Baseball, sometimes referred to as America’s pastime, is a sport rich in tradition and excitement. It’s America’s oldest sport that is built for you to fail. The best players in the sport today like Mike Trout, Ronald Acuna Jr, and Juan Soto all have career batting averages of under 300. That means you fail more than 1-3 of the time, sometimes even 1-4. So if you think you’re going to succeed almost every time this is not the sport for you. Understanding and appreciating the basics of how to play baseball can help newcomers understand the game and play more effectively. I am going to help you get started!
In basic terms the primary objective is to score more runs than the other team. A singular run is scored when one person rounds all 4 bases, (1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, home plate,) in order. In the MLB the team with the most runs at the end of a 9 inning game is victorious. An inning is when both teams hit and pitch and both teams record 3 outs. Each inning is divided into segments with a top half and bottom half. The visiting team bats first and the home team bats 2nd. Each team keeps hitting until they record 3 outs.
A baseball field is divided into 2 parts, an infield and an outfield. The infield contains the 4 bases that look like diamonds. The outfield is beyond the infield and usually contains grass.
When you’re taking the field each person has their designated positions that they need to be at to play the game of baseball. The pitcher is the most important player on the field, its job is to throw the ball to the catcher from the pitching mound. The catcher’s job is to catch pitches that the pitcher throws. The 1st baseman’s objective is to step on 1st base while simultaneously catching the ball thrown to him. The 2nd baseman is right in between 2nd base and first base. His job is to field all balls that are hit at him and throw them to the correct base. The Shortstop and 3rd baseman’s job is to field all the balls and throw them to the correct base. The shortstop is placed in between 2nd base and 3rd base but it is much closer to 2nd base. The 3rd baseman is in between 2nd and 3rd but much closer to 3rd than 2nd. The outfielders job is to coral all of the balls in their baseball gloves and throw them to one of the infielders. They should never let the ball get behind them.
At-Bat: When the pitch is thrown the batter tries to hit the ball and reach base safely. When a batter successfully reaches base by hitting the ball it is a hit. If you reach base safely and touch two bases it’s called a double, 3 bases triple and all 4 bases a homerun. When the batter throws for balls or pitches outside the strike zone it is ruled a walk. You get to take a free base.
Fielding and Pitching.
Pitching: The pitcher’s goal is to get the batter out by throwing pitches in the strike zone. Or making the batter hit to one of your fielders in which they throw the ball to 1st base to record the out.
Feilding: Defenders attempt to catch batted balls, and throw out runners. What they need to do is prevent the other team from scoring.
Making Outs:
There are several ways the team on defense can get the team on offense out:
Strikeout: The batter has 3 strikes on them without hitting a ball in play.
Flyout: The player up to bat hits the ball in the air in which one of the defensive players catches the ball before it hits the ground.
Groundout: The batter hits the ball on the ground and one of the infielders throws the ball to first base before the batter reaches the base.
Force Out: A runner is already on a base, the batter hits the ball and the fielder throws it to the lead runners bag before the lead runner gets there.
Tag Out: Batter hits the ball and you get tagged by their glove with the ball in it.
Overall, playing baseball involves understanding of positions, gameplay, mechanics, ways to make outs, and scoring runs. Whether you’re playing on a professional team, or in a casual pick up game the essence of baseball lies in teamwork, skill, and most importantly the joy of the game.
Photo Credits: Rachel Xiao
Andre (Deuce or Dre) Gordon-St. Rita-DMSF Class of 2028