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The following text by User:Dominus from [1] to be merged into the article text below (see Talk:baseball for permission to use this text under the GFDL):

If the pitcher hits the batter with a pitched ball, the batter may advance to first base as if he has been given a walk. If an umpire believes that a pitcher hit a batter purposefully, he will usually warn both teams, and any pitcher who subsequently hits a batter is likely to be ejected from the game by the umpire. The last batter to be killed by a pitched ball was Ray Chapman, struck in the head by a pitch from Carl Mays in 1920. In the 1950s Tony Conigliaro was seriously injured when he was hit in the head with a pitch; since then batters have been required to wear helmets.

If the batter hits the ball into foul territory, he is not allowed to run to first base. He is charged with a strike, unless he has two strikes already. You can't strike out on a foul hit, but you can strike out on a foul bunt (i.e., with two strikes, a bunt into foul ground is a strikeout).

Another common situation is that the runner will take a lead off his base, moving fifteen feet or so towards the next base. He is liable to be put out if someone tags him with the ball, but the defenders are busy pitching and they know they can't get the ball to where he is before he gets back to the base, so they don't bother; they just let him take his head start. The batter hits a line drive, which is a batted ball that goes in a nearly horizontal line, and the runner runs toward the next base. If the line drive ball bounced on the ground before being caught by a fielder, all the runners would be safe. But then the runner gets a surprise and a fielder catches the ball on the fly. The batter is out, and the runners are required to return to their bases. If the fielder can get the ball back to the base before the runner gets there, the runner is out also. The batter and the runner are both put out on one play, so this is called `double play'.

A runner can also be put out by a `force play'. A runner is forced to advance when another runner is running towards the base he is on. For example, if there is a runner on first base and the batter hits the ball, the batter is now running to first base. The runner already on first base is forced to vacate because no base may be occupied by two runners at once. He must run to second base. A runner who is forced to advance need not be tagged with the ball to be put out. Instead, the fielder need only tag the base to put out the approaching runner. This is much easier than tagging the runner himself.

Here is an example: O2 is a runner on first base. The batter, O1, hits the ball towards second base. O1 starts running to first base. O2 starts running to second base. A fielder, F2, near second base picks up the ball and touches second base while holding the ball. This is a force play on O2, who is put out. F2 throws the ball to another fielder, F1, near first base. F1 touches first base before O1 arrives. This is a force play on O1 who is also put out. (The batter is always considered to be forced to advance because he is not allowed to return to home plate.) Two outs are recorded one one play, so this is also a double play.

Here is a more interesting example. It starts as before: O2 is on first base and O1 is batting. F2 is near second base and F1 is near first base. O1 hits the ball towards F1 this time. F1 picks up the ball. What does he do?

He could touch first base, putting out O1 immediately on the force. But this would remove the force on O2, because without O1 behind him O2 is allowed to return to first base and is not forced to advance. With no force, the only way to put out O2 would be to touch him with the ball, which is difficult---runners slide into second base feet first with their spikes out. So instead of putting out O1 immediately, F1 throws the ball to F2, who forces out O2 and throws back to F1 to force out O1. This works because O1 usually takes a fairly long time to get to first base---it takes him some time to get up to speed after leaving home plate.

The best baseball player ever was Babe Ruth. Everyone knows this, even people who are trying to prove some point or other by claiming that someone else was better. Ruth played in the late 1910s and 1920s. At first he was an excellent pitcher and played for the Boston Red Sox, but they sold him to the New York Yankees and have been pissing and moaning about it ever since. The Yankees discovered that Ruth could hit even better than he could pitch and moved him to right field. Ruth discovered that he could hit thirty home runs in one year, which was completely unheard-of at the time. Nobody had thought of trying to hit home runs, and they hadn't realized yet that it was an effective way to win. The following year Ruth hit fifty-nine home runs and baseball has not been the same since.

Players to watch now: Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers may very well turn out to be the best shortstop in history, but is presently labouring on a poor team. Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves is one of the best right-handed pitchers of the century.

