Baseball for Beginners

How to play Baseball Basics of Baseball 1 There are nine players allowed on a team at one time, however they can’t be all on the field at the same time. You are allowed nine field players. After that you have an overall of more then 9 players in the game but only nine allowed on the field.

2 There are nine innings in a baseball game, or six at younger levels in which each team gets a chance to try and score as many runs as possible in only three outs.

3 The team that isn’t batting is playing defense trying to make those three outs so that the team batting doesn’t score any runs.

4 Keep your eye on the ball when batting. There is an umpire behind the plate that lets everyone know if the pitch thrown was in the strike zone or not. If it was, then the pitch is a "strike". If it wasn’t, then the pitch was a "ball". When batting you get three strikes and four balls. If you get four balls before you get three strikes, then that is called a "walk". You get a free pass to "walk" or go to first base. If you get three strikes before you get four balls, then that is a strikeout, in which the defensive team gets an out and your turn batting is over.

5 Know the infield. There is first, second, third, and finally home plate. The infield is shaped like a diamond. In order to get an out while playing defense, the defensive team must catch the baseball before it hits the ground or throw the baseball to a base before the runner gets there. In order to win the game a team must score more runs than the opposing team.

6 Know all the rules. One of the rules is that a pitcher can’t make an illegal move after getting set. The pitcher has to decide whether he/she goes to the base while a runner is on or goes to the plate to deliver a pitch. If the pitcher walks than the base runner gets to go to the next base for free and it doesn’t cost anything against the batting team.

7 Know how to appeal a call. If the defensive team believes that one of the base runners missed one of the bases or they didn’t follow the designated path, then they can appeal a call. In order to appeal a call, the pitcher must get on the rubber and step off then throw the baseball to the base in which the defensive team believes that the runner missed. If the pitcher is getting ready to appeal a call, but the batter is trying to call for time, the pitcher should finish his pitch in case the umpire doesn’t grant the batter timeout. Then after the pitcher pitches it, the umpire decides whether the accusation of the base runner missing the base is true or not. If it is true, the defensive team is given an out and the runner is out resulting in the loss of a run if the appeal was for the missing of home plate.