baseball rules
There are three major rules codes, which differ only slightly.
The official baseball rules govern all professional play in the United States and Canada. The rules are published in book form in North America by The Sporting News, and are available online.[1] Many amateur and youth leagues use the "OBR" with only a few modifications for safety. U.S. collegiate and college-age play is often covered by the baseball rulebook of the NCAA; and U.S. high school and high school-age baseball is governed by the NFHS rules. IBAF international teams, most leagues outside North America, and youth baseball organizations such as Little League, PONY League, and Cal Ripken League all play under slightly modified versions of the Official Baseball Rules.
Unlike many other sports, the Official Baseball Rules have remained largely static during the modernization of the game. This is evidenced in much esoteric or awkward language in the rulebook; also, rules experts such as Chris Jaksa and Rick Roder have identified over 50 outright errors in the book, mostly concerning rare or subtle differences. Many baseball players, fans, and administrators view the rules and traditions of professional baseball as time-tested and nearly sacrosanct. The designated hitter rule, first introduced to play over 30 years ago in 1973, is still subject to lively debate and has been adopted by only one of the two American major leagues and one of the two Japanese major leagues — though almost all other leagues around the world have adopted it. In fact, NFHS rules allow the designated hitter to bat for any position. In contrast to the Official Baseball Rules, the NFHS is continually refining and updating its rule book to meet the needs of the United States high school game. The NCAA updates its rulebook less often the NFHS, but still more current.
However, the static nature of the rules has also been a source of the sport's appeal to many fans, as it allows reasonable comparisons to be drawn between players and teams of different eras. Such comparisons are not possible in sports in which the rules have changed significantly over the years. The static nature of the rules also allows a modern fan to easily follow an account of a game played long ago. As a result, baseball has more of a "history" than most other sports. As an illustration of this, many newspaper sports sections publish a small This Day in Baseball History feature with highlights of games played as far back as 100 years or more.
In Japan, if a regular-season game is tied after nine innings, only three extra innings may be played. The accepted codes of etiquette also differ in Japanese baseball, though these are not written in official rules.
Other major differences often center around additional safety rules. Most amateur leagues prohibit malicious contact by runners, are stricter on interference calls, and require double-earflap helmets.
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 sections:
The infield, containing the four bases, is for general defensive purposes bounded by the foul lines and within the grass line (see figure). 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.
A batter follows through after swinging at a pitched ball.The basic contest is always between the pitcher for the fielding team, and a batter. The pitcher throws—pitches—the ball towards home plate, where the catcher for the fielding team waits (in a crouched stance) to receive it. Behind the catcher stands the home plate umpire. The batter stands in one of the batter's boxes and tries to hit the ball with a bat. The pitcher must keep one foot in contact with the top or front of the pitcher's rubber — a 24" x 6" (~ 61 cm x 15 cm) plate located atop the pitcher's mound — during the entire pitch, so he can only take one step backward and one forward in delivering the ball. The catcher's job is to receive any pitches that the batter does not hit and to "call" the game by a series of hand movements that signal to the pitcher what pitch to throw and where. If the pitcher disagrees with the call, he will "shake off" the catcher by shaking his head; he accepts the sign by nodding. Each team has a different set of signals, though the number 1 is almost universal as a fast ball. The catcher also usually signals the desired location of the ball within the strike zone as well as "sets up" behind the plate or holds his glove up in the desired location as a target. The catcher's role becomes more crucial depending on how the game is going, and how the pitcher responds to a given situation. Each pitch begins a new play, which might consist of nothing more than the pitch itself.
Each half-inning, the goal of the defending team is to get three members of the other team out. A player who is out must leave the field and wait for his next turn at bat. There are many ways to get batters and baserunners out; some of the most common are catching a batted ball in the air, tag outs, force outs, and strikeouts. After the fielding team has put out three players from the opposing team, that half of the inning is over and the team in the field and the team at bat switch places; there is no upper limit to the number that may bat in rotation before three outs are recorded. Going through the entire order in an inning is referred to as "batting around". It is indicative of a high scoring inning. A complete inning consists of each opposing side having a turn (three outs) on offense.
The goal of the team at bat is to score more runs than the opposition; a player may do so only by batting, then becoming a base runner, touching all the bases in order (via one or more plays), and finally touching home plate. To that end, the goal of each batter is to enable baserunners to score or to become a baserunner himself. The batter attempts to hit the ball into fair territory — between the baselines — in such a way that the defending players cannot get them or the baserunners out. In general, the pitcher attempts to prevent this by pitching the ball in such a way that the batter cannot hit it cleanly or, ideally, at all.
A baserunner who successfully touches home plate without being tagged out after touching all previous bases in order scores a run. In an enclosed field, a fair ball hit over the fence on the fly is normally an automatic home run, which entitles the batter and all runners to touch all the bases and score. A home run hit with all bases occupied ('bases loaded') is called a grand slam.
The squad in the field is the defensive team; they attempt to prevent the baserunners from scoring. There are nine defensive positions, but only two have a mandatory location (pitcher and catcher). The locations of the other seven fielders is not specified by the rules, except that at the moment the pitch is delivered they must be positioned in fair territory and not in the space between the pitcher and the catcher. These fielders often shift their positioning in response to specific batters or game situations, and they may exchange positions with one another at any time. The nine positions most commonly used (with the number scorekeepers use) are: pitcher (1), catcher (2), first baseman (3), second baseman (4), third baseman (5), shortstop (6), left fielder (7), center fielder (8), and right fielder (9). Note that, in rare cases, teams may use dramatically differing schemes, such as switching an outfielder for an infielder. The numbering convention was established by Henry Chadwick. The reason the shortstop seems out of order has to do with the way fielders positioned themselves in the early years of the game.
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This code of rules governs the playing of baseball games by professional teams ... No part of the Official Baseball Rules may be reproduced or transmitted in any
Baseball rules differ slightly from league to league, but in ... The official baseball rules govern all professional play in the United States and Canada
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