The Glossary of Baseball Part I
Baseball is a team sport that originated from the same roots as cricket. It is played on a field that consists of grass and sand, and you use bats to hit a pitched ball, and gloves to catch the ball. This summer sport, usually played from spring to fall, is very popular in the United States. This glossary help you learn more about baseball and the basic terms. And for your online bets, whether it’s on baseball or any other popular sport, you know you can trust the best agent for Asian and European bookmakers. Play ball!
The field
The field is a diamond with sides of 27.43 m. At the corners of the diamond are the bases. First, second and third base are represented by white bags. Fourth base (or home plate) is represented by a white rubber plate attached to the ground, this is where the batter stands, who must return the ball to the pitcher. The pitcher stands at the so-called «pitcher’s mound» in the center of the diamond. Two white lines connect fourth base to first and third base, and extend beyond. Outside of this area, the ball is considered offside or «foul». Between these two white lines, the diamond is the infield, and the field beyond the diamond is the outfield.
The game
Baseball is played with two teams that alternate on defense and offense. Nine players are on the field defensively: a pitcher, a catcher and seven other players who are on defense. Four of these seven are generally in the infield: first base, second base, shortstop, third base, and three in the outfield: right field, center field and left field — spread out over the field to catch the ball, if possible, by stealing it to get the batter out.
A game is played in nine innings. A half inning ends when three batters are out. An inning ends when both teams have gone on offense and defense.
How does it work in practice? The players of attacking team take turns hitting the ball and running between the bases. The player who manages to run the entire field (4 bases) scores 1 point. The role of the defense is to eliminate the attackers. When three hitters are out, defending team goes on offense and vice versa. When the two teams have switched to offense and defense, it is the end of the inning.
The role of the players
Batter:
A batter becomes a «runner», meaning that he can start his run around the diamond, in the following cases:
- If the batter reaches a base after hitting the ball and before his opponents can get the ball there;
- If the pitcher throws the ball four times out of the strike zone;
- If the pitcher hits the batter with the ball (the umpire must judge that the batter did his best not to be hit), or if the "catcher" (a player behind the batter on the opposite team) misses the ball after a third pitch.
The batter is out, in the following cases:
- If he misses the ball three times when it is considered a strike;
- If the batted ball is caught on the fly by an opposing player;
- If he fails to reach first base without being tagged out, or if the ball gets there before he does.
Umpiring:
In major baseball games, there is an umpire on each base and two others to judge offside balls. The umpire has the most difficult role as he judges the validity of the pitches. For example, the famous Douglas Harvey was notorious for his authoritative command of baseball rules and earned the nickname «God» from players. The pitcher must throw the ball into the strike zone. This zone is delimited in width by the plate on the ground and in height by the height of the batter: from the top of the stomach to the knees. The umpire, who wears a protective mask, must stand in the line of fire. The catcher, a player placed behind the batter, also wears a mask and protections for the chest and legs. The gloves are thicker than those of the other players due to the speed of the balls they can receive.
Equipment
A baseball weighs between 142 and 150 grams. It has the size of a tennis ball but its composition makes it very hard and therefore reactive to impacts. The bat is made of aluminum or wood for high-level players.
The glove, for the defenders is made of leather. The closed area between the thumb and the other fingers is called the pocket. It is in this area that it is ideal to catch the ball. Not all gloves are the same. There is a glove for each defensive position. For the outfield and for the pitcher, the pocket is larger. In the infield, the pocket is shorter, and at first base, the glove is more padded because the actions are much faster.
The catcher has leggings, a chest protector, a padded glove and a mask.
This concludes the first part of our baseball glossary. In the second part we will talk about baseball variants, its lexicon to help you better understand the games and the different leagues for your bets. With this new knowledge, don’t forget to open a betting account via agent to hit a home run!