Cal Ripken, recently retired shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles, recently broke the record for the greatest number of consecutive games played, previously held by Lou Gehrig. The record for most home runs in one season is presently 73, held by Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants.

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Delete everything before this line when moving to baseball

Baseball is a team sport that is popular in the Americas and East Asia.

In the United States, it was for many years the "national sport," though American football is now more popular among spectators.

Baseball is distantly related to cricket and rounders, while softball is very similar to baseball.

In its usual form, the game is between two teams of nine players on a playing field consisting of 4 bases, arranged in a diagonal square ("the diamond") and a large outfield.

The playing field

The standard layout is shown in the diagram below:

Diagram of a baseball field. Larger Version

The most important part of the field is home plate, which is a white rubber pentagon seventeen inches wide. The point of the pentagon is at the corner of a ninety-foot square. The other three corners of the square, in counterclockwise order from home plate, are called first base, second base, and third base. Three canvas bags twelve inches square mark the three bases.

The lines from home plate to first and third bases are prolonged infinitely and are called the foul lines. The quarter of the universe between the foul lines is fair territory; the other three-quarters of the universe is foul territory. The area in the vicinity of the square formed by the bases is called the infield; fair territory outside the infield is the outfield. At the outer edge of the outfield is a fence, usually 350 to 400 feet from home plate.

In the middle of the square is a low mound called the pitcher's mound. There is a rubber plate, six inches wide and two feet long, on the mound, exactly sixty feet six inches from the point of home plate. This is the pitcher's rubber.

The play of the game

Baseball is played between two teams of nine players each. The teams take turns on offense and defense. At the start of the game, the home team is in the defending role. All the defensive players are on the field at once, while the offensive players come to bat one at a time.

The basic contest is always between the pitcher (defending team), and the batter (offensive team). The pitcher tries to throw the ball over the plate in such a way that the batter can not hit it cleanly. The catcher (defending team) tries to catch any ball that the batter misses.

The batter tries to hit the pitched ball with a bat. The aim is to hit the ball into the field so that the players of the defending team can not easily retrieve it. If he succeeds in this, he gains time for running to one of the bases. The batter (now runner) will remain in the game if he reaches a base before either the ball is thrown there by the defending team, or he is tagged with the ball while not on a base. Otherwise, he will be out.

The score of the game rests on each team's number of runs.

The defending team

The defending team has a pitcher, who stands on the mound, and a catcher, who squats behind home plate. (This pair is often called the battery.) There are also four infielders, who stand at the edge of the infield, and three outfielders, who stand in the outfield.

The pitcher must keep one foot in contact with the rubber during the entire pitch, so he cannot take more than one step forward in delivering the ball. Nevertheless, most major-league pitchers throw the ball at about ninety miles an hour. Pitchers must also assist fielders as necessary.

The catcher's main role is to receive the pitch if the batter does not hit it. Catchers are also responsible for defense in the area immediately surrounding home plate. Together with the pitcher and coaches, the catcher plots game strategy by suggesting different pitches and by shifting the starting positions of the other fielders.

The four infielders are the first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, and third baseman. The first, second, and third basemen usually play near their respective bases, and the shortstop usually plays between second and third base.

The team's strongest hitter is often the first baseman. The first baseman's job consists mostly of standing with his foot on first base, waiting to receive the batted balls that the other infielders throw to him so that he can force out the batter-runner. The second baseman covers the area to the right of second base, and provides backup for the first baseman. The shortstop fills the critical gap between second and third bases, where right-handed batters generally hit ground balls. The shortstop must be versatile - he also covers second or third bases and the near part of left field (known as short left field). After the pitcher, he is usually the poorest hitter on the team. The third baseman's primary requirement is a very strong right arm so that he can throw the ball all the way across the infield to the first baseman. There are no left-handed third basemen. (is this true? there could be some; maybe rephrase to stress rarity)

The three outfielders are called the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder; each position is named from the catcher's perspective. The center fielder has more territory to cover than the other two outfielders, so he must be very fast and agile, and must have a strong arm to throw balls in to the infield; as a result, teams tend to emphasize defense at that position.

