Baseball Fielding

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 infield; the area farther beyond the infield is the outfield. 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 unfenced fields). 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.

In baseball, an appeal play occurs when a member of the defensive team calls the attention of an umpire to an infraction which he would otherwise ignore.

In baseball, an assist (denoted by A) is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is credited to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball (after it has been hit by the batter) prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional.

In baseball, a catch occurs when a fielder gains secure possession of a batted ball in flight, and maintains possession until he voluntarily or intentionally releases the ball. When a catch occurs, the batter is out, and runners, once they properly tag up (retouch their time-of-pitch base), may attempt to advance at risk of being tagged out.

In baseball, a double play (denoted on statistics sheets by DP) for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two" or a "twin killing".

In baseball statistics, an error is an act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to advance one or more bases or allows an at bat to continue after the batter should have been put out. The term error can also refer to the play during which an error was committed.

In baseball, fielder's choice (abbreviated FC) is a term used to refer to a variety of plays involving an offensive player reaching a base due to the defense's attempt to put out another baserunner, or the defensive team's indifference to his advance. Fielder's choice is not called by the umpires on the field of play; rather, it is recorded by the official scorer to account for the offensive player's advance without crediting him with an offensive statistic such as a hit or stolen base.

In baseball, a force is a situation when a baserunner is compelled (or forced) to vacate his time-of-pitch base—and thus try to advance to the next base—because the batter became a runner. A runner at first base is always forced to attempt to advance to second base when the batter becomes a runner. Runners at second or third base are forced only when all bases preceding their time-of-pitch base are occupied by other baserunners and the batter becomes a runner.

In baseball, the fourth out is a legal out made by the defense after three outs in a half-inning already have been made. According to the rules, the third out does not cause the ball to become dead; if the fielders make a subsequent out that prevents a run from scoring, this out will supersede the apparent third out, thus becoming the recorded third out.

A hidden ball trick is a play in which a player deceives the opposing team about the location of the ball. In the game of baseball, the defense deceives the runner about the location of the ball, in an effort to tag out the runner. In the game of American football, the offense deceives the defense about the location of the ball, in attempt to get the defense running the wrong way, such as in a fumblerooski.

The infield shift is a generic term used in baseball to describe an extreme defensive realignment from the standard positions to blanket one side of the field or another. Used almost exclusively against left-handed batters, it is designed to protect against extra base hits pulled hard into the gaps between the fielders on the right side.

An in-between hop is that term in baseball which indicates a bounced baseball that reaches an infielder at the midpoint of its upward bounce. As a fielder in this instance typically cannot respond to the path of the ball quickly enough, players try to avoid encounters with in-between hops.

In baseball, a pickoff is an act by a pitcher, throwing a live ball to a fielder so that the fielder can tag out a baserunner who is either leading off or about to begin stealing the next base.

A rundown, informally known as a pickle or the hotbox, is a situation in the game of baseball that occurs when the baserunner is stranded between two bases and is in jeopardy of being tagged out. When the base runner attempts to advance to the next base, he is cut off by the defensive player who has a live ball and attempts to return to his previous base before being tagged out.

In baseball, a tag out, sometimes just called a tag, is a play in which a baserunner is out because he is touched by the fielder who is holding a live ball either in hand or glove while the runner is advancing.

In baseball, a triple play (denoted by TP) is the rare act of making three outs during the same continuous play. There are many ways the defensive team can execute a triple play, most occurring with runners on first and second base. Typically, a ball hit to the shortstop or third baseman is fielded, the runner heading to third is forced out or tagged out, the ball is thrown to second base for a force play, and then finally to first to throw out the batter. Another likely sequence is a line drive to the shortstop or second baseman that is caught without the runners noticing or after they have taken large leads (as in the case of a hit and run), the runners then being forced or tagged out when they fail to tag up.

In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three putouts by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Major League Baseball (MLB) under modern rules, doing so on July 19, 1909. For this rare play to be possible there must be no outs in the inning and at least two runners on base.

In baseball and softball, an uncaught third strike (sometimes referred to as dropped third strike) occurs when the catcher fails to cleanly catch a pitch for the third strike. A pitch is considered uncaught if the ball touches the ground before being caught (a bouncing ball), or if the ball is dropped after being grasped.

A wall climb is a play in baseball where a fielder makes an out by catching a fly ball or pop up while climbing a wall. The play is generally made by outfielders robbing hitters of hits that otherwise would have been home runs, or at the very least a double. A wall climb can also be made by outfielders or other position players by climbing the wall in foul territory to make an out.

The wheel play is a baseball strategy designed to defend against a sacrifice bunt (or tap hit) in a close game in situations in which the offense has a runner on second (or sometimes runners on first and second) and there are no outs (or occasionally with one out). This circumstance can make it imperative for the defense to get the lead runner out because the offense can score without a hit if there is a man at third base with less than two outs. The play's name derives from the wheel-like rotation of the infielders.

Outline

SPORTS WORLD

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.

Rules and gameplay: A game is played between two teams, each comprising nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding).

Baseball field: A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played.

Equipment: A rounded, solid wooden or hollow aluminum bat. Wooden bats are traditionally made from ash wood, though maple and bamboo is also sometimes used.

Player rosters: Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different levels of organized play. Major League Baseball teams maintain 25-player active rosters.

Non players: In the game of baseball, the official scorer is a person appointed by the league to record the events on the field, and to send the official scoring record of the game back to the league offices.

Distinctive elements: Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following, including American and Canadian football, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer.

Defensive Play: Baseball is unlike most other competitive sports in that the defense is given control of the ball.

Offensive Play: Batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher.

Batting order (1-9): The batting order or batting lineup is the sequence in which the members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher.

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.
Baseball Positions

SPORTS WORLD

Baseball Positions

At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players on the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound.

Defensive Players

Pitcher (P): The pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk.

Catcher (C): When a batter takes his/her turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher.

First Baseman (1B): First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team.

Second Baseman (2B): The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must be able to make the pivot on a double play.

Third Baseman (3B): The third baseman requires good reflexes in reacting to batted balls, as he or she is often the closest infielder (roughly 90–120 feet) to the batter.

Shortstop (SS): The position is mostly filled by defensive specialists, so shortstops are generally relatively poor batters who bat later in the batting order, with some exceptions.

Left Fielder (LF): Outfielders must cover large distances - speed, instincts, and quickness in reacting to the ball are key. They must be able to catch fly balls above their head and on the run.

Center Fielder (CF): A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field.

Right Fielder (RF): Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound.

Offensive Players

Batter: A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, drive runners home, or advance runners along the bases for others to drive home.

Runner: In general, base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run.

Designated Hitter: The rule allows teams to have one player, known as the designated hitter (abbreviated DH), to bat in place of the pitcher.

Pinch Hitter: Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute.

Pinch Runner: The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted.

Lead Off: A lead or lead off is the short distance that a player stands away from their current base.

Lead Off Hitter: Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must reach base at a proficient on-base percentage rate and be able to steal bases.

Cleanup Hitter: Cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the bases", hence the name.

SPORTS

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.