| Revision as of 18:42, 5 May 2010 view sourceBongwarrior (talk | contribs)Administrators158,949 editsm Reverted to revision 360333179 by JayJasper. using TW← Previous edit | Revision as of 00:31, 6 May 2010 view source 71.163.61.245 (talk) i enhanced itTag: blankingNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{About|the sport}} | |||
| {{pp-semi-indef}}{{pp-move-indef}} | |||
| {{Infobox sport | |||
| | image=Wrigley field 720.jpg | |||
| | imagesize=300px | |||
| | caption=A view of the baseball diamond at ], ]. | |||
| | union= | |||
| | nickname= | |||
| | first= Mid-18th century or prior, ] (early form)<br />June 19, 1846, ] (first recorded game with codified rules) | |||
| | registered= | |||
| | clubs= | |||
| | contact= | |||
| | team=9 | |||
| | mgender= | |||
| | category=] | |||
| | equipment=] <br /> ] <br /> ] | |||
| | olympic=1992–2008 | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Baseball''' is a ] sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score ] by hitting a thrown ] with a ] and touching a series of four ] arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team (the ]) take turns hitting against the ] of the other team (the ]), which tries to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters ] in any of several ways. A player on the batting team can stop at any of the bases and later advance via a teammate's ] or other means. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an ]; nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. | |||
| Evolving from older bat-and-ball games, an early form of baseball was being played in England by the mid-eighteenth century. This game and the related ] were brought by British and Irish immigrants to North America, ]. By the late nineteenth century, baseball was widely recognized as the ] of the United States. Baseball on the professional, amateur, and youth levels is now popular in North America, parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean, and parts of East Asia. The game is sometimes referred to as ''hardball'', in contrast to the derivative game of ]. | |||
| In North America, professional ] (MLB) teams are divided into the ] (NL) and ] (AL). Each league has three divisions: East, West, and Central. Every year, the major league champion is determined by ] that culminate in the ]. Four teams make the playoffs from each league: the three regular season division winners, plus one ] team. Baseball is the leading team sport in both Japan and Cuba, and the top level of play is similarly split between two leagues: Japan's ] and ]; Cuba's ]. In the National and Central leagues, the pitcher is required to bat, per the traditional rules. In the American, Pacific, and both Cuban leagues, there is a tenth player, a ], who bats for the pitcher. Each top-level team has a ] of one or more ]. These teams allow younger players to develop as they gain on-field experience against opponents with similar levels of skill. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| {{HistBaseball nav}} | |||
| {{Main|History of baseball}} | |||
| ===Origins of baseball=== | |||
| {{Main|Origins of baseball}} | |||
| The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. A French manuscript from 1344 contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly '']'', with similarities to baseball;<ref>Block (2005), pp. 106–108.</ref> other old French games such as ''théque'', ''la balle au bâton'', and ''la balle empoisonée'' also appear to be related.<ref>Block (2005), pp. 71–72, 75, 89, 147–149, 150, 160, et seq.</ref> Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game ], popular in Great Britain and Ireland. '']'' (2005), by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of each other, and that the game's most direct antecedents are the English games of ] and "tut-ball".<ref>Block (2005), pp. 86, 87, 111–113, 118–121, 135–138, 144, 160; Rader (2008), p. 7.</ref> It has long been believed that ] also descended from such games, though evidence uncovered in early 2009 suggests that the sport may have been imported to England from ].<ref>{{cite web|author=Mason, Chris|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7919429.stm |title=Cricket 'Was Invented in Belgium'|date=2009-03-02 |accessdate=2009-03-03 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
| The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, '']'', by ]. It contains a rhymed description of "base-ball" and a ] that shows a field set-up somewhat similar to the modern game—though in a triangular rather than diamond configuration, and with posts instead of ground-level bases.<ref>Block (2005), pp. 139, 140, 151, 164, 178, 179, et seq.; {{cite web|author=Hellier, Cathy|url=http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume2/june04/pocketbook.cfm |title=Mr. Newbery's Little Pretty Pocket-Book |accessdate=2008-04-12 |publisher=Colonial Williamsburg Foundation}} See ].</ref> English lawyer William Bray recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in ], ]; Bray's diary was verified as authentic in September 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/baseball/2799671/Major-League-Baseball-told-Your-sport-is-British-not-American.html|title=Major League Baseball Told: Your Sport Is British, Not American|date=September 11, 2008|accessdate=2009-02-03|work=Telegraph}} {{cite web |url=http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/SCCWebsite/sccwspages.nsf/searchresults/d6edee917b44f96a802574c1005675bb?OpenDocument|title=Oldest Reference to Baseball in the World|date=September 11, 2008|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Surrey County Council}}</ref> This early form of the game was apparently brought to North America by English immigrants; rounders was also brought to the continent by both British and Irish immigrants. The first known American reference to baseball appears in a 1791 ], town bylaw prohibiting the playing of the game near the town's new meeting house.<ref>Block (2005), pp. 58, 160, 300, 307, 310; {{cite web|author=Miller, Doug|url=http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050802&content_id=1154441&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos|title=Pittsfield: Small City, Big Baseball Town|date=August 2, 2005|accessdate=2009-02-03 |publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> By 1796, a version of the game was well-known enough to earn a mention in a German scholar's book on popular pastimes. As described by Johann Gutsmuths, "''englische Base-ball''" involved a contest between two teams, in which "the batter has three attempts to hit the ball while at the home plate"; only one out was required to retire a side.<ref>Block (2005), pp. 67–75, 181; Gutsmuths quoted: p. 86.</ref> | |||
| By the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America. These games were often referred to locally as "]", though other names such as "round-ball" and "base-ball" were also used.<ref>Block (2005), pp. 4–5, 11–15, 25, 33, 59–61, et. seq.</ref> Among the earliest examples to receive a detailed description—albeit five decades after the fact, in a letter from an attendee to ''Sporting Life'' magazine—took place in Beachville, ], ], in 1838. There were many similarities to modern baseball, and some crucial differences: five bases (or ''byes''); first bye just {{convert|18|ft|m|}} from the home bye; batter out if a hit ball was caught after the first bounce.<ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 9–11.</ref> The once widely accepted story that ] invented baseball in ], in 1839 has been conclusively debunked by sports historians.<ref>Block (2005), pp. xiv–xix, 15–18, 32–38, 42–47, et seq.; Rader (2008), pp. 7, 93–94.</ref> In 1845, ], a member of New York City's Knickerbockers club, led the codification of the so-called ].<ref>Sullivan (1997), p. 292.</ref> The practice, common to bat-and-ball games of the day, of "soaking" or "plugging"—effecting a ] by hitting a runner with a thrown ball—was barred. The rules thus facilitated the use of a smaller, harder ball than had been common. Several other rules also brought the Knickerbockers' game close to the modern one, though a ball caught on the first bounce was, again, an out and only underhand pitching was allowed.<ref>Block (2005), p. 84; Koppett (2004), p. 2; Rader (2008), p. 8; Sullivan (1997), p. 10.</ref> While there are reports that the ] played games in 1845, the contest now recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in ]: the "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings.<ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 32, 80, 95.</ref> With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century.<ref>Tygiel (2000), pp. 8–14; Rader (2008), pp. 71–72.</ref> | |||
| ===History of baseball in the United States=== | |||
| {{Main|History of baseball in the United States}} | |||
| ====The game turns professional==== | |||
| In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the New York metropolitan area.<ref>Rader (2008), pp. 9, 10.</ref> By 1856, local journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game".<ref>Tygiel (2000), p. 6.</ref> A year later, sixteen area clubs formed the sport's first governing body, the ]. In 1863, the organization disallowed putouts made by catching a ] on the first bounce. Four years later, it barred participation by ].<ref>Rader (2008), p. 27; Sullivan (1997), pp. 68, 69.</ref> The game's commercial potential was developing: in 1869 the first fully professional baseball club, the ], was formed and went undefeated against a schedule of semipro and amateur teams.<ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 43, 73.</ref> The first professional league, the ], lasted from 1871 to 1875; scholars dispute ].<ref>Sullivan (1997), p. 83–87.</ref> | |||
| The more formally structured ] was founded in 1876. As the oldest surviving major league, the National League is sometimes referred to as the "senior circuit".<ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 83, 130, 243.</ref> Several other major leagues formed and failed. In 1884, African American ] (and, briefly, his brother Welday) played in one of these, the ].<ref>Zoss (2004), p. 136.</ref> An injury ended Walker's major league career, and by the early 1890s, a ] in the form of the ] effectively barred black players from the white-owned professional leagues, major and minor.<ref>Zoss (2004), p. 102.</ref> Professional ] formed, but quickly folded; several independent African American teams succeeded as ].<ref>Sullivan (1997), p. 115.</ref> Also in 1884, overhand pitching was legalized.<ref name=R71>Rader (2008), p. 71.</ref> In 1887, ], under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor, was invented as a winter version of the parent game.<ref>Heaphy, Leslie, "Women Playing Hardball", in ''Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box'', ed. Eric Bronson (Open Court, 2004), pp. 246–256: p. 247.</ref> Virtually all of the modern baseball rules were in place by 1893; the last major change—counting ]s as ]—was instituted in 1901.<ref name=R71/> The National League's first successful counterpart, the ], which evolved from the minor ], was established that year.<ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 243–246.</ref> The two leagues, each with eight teams, were rivals that fought for the best players, often disregarding each other's contracts and engaging in bitter legal disputes.<ref>Sullivan (1997), p. 13.</ref> | |||
| ] baseball team, 1913. ], sixth in line, committed a ] gaffe in a crucial 1908 game that became famous as Merkle's Boner.]] | |||
| A modicum of peace was eventually established, leading to the National Agreement of 1903. The pact formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the country's ].<ref>Rader (2008), p. 110; Zimbalist (2006), p. 22. See {{cite web|title=National Agreement for the Government of Professional Base Ball Clubs|url=http://roadsidephotos.sabr.org/baseball/1903NatAgree.htm|publisher=roadsidephotos.sabr.org|accessdate=2009-01-29}}</ref> The ], pitting the two major league champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall, albeit without express major league sanction: The ] of the American League defeated the ] of the National League.<ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 13–16.</ref> The next year, the series was not held, as the National League champion ], under ] ], refused to recognize the major league status of the American League and its champion.<ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 141–150; Sullivan (1998), pp. 8–10.</ref> In 1905, the Giants were National League champions again and team management relented, leading to the establishment of the World Series as the major leagues' annual championship event.<ref>Koppett (2004), p. 99.</ref> | |||