Pitching

The pitching motion
The pitcher's motion

Effective pitching is vitally important in baseball. A pitcher who starts games should be able to pitch as long as they can (usually six to eight innings) before being replaced by specialist relief pitchers, who finish the game off. For a starter to pitch all 9 innings (a "complete game"), a personal achievement is attained, although this was not always so. The average number of innings pitched has been declining slowly in the professional leagues almost since their inception, yet 9 innings was once the norm. Pitching is also physically demanding: a modern-day starting pitcher can usually throw 100-110 pitches with no ill effects, but throwing many more reduces effectiveness, and over time, may lead to serious and permanent arm injury. Typical coaches do not allow their starters to throw more pitches than this. In a major league season then, a club usually keeps a cadre of 5 starting pitchers (known as the "starting rotation") to start games, giving pitchers at least 3 or (preferably) 4 or 5 days rest between starts.

Five to seven additional pitchers are employed as relief pitchers or relievers, to pitch the innings not handled by the starting rotation. The variety of relievers is dictated by the situation. Hence, there are long relievers, setup men, specialists (pitchers used for a specific batter to maximize matchups), and closers. Today, every team typically has one pitcher designated as the closer. This relief pitcher is specifically designated to pitch the final inning (or possibly longer) of a game in which his team is leading, in order to preserve the win. To earn a save, the closer must finish the game, not be the winning pitcher, and a) pitch three or more innings or b) pitch at least one inning with a lead of 3 runs or less or c) come in to the game with the potential tying run on base, at bat, or on deck.

Types of pitches

In order to prevent the batter from hitting the ball well, a good pitcher should be able throw a variety of different pitches, which will usually be a subset or blend of the following basic types.

Fastball: The fastball is the most common pitch. Some "power" pitchers can throw it 95-100 mi/h (150-160 km/h), and rely on this speed to prevent the ball from being hit. Others throw more slowly but put movement on the ball or throw it on the outside of the plate where the batter cannot easily reach it. Gripping the ball with the fingers across the wide part of the seam ("four-seam fastball") produces a straight pitch, gripping it across the narrow part ("two-seam fastball") produces a sinking fastball, and holding a two-seam fastball off-centre ("cut fastball") imparts lateral movement to the fastball.
Curve ball: The curve ball is thrown with a hand motion that induces extra rotation on the ball causing it to "break," to fly in a more exaggerated curve than would be expected. The pitch is slower than a fastball, and this difference in velocity also tends to disrupt the hitter's timing. Good curve balls often seem to drop sharply with a sharp rotation as they reach the plate, making the batter swing above it. The rotation on a curve ball should be in the same direction as that of a fastball so the hitter cannot easily distinguish between the pitches; as such,the drop on such a ball should be 12 to 6 on a watch (although many pitchers are successful with a curve ball that breaks down and away from the batter, rather than straight down). But a curve ball which fails to break (a "hanging curve") will be easy meat for a good hitter. A Screwball is similar to a curveball, but thrown from the back of the hand in order to impart opposite rotation and opposite movement.
Slider: A slider is half-way between a curve ball and a fastball, with less break but more speed than the curve. It will tend to drop less and move toward or away from the batter more than a curve. The extra speed can fool the hitter into thinking it is a fastball, until too late. Some pitchers also use a cut fastball (or cutter) which is one step closer than the slider to the fastball on the spectrum between fastballs and curves. A pitch that has movement similar to both a slider and a curveball is often called a slurve.
Change Up: A change up is the traditional off-speed pitch (i.e. slower than the fastball), which otherwise resembles a fastball. It is thrown with the same arm action as a fastball; the speed difference is due to a different grip. This (hopefully) causes the hitter to be fooled and swing before the ball arrives. A change up also tends to break slightly in the same direction as a screwball due to the way it is commonly released, this makes it an effective pitch away from the plate. Also a change-up can be used to set up the fastball and to keep the hitter on his toes and uncomfortable.
Knuckleball: Thrown slowly and with a minimum of rotation, the knuckleball (actually thrown off the tips of the fingers or knuckles) relies on chaotic airflow over the stitched seams of the baseball to produce an erratic, unpredictable motion. This makes it hard to hit, hard to catch, and hard to aim, and it is consequently not a favorite with catchers and managers. Typically the knuckler doesn't travel much more than 65 mi/h (105 km/h), and some good knuckleball pitchers can actually keep the ball in the mid 50s. Knuckleballs are less taxing on the pitcher's arm than most other pitches. For more, see knuckleball.
Split-Fingered Fastball / Forkball: Held between the first two fingers, thrown hard and with a strong downward motion. This pitch tends to tumble downwards and can break in either direction, depending on the release. It can be thrown as hard as 90 mi/h (145 km/h), so it can look like a fastball until it breaks near the plate. It is most effective when thrown in the lower part of the strike zone.

