America's past-time. A
game in which a player (the
pitcher) attempts to
throw a ball (which the game is named after) past another player (the
batter). The batter tries to make contact with the ball using a
bat. If he successfully hits the ball and it remains in fair territory (defined as anywhere inside the first and third base lines and in fron of the home plate) without being caught he may advance around the bases. Each base is separated by 90 feet. The bases are placed in a diamond shape (with relative directions noted), and the batter advances in a counter-clockwise fashion. From home (the south end of the diamond) to first(east), second(north), third(west), and back to home. If a runner advances back to home a
run is scored.
If a hitter hits the ball, and it is caught or he is tagged by a player holding the ball, the batter is "
out". Each team gets 3 outs per
inning, and there are 9 innings. Teams alternate
fielding and
hitting in the same order each inning.
If a batter misses the ball (
swinging) he has a
strike. If he does not swing at a "good" pitch (one in the
strike zone), it is a "
called strike". When three strikes are reached the batter is
out. If the batter does not swing and it is a "bad" pitch, a ball is called. After four balls, the batter gets to advance to first freely. He also may do so if hit by a pitch.