The Basics Of Baseball And Softball Explained For Beginners

Baseball and softball are among the most enjoyable games for the youngsters. Though they are entertaining and exciting to play and watch, they also demand a lot of skills for a player to excel at the highest level. I'm myself a fervent admirer of baseball and I love watching the sport on my cable TV connection powered by Dish HD. For people who are thrilled watching baseball from home and are looking to break into any of the college teams or at other higher levels, I have compiled and listed a few basic rules that any beginner would benefit from.

The Game
A baseball game is played by two teams where one is called the offense and the other called as the defense team. Each team has nine players donning the jersey on the field. The team that scores more runs than the opposite team will be declared the winner. The field of the baseball game consists of a circuit that comprises of four bases placed on what is referred to as the diamond.

The Equipment
In a baseball or softball game, the bowler and the keeper, who stands behind the stumps, who belongs to the defense team wears a thick leather gloves to catch the ball. Coming to the sporty look of the baseball, it is relatively light-weight and smaller than the balls used in other games. Typically, a baseball is white with red stitching in the middle and is roughly 3 to 4 inches in diameter. While the baseball is small, the softball is about twice the size of the baseball, but not softer, and is sometimes spotted in the color of yellow. The offense team is the one that is batting. The players of the offense team use a bat that is made of high-quality wood. While professional players use wood in professional standards, the players at amateur levels play with bats made of aluminum or any other legally accepted metal composites. The bats used in a softball game are generally made up of aluminum.

The Field
Coming to the field of the baseball game, the part of the playing area that is close to the base or the pitch is considered as the infield while the grassy part of the field that is envelopes the infield is called the outfield. There are four bases in the center part of the ground; each 90 feet apart from one another. This may be closer in the fields at amateur levels. As a matter of fact, the measurement of the infield and the outfield differs with each level of the game; that is professional or amateur. In a baseball field, the area of the ground that envelopes the playing area between the long white lines and the third base to the home plate is called as the ‘'foul territory'.
Defense: The Positions
The game starts when the pitcher initiates by throwing the baseball at the batsman who stands in the line of sight of the home plate. If the batsman misses to hit the ball and if it is caught by the glove man who stands behind the batsman then it is considered as one miss. There are two batsmen in the infield, the striker and the second baseman (runner), the shortstop, and the third baseman. Likewise, the outfield is populated by three men; left fielder, center fielder and right fielder.

The Game
A professional baseball game has nine innings wherein each innings is sub divided into two; the first half of the innings and the second half of the innings. The maximum number of times each team can get out in each half of the innings is three.