The pitcher will try to make the batter miss the ball entirely ("strike out") or hit it so that it can be handled by one of the fielders. This generally involves throwing the ball in a way, or to a location, that the batter is not expecting, causing him to hit it weakly or not at all. Also by changing speeds and mixing in different pitches the pitcher can try and keep the better of balance. Good fielders may have some idea of where the pitcher is likely to throw the ball, and therefore where the hitter is likely to hit it (an "outside" pitch will generally be hit to the side of the field that the batter faces, for instance), and may be prepared to field the ball there if the batter hits it well. Good hitters are able to hit the ball wherever they wish, regardless of the location of the pitch.

A pitcher facing an exceptionally strong batter, or a situation in which the batter may upset the game if he scores several RBI's, may deliberately walk the batter.

The offensive team

Next to the plate stands the offensive team's representative, the batter. As the ball passes by him over the plate, he tries to hit it with his bat. If he hits hits a fair ball into the field of play, he becomes a runner and must run to first base. After touching first base, he may run to second base, third base, and back to home plate. When he touches home plate again after rounding the infield, his team scores a run. On occasion, a batter will hit the ball out of the stadium, this is coloqually known as an "out of park" home run, because there is no way the opposing team can access the ball and prevent a run.

If a runner is already on base, they must try to advance to the next base; no two offensive players may ever stay on the same base.

If the batter hits the ball to eg second base, where it is caught, the player on first base receives a "forced out" for this reason, since he has no option to prevent being out. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.

Batting

The pitcher is required to pitch the ball so that it passes over home plate between the batter's knees and his armpits. If he does this, and the batter doesn't swing, the batter is charged with a strike. If the batter swings at the ball and misses he is also charged with a strike. If the batter swings and makes contact with the ball, but does not put it in play in fair territory, he is also changed with a strike except when there are already two strikes. On the third strike he is declared out just as if he had been tagged with the ball. If the pitch is not over the plate, or is above the armpits or below the knees, or if it bounces on the way to the plate, and the batter doesn't swing, he is awarded a ball. On the fourth ball the batter may advance to first base without liability to be put out. This is called a walk or a base on balls. At most one runner may be on each base, so if there is already a runner on first base when the batter walks, the runner is forced to advance to second base, and so forth. It is unusual, but not rare, for a run to score this way, because the batter has walked with all three bases full.

Running the bases

When a fair ball is fielded and thrown to a base before a runner arrives there, the player is out, and must return to his team's dugout. If one of the fielders tags the runner with the ball, the runner is out, and must leave the field immediately. However, the runner is safe from being put out when he is touching one of the bases. Since it is very unlikely that he will be able to circle all three bases and return to home plate before the fielders retrieve the batted ball and tag him with it, he will usually stop at one of the bases. A new offensive player then becomes batter.

Another way to put out a batter is to catch the batted ball "on the fly", which means to catch it before it touches the ground. A fly ball can be caught in fair or foul territory. On a caught fly ball, the runners are not allowed to advance. They must return to their bases immediately. Once they've done this, however, they are free to run again, and if the ball was caught in the far outfield, they might make it to the next base before the fielders can get the ball back into the infield. This is called a sacrifice fly. Sometimes a runner is on third base and a fly ball is hit almost to the fence. The fielder is obviously going to catch it on the fly, so the runner on third base returns early, and then watches carefully and runs as soon as the ball is caught and scores a run because the fielders can't get the ball to home plate in time to tag him out.

