It’s slow, incredibly slow, and dead slow, and then suddenly it becomes fast, faster, and the fastest. Do you know, which game is it? I give you a few hints…., throwing, hitting, running, sliding, nose-diving, etc. etc. It alone has 15.64 million players in the US, according to the facts presented by www.statista.com.

Let’s introduce to baseball, the most popular and the most fascinating game of the Americas, as well as the national game of the US. It’s having the biggest fan base than any other sport in the US. There are two levels of baseball, MLB and MiLB. The wage of an average MLB player is about $5.045 million per season.

Is there more luck than technical skills and persistence in baseball? For us, the rule of thumb is practice, practice, and practice more. Let’s go through all the basic information and benefits of baseball. Should you have any questions, please feel free to ask us in the comments box below.

1. How to play Baseball

Baseball is played between two teams, the batting team and the fielding team. Each team is composed of 9 players, and the team who scores the most runs wins the game.

There are a total of nine innings in a baseball match for each team to bat and field. Each inning finishes, if the batting team has three OUTs. At the end of the game, the score is tallied. The team which outscores the other wins the game. If the score is tied, then decide the match on the score after the fourth innings.

One member (the batter) of the batting team holds the baseball bat, whereas one member (the pitcher) of the fielding team pitches the ball towards the batter.

The batter hits the baseball, leaves his bat down, and starts running between the fixed bases in the baseball ground. The batter sprints towards the first base and touches the bag placed there.

The fielding team tries to catch the ball, and throw it on the bases, where the batsman or his fellows are running. If the throw reaches the base before the batsman touches the bag, then he will be called out. If batsman reaches the base before the throw, then he will be awarded one run.

2. World records in baseball

Do you want to beat some of the world records? Baseball could be an interesting game to poke with. You just need to target one record, have a passion to break it, practice, practice, and practice, and here you go.

What do you think, which records are the most breakable with a little bit of extra effort? Leave your comments below. But, please don’t break yourself while breaking the records.

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3. Health Benefits of Baseball

Similar to other sport, playing baseball also keeps you fit and healthy, improve your strength and stamina, contribute to better cardiovascular health, improve cognitive abilities and augment the immune system. Also, the following particular health benefits have been associated with playing baseball by numerous scientific studies.

Since hitting, pitching and throwing are important activities of baseball, hence baseball players usually have very strong forelimbs, which not only add to the power of your body but also contribute to the overall beauty of the body.
Moreover, short and intense bursts of running engage your hamstring and calf muscles, hence baseball players develop very strong hindlimbs.
Hitting the fast-moving ball in specific directions and taking the benefit of minor errors of opponents help the baseball players in developing quick decision-making skills, which is a component of a successful life.

4. Terminology of Baseball

1.Batter

The player who hits the ball with his baseball bat is known as the batter. The batter stands on one of the plates at the home base.

2. Pitcher

The player who throws the baseball towards the batter to allow him hitting the baseball is called the pitcher.

3. Bases

The baseball bases refer to the four spots where the players of the batting team stand. The first base, where the batter stands, is called home. The home base has two plates and one bag. The bag is surrounded by one plate each. These are three more bases in the baseball field. Two runners are now allowed on the same base.

4. Run

If a catcher reaches the base while holding the baseball before the batter or runner, then the batter or the runner is called OUT.
When a batter hits the baseball, he runs between the bases. When he reaches the next base, he is awarded a Single.
If the batter successfully runs the two bases, he is awarded a Double.
If the batter successfully runs between the three bases, he is awarded a Triple.
Three singles constitute one Run.

5. Homerun

In baseball, when a batter hits the baseball and successfully runs all the four bases, it is known as a home run (also called HR). It is also called circling the bases.

6. Out

If the pitcher pitches the ball towards the batter, either the batter hits it or misses it. If the batter mises it thrice, then he is OUT.
If the pitcher pitches the ball towards the batter, either the batter hits it or misses it. If the batter mises it thrice, then he is OUT.
Moreover, if the batter hits the ball, and a fielder catches it, the batter is OUT.
Similarly, if the batter hits the baseball through the gap between fielders, the batter runs from the home base towards the first base. The fielder meanwhile throws the baseball towards any of the base. If the baseball throw reaches the base before the batter, then the batter is OUT.
Finally, if the batter hits the baseball through the gap between fielders, the runner already standing on first, second or third basses run towards the next bases. The fielders throw the baseball towards any of the bases. If the baseball throw reaches the base before the runners, then the runners are OUT.

7. Catcher

Catchers are the members of the fielding team; whose responsibilities are to restrict the score of batting team and OUT them by short running the players of the batting team.