| As professional baseball became increasingly profitable, players frequently raised grievances against owners over issues of control and equitable income distribution. During the major leagues' early decades, players on various teams occasionally attempted strikes, which routinely failed when their jobs were sufficiently threatened. In general, the strict rules of baseball contracts and the ], which bound players to their teams even when their contracts had ended, tended to keep the players in check.<ref>Burk (2001), pp. 56, 100, 102, 103, 113, 143, 147, 170, et seq.; Powers (2003), pp. 17–21, 27, 83, 121, 122, 160–164, 177; Rader (2008), pp. 60–71.</ref> Motivated by dislike for particularly stingy owner ] and gamblers' payoffs, real and promised, members of the ] conspired to ] the ]. The ] led to the formation of a new National Commission of baseball that drew the two major leagues closer together.<ref>Powers (2003), pp. 39, 47, 48.</ref> The first ], ], was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the ]; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of the 1920s, it was joined by the ].<ref>Burgos (2007), pp. 117, 118.</ref> | |||
| ====Rise of Ruth and racial integration==== | |||
| Compared with the present, professional baseball in the early twentieth century was lower scoring and pitchers, the likes of ] and ], were more dominant. The "inside game", which demanded that players "scratch for runs", was played much more aggressively than it is today; the brilliant, and often violent, ] epitomized this style.<ref>Sullivan (1997), p. 214.</ref> The so-called ] ended in the early 1920s with several changes in rule and circumstance that were advantageous to hitters. Strict new regulations governing the ball's size, shape and composition, coupled with superior materials available after World War I, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit. The construction of additional seating to accommodate the rising popularity of the game often had the effect of bringing the outfield fences closer in, making ] more common.<ref>Zoss (2004), p. 90.</ref> The rise of the legendary player ], the first great power hitter of the new era, helped permanently alter the nature of the game. The club with which Ruth set most of his slugging records, the ], built a reputation as the majors' premier team.<ref>Zoss (2004), p. 192.</ref> In the late 1920s and early 1930s, ] ] ] invested in several ] and developed the first modern "farm system".<ref>Burk (2001), pp. 34–37.</ref> A new ] was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the ]. The ] to the ] took place in 1936. In 1939, ] was founded in Pennsylvania. By the late 1940s, it was the organizing body for ] across the United States. | |||
| ] barnstorming team, November 1945 (photo by Maurice Terrell)|] in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a ] squad associated with the ]'s ]]] | |||
| With America's entry into World War II, many professional players had left to serve in the armed forces. A large number of minor league teams disbanded as a result and the major league game seemed under threat as well. ] owner ] led the formation of a new professional league with women players to help keep the game in the public eye; the ] existed from 1943 to 1954.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lesko, Jeneane|title=League History|url=http://www.aagpbl.org/league/history.cfm|publisher=All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association|year=2005|accessdate=2009-01-29}}</ref> The inaugural ] was held in 1947, and the ] youth program was founded. This program soon became another important organizing body for children's baseball. The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled professional ball occurred the previous year: ] was signed by the National League's ]—where Branch Rickey had become general manager—and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal.<ref>Burgos (2007), p. 158.</ref> In 1947, Robinson broke the major leagues' color barrier when he debuted with the Dodgers. ] debuted with the American League's ] the same year.<ref>Burgos (2007), pp. 180, 191.</ref> ]n players, largely overlooked before, also started entering the majors in greater numbers. In 1951, two Chicago White Sox, Venezuelan-born ] and Cuban-born (and black) ], became the first Hispanic ].<ref name="P111">Powers (2003), p. 111.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Baseball: White Sox and Fans Speak Same Language, With a Spanish Accent|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3DD113FF935A15753C1A9639C8B63|work=New York Times|date=October 26, 2005|accessdate=2009-02-04}}</ref> | |||
| Facing competition as varied as television and ], baseball attendance at all levels declined; while the majors rebounded by the mid-1950s, the minor leagues were gutted and hundreds of semipro and amateur teams dissolved.<ref>Rader (2008), p. 3; Bjarkman (2005), p. xxxvii.</ref><ref name="Simm">Simmons, Rob, "The Demand for Spectator Sports", in ''Handbook on the Economics of Sport'', ed. Wladimir Andreff and Stefan Szymanski (Edward Elgar, 2006), pp. 77–89.</ref> ] proceeded slowly: by 1953, only six of the sixteen major league teams had a black player on the roster.<ref name="P111"/> That year, the ] was founded. It was the first professional baseball union to survive more than briefly, but it remained largely ineffective for years.<ref>Powers (2003), p. 170.</ref> No major league team had been located west of ] until 1958, when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants relocated to ] and ], respectively.<ref>Burgos (2007), p. 215.</ref> The majors' final all-white bastion, the ], added a black player in 1959.<ref name="P111"/> With the integration of the majors drying up the available pool of players, the last Negro league folded the following year.<ref>Heaphy (2003), pp. 121, 218–224.</ref> In 1961, the American League reached the West Coast with the ] ], and the major league season was extended from 154 games to 162. This coincidentally helped ] break Babe Ruth's long-standing single-season home run record, one of the most celebrated marks in baseball.<ref>Koppett (2004), pp. 307, 308; Sullivan (2002), pp. 163, 164.</ref> Along with the Angels, three other new franchises were launched during 1961–62; with this, the first major league expansion in sixty years, each league now had ten teams. | |||
| ====Attendance records and the age of steroids==== | |||
| The players' union became bolder under the leadership of former ] chief economist and negotiator ], who was elected executive director in 1966.<ref>Powers (2003), pp. 170, 172–175.</ref> On the playing field, major league pitchers were becoming increasingly dominant again. After the 1968 season, in an effort to restore balance, the ] was reduced and the height of the ] was lowered. The following year, both the National and American leagues added two more expansion teams; the leagues were reorganized into two divisions each, and a post-season playoff system leading to the World Series was instituted. Also in 1969, ] of the St. Louis Cardinals made the first serious legal challenge to the reserve clause. The major leagues' ] took place in 1972.<ref>Powers (2003), pp. 156–168, 175, 176.</ref> In another effort to add more offense to the game, the American League adopted the ] rule the following year.<ref>Sullivan (2002), p. 239.</ref> In 1975, the union's power—and players' salaries—began to increase greatly when the reserve clause was ], leading to the ].<ref>Powers (2003), pp. 178, 180, 245.</ref> In 1977, two more expansion teams joined the American League. Significant work stoppages occurred again in ] and ], the latter forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in ninety years.<ref>Powers (2003), pp. 184–187, 191, 192, 280–282.</ref> Attendance had been growing steadily since the mid-1970s and in 1994, before the stoppage, the majors were setting their all-time record for per-game attendance.<ref name="Simm"/><ref>Koppett (2004), pp. 376, 511.</ref> | |||
| ] pitcher ], ] of the ] and ]]] | |||
| The addition of two more expansion teams after the 1993 season had facilitated another restructuring of the major leagues, this time into three divisions each. Offensive production—the number of home runs in particular—had surged that year, and again in the abbreviated 1994 season.<ref>Rader (2008), pp. 249, 250.</ref> After play resumed in 1995, this trend continued and non-division-winning ] teams became a permanent fixture of the post-season. Regular-season ] was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was set.<ref>Koppett (2004), p. 481.</ref> The next year, ] and ] ] Maris's decades-old single season home run record and two more expansion franchises were added. In 2000, the National and American leagues were dissolved as legal entities. While their identities were maintained for scheduling purposes (and the designated hitter distinction), the regulations and other functions—such as player discipline and umpire supervision—they had administered separately were consolidated under the rubric of ] (MLB).<ref>Koppett (2004), p. 489.</ref> | |||
| In 2001, ] established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. There had long been suspicions that the dramatic increase in power hitting was fueled in large part by ] (as well as by the dilution of pitching talent due to expansion), but the issue only began attracting significant media attention in 2002 and there was no penalty for the use of performance-enhancing drugs before 2004.<ref>Rader (2008), pp. 254, 271; Zimbalist (2007), pp. 195, 196.</ref> In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing ], as total major league and minor league attendance both reached all-time highs.<ref name="MajorAtRec">{{cite web|title=MLB Regular-Season Attendance Just Shy Of Last Year's Record|url=http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/124427|work=Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily|accessdate=2009-01-29}}</ref><ref name="MinorAtRec">{{cite web|title=Minor League Baseball History|url=http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/history/|publisher=Minor League Baseball|accessdate=2009-01-29}}</ref> Even though McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds—as well as many other players, including storied pitcher ]—have been implicated in the ], their feats and those of other sluggers had become the major leagues' defining attraction.<ref>Powers (2003), pp. 292–293; Rader (2008), pp. 254, 271, 275–277.</ref> In contrast to the professional game's resurgence in popularity after the 1994 interruption, Little League enrollment was in decline: after peaking in 1996, it dropped 1 percent a year over the following decade.<ref>{{cite web|author=Hilgers, Laura|title=Youth Sports Drawing More than Ever|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/03/rise.kids.sports/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=July 5, 2006|accessdate=2009-01-29}}</ref> | |||
| ===Baseball around the world{{Anchor|Around-the-world}}=== | |||
| {{Main|History of baseball outside the United States}} | |||
| {{See also|Baseball in Cuba|Baseball in Japan|Baseball in the United Kingdom}} | |||
| Baseball, widely known as America's pastime, is well-established in several other countries as well. The history of baseball in ] has remained closely linked with that of the sport in the United States. As early as 1877, a professional league, the International Association, featured teams from both countries.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), p. 73; Burk (2001), p. 58.</ref> While baseball is widely played in Canada, and many minor league teams have been based in the country, the American major leagues did not include a Canadian club until 1969, when the ] joined the National League as an expansion team. In 1977, the expansion ] joined the American League. The Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992 and 1993, the first and still the only club from outside the United States to do so. After the 2004 season, Major League Baseball relocated the Expos to Washington, D.C., where the team is now known as the ]. | |||