The runner on base may run at almost any time, but in practice the defense almost always has possession of the ball, and if he tries to run to the next base, they will tag him out before he gets to the next base. The most usual exception is when the batter has just batted the ball into the outfield.

If the catcher fails to catch the pitched ball and it is deflected or rolls away, the runners often advance; this is called either a wild pitch (if the pitcher is at fault) or a passed ball (if the catcher is at fault). Wild pitches and passed balls are rare at elite levels.

Balls batted out of the field over the fence in fair territory are home runs. The batter and all the runners advance to home plate without liability to be put out, and score one run each for their team.

(something about stolen bases here)

The initial decision to make first base 90 feet from home plate was an inspired one; it means that no runner, no matter how fast, can beat the throw to first of a ball cleanly fielded and properly thrown to first by a fielder in proper position. But if the fielder is out of position, or hesitates, or throws wide of the base, the play is often razor-close, and quite exciting.

Innings and scores

The object of the game is to score more runs than the opposing team.

After three outs (a half-inning) the roles of the fielding and hitting sides are reversed. After each team has had one turn in the field, the inning is over.

If both teams have scored the same number of runs at the end of 9 innings (7 in high school and college), an extra inning is added to the game. If the score remains tied after an extra inning, another inning is added. This continues until one team has the lead at the end of an inning. Thus, the team which hits in the second (or bottom) half of the inning always has a chance to respond to a run scored by the team batting in the first (or top) half. As there are tactical advantages to this, the home team is always granted the right to bat in the bottom half of the inning.

In the American Major Leagues, baseball games end with tie scores only because conditions (e.g. severe weather) have made it impossible to continue play. Games in which the score is tied are not counted towards a team's game total (as technically a tie game is considered unfinished), although statistics are retained as long as the game is of official regulation (five innings, or four and one-half innings if the home team is ahead).

In Japan, games end after nine innings and a tie is considered honorable to both teams. Some youth or amateur leagues will end a game if one team is ahead by 10 or more runs.

Further rules

Each team is allowed to substitute any player at any time, but no player, once removed from the game, can return. It is very common for pitchers to pitch in the first six or seven innings and then be removed in favor of a relief pitcher or a succession of relief pitchers. Pitchers don't usually hit well, due to the need for them to train specifically to pitch, so it is common for a pitcher to be removed when his team is at bat, in favor of a `pinch hitter' who hits for him just in that one inning, and who is replaced with a relief pitcher when it is his team's turn to pitch again.

The batting order is set at the beginning of the game and may not be changed. The players always bat in order, and when the ninth player has batted, the first takes his turn again. If one player is substituted for another, the substituted player takes the turn of the player he replaced. The pitcher almost always bats ninth because he is the worst hitter. The team manager has a roster of twenty-five players from which he is allowed to make substitutions. This usually includes eleven pitchers, two or three catchers, four or five outfielders, six or seven infielders, and a utility player or two.

The style of play

Baseball has an antique, unhurried pace. Both football and basketball use a clock, and fans must often watch games end while one team degrades the competitive element of the game by "killing the clock" rather than competing directly against the opposing team. But baseball has no clock; you cannot win without getting the last man out, and a rally can start at any time. Under previous rules, a new inning began whenever there was a tie at the end of an inningl games were never drawn. This lead to some games continuing for many hours; the Rochester Red Wings once notably played a game that lasted for over twenty innings.

In recent decades, observers have criticized baseball for this, with some justification as the time required to play a baseball game has increased steadily through the years. One hundred years ago, games typically took an hour and a half to play; today, four-hour nine-inning games are not uncommon. However, this is primarily due to increased commercial breaks more than a decrease in playing speed. Increased offense and more pitching changes also prolong the length of the game.

Baseball is a team game - even two or three Hall of Fame players cannot guarantee a pennant by themselves. In the last years of the 20th century, a trend toward building teams based on a more even distribution of talent throughout the lineup became noticeable. The Seattle Mariners and the Florida Marlins were two teams that began moving away from the previous belief in building teams around superstars. Team salary caps led to the decision by many owners to pay more solid players decent money rather than surrounding one or two expensive superstars with a below-average set of teammates. It remains to be seen if this strategy will be successful.

