Help me understand the game of baseball and .....??

Question

Hi,
I need to understand the game of baseball , so that am able to do an assignment on probability. Want to know the rules of the game, and how to declare a winner and so on.
Please include losing and winning streaks, hits etc. Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

Baseball is a game played with a bat, ball and glove. The fundamentals of the game involve throwing the ball, hitting the ball, and catching the ball. Of course, the execution of these three tasks is more challenging than it sounds, and it is that challenge that compels baseball players to play the game.Unlike most games, a running clock does not limit the length of a baseball game. The two competing teams play over a period of innings, which are subdivided into halves. Professional and college games are generally nine innings long. During the first half of each inning, the visiting team bats and attempts to score points, called runs, while the home team players take their respective defensive positions in the field. The defense's goal is to get the offensive team's players "out" in a variety of ways. After three outs are recorded, the teams switch -- the offensive team moves to defense, and the defensive team moves to offense. The batting team sends one player at a time to try and hit the ball. The engine of the sport is composed of two players -- the pitcher and the batter. All of the action in a baseball game revolves around these two combatants. The pitcher stands on a raised mound of dirt, called the pitcher's mound, which is 60 feet 6 inches (18.4 meters) from home plate in Major League Baseball. The batter stands on either side of the home base, called "the plate," holding a bat and facing the pitcher. To set the game in motion, the pitcher attempts to throw the ball past the batter into the catcher's glove or make the batter hit the ball to put it in play. As the ball is put in play, the eight fielders try to catch it or throw out the batter (more on this later) so he can't get on base and ultimately score a point (a run). The batter's goal is to put the ball in play so that the eight fielders can't catch the ball or throw it to another fielder to record an out. Even the best batters in Major League Baseball today get a hit only about 38 percent of the time at best. Most players only get a hit 25 percent of the time. Why are such poor numbers considered successful, or at least adequate? It is because hitting a small sphere moving at 90+ miles per hour (145+ kph) with a round stick is the hardest thing to do in sports?
According to Robert Adair, author of The Physics of Baseball, a baseball thrown at 95 mph (153 kph) reaches home plate in 0.4 seconds. In that split second, a batter must determine where the ball is and where it will be when it reaches home plate. He then must swing the bat so that it connects with the ball at the exact moment the ball reaches home plate. The task of hitting a ball is made even more difficult because pitchers have developed special pitches to deceive batters. There are changeup pitches, which is when the pitch appears to be faster than it is. A curveball is, as it sounds, a ball that curves in toward or away from the batter. A third deceptive pitch is the slider that comes in like a straight fastball, but then suddenly drops down a few inches. All of these factors combine to make hitting the ball a very difficult task.On the offensive side of the game, there are two types of players -- the hitter and the base runner. Once the hitter makes contact with the ball and gets a hit, he becomes a base runner and must safely reach each base in succession. The ultimate goal of each offensive player is to make his way around the bases and cross home plate, thereby scoring a run. When a hitter is at the plate, he is considered to be at bat. During an at bat, the pitcher of the opposing team throws the ball to the catcher, and the hitter tries to hit the ball with the bat before it reaches the catcher. Each throw is called a pitch. A pitch can be either a ball or a strike. (The umpire is the judge of whether a pitch is a ball or a strike.)
A ball is a pitch that is out of the strike zone, which is an imaginary rectangular box that typically runs the width of the plate and from the hitter's chest to his knees. A strike is a ball that goes through the strike zone and is not hit by the hitter. A strike can be a ball outside of the strike zone if the hitter swings and misses. If a player hits a ball that goes into foul territory and is not caught by a fielder before it touches the ground, it is also counted as a strike -- except when the batter already has two strikes. A batter with two strikes can hit the ball into foul territory indefinitely without striking out. However, a ball caught in foul territory is scored an out. During an at bat, a hitter may do one of several actions, including: Walk - When the pitcher throws four balls before throwing three strikes, the hitter gets a free base. Hit by pitch - A hitter that is struck with a pitch is awarded first base. Single - The hitter hits the ball into play far enough to get to first base. Double - The hitter hits the ball into play far enough to get to second base.
