcher 1, catcher 2, first base 3, second 4, third 5, shortstop 6, then left, centre and right 7, 8, 9. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Third base is close to right-handed batters, who pull hard hits that way. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A manager can bring in substitutes, but in standard rules a replaced player may not come back. (Source: General baseball reference)
- From first base the infield runs to second base, the shortstop's gap and third base. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Left, centre and right are named as seen from home plate. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The shortstop is number 6, so a ground ball from short to first is written 6-3. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 7: The bat-and-ball family of games

- The bowler tries to hit the wicket of three stumps that the batter defends. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Rounders, with a bowler, a batter and posts to run round, is one of baseball's older relatives. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Softball grew out of baseball in the 1880s and is played with a larger ball thrown underhand. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Pesäpallo, Finland's national game, was developed by Lauri Pihkala from American baseball. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Baseball5 was launched by the WBSC in 2017 and needs only a ball and some open space. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Lapta is an old Russian game in which a batter hits the ball and runs to a line and back. (Source: General baseball reference)
- In each game a batter hits a thrown ball and runs to score. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Cricket is centuries old, baseball took shape in the 1840s, softball in 1887 and Baseball5 in 2017. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A rounders ball is smaller than a baseball, and a softball is the largest of the three. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Only cricket uses a flat-faced bat; baseball, softball and rounders bats are round. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 8: Where baseball is played

- Both are Major League Baseball clubs in the United States. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Toronto is the only Canadian MLB club since the Montreal Expos moved to Washington in 2005. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Japan's summer high school tournament at Koshien Stadium is one of the country's great sporting events. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Hundreds of Dominican players have reached the major leagues, more than from any other foreign country. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The KBO League has been South Korea's professional league since 1982. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The Netherlands, with Italy, has long been one of Europe's leading baseball countries. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Cuba won Olympic baseball gold in 1992, 1996 and 2004. (Source: General baseball reference)
- From Mexico east across the Caribbean and the Atlantic to Europe, then on to Japan. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The National League began in 1876, Japanese professional baseball in the 1930s and the KBO in 1982. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Stickball was played in the streets of New York and other cities, with a stick for a bat. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 9: Youth and amateur baseball

- Little League was founded by Carl Stotz in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1939. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The tournament is played at South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Omaha has been the home of the College World Series since 1950. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Pitch limits and rest days keep young arms from being overworked. (Source: General baseball reference)
- In coach pitch an adult from the batting side throws easy pitches so that young players can hit. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Amateur players in the US mostly use aluminium-alloy or composite bats; professionals use wood. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Amateurs play for the love of the game; professionals are paid. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Many players go from youth leagues to school and college teams, then through the minors to the majors. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Children start by hitting off a tee, then face a coach's pitches, then pitch to each other. (Source: General baseball reference)
- In T-ball the ball sits on a batting tee, so even very young children can hit it. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 10: Professional baseball

- MLB is the top professional league in the United States and Canada. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Major League Baseball has 30 clubs, 15 in each league. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The National League dates from 1876 and the American League from 1901. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The World Series ends the season in October, sometimes running into early November. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Minor league teams are where most players learn their trade before reaching the major leagues. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Opening Day comes in late March or early April, after spring training. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The Midsummer Classic pits the American League's stars against the National League's. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Spring training in February and March, the season from spring, the All-Star break in July, then the playoffs. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Players climb from Single-A through Double-A and Triple-A to the majors. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The Commissioner's Trophy, with one flag for each MLB club, goes to the World Series champions. (Source: General baseball reference)

Sources: General baseball references, WBSC and league material, coaching manuals; original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered rules belong to the Rules category.

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