Baseball

What is baseball?

Baseball is a team game in which the team that scores more points, called “runs,” wins.

How to play baseball

Baseball is played on a field with three bases and a home plate. The team on offense has a player at home plate (called the “hitter” or “batter”) trying to hit the ball with a baseball bat. When the hitter hits the ball, he/she can run to the bases. A player must touch all the bases and home plate to score a run. The other team is on defense, with nine players on the field; they will try to stop the other team from scoring runs. The defense will do this by catching a ball that is hit and throwing it to a base or home plate before the runner crosses it.  

How to win

The winning team gets the most runs.

Equipment

Baseball – the ball that is hit, caught and thrown. It is nine inches in circumference and weighs about five ounces. When thrown, it can reach speeds of 90 miles an hour

Baseball glove – worn on a hand by the team on defense. It is made of leather, and is bigger than the hand, and padded, so players can catch the ball without getting hurt.

Baseball bat – is like a big stick used to hit the ball. It can be made of wood, or metals such as aluminum and is almost three inches wide at its largest point and up to 42 inches long

Helmet – worn by the batter

Sport lingo

Homer – the batter hits the ball and is able to run to all three bases and home plate before the defense can stop him/her
Diamond – The field is called a diamond because the bases and home plate are placed in a diamond formation. Each base is 90 feet away from the next base. The field has two parts: the infield, where the bases are located, and the outfield, which is an area past the infield, where batters can hit the ball. From home field to the farthest point in the outfield can stretch over 400 feet
Fielding the ball – when a batter hits the ball, the attempt by the opposing team to catch or grab the ball is called fielding the ball
Out – a batter hits the ball trying to get on base, but if the fielding team catches it before it hits the ground, or catches it and throws it to the player at the base before the batter get to the base, the batter is out, must leave the field and can not score a run at that time
Batter – uses the baseball bat to try to hit the ball when it’s thrown over home plate by a pitcher
Pitcher – a defensive player, and the pitcher throws the ball over home plate and the batter tries to hit it
Catcher – also on defense, the catcher stands or crouches behind home plate and catches the baseball when the batter doesn’t hit it
Infielders – playing on the infield, and standing beside the bases, they will try to catch balls that are hit into that part of the field 
Outfielders – at least three players stand in the outfield, the farthest point from the batter, to catch or track down any balls hit well out into the outfield