Triple - The hitter hits the ball into play far enough to get to third base. Home run - The hitter hits the ball over the outfield wall between the foul poles and is awarded a free trip around the bases, or the hitter hits the ball far enough that he or she has time to run all the bases. The hitter must run around the bases and touch home plate for the home run to count.
Fielder's choice - A hitter makes contact with the ball, but only reaches base because a fielder chose to throw out another runner. Error - A hitter makes contact with the ball and only reaches base because a fielder misplays the ball.
A runner must go around the bases in order, starting with first base. He then goes to second, third, and finally home. A base runner can advance in one of several ways. He can be advanced by another player's hit or by a hitter being walked, or he can steal a base. To steal a base, the runner starts running from one base to another before the at-bat player gets a hit or a walk, and makes it to the base without getting tagged out. If a runner veers outside of the base path, the umpire calls him out. The umpire decides how far outside the base path is too far.
At the end of all the scheduled innings, the team that has scored the most runs is declared the winner. If the home team is ahead after the top of that inning, the home team wins the game and does not have to complete the inning. However, if the teams are tied after nine innings, they continue to play until one team has more runs than the other. Keep in mind that the home team always has the chance to bat last. Ground rule double - As has already been discussed, if a ball is hit over the outfield fence in fair territory, it is a home run. However, if a ball bounces over the fence, it is an automatic double.
The foul pole - Because balls traveling in the air over the outfield fence can never hit the ground in fair territory, poles are set up on the foul line in left and right fields. These have always been known as foul poles. However, a ball hitting one of these poles is considered a fair ball, and therefore a home run.
Tagging up - If there is a runner on base, he must not advance from his base until a hit ball hits the ground. The exception to that is if the ball is caught by a fielder, the runner can advance once the ball is caught, but only after touching the base he was at when the ball was hit. This is called tagging up, and the fielder can attempt to record another out by tagging (or assisting his teammate in tagging) the runner before he advances to the next base. This can often result in one of the more exciting plays in a game, a close play at home plate.
Dropped third strike - As discussed earlier, a batter is out if he has three strikes during an at bat. However, if the catcher drops or otherwise does not catch the pitched third strike, the batter can still be awarded first base if he can reach it before the catcher is able to either tag him or throw the ball to first base before he reaches it. While this is still a strikeout, it does not count as one of the three outs for that half inning. This odd quirk presents the pitcher with a strange opportunity, the ability to record four strikeouts in one inning.
Infield fly rule - If there are two or more runners on base with fewer than two outs, a fly ball that is not hit far enough into the field is an automatic out as a result of the infield fly rule. Since when a ball is still in the air, runners must remain on base, this rule prevents a fielder from purposely letting the ball drop and then recording an easy double play, since neither of the runners would have moved yet.
Balk - Similar to the infield fly rule, this rule is designed to prevent the defensive team, in this case the pitcher, from misleading base runners. Because runners who are trying to steal bases must do so based on timing the pitcher's throwing motion, pitchers are prohibited from trying to deceive the runner by starting their motion and then stopping. Once the motion has begun, the pitcher must deliver the pitch to the plate. If a balk is called as a result of the pitcher making what is ruled by the umpire a deceptive move, the runner or runners are all awarded one base. Heres another place to get more info... http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/official_rules/official_scorer_10.jsp I hope this helps, n good luck!!!

Answer 2

Yeah I think we all sorta go through that. I know this one guy who told me I only watch baseball because of the guys in tight pants. While I must admit there are cute players in the MLB. I do have a passion for the game. I understand the game and I would say I understand it better than many guys. I think it's hard for some people to understand that you can love the game and still think a player is cute. I've proven to many that I do know the sport, but being a girl I will always be having to prove that. I'm okay with that. oh and for part two of your question as a White Sox fan I say Joe Crede is cute, Ryan Sweeny of the A's is cute, Jose Reyes of the Mets, and Grady Siezemore of the Indians.

Answer 3

yo u know how much space thats gonna take up. and why do u need to understand baseball to do an assignment on baseball.

Answer 4

My husband says:
Get 2 or 3 top notch pitchers and you will be a winner.

Answer 5

there really is not enough space here to explain all the rules of baseball.

Answer 6

I just can't believe that Connie girl spent that much time explaining baseball to an idiot

Answer 7

Hi,
Please do your own homework.
Thanks a lot.