| ] managing the ] in the ]. Playing for the ]'s ] (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs.]] | |||
| The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in ], which maintains a rich baseball tradition and whose national team has been one of the world's strongest since international play began in the late 1930s. (All organized baseball in the country has officially been amateur since the ].) The ] held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. xxiv.</ref> Professional baseball tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including the ] (formed in 1922), ] (1934), ] (1936), ] (1937), and ] (1938).<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. 356, 123, 137, xxiv, 11, 233; Gmelch (2006), p. 296.</ref> The ]—the ] and ]—have long been considered the highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States.<ref>McNeil (2000), p. 113.</ref> Japan has a professional minor league system as well, though it is much smaller than the American version—each team has only one farm club in contrast to MLB teams' four or five.<ref name=RW>{{cite web|author=Whiting, Robert|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20070411c1.html|title=Is the MLB Destroying Japan's National Pastime?|date=April 11, 2007|accessdate=2009-02-08|work=Japan Times}}</ref> | |||
| After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many ]n nations, most prominently ] (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955).<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. xxiv, xxv; Burgos (2007), p. 46.</ref> Since the early 1970s, the annual ] has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin American winter leagues: the ], ], ], and ]. In ], ] (1982), ] (1990), and ] (2003) all have professional leagues.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. 362, 368; Gmelch (2006), pp. 100, 75, 59.</ref> | |||
| Many European countries have professional leagues as well, the most successful, other than the ], being the ] founded in 1948.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. xv.</ref> Compared to those in Asia and Latin America, the various European leagues and the one in Australia historically have had no more than niche appeal. In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the ]. The ], launched in 2007, folded after one season.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mayo, Jonathan|title=Perspective: Baseball in the Holy Land|url=http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090127&content_id=501366&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp|publisher=Minor League Baseball|date=January 28, 2009|accessdate=2009-02-05}}</ref> The Confédération Européene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes a number of competitions between clubs from different countries, as well as national squads. Other competitions between national teams, such as the ] and the ], have been administered by the ] (IBAF) since its formation in 1938. As of 2009, the IBAF has 117 member countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=International Baseball Federation (Confederations/Member Federations)|url=http://www.ibaf.org/|publisher=International Baseball Federation|accessdate=2009-02-03}}</ref> ] is played on an organized amateur basis in many of the countries where it is a leading men's sport. Since 2004, the IBAF has sanctioned the ], featuring national teams. | |||
| After being admitted to the Olympics as a ] beginning with the ], baseball was dropped from the ] at the 2005 ] ]. It remained part of the ]. The elimination of baseball, along with softball, from the 2012 Olympic program enabled the IOC to consider adding two different sports, but none received the votes required for inclusion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fewer Sports for London Olympics |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/4658925.stm |publisher=BBC News|date=July 8, 2005|accessdate=2008-09-16}}</ref> While the sport's lack of a following in much of the world was a factor, more important was Major League Baseball's reluctance to have a break during the Games to allow its players to participate, as the ] now does during the ]. Such a break is more difficult for MLB to accommodate because it would force the playoffs deeper into cold weather.<ref>{{cite web|author=McCauley, Janie|title=MLB Wants Baseball Back in Olympics|url= http://sports.washingtontimes.com/olympics/story.asp?i=20080823052519503044708&ref=rec&tm=&src=OLYMPICS_DOLY_BBO|publisher=Associated Press (''Washington Times'')|date=August 23, 2008|accessdate=2009-02-03}}</ref> Seeking reinstatement for the ], the IBAF proposed an abbreviated competition designed to facilitate the participation of top players, but the effort failed.<ref>{{cite web|author=Wilson, Stephen|title=Softball Again Misses the Cut for Olympic Games|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2009-08-13-oly-golf-softball-2016_N.htm|publisher=Associated Press (''USA Today'')|date=August 13, 2009|accessdate=2009-08-13}}</ref> Major League Baseball initiated the ], scheduled to precede the major league season, partly as a replacement, high-profile international tournament. The ], held in March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature a significant number of MLB participants.<ref>{{cite web|author=Isidore, Chris|title=The Spring Classic? |url= http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/10/commentary/column_sportsbiz/sportsbiz/index.htm|publisher=CNNMoney.com|date=March 11, 2006|accessdate=2009-02-03}} {{cite web|author=McNeal, Stan|title=Your Guide to the '06 World Baseball Classic |url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_9_230/ai_n26780488?tag=content;col1|work=Sporting News |publisher=CBS Interactive|date=March 3, 2006|accessdate=2009-02-03}}</ref> | |||
| ==Rules and gameplay== | |||
| {{Main|Baseball rules}} | |||
| A game is played between two teams, each composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (] or hitting) and defense (fielding or pitching). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an ]; there are nine innings in a game. One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning; the other team—customarily the home team—bats in the bottom, or second half, of every inning. The goal of a game is to score more points (]) than the other team. The players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by circling, or completing a tour of, the four bases set at the corners of the square-shaped ]. A player bats at ] and must proceed ] to first base, second base, third base, and back home in order to score a run. The team in the field attempts both to prevent runs from scoring and to record ], which remove opposing players from offensive action until their turn in their team's ] comes up again. When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, ] are played to resolve the contest. Children's games are often scheduled for fewer than nine innings.<ref>Thurston (2000), p. 15; {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/foreword.jsp|title=Official Rules/Foreword|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|title=Official Rules/1.00—Objectives of the Game (Rules 1.01–1.03)|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/02_definition_of_terms.pdf|title=Official Rules/2.00—Definitions of Terms|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/04_starting_ending_game.pdf|title=Official Rules/4.00—Starting and Ending a Game (Rule 4.10)|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| ] (the term ''diamond'' may be used to refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field). The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games; children often play on smaller fields.]] | |||
| The game is played on a field whose primary boundaries, the foul lines, extend forward from home plate at 45-degree angles. The 90-degree area within the foul lines is referred to as fair territory; the 270-degree area outside them is foul territory. The part of the field enclosed by the bases and several yards beyond them is the ]; the area farther beyond the infield is the ]. In the middle of the infield is a raised pitcher's mound, with a rectangular rubber plate (the rubber) at its center. The outer boundary of the outfield is typically demarcated by a raised fence, which may be of any material and height (many amateur games are played on fields without a fence). Fair territory between home plate and the outfield boundary is baseball's field of play, though significant events can take place in foul territory, as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|title=Official Rules/1.00—Objectives of the Game (Rules 1.04–1.07)|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/02_definition_of_terms.pdf|title=Official Rules/2.00—Definitions of Terms|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| There are three basic tools of baseball: the ], the ], and the ]: | |||
| *The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches (23 centimeters) in circumference. It has a rubber or cork center, wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide, with red stitching.<ref>Porterfield (2007), p. 23; {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|title=Official Rules/1.00—Objectives of the Game (Rule 1.09)|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| *The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a single, solid piece of wood; other materials are now commonly used for nonprofessional games. It is a hard round stick, about 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around 34 inches (86 centimeters) long, and not longer than 42 inches (106 centimeters).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|title=Official Rules/1.00—Objectives of the Game (Rule 1.10a)|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|author=Fitzgerald, Stephen et al.|url=http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2005/0176531.html|title=Polymer Composite Baseball Bat Endcap (U.S. Patent Application 20050176531)|date=November 8, 2005|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=FreePatentsOnline.com}}</ref> | |||
| *The glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the specific needs of different fielding positions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|title=Official Rules/1.00—Objectives of the Game (Rules 1.12–1.15)|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| Protective helmets are also standard equipment for all batters.<ref>Thurston (2000), pp. 21, 30, 31; {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|title=Official Rules/1.00—Objectives of the Game (Rule 1.16)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players on the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the ], stands on the pitcher's mound; the pitcher begins the pitching delivery with one foot on the rubber, pushing off it to gain velocity when throwing toward home plate. Another player, the ], squats on the far side of home plate, facing the pitcher. The rest of the team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielders—who set up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines between first, second, and third base—and three outfielders. In the ], there is a ] positioned several steps to the left of first base, a ] to the right of second base, a ] to the left of second base, and a ] to the right of third base. The basic outfield positions are ], ], and ]. A neutral ] sets up behind the catcher.<ref>Porterfield (2007), pp. 16–18, 25, 34, 35; {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/09_the_umpire.pdf|title=Official Rules/9.00—The Umpire (Rule 9.03a)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| ] | |||
