Baseball Rules:- Baseball is a game that includes bat and ball and is played between two opposing teams. Also, the two teams take a turn in batting and fielding. This game is played worldwide, but it is most popular in America and East Asia. The team that scores most runs at the end of a game emerges as the winner.

Baseball Equipment

The Baseball Bats are made out of either wood, aluminium or metal elements. The ball is coloured white with the stitching of red color. It has a diameter of 3 inches. The fielding team wears mittens, which are oversized gloves to help them catch and pick the ball whenever necessary. The catcher stands behind the batsman to catch any balls which are missed by him. The catcher also wears extra padding in their gloves. Along with this, he has leg guards, a body pad, and a helmet to protect him against the ball.

Baseball Rules

When it comes to the Baseball Rules, it varies slightly from league to league, but generally, the same basic rules are followed. The “Official Baseball Game” which governs all the official games of Baseball played in the United States Of America and Canada including the World Baseball Classic have fixed following Baseball Rules.

The infield where the game is played should be of the 90-foot square. Baseball has two teams, and each of them has 9 players. To score a point, a batsman must hit the ball by the bat into a specified fielding area and make it around all the four bases. A player can score a mandatory point if he hit a home run which means the ball has left its plating area and has landed in the crowd. A player can stop at any base if he feels that there is a possibility of him not making it to the next base and he will be tagged out before that. If there is more than one player in a base, then they can score multiple points. The phrase “bases are loaded” in a Baseball game means and is said in the instance there is a player on every base. If a batsman makes it to the first base successfully and then if the other player at the second and third base can trickle home, then they earn a point for their team each time. The number of players who can get around to their home base before being tagged is the number of points that team scores. A maximum of four points can be scored in this method. There will be nine innings of the game, and to win a particular match, you should outscore your opponent team in the majority of the nine games. The team with most points after nine innings is declared the winner. If there happens a tie at the end of the nine innings, then the extra innings are continued to play unless a team can be declared a winner. In the nine innings, both the team gets to bat once. But if the team who is batting second already has more points than the previous team, then they will be declared a winner automatically without completing their innings. The order of batting once picked cannot be changed throughout the game. Substitute of players are allowed to come up, and they will bat in the exact order of the player who they have replaced. If a batsman manages to hit the ball from the pitcher, then the player of the opposite team should at least attempt to get to the first base. They can run to as many bases as they wish unless they are tagged out, while a batsman should at least touch the first base by some part of the bat. A batsman can get the opportunity of batting in three strikes before he gets out. He can leave the ball if he wishes, but if it’s within a specific area of batting, then it will be considered as a strike. However, a strike is deemed when a player misses a ball even after swinging his bat for it. A strikeout can dismiss a player. It means that the batsman misses the ball three times in a row. Additionally, when a defensive player reaches the base before a player of the other team, it is then called a force out. When a ball is hit in the air and is caught by a player straight without bouncing, then it is called fly out, and a player gets dismissed. He can also be dismissed when there are tag outs that is when a defensive player with the ball, tags the batsman with it while all the players are running.

These are basic Baseball Rules, but slightly modified rules are used in the competitions. The International Baseball Federation operates these competitions and includes them under the Olympics, the World Cup and most leagues which are held outside North America. These leagues include the one in Japan called Nippon Professional Baseball, and also the Youth Baseball Organization such as Little League, PONY League, and Cal Ripken League. For tournaments held in Colleges, rules are followed as those made by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Federation of State High School Associations control those games in US High Schools and High School Age Baseball.

Rules changes for Major League Baseball for 2020 season

Major League Baseball made its rule changes for the 2020 season official on Wednesday.

There are four categories of rules going into effect:

#The three-batter minimum for pitchers.

#Roster limits.

#Adjustments to the injured list and option periods for pitchers and two-way players.

#Reduction in the time managers has to challenge a play.

The three-batter minimum for pitchers: All pitchers — both starters and relievers — now have to face at least three batters (or pitch until the inning is over) before they come out of a game. The only exception is an injury or illness that prevents the pitcher from being able to finish his three batters.

Roster limits: 26-man rosters: Teams’ active rosters are being increased from 25 to 26 players for the regular season (through Aug. 31) and during the postseason. Teams are limited to carrying a maximum of 13 pitchers.

Adjustments to the injured list and option periods for pitchers and two-way players: Pitchers and two-way players are returning to a 15-day injured list. That is, once they’re placed on the IL, they can’t be reinstated for 15 days. The injured list used to be 15 days for all players until the 2017 season, when it was reduced to 10 days. Position players will still have a 10-day IL under the new rules.

Reduction in the time managers has to challenge a play: Managers now only have 20 seconds to decide to challenge a play instead of 30.

Baseball Players Position

The methods of playing baseball games are not very complicated. The object of the game is to score more runs than your opponent. The ball thrown at the batter is to be hit by the bat as far as he can before he runs around four bases to complete a run. If a player gets around four bases and still manages to get tagged out, then he scores, but if he is tagged out then another player steps in.

Also Check: Ice Hockey Rules

Baseball field

There are two sections of the Baseball field – infield and outfield. The two are separated with four bases and is a diamond base. The pitcher stands in the center of the infield on the pitching mound. The batter stands on the home plate, and the other three bases are to be touched by him without scoring a run.