Baseball is a popular sport in the United States. Baseball was invented in America in 1845. But even before that, as early as the 17th century, people in England played a similar game called rounders.
The players of one team have to eliminate the runner of the other team by throwing the ball and hitting him with it! In the 18th century, baseball arrived in the American colonies and there a new kind of game was played. They called it town ball. Any young colonist was allowed to play and sometimes each team had as many as 25 players! And all the 25 players had to bat before the change of roles! The popularity of town ball grew very rapidly.
In 1845, Mr Alexander Cartwright wrote some new rules he had made up. He also drew a field shaped like a diamond, and called the new game baseball. Cartwright’s rules were different from the rules of town ball, in fact batters would now use bats instead of paddles and there were four flat bases instead of posts. Each team could have only nine players. But the most important thing was that fielders could not eliminate a runner by throwing the ball at him. Instead, the fielder had to throw the ball to another player, who would eliminate the runner by touching him or touching the base. Pitching was underhand, and the game was won by the first team to score 21 runs, in however many innings.
Cartwright and his friends formed the first official baseball team, called the Knickerbocker Baseball Club. The first organized game was played in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 19th, 1846. The Knickerbockers faced a team called the New York Nines, who won the game 23 to 1. The baseball we play today still follows many of the rules Cartwright thought up in 1845. Of course, some rules have changed over the years. For example, in 1845 there were no balls or strikes. The batter simply told the pitcher what kind of pitch to throw. By the 1860s, the sport was being described as America's "national pastime."
1947: the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson, removing the colour barrier that had consigned black players to the "Negro Leagues."
1858: Baseball was institutionalized and further developed by the National Association.
1869: The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first openly-salaried team and is considered the first professional team.
1871: The first professional baseball league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, was established.
1876: The first major league, the National League, was formed.
1878: Frederick Winthrop Thayer of Massachusetts (captain of the Harvard University Baseball Club) received a patent for a baseball catcher's mask on February 12.
The rival National (1876) and American (1903) Leagues competed in the first World Series in 1903 and All-Star Game in 1933.
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THE 2 BEST HITTERS OF THE STORY OF BASEBALL: BABE RUTH AND JOE DIMAGGIO
(Americans MLB PLAYERS)
Baseball is one of the most complete sports and belongs to the group of sports which have a lot of rules.
Rules and measures of the “diamond” are different in each category.
The rules underwritten are specific for the “series” (series is the older category and is divided into C2 - C1 / B / A2 - A1).
In baseball there are two teams. Each team has 9 players and the reserves.
The game is divided into 9 INNINGS and each inning is divided into offensive and defensive (in one inning each one of the two teams must go in offensive and defensive roles).
The two teams play alternately in offensive and defensive roles.
During the defensive the players are on the field (which has a diamond shape).
Each one has a specific position:
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NUMBERS 1 TO 6 ARE THE INFIELD POSITION AND ARE SITUATED ON THE DIAMOND |
The game starts when the pitcher throws the ball to the home base.
Pitcher and catcher manage the game and the other players defend the diamond when the player of the other team hits the ball to the diamond.
The defenders must stop the ball as quickly as possible.
THE PITCHER’S ROLE:
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WHEN THE PITCHER TROWS THE BALL, HE DOES A PARTICULAR MOVEMENT TO HAVE THE BEST PERFORMANCE IN THE PRECISION AND SPEED OF THE BALL. |
THE CATCHER’S ROLE:
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THE CATCHER MUST STOP THE BALL THROWN BY THE PITCHER AND TELL THE PITCHER THE DIRECTION OF THE BALL. |
During the offensive the players, one at a time (in a precise order), have to hit the ball with the bat.
The pitcher throws the ball to the catcher and the hitter, who is beyond the catcher, has to hit the ball before it arrives in the catcher’s glove.
If he fails for 3 times (called strikes) or doesn’t hit a strike ball, he is out.
If the pitcher fails and throws bad balls (called balls), out of the strike zone for 4 times, the hitter has a free base and he becomes a runner.
STRIKE ZONE:
THE STRIKE OUT:
When a batter hits a ball, he has to run to the first base before the defensive catches the ball and touches him, or touches the base before he arrives.
THE HITTER:
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A HITTER USES A BAT TO HIT THE BALL. |
If the runner arrives before the ball on the base, he is safe and he conquers the base, otherwise he is out.
If there are other players on the bases when the hitter hits the ball, the runners must run to the next base before the ball does it.
If the batter hits a fly ball and the defensive player takes it before the ball touches the ground, the hitter is out and the other runners must stay on the base. They can run only after the defensive player has touched the ball.
If the runner starts before that and the defensive player throws the ball to the backward base of the runner, he is out.
The game goes on with another batter and the runners try to conquer all the bases running from the first base to the home base and do a score.
The runners can run to the next base at every moment of the game, except when the hitter touches the ball and it doesn’t go to the diamond. In this case the ball is called foul ball, and it is a strike for the batter. It is considered a strike only if the hitter has one or two strikes, it isn’t considered a third strike.
The pitcher or the catcher can pitch the ball on the base trying to eliminate the runner when he is trying to steal a base.
The defensive players must stop the runners before they arrive on the home base. If the runner arrives on the home base, it is a point for the offensive team.
The offensive has to conquer as many points as possible. At the third out there is a change of roles,
so the defensive has to eliminate 3 players as soon as possible.
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BASEBALL GLOVE: IT IS USED TO STOP THE BALL IN THE DEFENSIVE PART OF PLAY. |
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ALLOY BAT: THERE ARE DIFFERENT MEASURES OF BATS WITH DIFFERENT FORMS AND WEIGHTS. |
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WOODEN BAT: THERE ARE DIFFERENT MEASURES OF BATS WITH DIFFERENT WEIGHTS AND THEY ARE MADE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF WOOD. |
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BASEBALL BALL: IT IS MADE OF A SMALL RUBBER BALL IN THE CENTER, A VERY NARROW ROLLING UP TO THREAD OF WOOL AND AN EXTERNAL LAYER OF LEATHER. A BASEBALL BALL IS UNCOMPRESSIBLE AND VERY HARD. THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BALLS FOR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. THE WEIGHT OF A BASEBALL BALL IS 147 g. |
Wr. by Matteo B.
