Each spring in the United States players and fans look forward to the beginning of the new baseball season. In the United States, baseball has been known for more than a century as the national pastime. People of all ages and backgrounds enjoy following the ups and downs of their local teams and players. Millions of people attend professional baseball games, while many others watch games played in the minor leagues. One of professional baseball's traditions involves the president of the United States. The president often throws a ceremonial first pitch to start the new season. Playing area and equipment - In this diagram of an official baseball playing field, the beige surfaces within the field are bare …
A baseball field is divided into an infield and an outfield. The infield is laid out in the shape of a diamond. There are four bases, one on each corner of the diamond. The four bases are first, second, and third base, and home plate. Square canvas bags filled with soft material mark the location of the three bases. Home plate is made of a flat, five-sided piece of rubber. The bases are 90 feet apart. Most of the playing field is covered with grass. In the infield, dirt covers the pitcher's mound and the paths between the bases. Located in the middle of the infield, the pitching mound is circular in shape. The pitcher throws from a spot on the mound known as the “rubber.” In professional baseball the rubber is 60 feet 6 inches from home plate. Baseballs have a cork and rubber core that is wrapped with yarn. They are covered with two strips of white leather or synthetic hide that are sewn together. Each ball is about 9 inches in circumference and weighs about 5 ounces. The bat is a smooth, rounded stick of wood or aluminum. (Major League Baseball in North America allows only wooden baseball bats.) It is no more than 42 inches long and 2 3/4inches thick at the largest end. Players in the field wear leather gloves designed to help catch the ball. While these gloves look something like an enlarged hand, the catcher's mitt, or glove, is rounder in shape. The catcher's mitt is heavily padded in order to protect the catcher's hand. Catchers wear more equipment than the other players. The equipment protects the catcher from being hurt by the pitched ball. In order to protect the face but still be able to see, the catcher wears a barred mask. Catchers also wear a padded chest protector. Lightweight shin guards are worn to protect their legs. RulesTwo teams of nine players each compete in a game lasting at least nine innings. During an inning, each team takes a turn trying to score runs. Runs are scored by the team at bat. The team playing in the field tries to prevent runs from being scored. After three men on the team at bat have been called out, the fielding team takes its turn at bat. When both teams have batted, an inning is completed. After nine innings have been played, the team with the most runs wins. If the score is tied at the end of the ninth inning, the teams play additional innings. A run is scored every time a player advances around the bases and returns to home plate. To get on base the batter tries to hit a pitched ball anywhere inside the foul lines. After hitting the ball, the batter tries to run around the bases before the opposing team puts him out. A ball batted safely in this way is counted as a hit. An out removes a player from offensive play until his next turn at bat. A batter can be called out in several ways—by striking out, by having a fly ball caught, or by being thrown out. Once on base the batter becomes a runner. As a runner, the player can be tagged out or forced out. At its most basic level, baseball is a contest between one team's pitcher and the other team's batters. Pitchers try to strike batters out. A strikeout occurs when the batter has received three strikes. The umpire behind home plate decides whether a pitched ball is a strike or a ball. The umpire calls a strike if the batter fails to swing at a pitch thrown through a rectangular area over home plate known as the strike zone. It is also a strike if the batter swings at the ball and misses. Batted balls that land in foul territory—known as foul balls—are also considered strikes. A foul ball, however, does not count as the batter's third and last strike. If a batter with two strikes hits a foul ball, the batter remains at bat. If the baseball is pitched outside the strike zone and not swung at, the umpire calls a ball. The batter receives a walk after four called balls are thrown. Referred to as a “base on balls,” a walk puts the batter on first base. The batter also gets a “free pass” to first base if he is hit by a pitched ball. A batted ball that is caught in the air before it touches the ground is an out. If the ball is hit on the ground, the batter tries to run to first base before a fielder can get to the ball and throw it to the base. The batter is thrown out if the ball is caught by another fielder at first base before the batter touches the base. If the batter reaches the base before the ball gets there he is called safe and becomes a runner. If a runner moves off a base, a fielder can tag the runner out by touching him with the ball. Base runners can also be “forced” out. A force occurs because the rules don't allow two runners to be on the same base at the same time. A runner on first base is forced to run to second when the next batter hits the ball on the ground. A force out is created when a fielder catches the ball and throws it to second before the runner gets to the base. OrganizationIn North America, the organization known as Major League Baseball oversees professional baseball. The individual teams are divided into two leagues: the American League and the National League. At the end of each season the championship teams of the two leagues play each other in a competition known as the World Series. An annual midseason all-star game between the two leagues began in 1933. The game features the most popular players in each league. Fans vote to select the starting lineups. The team managers from both leagues select the pitchers and substitute players. In addition to the major leagues, there are a number of minor leagues in many cities in the United States. The minor leagues are a training ground for future major league players. Minor leagues are classified as AAA, AA, and A, according to the level of playing skills. Amateur baseball is played in the United States in high schools and colleges. Children play organized baseball in the Little League. Each year the best teams from around the world compete to play in the Little League World Series held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Baseball Hall of FameThe National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Cooperstown, New York. It was dedicated in 1939. The first members of the Hall of Fame had been chosen in 1936. They were Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner. Players, umpires, managers, and executives who have made outstanding contributions to the game are honored with plaques in the hall. Writers and announcers are eligible for special awards. Memorabilia of the game and a baseball library are also housed in the hall and museum. HistoryThe term baseball was first recorded in A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, published in 1744. The book also contained a picture of the game. Early games similar to baseball were known by several names—town ball, rounders, or one old cat. Abner Doubleday is said to have developed the basic rules of baseball at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. A few years later Alexander Cartwright helped found the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, an organization of amateur players. The rules Cartwright developed form the basis of the rules in use now. Among his ideas were the nine-member team and the “diamond” infield with bases 90 feet apart. He also decided that a player had to be tagged, not hit, with the ball to be called out. By 1858 the National Association of Base Ball Players was formed with 25 amateur teams. Professional baseballThe Cincinnati Red Stockings began to pay its players in 1869. They are considered the first professional baseball team. In 1871 the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was formed. Five years later, Albert Spalding and William Hulbert organized the National League. The American League was organized in 1900 under the direction of Ban Johnson. It played its first season in 1901. The number of teams in the American League and the National League expanded over the years. As of the 2002 season there were a total of 30 teams. The American League consisted of 14 teams, the National League 16. Growth of baseballIn 1919 baseball experienced a major scandal. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of accepting bribes to throw, or intentionally lose, the World Series. Although they were found not guilty, they were banned from ever playing professional baseball again. Despite this scandal—known as the Black Sox Scandal—the popularity of the sport grew during the 1920s and 1930s. Such star players as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio helped attract crowds to the games. In 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first African American player in the modern major leagues. Before that time, blacks played in the so-called Negro leagues. Many of the game's greatest players were members of the Negro leagues, including Josh Gibson, John Henry Lloyd, and Cool Papa Bell, all of whom were later named to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Such stars as Willie Mays and Henry Aaron also got their starts in the Negro leagues. The Negro leagues declined after other black players joined Jackie Robinson in the major leagues. The 1940s brought other changes as well, as players began to make an effort to obtain better pay and conditions of employment. Over the years these efforts led to several successful strikes. The most extensive strike brought an early end to the 1994 season. Attendance decreased after the strike was settled in early 1995, but fans slowly began to return to the parks in the following years. |