HOW BASEBALL BEGAN HOW BASEBALL BEGAN 

No one is exactly sure how baseball began, but it

seems to have its roots in the English game called

"rounders" or "four-old-cat." This picture was

published in a children's magazine with the title

"Base-ball" in 1760 and shows players standing at

bases; one holding a ball. Rounders had many of

the same features as baseball has today. The one

major difference was that in rounders the fielder

put the batter out by hitting him with the ball. 

When a group in New York City got together in 1845 to

regulate the rules of baseball, they decided that to get a

base runner out, an opposing player need only tag him

with the ball instead of hitting him with it. From then on,

baseball was played using a hard ball, and soon the

game began to be played on a much larger scale.

Baseball became an organized sport in the 1840s and

1850s. People even played it during the Civil War. In this

print you can see Union soldiers playing a baseball game

in a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp in North Carolina.

Many early baseball teams were formed in New York City Many early baseball teams were formed in New York City

and Brooklyn. By 1860, baseball had replaced the British and Brooklyn. By 1860, baseball had replaced the British

game of cricket as America's most popular game. At this game of cricket as America's most popular game. At this

time, baseball was an amateur sport, which meant that time, baseball was an amateur sport, which meant that

players were not paid to play. The Brooklyn Atlantics were players were not paid to play. The Brooklyn Atlantics were

the leading team in early baseball, winning championships the leading team in early baseball, winning championships

in 1861, 1864, and 1865. They sent this card to teams in 1861, 1864, and 1865. They sent this card to teams

they were about to play to let their opponents know they they were about to play to let their opponents know they

were going up against the champions.were going up against the champions.

The first all-professional baseball team was the

Cincinnati Red Stockings. It was considered a bold move

to decide to openly pay players to play baseball, and it

can be credited to Club President Aaron B. Champion,

who came up with the idea. In 1869, the Reds' player-

manager Harry Wright, known as the "Father of

Professional Baseball," and his team toured the country

and won 60 games without a single loss. Although the

National Association didn't want to support the

professional baseball movement, they were overruled.

Major League baseball in America had begun. 

GEOGRAPHY

Baseball ‘diamond’: three bases and home plateBaseball ‘diamond’: three bases and home plate Infield and outfield; fair and foul territoryInfield and outfield; fair and foul territory Nine players (location): Pitcher (mound), catcher (behind home plate), first Nine players (location): Pitcher (mound), catcher (behind home plate), first

baseman (infield right side), second baseman (infield right-center), shortstop baseman (infield right side), second baseman (infield right-center), shortstop (infield left-center), third baseman (infield left side), left fielder (outfield left (infield left-center), third baseman (infield left side), left fielder (outfield left side), center fielder (outfield center), right fielder (outfield right side)side), center fielder (outfield center), right fielder (outfield right side)

Four umpires (referees): Home plate, first base, second base, third baseFour umpires (referees): Home plate, first base, second base, third base

Baseball Knowledge

•Baseball is a game between two teams of nine players each,

played on an enclosed field.

•A RUN (or SCORE) is the score made by an offensive player

who advances from batter to runner and touches first, second,

third and home bases in that order. The order of the bases is in a

counter-clockwise direction around the square from home to first,

etc.

•A BATTER is an offensive player who takes his position in the

batter's box and attempts to hit a ball thrown to him by the

pitcher.

PITCHER is the fielder designated to deliver the pitch to

the batter. The pitcher pitches the ball to the batter and

the batter attempts to hit the pitch and become a

runner. The defense attempts to catch the ball after it is

hit and put the batter and/or runners out.

A PITCH is a ball delivered to the batter by the pitcher.

Youth leagues use a 60-foot square field.

The objective of each team is to win by scoring more

runs than the opponent.

Baseball knowledge cont.

•Regulation game consists of nine INNINGS, unless extended

because of a tie score, or shortened (1) because the home team

needs none of its half of the ninth inning or only a fraction of it.

