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General
Structure & Rules of the Game
Baseball is played between two teams of nine players each on a
baseball field, under the authority of one or more officials, called
umpires. There are four bases, numbered counterclockwise, first,
second and third bases are cushions (sometimes referred to as
bags), and home plate. The pitcher's mound is located in the
center of the infield. The playing field is divided into three main
sections:
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The infield,
containing the four bases, is for general defensive purposes
bounded by the foul lines and within the grass line.
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The outfield is the
grassed area beyond the infield grass line between the foul
lines, and bounded by a wall or fence.
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Foul territory is the
entire area outside the foul lines.
The Basics
An
inning is broken up into two halves in which the away team bats in
the top (first) half, and the home team bats in the bottom (second)
half. In baseball, the defense always has the ball- a fact that
differentiates it from most other team sports. The teams switch
every time the defending team gets three players of the batting team
out. The winner is the team with the most runs after nine innings.
If the home team is ahead after the top of the ninth, play does not
continue into the bottom half. In the case of a tie, additional
innings are played until one team comes out ahead at the end of an
inning. If the home team takes the lead anytime during the bottom of
the ninth or of any inning thereafter, play stops and the home team
is declared the winner! Each half-inning, the goal of the defending
team is to get three members of the other team out. A player who is
out must leave the field and wait for his next turn to bat. There
are many ways to get batters and base runners out; some of the most
common are catching a batted ball in the air, tagging a runner out,
force-outs, or the pitcher striking the batter out. The goal of the
team at bat is to score more runs than the opposition; a player may
do so only by batting. The batter attempts to hit the ball into fair
territory in such a way that the defending players cannot get them
or the baserunners out. A baserunner who successfully touches home
plate without being tagged out after touching all previous bases in
order scores a run. In general, the pitcher attempts to prevent this
by pitching the ball in such a way that the batter cannot hit it
cleanly or, ideally, at all.
Link
- Australian Baseball Federation
 The
Sports STAR Rating System
Student grading and re-grading will be conducted
regularly through the program as students skills develop.
An accurate
grade allows students to be placed in system when
playing matches and tournaments.
What
is your Grade?
http://www.baseball.org.au/
Where
to Play
http://www.baseball.org.au/
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