8. Outfielders

The fielders which are standing away from the bases in the ground are called outfielders. Usually three outfielders.

5. Baseball Accessories

It’s highly likely that you get injured while playing baseball. So, it’s extremely important to know the tact to stay injury-free and ensure the longevity of your baseball career. Good quality accessories ensure higher benefits and safety in baseball. In this article, we have covered all the relevant information. Don’t forget to comment below if you have relevant suggestions regarding baseball accessories.

a.Baseball Bats

The most important thing required to train or play baseball is a baseball bat. Hitting is done with the rear end of a baseball bat, which is thicker than the handle. Baseball bats made of wood, as well as metal, are available.
The first-ever baseball bat was manufactured in 1857. The diameter of the hitting end of a baseball bat is about 7 cm at the thickest part. The length of a baseball bat is about 106 cm.

b. Baseballs

A baseball ball (usually called baseball) is also equally important for training or playing baseball.
Although many variable baseballs remained in play for several years, the earliest commercial baseballs were prepared and marketed by H.P. Harwood and Sons in 1858.
The diameters of baseballs are about 7.3–7.6 cm, while weight is about 142 to 149 g. There are 108 stitches in each baseball.
Its center has a rubber or cork, which is wrapped in yarn, to allow the ball to be hit and bounce. Baseball bats made of wood as well as metal are available.

c. Baseball Apparel

Baseball apparel refers to the uniform used by baseball players. These include shirts, pants, caps, helmets, gloves, mitts, socks, shoes, cleats, chest guards, elbow guards, and shin guards.

i. Baseball Cleats

A cleat refers to a wedge-shaped wooden, metal, plastic, synthetic or leather piece (spikes, studs) attached beneath the shoes to allow a strong grip of the shoes with the ground to prevent the players from slipping and help them in suddenly changing their direction.
Cleats are generally used in football and baseball shoes. However, baseball cleats are lighter than those used in football shoes. Besides safety, cleats also help in faster running.
Generally, low-top cleats are useful for faster running, while mid and high-top cleats provide safety and stability in running and changing direction during running.
Metal cleats are generally preferable because of their durability and strength, as well as because of their higher ability to withstand weathering, whereas plastic cleats are their cheaper alternatives.
Metal cleats are prohibited in youth leagues but allowed in major leagues.
Fitting cleats to your shoes require some technical knowledge. Proper consideration should be given to the cleat size, distance from toes, distance from heel, tightness or looseness of tightness.

ii. Baseball Gloves and Mitts

One of the most import defensive gear for baseball players is a baseball glove. It protects the hands and fingers of catching players from injuries.
A mitt refers to a protective glove, which is divided into two parts. The first part protects the thumb from injury during catching the baseball, while the second part is wider that protects the remaining four fingers from injury.
Baseball gloves and mitts allow one-handed catches and offer flexibility to the hands and fingers.
Typically, these range from 9 to 12.75 inches.
Gloves sizes not only vary according to the size of hands but also vary from the fielder to fielder. Generally, the gloves of infielders are smaller than those of the outfielders.

iii. Baseball Helmets

Besides fitness and activeness, sports are vital for the best cognitive performance of your brain. Head and face are the most sensitive organs of humans. During playing games of high physical intensities, the safety of your face and head are the most important concerns.
Good quality baseball helmets are made up of carbon fiber for higher shock absorbance to ensure the maximum safety of the players. They are essential to prevent concussion in case of head injury.

iv. Baseball Shin-Guard

Shin pad or shin-guard is a protective piece of baseball apparel, which is meant to save your shin from injury during running and colliding. Since colliding is a high possibility in baseball, hence shin guards are of utmost importance to ensure the safety of hindlimbs of baseball players.

v. Baseball Chest Guard

Catchers behind the home plate, as well as the batters, require higher safety of chest in case of the baseball hits on their chest. Moreover, during running, there are high chances that players of batting team colloid with the players of the fielding team. Hence chest protectors are also very important to ensure the safety of baseball players.

vi. Baseball Elbow Guard

Elbows of baseball batters can get injured because of hitting very hard balls. It is precautionary for all the batters to use elbow protectors to ensure greater elbow safety.

d. Baseball Bags

In order to keep the baseball accessories, you need a reliable baseball bag. Alon with keeping your baseball bat, baseball, baseball gloves and cleat, baseball shoes, baseball helmet, it will be a safe place for your sunscreen, wipes, tissues, umbrella, and first aid kit.
A good baseball bag should be beautiful looking, easy to commute, have separate pockets for similar things, such as cosmetics, and durable.