(Little league - 6 innings)

•An INNING is that portion of a game within which the teams

alternate on offense and defense and in which there are three

OUTS for each team. Each team's time at bat is a half-inning.

A GROUND BALL is a batted ball that rolls or bounces close to the ground.

A FIELDER is any defensive player.

An INFIELDER is a fielder who occupies a position in the infield.

An OUTFIELDER is a fielder who occupies a position in the outfield, which is the area of the playing field most distant from home base

HOW THE GAME WORKSHOW THE GAME WORKS

One team bats, one team in the field

Each side gets to bat until three outs are

reached, then the roles are reversed

Each pair of batting opportunities is an

inning, and there are 9 innings* in a game.

The team with the most points (runs) at the

end of 9 innings wins the game.

* Unless the score is tied at the end of 9 innings, in which case the teams play until an inning ends with one team ahead.

HOW DOES A PLAYER GET ‘OUT’?

• Batting– Strike out: Three strikes before contact or

four balls– Fly out: Batted ball is caught before it hits

the ground

• Running– Tag out: Fielder has ball in glove, touches

runner– Force out: Fielder touches base before

runner reaches it (most common type of out)

HOW THE GAME WORKS HOW THE GAME WORKS (PART 2)(PART 2)

• To score a run, a batter/baserunner must

touch all three bases and home plate

without getting out.

• When a batter/baserunner is touching the

base, he cannot be tagged out.

• Batters appear in order; once all nine

have batted, the first one bats.

PITCHING• Pitcher starts with the ball,

throws to catcher.• Batter can either swing or

let the ball go by.• Swinging strike: Batter swings and

misses -> strike• Called strike: Batter does not swing,

but the home plate umpire determines that the pitch was in the strike zone (i.e. that it would have

been easy to hit) -> strike

• Ball: Batter does not swing, and the ball is outside the strike zone -> ball

• Foul ball: Batted ball outside of fair territory; if the batter has less than two strikes, it counts as one strike; if he has two strikes, nothing happens.

OUTCOME

• Strikeout: Batter gets to three strikes

• Walk: Batter receives four balls before three strikes – automatic pass to first base.

• Fly ball: Hit high in the air, fielders try to catch the ball to get the batter out

• Ground ball: Ball bounces off the ground, infielders try to force the runner out at first base.

If the batter hits the ball into fair territory…

• Infielders try to force the batter out by throwing the ball to the first baseman.

• Outfielders try to limit the number of bases that a batter can cover by returning the ball to the infield as quickly as possible.

• Baserunners attempt to advance as far as possible without risking getting out. Runners are safe (cannot be called out) when they are touching any of the bases.

…just when you thought it was complex enough!

• Home run: If the batter hits the ball out of the field in fair territory, he (and all runners then on base) get to circle the bases and score runs.

• Double play: If there is a baserunner on first, fielders can force the runner out before relaying the ball to first to force out the batter.

• Stolen base: A baserunner on first can attempt to run to second base while the pitcher is throwing; if he is not tagged out before he reaches second, he has ‘stolen’ the base.

• If a fly ball is caught, all base runners must return to their original base (‘tagging up’) – after that, they may try to run to additional bases while avoiding being tagged out.

Order of the Game1. National Anthem2. First Pitch3. Innings 1-64. 1st half of 7th inning5. Seventh Inning Stretch (‘Take me Out to the

Ballgame’)6. 2nd half of 7th inning7. Innings 8-9

Strategy• Teams attempt to advance one baserunner per

inning through ‘sacrifice’ hits (where the batter intentionally puts himself out in order to distract the fielders’ attention.

– Sacrifice fly: A batter will hit a fly ball to a deep part of the ballpark, giving the runner time to ‘tag up’ (touch his original base) and advance before the fielders can relay the ball and tag him out.

– Sacrifice bunt: A batter will deliberately force the ball onto the infield towards first base, forcing fielders to choose between an easy out at first or a more difficult out elsewhere.