Paradoxically, the game places individual players under great pressure and scrutiny one at a time. The pitcher must make a good pitch or suffer reproach; no one can help him throw the ball. The hitter has a mere fraction of a second to swing the bat; no one can help him then. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder makes a lonely decision to try to catch it or play it on the bounce. Baseball history is full of heroes and goats - men who in the heat of the moment distinguished themselves with a timely hit or catch, or an untimely strikeout or error.

It is a beautiful, leisurely game on the surface (some would say boring) but sudden and fierce beneath. Many people fail to recognize that baseball is a game of strategy and anticipation, as much as it is a game of skill and athleticism.

Professional leagues

Major League Baseball in North America consists of the National League and the American League. Historically, teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series, in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other; this changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play.

In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. Most minor-league teams are affiliated with major-league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. However, there are also a number of leagues that exist independently of the influence of the major leagues.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African-American players were barred from playing the major leagues. As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with the major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. There were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at an African-American player's head.

Professional leagues also exist in Japan, Korea, and Latin America.

Equipment

Bat: A rounded, solid wooden or hollow aluminum bat. Aluminum bats are not used in the major league, because they are simply too good and would rewrite the records.
Ball: A cork sphere, tightly wound with layers of yarn or string and covered with a stitched leather coat.
Mitt: Leather glove worn by players in the field. Long fingers and a webbed "pocket" between the thumb and first finger allow the fielder to catch the ball more easily.
Catcher's mitt: Leather glove worn by catchers. Generally larger and better-padded than the standard fielder's mitt.
Batting glove: Glove often worn on one or both hand(s) by the batter. Offers additional grip and eliminate the shock when making contact with the ball.

Clothing

Hat: 'Baseball cap' worn by all players. Designed to shade the eyes from the sun, this hat design has become popular with the general public.
Batting helmet: Protective helmet worn by batter to protect the head and the ear facing the pitcher from the ball.
Catcher's helmet: Protective helmet with face guard worn by the catcher.
Baseball Uniform: Shirt and pants worn by all players. Each team generally has a unique pattern of colors and designs.
Athletic supporter and cup: Worn by Catcher, and often by all players. Protects the male genitals from injury. 'Jockstrap', 'jock' or 'cup supporter'.
Sliding shorts: Padded support shorts sometimes worn to protect the thighs when the player slides into the bases.
Spikes: Shoes with spikes to provide additional traction. Historically used by sliding baserunners to intimidate fielders at the bag.

References

Joe Brinkman and Charlie Euchner, The Umpire's Handbook, rev. ed. (1987)
Bill James and John Dewan, Bill James Presents the Great American Baseball Stat Book, ed. by Geoff Beckman et al. (1987)
Robert Peterson, Only the Ball Was White (1970, reprinted 1984)
Joseph L. Reichler (ed.), The Baseball Encyclopedia, 7th rev. ed. (1988). (since 1871)
Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig, The Image of Their Greatness: An Illustrated History of Baseball from 1900 to the Present, updated ed. (1984)
Lawrence S. Ritter (comp.), The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It, new ed. (1984)
David Quentin Voigt, Baseball, an Illustrated History (1987)

External links

Baseball Reference: http://www.baseball-reference.com
Historical Boxscores: http://retrosheet.org
Baseball Discussion and analysis: http://baseballprimer.com
Baseball Analysis: http://baseballprospectus.com
The Negro Leagues Baseball museum: http://www.nlbm.com
The Society for American Baseball Research: http://www.sabr.org
Baseball Almanac: http://www.baseball-almanac.com
Official Rules from http://www.mlb.com
The Official Baseball Guide, The Sporting News
Official Baseball Register, The Sporting News
Baseball Almanac: http://www.baseball-almanac.com
Baseball Directory
Spalding's Baseball Guide and Official League Book for 1889 from Project Gutenberg
Why baseball is unique: http://www.umpire.org/writers/baseball.html