Basic Baseball Rules

To excel in any game, be it on the ground or off the ground, we need to know the rules of the play. The most essential thing to defeat the opponent is to understand those rules and play by them. Even for bending or tweaking those rules, you have to know what are they! The national game of the USA, baseball is no exception. Hence, this article about basic baseball rules is dedicated to all the baseball lovers and amateurs who wish to pursue this game! Here I pitch!

What are the Basic Rules for Baseball

The Field
The field consists of infield and outfield. Infield is the area of the field closest to the bases. The grassy area reaching farther is the outfield. The diamond is the major part of the infield, which includes the pitcher's mound, home plate, and 3 other bases. These bases are numbered counter-clockwise. From the diamond, the bases are 90 feet. However as per basic baseball rules for kids, and softball, this distance could be less. Then there are foul lines and the whole area beyond the foul lines is termed as foul territory. Although this aspect - the area and expanse of ground bordering the field between long white lines connecting first base to home plate and third to the home plate differ from field to field. The pitcher's mound is an elevated portion of the ground almost in the middle of the diamond. There is rubber on that and the pitcher has to touch one foot to the rubber while delivering the ball.

The Equipment
There are 3 constituents of the entire array of baseball equipment. Ball, bat and gloves or mitt.

Ball: The circumference of the ball used for baseball is 23 cm or 9 inches. It is roughly the size of an adult fist. There is a rubber or cork at the center and it is wound in yarn. Finally, it is covered with white cow hide, having red stitching.

Bat: This bat is not the same as cricket bat, it is a hard, round stick and has a diameter of around 6.6 cm or 2.5 inches at the hitting end. This end then tapers to a narrower handle, ending in a knob. It is made of solid, single piece of wood.

Gloves or Mitt: These are made of padded leather and are used for fielding. There is a webbing between the fingers on baseball gloves. It helps in latching and holding onto the ball and to prevent the hand from getting hurt, as the ball most often than not comes at a rapid speed.

Game
Each professional baseball game comprises 9 innings. Each inning divided in half till the top of the inning, where the visiting team hits and home team defends and the bottom part of the inning where the home team hits and the visiting team has to defend.

Offense and Defense
Both the teams have 9 players in the batting order and it should stick to that order. A batter after hitting the ball in the outfield has to run to the first base, primarily. Then depending on how far the ball gone, he can run as many bases, without the risk of getting out. There are 3 strikes for a batter to prove his worth. Strike refers to a swing and a miss over the plate, which is the strike zone. If there are 4 balls in succession not in the strike zone, the batter gets to go to the first base automatically. When a batter reaches a base without getting out, it is a hit. A run is counted when one circuit of diamond is completed. Finally, if the ball is hit over the outfield fence in the fair territory, between the foul lines, the batter gets the license to circle all four bases, culminating in a home run.

On the other hand, the defense has to prevent the batters from reaching the next base. A strike out, fielder or defensive player reaching the base before the runner, fly out, that is a batter gets caught and when the runner has touched the glove with ball in it are the 4 ways in which the defense can get the batters out.

There are many more intricacies involved in these basic baseball rules, but that is better left for the coaches to tell the sport enthusiasts, I guess! These were the basic baseball rules for beginners and nothing too complicated or elaborate. What are you waiting for then? Aren't you going to pitch in and hit the home run?!