Baseball 101
Baseball is played between two teams of nine players each on a baseball field, under the authority of one or more officials, called umpires. There are usually four umpires in major league games; up to six (and as few as one) may officiate depending on the league and the importance of the game. There are four bases. Numbered counter–clockwise, first, second and third bases are cushions (sometimes informally referred to as bags) shaped as 15 in (38 cm) squares which are raised a short distance above the ground; together with home plate, the fourth “base,” they form a square with sides of 90 ft (27.4 m) called the diamond. Home base (plate) is a pentagonal rubber slab known as simply home. The playing field is divided into three main
- The infield, containing the four bases, is for general defensive purposes bounded by the foul lines and within the grass line.
- The outfield is the grassed area beyond the infield grass line between the foul lines, and bounded by a wall or fence.
- Foul territory is the entire area outside the foul lines.
The pitcher's mound is located in the center of the infield. It is an 18 foot (5.5 m) diameter mound of dirt no higher than 10 inches (25.4 cm). Near the center of the mound is the pitching rubber, a rubber slab positioned 60 feet 6 inches (18.4 m) from home plate. The pitcher must have one foot on the rubber at the start of every pitch to a batter, but the pitcher may leave the mound area once the ball is released.
At the college⁄professional level, baseball is played in nine innings in which each team gets one turn to bat and try to score runs while the other pitches and defends in the field. High school baseball plays seven innings and Little League uses six inning games. An inning is broken up into two halves in which the away team bats in the top (first) half, and the home team bats in the bottom (second) half. In baseball, the defense always has the ball – a fact that differentiates it from most other team sports. The teams switch every time the defending team gets three players of the batting team out. The winner is the team with the most runs after nine innings. If the home team is ahead after the top of the ninth, play does not continue into the bottom half. In the case of a tie, additional innings are played until one team comes out ahead at the end of an inning. If the home team takes the lead anytime during the bottom of the ninth or of any inning thereafter, play stops and the home team is declared the winner...
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