Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

A raised, circular mound is located in

the middle of the infield diamond. A

player called the pitcher throws the ball

toward home plate from a spot on the

mound. The spot is known as the rubber.

In professional baseball the rubber

is 60 feet, 6 inches (18.4 meters) from

home plate.

A baseball has a core made of cork and

rubber. Yarn is wrapped around the core.

The cover is made of two strips of white

leather that are sewn together. Players

hit the ball with a bat. A baseball bat is a

smooth, rounded stick made of wood or

aluminum. To catch the ball, players

wear leather gloves.

Playing the Game

The two teams in a baseball game take

turns being batters (playing offense) and

fielders (playing defense). The batting

team, also called the team at bat, tries to

score runs. It does this by advancing its

players around the bases. The fielding

team tries to prevent the batting team

from scoring.

Play begins when the fielding team’s

pitcher throws, or pitches, the ball

toward home plate. A batter tries to hit

the pitched ball, called a pitch, out of

the reach of the fielders. The fielding

team tries to get the batters out. When a

batter is called out his turn at bat is over.

The pitcher can get a batter out by

throwing three strikes. This is called a

strikeout. An umpire behind home

plate calls each pitch either a strike or a

ball. A strike is a pitch that passes

through the strike zone. The strike zone

is an imaginary rectangular box above

home plate. From bottom to top, it

extends from the batter’s knees to about

the middle of his chest. The umpire

calls a strike if the batter fails to swing

at a pitch thrown in the strike zone.

The batter also gets a strike for

swinging at the ball and missing.

If a pitch is outside the strike zone and

the batter does not swing, the umpire

calls a ball. If the umpire calls four balls

during a batter’s turn at bat, the batter

receives a walk. A walk lets the batter go

to first base. The batter also goes to first

base if a pitch hits him.

If the batter hits the ball onto the field,

he tries to run to first base or farther

without making an out. The fielders can

get the batter out in a variety of ways.

For example, they can catch a hit ball

before it bounces. They can also scoop

up the ball and throw it to first base

before the batter gets there.With the

ball in hand, a fielder may also tag the

Baseball fields do not all look the same, but

they all have certain features in common.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Baseball 31

 

batter out. If the batter safely gets to first

base or farther, he is said to have gotten

a hit.

After a batter reaches a base, he becomes

a base runner. He tries to advance from

base to base around the diamond. Usually

he does this as the next batters get

hits of their own. The batting team

scores a run when a base runner goes all

the way around the bases and returns to

home plate.

After three batters have made outs, the

fielding team takes its turn at bat. A

period of play called an inning is completed

after both teams have batted.

After nine innings, the team with the

most runs wins. If a game is tied, the

teams play extra innings until the tie is

broken.

History

Historians once thought that Abner

Doubleday, a U.S. Army officer,

invented baseball in 1839 in Cooperstown,

New York. Now, though, most

historians agree that baseball developed

from an English game called rounders.

English children played rounders in the

1700s. The game was quite similar to

modern baseball. It had nine-member

teams and a diamond-shaped infield

with bases on the corners.

In 1845 Alexander Cartwright organized

the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in

New York City. The club was made up

of amateur players (players who were

not paid). The club put together a set of

rules for playing the game. Many of

those rules are still used today.

In 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings

began to pay players. The Red Stockings

are considered to be the first professional

baseball team. Two years later nine

teams formed the first professional baseball

association. In 1876 the National

League was formed. The American

League was founded in 1900 as a rival to

the National League.

Today the National and American

leagues are combined in the organization

called Major League Baseball. As of

2006 there were 30 professional teams

divided between the two leagues. Since

1903 the best teams from each league

have competed in a championship called

the World Series.

Amateur baseball is played in high

schools and colleges. Younger children

play baseball in the Little League system.

The Cleveland

Spiders of

1899 had one

of the worst

major league

baseball seasons

ever.

They won 20

games and

lost 134.

African Americans were not allowed to

play in baseball’s major leagues until

1947. Jackie Robinson was the first African

American to join a team. In 1949 Roy

Campanella, Larry Doby, Don Newcombe,

and Robinson (from left) were the first to

play in an All-Star game.

32 Baseball BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Each year the two best teams compete in

the Little LeagueWorld Series.

Basho

Basho was one of the most important

poets of Japan. He is considered the