| Gameplay starts with a batter standing at home plate, holding a bat. The batter waits for the pitcher to throw a pitch (the ball) toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball with the bat. The catcher catches pitches that the batter does not hit—as a result of either electing not to swing or failing to connect—and returns them to the pitcher. A batter who hits the ball into the field of play must drop the bat and begin running toward first base, at which point the player is referred to as a ''runner'' (or, until the play is over, a ''batter-runner''). A batter-runner who reaches first base without being ] (see below) is said to be ''safe'' and is now on base. A batter-runner may choose to remain at first base or attempt to advance to second base or even beyond—however far the player believes can be reached safely. A player who reaches base despite proper play by the fielders has recorded a ]. A player who reaches first base safely on a hit is credited with a ]. If a player makes it to second base safely as a direct result of a hit, it is a ]; third base, a ]. If the ball is hit in the air within the foul lines over the entire outfield (and outfield fence, if there is one), it is a ]: the batter and any runners on base may all freely circle the bases, each scoring a run. This is the most desirable result for the batter. A player who reaches base due to a fielding mistake is not credited with a hit—instead, the responsible fielder is charged with an ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/05_putting_ball_in_play.pdf|title=Official Rules/5.00—Putting the Ball in Play. Live Ball|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|title=Official Rules/6.00—The Batter (Rule 6.09)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|title=Official Rules/10.00—The Official Scorer (Rules 10.06, 10.12)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| Any runners already on base may attempt to advance on batted balls that land, or contact the ground, in fair territory, before or after the ball lands; a runner on first base ''must'' attempt to advance if a ball lands in play. If a ball hit into play rolls foul before passing through the infield, it becomes ] and any runners must return to the base they were at when the play began. If the ball is hit in the air and caught before it lands, the batter has ] and any runners on base may attempt to advance only if they ] or touch the base they were at when the play began, as or after the ball is caught. Runners may also attempt to advance to the next base while the pitcher is in the process of delivering the ball to home plate—a successful effort is a ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/02_definition_of_terms.pdf|title=Official Rules/2.00—Definitions of Terms|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/05_putting_ball_in_play.pdf|title=Official Rules/5.00—Putting the Ball in Play. Live Ball (Rule 5.09e)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|title=Official Rules/6.00—The Batter (Rule 6.05a)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/07_the_runner.pdf|title=Official Rules/7.00—The Runner (Rules 7.08d, 7.10a)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|title=Official Rules/10.00—The Official Scorer (Rule 10.07)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| A pitch that is not hit into the field of play is called either a strike or a ball. A batter against whom three strikes are recorded ]. A batter against whom four balls are recorded is awarded a ] or walk, a free advance to first base. (A batter may also freely advance to first base if any part of the batter's body or uniform is struck by a pitch before the batter either swings at it or it contacts the ground.) Crucial to determining balls and strikes is the umpire's judgment as to whether a pitch has passed through the ], a conceptual area above home plate extending from the midpoint between the batter's shoulders and belt down to the hollow of the knee.<ref name="MLBR2">{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/02_definition_of_terms.pdf|title=Official Rules/2.00—Definitions of Terms|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| A strike is called when one of the following happens: | |||
| *The batter lets a well-pitched ball (one within the strike zone) go through to the catcher. | |||
| *The batter swings at any ball (even one outside the strike zone) and misses. | |||
| *The batter hits a ]—one that either initially lands in foul territory or initially lands within the diamond but moves into foul territory before passing first or third base. If there are already two strikes on the batter, a foul ball is not counted as a third strike; thus, a foul ball cannot result in the immediate strikeout of the batter. (There is an exception to this exception: a two-strike foul ] is recorded as a third strike.) | |||
| A ball is called when the pitcher throws a pitch that is outside the strike zone, provided the batter has not swung at it.<ref name="MLBR2"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|title=Official Rules/6.00—The Batter (Rule 6.08)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/09_the_umpire.pdf|title=Official Rules/9.00—The Umpire (Rules 9.02a, 9.04a)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| ] tries to ] a runner who is sliding headfirst, attempting to reach second base.]] | |||
| While the team at bat is trying to score runs, the team in the field is attempting to record outs. Among the various ways a member of the batting team may be put out, five are most common: | |||
| *The ]: as described above, recorded against a batter who makes three strikes before putting the ball into play or being awarded a free advance to first base. | |||
| *The ]: as described above, recorded against a batter who hits a ball in the air that is caught by a fielder, whether in fair territory or foul territory, before it lands, whether or not the batter has run. | |||
| *The ]: recorded against a batter (in this case, batter-runner) who hits a ball that lands in fair territory which, before the batter-runner can reach first base, is retrieved by a fielder who touches first base while holding the ball or relays it to another fielder who touches first base while holding the ball. | |||
| *The ]: recorded against a runner who is required to attempt to advance—either because the runner is on first base and a batted ball lands in fair territory, or because the runner immediately behind on the basepath is thus required to attempt to advance—but fails to reach the next base before a fielder touches the base while holding the ball. The ground out is technically a special case of the force out. | |||
| *The ]: recorded against a runner who is touched by a fielder with the ball or a glove holding the ball, while the runner is not touching a base. | |||
| It is possible to record two outs in the course of the same play—a ]; even three—a ]—is possible, though this is very rare. Players put out or retired must leave the field, returning to their team's ] or bench. A runner may be stranded on base when a third out is recorded against another player on the team. Stranded runners do not benefit the team in its next turn at bat—every half-inning begins with the bases empty of runners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|title=Official Rules/6.00—The Batter (Rule 6.05)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/07_the_runner.pdf|title=Official Rules/7.00—The Runner (Rules 7.08, 7.10)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| An individual player's turn batting or ] is complete when the player reaches base (or hits a home run), makes an out, or hits a ball that results in the team's third out, even if it is recorded against a teammate. On rare occasions, a batter may be at the plate when, without the batter's hitting the ball, a third out is recorded against a teammate—for instance, a runner getting ] (tagged out attempting to steal a base). A batter with this sort of incomplete plate appearance starts off the team's next turn batting; any balls or strikes recorded against the batter the previous inning are erased. A runner may circle the bases only once per plate appearance and thus can score at most a single run per batting turn. Once a player has completed a plate appearance, that player may not bat again until the eight other members of his team have all taken their turn at bat. The batting order is set before the game begins, and may not be altered except for substitutions. Once a player has been removed for a substitute, that player may not reenter the game. Children's games often have more liberal substitution rules.<ref>Thurston (2000), p. 100; {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/03_game_preliminaries.pdf|title=Official Rules/3.00—Game Preliminaries (Rule 3.03)|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}} {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|title=Official Rules/6.00—The Batter (Rules 6.01, 6.04)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| If the ] (DH) rule is in effect, each team has a tenth player whose sole responsibility is to bat (and run). The DH takes the place of another player—almost invariably the pitcher—in the batting order, but does not field. Thus, even with the DH, each team still has a batting order of nine players and a fielding arrangement of nine players.<ref>Porterfield (2007), p. 19; Thurston (2000), p. 153; {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|title=Official Rules/6.00—The Batter (Rule 6.10)|accessdate=2009-02-03|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| ==Personnel== | |||
| ===Player rosters=== | |||
| ]s warming up, overseen by a ]. A ] will often have both a right-handed and a left-handed reliever warm up to maximize strategic options.]] | |||
| Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different levels of organized play. Major League Baseball teams maintain twenty-five-player active rosters. A typical twenty-five-man roster in a league without the DH rule, such as MLB's National League, features:<ref>See, e.g., {{cite web|author=Billson, Marky|url=http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/03/25/12/1731-82/index.xml|title=Breaking Down the Mets Roster|date=2009-03-25|accessdate=2009-04-21|work=Metro}} {{cite web|url=http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20090404&content_id=4127882&vkey=pr_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was|title=Nationals Finalize 25-Man Roster|date=2009-04-04|accessdate=2009-04-21|publisher=Washington Nationals/Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| *eight ]s—catcher, four infielders, three outfielders—who play on a regular basis | |||
| *five ]s who constitute the team's pitching rotation or starting rotation | |||
| *six ]s, including one specialist ], who constitute the team's ] (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up) | |||
| *one backup, or substitute, catcher | |||
| *two backup infielders | |||
| *two backup outfielders | |||
| *one specialist ], or a second backup catcher, or a seventh reliever | |||
| ===Other personnel=== | |||
| The ], or head coach of a team, oversees the team's major strategic decisions, such as establishing the starting rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each game, and making substitutions during games—in particular, bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are typically assisted by two or more ]; they may have specialized responsibilities, such as working with players on hitting, fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning. At most levels of organized play, two coaches are stationed on the field when the team is at bat: the first base coach and third base coach, occupying designated coaches' boxes just outside the foul lines, assist in the direction of baserunners when the ball is in play, and relay tactical signals from the manager to batters and runners during pauses in play.<ref>Walfoort, Cleon, "Most 'Signs' Given by Coaches Are Merely Camouflage", ''Baseball Digest'', December 1960–January 1961, pp. 47–49.</ref> In contrast to many other team sports, baseball managers and coaches generally wear their team's uniforms; coaches must be in uniform in order to be allowed on the playing field during a game.<ref>"The Fans Speak Out" , ''Baseball Digest'', August 1999, pp. 9–10; {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/03_game_preliminaries.pdf|title=Official Rules/3.00—Game Preliminaries (Rule 3.15)|accessdate=2009-04-27|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| Any baseball game involves one or more ], who make rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires may be stationed near the other bases, thus making it easier to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In Major League Baseball, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In the playoffs, six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul lines.<ref>Zoss (2004), p. 293; {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/09_the_umpire.pdf|title=Official Rules/9.00—The Umpire|accessdate=2009-02-18|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| ==Strategy and tactics== | |||
| Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.<ref>{{cite web|author=Bast, Andrew|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/146842|title=Southpaw’s Revenge|date=July 18, 2008|accessdate=2009-02-08|work=Newsweek}}</ref> A manager with several left-handed batters in the regular lineup who knows the team will be facing a left-handed starting pitcher may respond by starting one or more of the right-handed backups on the team's roster. During the late innings of a game, as relief pitchers and pinch hitters are brought in, the opposing managers will often go back and forth trying to create favorable matchups with their substitutions: the manager of the fielding team trying to arrange same-handed pitcher-batter matchups, the manager of the batting team trying to arrange opposite-handed matchups. With a team that has the lead in the late innings, a manager may remove a starting position player—especially one whose turn at bat is not likely to come up again—for a more skillful fielder.<ref>See, e.g., Davis, Hank, ''Small-town Heroes: Images of Minor League Baseball'' (Univ. of Iowa Press, 1997), p. 186.</ref> | |||
| ===Pitching and fielding tactics=== | |||
| ] receives a ] throw, as the runner dives back to first base.]] | |||
| The tactical decision that precedes almost every play in a baseball game involves pitch selection. Among the wide variety of pitches that may be thrown, the four basic types are the ], the ] (or off-speed pitch), and two ]s—the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite web|author=Walsh, John|url=http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/fastball-slider-changeup-curveball-an-analysis/|title=Fastball, Slider, Change-up, Curveball—An Analysis|date=December 20, 2007|accessdate=2009-02-21|publisher=Hardball Times}}</ref> Pitchers have different repertoires of pitches they are skillful at throwing. Conventionally, before each pitch, the catcher signals the pitcher what type of pitch to throw, as well as its general vertical and/or horizontal location.<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), p. 192.</ref> If there is disagreement on the selection, the pitcher may ] and the catcher will call for a different pitch. With a runner on base and ], the pitcher may attempt a ], a quick throw to a fielder ] to keep the runner's lead in check or, optimally, effect a tag out. If an attempted stolen base is anticipated, the catcher may call for a ], a ball thrown deliberately off the plate, allowing the catcher to catch it while standing and throw quickly to a base.<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), pp. 126–132.</ref> Facing a batter with a strong tendency to hit to one side of the field, the fielding team may employ a ], with most or all of the fielders moving to the left or right of their usual positions. With a runner on third base, the infielders may ], moving closer to home plate to improve the odds of throwing out the runner on a ], though a sharply hit grounder is more likely to carry through a drawn-in infield.<ref name=SB45>Stallings and Bennett (2003), p. 45.</ref> | |||
| ===Batting and baserunning tactics=== | |||
| ] | |||
| Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first base, including the fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of second base. The ] is sometimes employed with a skillful ]: the runner takes off with the pitch drawing the shortstop or second baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the batter to poke the ball through.<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), pp. 5, 46–47.</ref> The ] calls for the batter to focus on making contact with the ball so that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance into ] even at the expense of the batter being thrown out at first—a batter who succeeds is credited with a sacrifice. (A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt to ] for a hit.) A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a ].<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), pp. 42–43, 47–48.</ref> With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a batter may instead concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score—a successful batter in this case gets credit for a ].<ref name=SB45/> The manager will sometimes signal a batter who is ] (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to ], or not swing at, the next pitch.<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), p. 186.</ref> | |||
| ==Distinctive elements== | |||
| Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it is has a following, games such as ] and ], ], ], and ]. All of these sports use a clock; in all of them, gameplay is less individual and more collective; and in none of them is the variation between playing fields nearly as substantial or important. The ] demonstrates that many of baseball's distinctive elements are shared in various ways with its cousin sport. | |||
| ===No clock to kill=== | |||
| In clock-limited sports, games often end with a team that holds the lead ] rather than competing aggressively against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock; a team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time. At almost any turn in any baseball game, the most advantageous strategy is some form of aggressive strategy.<ref>Mount, Nicholas James, "Team Sports", in ''Encyclopedia of Time'', ed. Samuel L. Macey (Taylor & Francis, 1994), pp. 588–590: p. 590.</ref> In contrast, again, the clock comes into play even in the case of multi-day ] and ]: the possibility of a draw often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind to bat defensively, giving up any faint chance at a win to avoid a loss.<ref>Eastaway, Rob, ''What Is a Googly?: The Mysteries of Cricket Explained'' (Anova, 2005), p. 134.</ref> Baseball offers no such reward for conservative batting. | |||
| While nine innings has been the standard since the beginning of professional baseball, the duration of the average major league game has increased steadily through the years. At the turn of the twentieth century, games typically took an hour and a half to play. In the 1920s, they averaged just less than two hours, which eventually ballooned to 2:38 in 1960.<ref name = "HB">{{cite web|author=Bodley, Hal|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/columnist/bodley/2004-02-26-bodley_x.htm|title=Baseball Wants Just a Few More Minutes|date=February 26, 2004|accessdate=2009-02-03|work=USA Today}}</ref> By 1997, the average American League game lasted 2:57 (National League games were about 10 minutes shorter—pitchers at the plate making for quicker outs than designated hitters).<ref name = "JG">{{cite web|author=Greenfield, Jeff|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988721,00.html|title=Midnight Baseball|date=July 13, 1998|accessdate=2009-02-03|work=Time}}</ref> In 2004, Major League Baseball declared that its goal was an average game of merely 2:45.<ref name = "HB"/> The lengthening of games is attributed to longer breaks between half-innings for television commercials, increased offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play with pitchers taking more time between each delivery, and batters stepping out of the box more frequently.<ref name = "HB"/><ref name = "JG"/> Other leagues have experienced similar issues; in 2008, ] took steps aimed at shortening games by 12 minutes from the preceding decade's average of 3:18.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/027087.html|title=Japan's Pro Baseball Teams Start Eco-Project to Cut Energy Use by 6%|date=July 13, 2008|accessdate=2009-02-18|publisher=Japan for Sustainability}}</ref> | |||
| ===Individual focus=== | |||
| For a team sport, baseball places individual players under unusual scrutiny and pressure. In 1915, a baseball instructional manual pointed out that every single pitch, of which there are often more than two hundred in a game, involves an individual, one-on-one contest: "the pitcher and the batter in a battle of wits".<ref>Clarke and Dawson (1915), p. 48.</ref> Contrasting the game with both football and basketball, scholar Michael Mandelbaum argues that "baseball is the one closest in evolutionary descent to the older individual sports".<ref>Mandelbaum (2005), p. 55.</ref> Pitcher, batter, and fielder all act essentially independent of each other. While coaching staffs can signal pitcher or batter to pursue certain tactics, the execution of the play itself is a series of solitary acts. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder is solely responsible for deciding to try to catch it or play it on the bounce and for succeeding or failing. The statistical precision of baseball is both facilitated by this isolation and reinforces it. As described by Mandelbaum, | |||
| <blockquote> | |||
| It is impossible to isolate and objectively assess the contribution each team member makes to the outcome of the play.... very basketball player is interacting with all of his teammates all the time. In baseball, by contrast, every player is more or less on his own.... Baseball is therefore a realm of complete transparency and total responsibility. A baseball player lives in a glass house, and in a stark moral universe.... Everything that every player does is accounted for and everything accounted for is either good or bad, right or wrong.<ref>Mandelbaum (2005), pp. 55–57.</ref> | |||
| </blockquote> | |||
| Cricket is more similar to baseball than many other team sports in this regard: while the individual focus in cricket is mitigated by the importance of the ] and the practicalities of tandem running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy the ] for an hour or much more. There is no statistical equivalent in cricket for the fielding error and thus less emphasis on personal responsibility in this area of play.<ref>Morton, Richard, "Baseball in England", ''Badminton Magazine'', August 1896, pp. 157–158: "The scoring is one of the most interesting features in this new importation from America . Every detail of play is recorded, and a man's mistakes are tabulated as well as his successes.... A line in a cricket score may read, 'Lockwood, ''caught'' Stoddart, ''bowled'' J. T. Hearne; 30.'... here is so much that is left out! There is no mention of the fact that O'Brien missed Lockwood before he had scored, and that somebody else failed to take a chance when his score was ten. These are items that go to make cricket history; but there is no record of them in the analysis.... The man who catches a ball is thought worthy of mention, but the man who muffs one does not suffer by publicity."</ref> | |||
| ===Uniqueness of each baseball park=== | |||
| {{Main|Baseball park}} | |||
| Unlike those of most sports, baseball playing fields can vary significantly in size and shape. While the dimensions of the infield are specifically regulated, the only constraint on outfield size and shape for professional teams following the rules of Major League and Minor League Baseball is that fields built or remodeled since June 1, 1958, must have a minimum distance of {{convert|325|ft|m|0}} from home plate to the fences in left and right field and {{convert|400|ft|m|0}} to center.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|title=Official Rules/1.00—Objectives of the Game. (Rule 1.04a)|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> Major league teams often skirt even this rule. For example, at ], which became the home of the ] in 2000, the ] in left field are only {{convert|315|ft|m|0}} from home plate.<ref>{{cite web|author=Nightengale, Bob|date=August 20, 2008|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-08-20-bestseats-minutemaid_N.htm|title=No. 8: Out in Left Field in Houston's Crawford Boxes|accessdate=2009-02-17|work=USA Today}}</ref> There are no rules at all that address the height of fences or other structures at the edge of the outfield. The most famously idiosyncratic outfield boundary is the left-field wall at Boston's ], in use since 1912: the ] is {{convert|310|ft|m|0}} from home plate down the line and {{convert|37|ft|m|0}} tall.<ref>Powers (2003), p. 85.</ref> | |||