e. Baseball Training Equipment

Training for particular skills gives you confidence and perfectness during tough competitions. For training of essential baseball skills, you require to schedule a flexible training plan, as well as specific training gear.
The baseball training gear includes a baseball training net to practice for pitching and batting, an infield training glove, a set of training balls, an adjustable height batting trainer, and a pitching machine.

f. Baseball Bases and Pitching Rubbers

Baseball bases are made up of weather-resistant rubber. These usually comprise a set of three bases and a Homeplate. Furthermore, a pitcher’s plate is also included.

g. Baseball Pitching Machine and Batting Cage

A baseball pitching machine is a motor-powered baseball pitching device that can pitch several baseballs at constant and variable speed, direction and spin.

A batting cage is another useful entity, which saves extra trouble of the batter to go and collect the baseballs during practicing.

6. The Organization of Baseball

Either you want to play baseball for fitness or want to become a pro for competing in world competitions, you need to be aware of various major baseball tournaments worldwide. There are two major levels of baseball. These are Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB).

a. Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball (MLB) is the professional organization of baseball. It was founded in 1903. MLB also oversees the matters of Minor League Baseball (MiLB).
MLB has 2 leagues and a total of 30 teams. The two leagues are named as National League (NL) and American League (AL), each of them has 15 teams. Each team comprises 40 players.
The MLB leagues start in April. The total pay of $3.784 billion is divided into 750 MLB players, hence an average salary is $5.045 million per player.
According to Forbes, currently Mike Trout is the most valued player of the MLB, as he is getting the highest pay of $39 million per season. On the other hand, the minimum salary of an MLB player is $555 thousand per season in 2019 according to the figures mentioned in www.statista.com.
The wide differences in salaries depend upon the performance, experience, consistency, talent, and wages of competitors. Moreover, there are pension plans for convenience during your retirement days, as well.

b. Minor League Baseball

The Minor League Baseball (MiLB) was founded in 1901. The purpose of MiLB is player development and prepare them for MLB. It has 20 leagues and a total of 256 teams.
Players of MiLB compete at a lower level than MLB. The salaries of MiLB in contrast to MLB seem to be peanuts. The average monthly salaries start from merely $1,100. Class A players could get about $1,300 per month. Moreover, the average monthly salaries of Class A-Advanced are higher than Class A players.
The players of Double-A class get an average salary of about $6000 per month. Finally, the players playing in the Triple-A leagues have average monthly salaries of $10,000. More talented, skilled, experienced and high performing players get higher than average pay.

7. Classes of MiLB

The MiLB leagues are divided into 6 classes. The MiLB leagues in the order of based upon the level of competitiveness, experience, talent, and salary from the highest to the lowest include Triple-A (AAA), followed by Double-A (AA), High A, Low-A, and Rookie, respectively.

The MiLB leagues start in April, except that of Class A Short-season league, which starts in late June.

Triple-A class is the highest-ranked MiLB league. It has three leagues. It was started in 1969. The average salary of the players playing this league is about $10 thousand. The average age of the players is 26.
Double-A class is the second-highest ranked MiLB league. It also has three leagues. It was started in 1964. The average salary of the players playing this league is about $6 thousand. The average age of the players is 24.
Class-A Advanced (Class A+, High A) class is the third league of MiLB. It also has three leagues and 30 teams. Its games start in April and end in September.
Class-A class is the next ranked MiLB league. It also has two leagues, which play 140 games. The average salary of these players is $1300. Its games also start in April and end in September.
There are two Short-Season classes, which include Class-A Short-season and Rookie Advanced. Both have two leagues each. The former has 14 teams, while the latter has 8 teams.
The lowest league of MiLB is Rookie. It has two leagues and 8 teams, which play 60 games from Mid-June to late-August.

8. Conclusion

In short, baseball is the national sport of the US. Besides various health benefits, it is the source of high income for ammeter and professional players.

Two teams play baseball nine alternative innings each, and the team scoring more runs wins the game.

Several accessories are essential for proper training and safety during playing baseball. These include baseball bats, baseballs, shoes, cleats, gloves, mitts, helmets, shin-guard, chest-guard, elbow-guard, etc. Moreover, baseball bases, pitching rubbers, pitching machine, and batting cage are essentials for indoor training.

Finally, playing baseball is a great charm, and baseball players have a great fanbase in the Americas. Several records have been made by baseball players and non-players, which you can also try to break. Let us know after reading this article which records you want to try to break. Happy reading.

Dr. Muhammad Ammar Khan

Dr. Ammar has over 8 years of experience as a content writer and blogger. His passion for helping people in all aspects flows through various industries and businesses.