• Starting batters will be substituted with a ‘pinch hitter’ when another player has a better probability of getting a hit.

Things to Remember

• 3 strikes=1 out; 3 outs=1/2 inning; 9 innings=1 game

• Defensive team has the ball• No time limit – only three outs/inning• Batters hit, become base runners, run

counterclockwise until they are out or touch home plate.

• ‘Take me out to the ball-game/Take me out to the crowd/Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack/I don’t care if I never get back/For it’s root, root, root for the home team/If they don’t win it’s a shame/For it’s one…two…three strikes you’re out at the old ball-game!’

Encarta’s “10 Reasons Baseball is a Weird Sport”

1. If a batter fails two-thirds of the time, they're still

considered an excellent batter. It's too bad this

standard isn't applied to everything else in life.

2. It is legal to "steal" in this game. This is, perhaps, a

questionable example for children.

3. If you aren't such a good hitter, you can have a pinch

hitter bat for you. If you aren't such a fast runner, you

can have someone—a pinch runner—come in and run

for you. At what point, you might wonder, is a team

entirely comprised of "pinch" players?

4. There's a rule preventing pitchers from spitting on

the ball. They can spit anywhere else they like,

apparently.

5. If a batter walks with the bases loaded, he is

credited with an RBI (Run Batted In). That's right:

even though he didn't hit the ball.

6. The game is played on dirt and grass, but if the

ball gets dirty, it is replaced with a new clean ball.

7. If a batter accidentally hits the catcher when

swinging, it's the catcher's fault, even if the catcher

gets injured. The batter is awarded a base. The

catcher gets an apology, if he's lucky.

8. The coaches and managers wear the same

uniforms as the players.

9. When a pitcher walks a batter, the batter

jogs to first base. Incongruous, but it is a nice

show of effort.

10. The 7th-inning stretch makes baseball the

only sport where spectators must take part in

calisthenics.

Baseball Statistics

• Pitching– ERA (Earned Run Average): Mean

number of runs per 9 innings pitched (how many runs the pitcher would allow if he pitched a complete game.

– K (Strikeouts): The number of batters that the pitcher has struck out (usually in a game)

• Batting – AVG (Batting Average): Number of hits/Number of plate appearances

– RBI (Runs Batted In): Number of runners who have scored due to a batter’s action

– BB (Walks or Base-on-Balls): The number of walks issued by a pitcher (usually in a game)

Baseball idioms in American English

• “to cover your bases”: to make sure that you have taken care of all of the details

• “curveball”: an unexpected question, comment or request

• “play hardball”: act tough in negotiations• “off base”: misguided, mistaken• “in a pickle”: in trouble• “to give a rain check”: to promise to make up for a

cancelled event at a later date• “right off the bat”: initially• “to step up to the plate”: to rise to an occasion or

take the initiative• “to touch base”: ensure that everyone has the same

information

BASEBALL FUNDAMENTALS NECESSARY TO BE SUCCESSFUL.

Throwing FieldingHittingBase Running

See some of these fundamentals in the highlights on the following slide.

BASEBALL EQUIPMENT

FAMOUS BASEBALL PLAYERS IN HISTORY

Babe Ruth

Jackie Robinson

Hank Aaron

Willie Mays Joe DiMaggio Famous Negro League Players

Cool Papa Bell

Satchel Paige

Josh Gibson

FAMOUS BASEBALL PARKS

• Est. 1914 home of the Chicago Cubs

Est. September 1911 home of the Boston Red Sox

Est. April 18, 1923, "The House That Ruth Built" home of the New York Yankees

Est. May 12, 1966

Est. 1914 home of the Chicago Cubs

Est. September 1911 home of the Boston Red Sox

Est. April 18, 1923, "The House That Ruth Built" home of the New York Yankees

Est. May 12, 1966

HARSHITA SRIVASTAVA

ROLL NO : 07

CLASS : XTH SECTION : D

SUBJECT : GAMES AND SPORTS