| ], home of the ], from behind third base. The ] is visible at the far left.]] | |||
| Similarly, there are no regulations at all concerning the dimensions of foul territory. Thus a foul fly ball may be entirely out of play in a park with little space between the foul lines and the stands, but a flyout in a park with more expansive foul ground.<ref>Powers (2003), p. 219.</ref> A fence in foul territory that is close to the outfield line will tend to direct balls that strike it back toward the fielders, while one that is farther away may actually prompt more collisions, as outfielders run full speed to field balls deep in the corner; these variations can make the difference between a double and a triple or ].<ref>Puhalla, Krans, and Goatley (2003), p. 198; {{cite web|author=Shaikin, Bill|date=May 27, 2006|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/27/sports/sp-angels27|title=Guerrero Becomes Mr. Inside|accessdate=2009-02-17|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> The surface of the field is also unregulated. While the diagram in the ''Rules and gameplay'' section above shows a traditional field surfacing arrangement (and the one used by virtually all MLB teams with naturally surfaced fields), teams are free to decide what areas will be grassed or bare.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|title=Official Rules/1.00—Objectives of the Game. (Rule 1.04)|accessdate=2009-02-02|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> Some fields—including several in MLB—use an artificial surface, such as ]. Surface variations can have a significant effect on how ground balls behave and are fielded as well as on baserunning. Similarly, the presence of a roof (seven major league teams play in stadiums with permanent or retractable roofs) can greatly affect how fly balls are played.<ref>{{cite web|author=Shaikin, Bill|date=October 8, 2002|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2002/oct/08/sports/sp-angnote8|title=No Fly Ball Routine in Dome|accessdate=2009-02-17|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> While football and soccer players deal with similar variations of field surface and stadium covering, the size and shape of their fields are much more standardized; the area out-of-bounds on a football or soccer field does not affect gameplay the way foul territory in baseball does, so variations in that regard are largely insignificant.<ref>Puhalla, Krans, and Goatley (2003), p. 207.</ref> | |||
| These physical variations create a distinctive set of playing conditions at each ballpark. Other local factors, such as altitude and climate, can also significantly affect gameplay. A given stadium may acquire a reputation as a pitcher's park or a hitter's park, if one or the other discipline notably benefits from its unique mix of elements. The most exceptional park in this regard is ], home of the ]. Its high altitude—{{convert|5282|ft|m|0}} above sea level—is responsible for giving it the strongest hitter's park effect in the major leagues.<ref>Keri (2007), pp. 295–301.</ref> ], home of the ], is known for its fickle disposition: a hitter's park when the strong winds off ] are blowing out, it becomes more of a pitcher's park when they are blowing in.<ref>{{cite web|author=Gilbert, Steve|date=September 30, 2008|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080930&content_id=3575106|title=Wrigley's Winds Don't Rattle Lowe|accessdate=2009-02-17|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> The absence of a standardized field affects not only how particular games play out, but the nature of team rosters and players' statistical records. For example, hitting a fly ball {{convert|330|ft|m|-1}} into right field might result in a easy catch on the ] at one park, and a home run at another. A team that plays in a park with a relatively short right field, such as the New York Yankees, will tend to stock its roster with left-handed ]s, who can best exploit it. On the individual level, a player who spends most of his career with a team that plays in a hitter's park will gain an advantage in batting statistics over time—even more so if his talents are especially suited to the park.<ref>{{cite web|author=Sheinin, Dave|date=March 26, 2008|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402798.html|title=After Move, a Breaking In Process|accessdate=2009-02-17|work=Washington Post}} See also Powers (2003), p. 85.</ref> | |||
| ==Statistics== | |||
| {{Main|Baseball statistics}} | |||
| Organized baseball lends itself to ] to a greater degree than many other sports. Each play is discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes. In the late nineteenth century, a former cricket player, English-born ] of ], was responsible for the "development of the ], tabular standings, the annual baseball guide, the ], and most of the common statistics and tables used to describe baseball."<ref name=T16>Tygiel (2000), p. 16.</ref> The statistical record is so central to the game's "historical essence" that Chadwick came to be known as Father Baseball.<ref name=T16/> In the 1920s, American newspapers began devoting more and more attention to baseball statistics, initiating what journalist and historian ] describes as a "tectonic shift in sports, as intrigue that once focused mostly on teams began to go to individual players and their statistics lines."<ref>Schwarz (2004), p. 50.</ref> | |||
| The Official Baseball Rules administered by Major League Baseball require the ] to categorize each baseball play unambiguously. The rules provide detailed criteria to promote consistency. The ] is the official basis for both the box score of the game and the relevant statistical records.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|title=Official Rules/10.00—The Official Scorer|accessdate=2009-02-22|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> General managers, managers, and ] use statistics to evaluate players and make strategic decisions. | |||
| ]—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game.]] | |||
| Certain traditional statistics are familiar to most baseball fans. The basic batting statistics include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|title=Official Rules/10.00—The Official Scorer (Rules 10.02a, 10.04, 10.21b)|accessdate=2009-02-22|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| * ]: plate appearances, excluding walks and hit by pitches—where the batter's ability is not fully tested—and sacrifices and sacrifice flies—where the batter intentionally makes an out in order to advance one or more baserunners | |||
| * Hits: times reached base because of a batted, fair ball without fielding error or ] | |||
| * Runs: times circling the bases and reaching home safely | |||
| * ] (RBIs): number of runners who scored due to a batter's action (including the batter, in the case of a home run), except when batter grounded into double play or reached on an error | |||
| * Home runs: hits on which the batter successfully touched all four bases, without the contribution of a fielding error | |||
| * Batting average: hits divided by at bats—the traditional measure of batting ability | |||
| The basic baserunning statistics include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|title=Official Rules/10.00—The Official Scorer (Rule 10.07)|accessdate=2009-02-22|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| * Stolen bases: times advancing to the next base entirely due to the runner's own efforts, generally while the pitcher is preparing to deliver or delivering the ball | |||
| * Caught stealing: times tagged out while attempting to steal a base | |||
| ]—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual ] are named for Young.]] | |||
| The basic pitching statistics include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|title=Official Rules/10.00—The Official Scorer (Rules 10.15, 10.17, 10.19, 10.21a, 10.21e)|accessdate=2009-02-22|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| * ]: games where pitcher was pitching while his team took a lead that it never relinquished, going on to win | |||
| * ]: games where pitcher was pitching while the opposing team took a lead that it never relinquished, going on to win | |||
| * ]: games where the pitcher enters a game led by the pitcher's team, finishes the game without surrendering the lead, is not the winning pitcher, and either (a) the lead was three runs or less when the pitcher entered the game; (b) the potential tying run was on base, at bat, or ]; or (c) the pitcher pitched three or more innings | |||
| * ]: outs recorded while pitching divided by three | |||
| * Strikeouts: times pitching three strikes to a batter | |||
| * ]: wins divided by decisions (wins plus losses) | |||
| * ] (ERA): runs allowed, excluding those resulting from fielding errors, per nine innings pitched | |||
| The basic fielding statistics include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|title=Official Rules/10.00—The Official Scorer (Rules 10.09, 10.10, 10.12, 10.21d)|accessdate=2009-02-22|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| * ]s: times the fielder catches a fly ball, tags or forces out a runner, or otherwise directly effects an out | |||
| * ]: times a putout by another fielder was recorded following the fielder touching the ball | |||
| * ]s: times the fielder fails to make a play that should have been made with common effort, and the batting team benefits as a result | |||
| * ]: putouts plus assists plus errors | |||
| * ]: successful chances (putouts plus assists) divided by total chances | |||
| Among the many other statistics that are kept are those collectively known as ''situational statistics''. For example, statistics can indicate which specific pitchers a certain batter performs best against. If a given situation statistically favors a certain batter, the manager of the fielding team may be more likely to change pitchers or have the pitcher ] the batter in order to face one who is less likely to succeed.<ref>See, e.g., Albert, Jim, and Jay Bennett, "Situational Effects", ch. 4 in ''Curve Ball: Baseball, Statistics, and the Role of Chance in the Game'', 2d ed. (Springer, 2003), pp. 71–110.</ref> | |||
| ===Sabermetrics=== | |||
| '']'' refers to the field of baseball statistical study and the development of new statistics and analytical tools. The term is also used to refer directly to new statistics themselves. The term was coined around 1980 by one of the field's leading proponents, ], and derives from the ] (SABR).<ref>Gray, Scott, ''The Mind of Bill James: How a Complete Outsider Changed Baseball'' (Doubleday, 2006), p. ix.</ref> | |||
| The growing popularity of sabermetrics since the early 1980s has brought more attention to two batting statistics that sabermetricians argue are much better gauges of a batter's skill than batting average:<ref>Guzzo (2007), pp. 20–21, 67; Schwarz (2004), p. 233; Lewis (2003), p. 127.</ref> | |||
| * ] measures a batter's ability to get on base. It is calculated by taking the sum of the batter's successes in getting on base (hits plus walks plus hit by pitches) and dividing that by the batter's total plate appearances (at bats plus walks plus hit by pitches plus sacrifice flies), except for sacrifice bunts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|title=Official Rules/10.00—The Official Scorer (Rule 10.21f)|accessdate=2009-02-22|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| * ] measures a batter's ability to hit for power. It is calculated by taking the batter's ] (one per each single, two per double, three per triple, and four per home run) and dividing that by the batter's at bats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|title=Official Rules/10.00—The Official Scorer (Rule 10.21c)|accessdate=2009-02-22|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> | |||
| Some of the new statistics devised by sabermetricians have gained wide use: | |||
| * ] (OPS) measures a batter's overall ability. It is calculated by adding the batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.<ref>Guzzo (2007), pp. 22, 67, 140; Schwarz (2004), p. 233.</ref> | |||
| * ] (WHIP) measures a pitcher's ability at preventing hitters from reaching base. It is calculated exactly as its name suggests.<ref>Guzzo (2007), pp. 140–141.</ref> | |||
