Base Ball

Baseball started in England in the mid-18th century as a simple bat-and-ball game. It was brought in North America by immigrants and evolved into a new and very popular sport. It is also the national sport of the United States.

There are two teams, nine players in each, and they take turns in batting and fielding. Batting is done by the offense team and the fielding is played by the defense team.

The players of the batting team take turns in batting the ball and once they hit the ball, they need to run counter-clockwise to the bases of the field until they reach the home plate again. They score when they return to the home base before the ball is returned.

In the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The MLB champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The World Baseball Classic, organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world.

There are three basic tools of baseball: the ball, the bat, and the glove or mitt:

• The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches (23 centimeters) in circumference. It has a rubber or cork center, wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide, with red stitching.
• The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a single, solid piece of wood. Other materials are now commonly used for nonprofessional games. It is a hard round stick, about 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around 34 inches (86 centimeters) long, and not longer than 42 inches (106 centimeters).
• The glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the specific needs of different fielding positions.

There are three basic tools of baseball: the ball, the bat, and the glove or mitt:

• The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches (23 centimeters) in circumference. It has a rubber or cork center, wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide, with red stitching.
• The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a single, solid piece of wood. Other materials are now commonly used for nonprofessional games. It is a hard round stick, about 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around 34 inches (86 centimeters) long, and not longer than 42 inches (106 centimeters).
• The glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the specific needs of different fielding positions.

Similar Sports

• T-Ball — an introductory sport for younger kids to baseball and softball, with ball hit off a stationary tee.
• Corkball — a sport derived from baseball with a smaller ball which can be played in a much smaller field (often referred as mini-baseball)
• Rounders — played between two teams with a bat and ball, like baseball.
• British Baseball — a bat-and-ball game played in Wales and England similar to rounders.
• Over-the-Line – is a bat-and-ball sport related to baseball and softball with just 3 people per team. Unlike the other sports, the batter and pitcher are on the same team.
• Softball — a sport like baseball though the ball is pitched underhand, played mostly by women. Variations include fatspitch and slowpitch.
• Pesäpallo — a Finnish variation of baseball, the major difference is that the ball is pitched vertically.
• Brännboll — a Scandinavian game which has similarities to rounders, but with no pitcher.
• Palant — a Polish sport with lots of similarities to modern baseball played using a wooden stick and a rubber ball.
• Kickball — a type of baseball where the players kick the ball, instead of striking it with a bat
• Oină – a Romanian traditional sport, similar in many ways to Baseball and Lapta played outdoors by two teams of 11 players, taking turns either batting or catching.
• Danish Longball — a bat and ball game developed in Denmark, like a hybrid of baseball and cricket.


• Lapta — a Russian traditional bat and ball game.
• Wiffleball — a variation of baseball designed for indoor or outdoor play in confined areas, using a perforated, light-weight, rubbery plastic ball and a long, plasticyellow) bat.
• Fuzzball — a street version of baseball played in some regions of the US.
• Stoolball — a team sport played on a circular grass field, possibly the precure