| ==Popularity and cultural impact== | |||
| Writing in 1919, philosopher ] described baseball as America's national religion.<ref>Cohen, Morris Raphael, "Baseball as a National Religion" (1919), in Cohen, ''The Faith of a Liberal'' (Transaction, 1993 ), pp. 334–336: p. 334.</ref> In the words of sports columnist ], baseball has long been "a unique paragon of American culture"—a status he sees as devastated by the steroid abuse scandal.<ref>{{cite web|author=Stark, Jayson|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3892788|title=A-Rod Has Destroyed Game's History|date=February 8, 2009|accessdate=2009-02-08|publisher=ESPN.com}}</ref> Baseball has an important place in other national cultures as well: Scholar Peter Bjarkman describes "how deeply the sport is ingrained in the history and culture of a nation such as Cuba, how thoroughly it was radically reshaped and nativized in Japan."<ref>Bjarkman (2004), p. xix.</ref> Since the early 1980s, the Dominican Republic, in particular the city of ], has been the major leagues' primary source of foreign talent.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. 159–165.</ref> Both the local winter league and major league ball are closely followed in Puerto Rico; major league Hall-of-Famer ] remains one of the greatest national heroes in the island's history.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), p. 487.</ref> In the Western Hemisphere, baseball is also one of the leading sports in Canada, ], Mexico, the ], ], ], and Venezuela. In Asia, it is among the most popular sports in South Korea and Taiwan. | |||
| The major league game in the United States was originally targeted toward a middle-class, white-collar audience: relative to other spectator pastimes, the National League's set ticket price of 50 cents in 1876 was high, while the location of playing fields outside the inner city and the workweek daytime scheduling of games were also obstacles to a blue-collar audience.<ref>Riess (1991), pp. 69–71.</ref> A century later, the situation was very different. With the rise in popularity of other team sports with much higher average ticket prices—football, basketball, and hockey—professional baseball had become among the most blue-collar-oriented of leading American spectator sports.<ref>Riess (1991), pp. 247–248.</ref> | |||
| In recent years, baseball's position compared to football in the United States has moved in contradictory directions. In 2008, Major League Baseball set a revenue record of $6.5 billion, matching the NFL's revenue for the first time in decades.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kercheval, Nancy|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=asFEMjfiKA5s|title=Major League Baseball Revenue Reaches Record, Attendance Falls|date=October 1, 2008|accessdate=2009-02-08|publisher=Bloomberg.com}} {{cite web|author=Battista, Judy|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/sports/football/10nfl.html?_r=1&em|title=Feeling Pinch, N.F.L. Will Cut About 150 Jobs|date=December 9, 2008|accessdate=2009-02-08|work=New York Times}} {{cite web|author=Haudricourt, Tom|url=http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/29405374.html|title=Bases Loaded|date=October 20, 2007|accessdate=2009-02-08|work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}}</ref> On the other hand, the percentage of American sports fans polled who named baseball as their favorite sport was 16%, compared to pro football at 31%; in 1985, the respective figures were pro football 24%, baseball 23%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/pubs/Harris_Poll_2009_01_27.pdf|title=Professional Football Continues Dominance over Baseball as America's Favorite Sport|publisher=Harris Interactive|date=January 27, 2009|accessdate=2009-02-08}}</ref> Because there are so many more major league baseball games played, there is no comparison in overall attendance. In 2008, total attendance at major league games was the second-highest in history: 78.6 million, 0.7% off the record set the previous year.<ref name="MajorAtRec"/> Attendance at games held under the ] umbrella also set a record in 2007, with 42.8 million;<ref name="MinorAtRec"/> this figure does not include attendance at games of the several independent minor leagues. | |||
| ] in 1921]] | |||
| In Japan, where baseball is inarguably the leading spectator team sport, combined revenue for the twelve teams in ] (NPB), the body that oversees both the Central and Pacific leagues, was estimated at $1 billion in 2007. Total NPB attendance for the year was approximately 20 million. While in the preceding two decades, MLB attendance grew by 50 percent and revenue nearly tripled, the comparable NPB figures were stagnant. There are concerns that MLB's growing interest in acquiring star Japanese players will hurt the game in their home country.<ref name=RW/> In Cuba, where baseball is by every reckoning the national sport,<ref>González Echevarría (2001), pp. 76, 133, 278–279, 352.</ref> the national team overshadows the city and provincial teams that play in the top-level domestic leagues.<ref name=WW>{{cite web|author= Weissert, Will|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2009-03-05-3277668016_x.htm|title=Cubans' Baseball Dreams Take Root on Rocky Fields|date=March 5, 2009|accessdate=2009-04-28|publisher=Associated Press (''USA Today'')}}</ref> Revenue figures are not released for the country's amateur system; similarly, according to one official pronouncement, the sport's governing authority "has never taken into account attendance...because its greatest interest has always been the development of athletes".<ref>González Echevarría (2001), p. 366.</ref> | |||
| As of 2007, Little League Baseball oversees more than 7,000 children's baseball leagues with more than 2.2 million participants—2.1 million in the United States and 123,000 in other countries.<ref name=MB>{{cite web|author=Bradford, Marcia|title=Expanding Opportunities On The Ball Fields|url=http://www.sportseventsmagazine.com/article/baseballsoftball/207/|work=SportsEvents Magazine|year=2008|accessdate=2009-05-03}}</ref> Babe Ruth League teams have over 1 million participants.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Babe Ruth League|url=http://www.baberuthleague.org/side-indexes/history-main.html|publisher=Babe Ruth League Online|accessdate=2009-01-29}}</ref> According to the president of the International Baseball Federation, between 300,000 and 500,000 women and girls play baseball around the world, including Little League and the introductory game of ].<ref>{{cite web|author= Frommer, Frederic J|url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Apr06/0,4670,OLYBaseballBid,00.html|title=Baseball to Add Women to Olympic Bid|date=April 6, 2009|accessdate=2009-04-29|publisher=Associated Press (FOX News)}}</ref> | |||
| A varsity baseball team is an established part of ] departments at most high schools and colleges in the United States. In 2008, nearly half a million high schoolers and over 35,000 collegians played on their schools' baseball teams.<ref name=MB/> The number of Americans participating in baseball has declined since the late 1980s, falling well behind the number of soccer participants.<ref>{{cite web|author= Badenhausen, Kurt|url=http://www.forbes.com/2004/04/13/cz_kb_0413match.html|title=Soccer Vs. Baseball|date=April 13, 2004|accessdate=2009-05-03|work=Forbes}}</ref> By early in the 20th century, intercollegiate baseball was Japan's leading sport. Today, ] in particular is immensely popular there.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), p. xxiv; Gmelch (2006), pp. 23, 53.</ref> The final rounds of the two annual tournaments—the ] in the spring, and the even more important ] in the summer—are broadcast around the country. The tournaments are known, respectively, as Spring Koshien and Summer Koshien after the ] where they are played.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ellsesser, Stephen|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060810&content_id=1602960|title=Summer Tournament is Big in Japan|date=August 11, 2006|accessdate=2009-04-28|publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> In Cuba, baseball is a mandatory part of the state system of physical education, which begins at age six. Talented children as young as seven are sent to special district schools for more intensive training—the first step on a ladder whose acme is the national baseball team.<ref name=WW/> | |||
| ===Baseball in popular culture=== | |||
| Baseball has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the United States and elsewhere. Dozens of ]; in particular, the game is the source of a number of widely used ]. The first networked radio broadcasts in North America were of the ]: famed sportswriter ] announced ] from New York City's ] on ]–], which was connected by wire to ]–], and ]–].<ref>Rudel (2008), pp. 145–146.</ref> The ] has become a ubiquitous fashion item not only in the United States and Japan, but also in countries where the sport itself is not particularly popular, such as the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lam, Andrew|url=http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=96855813a910dda0453a6675c0d934f6l|title=Too Much Self Esteem Spoils Your Child|publisher=New America Media|date=July 6, 2007|accessdate=2009-05-02}} {{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3660333.stm|title=Happy 50th, Baseball Caps|publisher=BBC News|date=April 27, 2004|accessdate=2009-05-02}}</ref> | |||
| ]'s line of baseball cards featured shortstop ] of the ] from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, ] sold for $2.8 million.<ref>{{cite web |first= |last= |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3007893 |title= Honus Wagner Card Sells for Record $2.8 Million |publisher=Associated Press (ESPN)|date=September 6, 2007|accessdate=2009-05-03}}</ref>]] | |||
| Baseball has inspired many works of art and entertainment. One of the first major examples, ]'s poem "]", appeared in 1888. A wry description of the failure of a star player in what would now be called a "clutch situation", the poem became the source of ] and other staged performances, audio recordings, film adaptations, and an opera, as well as a host of sequels and parodies in various media. There have been many ], including the ]–winning '']'' (1942) and the Oscar nominees '']'' (1984) and '']'' (1989). The ]'s selection of the ten best sports movies includes ''The Pride of the Yankees'' at number 3 and '']'' (1988) at number 5.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/10top10/sports.html|title=AFI 10 Top 10—Top 10 Sports|publisher=American Film Institute|date=June 17, 2008|accessdate=2009-05-02}}</ref> Baseball has provided thematic material for hits on both stage—the ]–] musical '']''—and record—]'s "Slide, Kelly, Slide", ]'s "]", and ]'s '']''.<ref>Zoss (2004), pp. 373–374.</ref> The baseball-founded comedic sketch "]", introduced by ] in 1938, quickly became famous. Six decades later, '']'' named it the best comedy routine of the twentieth century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,36533,00.html|title=The Best of the Century|work=Time|date=December 26, 1999|accessdate=2009-05-02}}</ref> | |||
| The game's rich literary tradition includes the short fiction of ] and novels such as ]'s '']'' (the source for the movie), ]'s '']'', and ]'s '']'' (the source for ''Field of Dreams''). Baseball's literary canon also includes the beat reportage of ]; the columns of Grantland Rice, ], ], and ]; and the essays of ]. Among the celebrated nonfiction books in the field are ]'s '']'', ]'s '']'', and ]'s '']''. The 1970 publication of major league pitcher ]'s tell-all chronicle '']'' is considered a turning point in the reporting of professional sports.<ref>{{cite web|author=Neyer, Rob|url=http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/ballfour/neyer.html|title='Ball Four' Changed Sports ''and'' Books|publisher=ESPN.com|date=June 15, 2000|accessdate=2009-05-12}}</ref> | |||
| Baseball has also inspired the creation of new cultural forms. ]s were introduced in the late nineteenth century as ]s; a typical example would feature an image of a baseball player on one side and advertising for a business on the other. In the early 1900s they were produced widely as promotional items by tobacco and confectionary companies. The 1930s saw the popularization of the modern style of baseball card, with a player photograph accompanied on the rear by statistics and biographical data. Baseball cards—many of which are now prized collectibles—are the source of the much broader ] industry, involving similar products for different sports and non-sports-related fields.<ref>Zoss (2004), pp. 16–25.</ref> Modern ] began in 1980 with the invention of ] by New York writer ] and several friends. Participants in a Rotisserie league draft notional teams from the list of active Major League Baseball players and play out an entire imaginary season with game outcomes based on the players' latest real-world statistics. Rotisserie-style play quickly became a phenomenon. Now known more generically as ], it has inspired similar games based on an array of different sports.<ref>Zoss (2004), pp. 27–31.</ref> The field boomed with increasing Internet access and new fantasy sports–related websites; by 2008, 29.9 million people in the United States and Canada were playing fantasy sports, spending $800 million on the hobby.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2008/7/emw1084994.htm|title=Fantasy Sports Industry Grows to a $800 Million Industry with 29.9 Million Players|work=EMediaWire.com|date=July 10, 2008|accessdate=2009-05-03}}</ref> The burgeoning popularity of fantasy baseball is also credited with the increasing attention paid to sabermetrics—first among fans, only later among baseball professionals.<ref>Lewis (2003), pp. 86–88.</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| {{Portal|Baseball}} | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ;Related sports | |||
| * ] (Scandinavian bat-and-ball game) | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] (Russian bat-and-ball game) | |||
| * ] (Romanian bat-and-ball game) | |||
| * ] ("Finnish baseball") | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist|2}} | |||
| ==Sources== | |||
| {{refbegin|2}} | |||
| *{{cite book| last = Bjarkman | first = Peter C. | title = Diamonds Around the Globe: The Encyclopedia of International Baseball| year = 2004 | publisher = Greenwood | isbn = 0313322686| oclc = 58806121}} | |||
| *{{cite book| last = Block | first = David | title = Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game| year = 2005 | publisher =Univ. of Nebraska Press | isbn = 0803262558| oclc = 70261798}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Burgos |first=Adrian |title=Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line |year= 2007|publisher=Univ. of California Press |isbn=0520251431 |oclc=81150202}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Burk |first=Robert F. |title=Never Just a Game: Players, Owners, and American Baseball to 1920 |year= 2001|publisher=Univ. of North Carolina Press|isbn=0807849618 |oclc=28183874 |ISBN-status=May be invalid - please double check}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Charlton|first=James (ed.)|title=The Baseball Chronology: The Complete History of the Most Important Events in the Game of Baseball|year= 1991|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=0025239716|oclc=22704314}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Clarke, William Jones, and Fredrick Thomas Dawson|title=Baseball: Individual Play and Team Play in Detail|year=1915|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|isbn=|oclc=2781766}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Gmelch|first=George|title=Baseball Without Borders: The International Pastime|year=2006|publisher=Univ. of Nebraska Press |isbn=0803271255|oclc=64594333}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=González Echevarría|first=Roberto|title=The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0195146050|oclc=46601626}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Guzzo|first=Glenn|title=The New Ballgame: Baseball Statistics for the Casual Fan|year=2007|publisher=ACTA |isbn=087946318X|oclc=123083947}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Heaphy|first=Leslie A.|title=The Negro Leagues, 1869–1960|year=2003|publisher=McFarland |isbn=0786413808|oclc=50285143}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Keri|first=Jonah (ed.)|title=Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong|year=2007|publisher=Basic|isbn=0465005470|oclc=77795904}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Koppett|first=Leonard|title=Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball|year=2004|publisher=Carroll & Graf |isbn=0786712864|oclc=54674804}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Michael M.|title=Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game|year=2003|publisher=W. W. Norton|isbn=0393324818|oclc=54896532}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Mandelbaum|first=Michael|title=The Meaning of Sports: Why Americans Watch Baseball, Football, and Basketball and What They See When They Do|year=2005|publisher=PublicAffairs|isbn=1586483307|oclc=55539339}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=McNeil|first=William|title=Baseball's Other All-Stars: The Greatest Players from the Negro Leagues, the Japanese Leagues, the Mexican League, and the Pre-1960 Winter Leagues in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic|year=2000|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0786407840|oclc=42976826}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Porterfield|first=Jason|title=Baseball: Rules, Tips, Strategy, and Safety|year=2007|publisher=Rosen |isbn=1404209913|oclc=67773742|ISBN-status=May be invalid - please double check}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Powers|first=Albert Theodore|title=The Business of Baseball|year=2003|publisher=McFarland|isbn=078641426X|oclc=50866929}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Puhalla, Jim, Jeff Krans, and Mike Goatley|title=Baseball and Softball Fields: Design, Construction, Renovation, and Maintenance|year=2003|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=0471447935|oclc=50959054}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Rader|first=Benjamin G.|title=Baseball: A History of America's Game|edition=3rd|year=2008|publisher=Univ. of Illinois Press|isbn=0252075501|oclc=176980876}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Riess|first=Steven A.|title=City Games: The Evolution of American Urban Society and the Rise of Sports|year=1991|publisher=Univ. of Illinois Press|isbn=0252062167|oclc=23739530}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Rudel|first=Anthony J.|title=Hello, Everybody!: The Dawn of American Radio|year=2008|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=015101275X|oclc=192042215}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Schwarz|first=Alan|title=The Numbers Game: Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics|year=2004|publisher=Thomas Dunne|isbn=0312322224|oclc=54692908}} | |||
| *{{cite book|author=Stallings, Jack, and Bob Bennett (eds.)|title=Baseball Strategies: Your Guide to the Game Within the Game|year=2003|publisher=American Baseball Coaches Association/Human Kinetics|isbn=0736042180|oclc=50203866}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Dean (ed.) |title=Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825–1908|year=1997 |publisher=Univ. of Nebraska Press |isbn=0803292449 |oclc=36258074}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Dean (ed.) |title=Middle Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1900–1948|year=1998 |publisher=Univ. of Nebraska Press |isbn=0803242581|oclc=37533976}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Dean (ed.)|title=Late Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1945–1972 |year=2002 |publisher=Univ. of Nebraska Press |isbn=0803292856 |oclc=47643746}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Thurston |first=Bill|title=Coaching Youth Baseball: A Baffled Parents Guide|year=2000 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=0071358226 |oclc=43031493}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Tygiel |first=Jules|title=Past Time: Baseball as History|year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195089588 |oclc=42290019}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Zimbalist |first=Andrew|title=In the Best Interests of Baseball?: The Revolutionary Reign of Bud Selig|year=2007|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=0470128240|oclc=62796332}} | |||
| *{{cite book |last=Zoss |first=Joel|title=Diamonds in the Rough: The Untold History of Baseball |year=2004 |publisher=Univ. of Nebraska Press |isbn=0803299206 |oclc=54611393}} | |||
| {{refend}} | |||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| * Bradbury, J.C. ''The Baseball Economist: The Real Game Exposed'' (Dutton, 2007). ISBN 0525949933 | |||
| * Dickson, Paul. ''The Dickson Baseball Dictionary'', 3d ed. (W. W. Norton, 2009). ISBN 0393066819 | |||
| * Elliott, Bob. ''The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way'' (Sport Classic, 2005). ISBN 1894963407 | |||
| * Euchner, Charles. ''The Last Nine Innings: Inside the Real Game Fans Never See'' (Sourcebooks, 2007). ISBN 1402205791 | |||
| * Fitts, Robert K. ''Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 2005). ISBN 0809326299 | |||
| * ], and ] (eds.). ''The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'', 5th ed. (Sterling, 2008). ISBN 1402760515 | |||
| * ]. '']'', rev. ed. (Simon and Schuster, 2003). ISBN 0743227220 | |||
| * James, Bill. ''The Bill James Handbook 2009'' (ACTA, 2008). ISBN 0879463678 | |||
| * Peterson, Robert. ''Only the Ball was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams'' (Oxford University Press, 1992 ). ISBN 0195076370 | |||
| * Reaves, Joseph A. ''Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia'' (Bison, 2004). ISBN 0803239432 | |||
| * ] '']'', enlarged ed. (Harper, 1992). ISBN 0688112730 | |||
| * ], Mitchel G. Lichtman, and Andrew E. Dolphin, ''The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball'' (Potomac, 2007). ISBN 1597971294 | |||
| * Ward, Geoffrey C., and ]. ''Baseball: An Illustrated History'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 1996). ISBN 0679404597 | |||
| ===Online=== | |||
| * {{cite web|url=http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/22989/baseball-childs-play|title=Baseball: Child's Play (photoessay)|work=Life|accessdate=2009-09-25}} | |||
| * {{cite web|author=Boswell, Thomas|authorlink=Thomas Boswell|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/libvf100.shtml|title=Why Is Baseball So Much Better Than Football?|date=January 18, 1987|work=Washington Post|publisher=Baseball Almanac|accessdate=2009-05-06}} | |||
| * {{cite web|author=Carlin, George|authorlink=George Carlin|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/humor7.shtml|title=Baseball and Football|publisher=Baseball Almanac|accessdate=2009-05-06}} | |||
| * {{cite web|author=Gmelch, George | url = http://www.dushkin.com/olc/genarticle.mhtml?article=27128 | title = Baseball Magic|date=September 2000| publisher = McGraw Hill–Dushkin| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5OHaQX4IE | archivedate = 2007-04-21|accessdate=2009-09-25}} | |||
| * {{cite web|author=Lamster, Mark|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/books/review/10LAMSTER.htmll|title=''Baseball Before We Knew It'': What's the French for 'Juiced'? (book review) |date=April 10, 2005|work=New York Times|accessdate=2009-09-25}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{commons|Baseball|Baseball}} | |||
| {{wikibooks|Baseball}} | |||
| {{Wiktionary|baseball}} | |||
| {{Wikisource1911Enc|Base-ball}} | |||
| ;Leagues and organizations | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ;Statistics and game records | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ;News and other resources | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * PBS documentary directed by Ken Burns | |||
| * European baseball news | |||
| {{Navboxes | |||
| |list1= | |||
| {{Team Sport}} | |||
| {{Professional Baseball}} | |||
| {{MLB}} | |||
| {{World Baseball Classic}} | |||
| {{Olympic Games Baseball}} | |||
| {{International Baseball}} | |||
| }} | |||
| {{featured article}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| {{Link FA|eo}} | |||
| {{Link FA|fr}} | |||
| {{Link FA|ko}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||