IES Pintor Luis Sáez

PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPT.

LESSON: Baseball

COURSE: 3º CSE
NAME:

BASEBALL

HISTORY

Baseball has its origin in the US but comes from English cricket.
In 1845 the first regulation of BASEBALL was written.
In 1992 it was incorporated as an Olympic sport in Barcelona'92.
A variant is the SOFTBALL, which allows greater adaptations to the
circumstances and means (facilities, number of participants, level of
ability, etc.).

BASEBALL FIELD

The baseball field is divided into two parts.

The interior part is an square of about 27m of side in whose angles the
bases are placed. Except for the goal base that has a pentagonal shape,
the rest are squared.

The pitcher's platform is almost in the center of the box at 18m far from
the batter.

The outer part consists of an extension of the sides of the frame with a
minimum length of 75m.

POSITION OF THE DEFENDER TEAM IN THE FIELD

1.- Catcher
2.- Pitcher
3.- First baseman
4.- Second Baseman
5.- Third Baseman
6.- Shortstop
7.- Right Fielder
8.- Center Fielder
9.- Left Fielder

1
HOW DO WE PLAY?

Baseball is a sport practiced between two teams, whose

players, after hitting a ball, try to score as many races as
possible of the 9 innings (per team) of a game

Duration. The teams switch between batting and fielding

whenever the fielding team gets three outs. One turn at bat for
each team constitutes an inning; nine innings make up a
professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the
game wins.

Scoring: The goal of baseball is to score runs by hitting the ball with a bat and touching the four markers
called bases.

What is an inning? (Entrada). One of the nine divisions or periods of a regulation game, in which each
team has a turn at bat, limited by three outs. In an inning, each team will pitch and field while the other
team bats.

What is a run? (Carrera). In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and
third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order.

Exchange. When the batting team gets 3 outs, the other team bats.

Number of players: The game is played between two teams, each

composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting or
hitting) and defense (fielding or pitching). Players on one team (the
batting team) take turns hitting against the pitcher on the other team
(the fielding team), which tries to stop them from scoring runs by
getting batters out in any of several ways.

THE PLAYING RULES

The batter waits for the pitcher to pitch (lanzar) the ball toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball
with the bat.

Strikes and Fouls

A batter may get a strike in 3 different ways:

 The batter swings at any ball (even one outside the strike zone) and misses.( Miss Strike)

 The batter lets a well-pitched ball (one within the strike zone) go through to the catcher.( Strike
not swung )

 The batter hits a foul ball.( Foul Strike)

A "foul" ball is one that is hit so it rolls to the outside of the line from home plate to 1st base or outside
the line from home plate to 3rd base. A ball that is hit within the two lines previously described is a
"fair" ball. A batter never receives a 3rd and final strike for hitting a foul ball. If foul balls are hit after 2

2
strikes are obtained, the batter keeps batting. The exception is that if a foul hit ball (or fair ball) is caught
before it strikes the ground the batter is out (Flyout).

If the batter is awarded 4 balls before striking out or getting out in any other way, they will be given a
"walk". In a walk, the batter is allowed to safely proceed to first base.

A batter may also freely advance to first base if any part of his body or uniform is struck by a pitch
before he either swings at it or it contacts the ground.

The Strike Zone

It is between the knees and the pitcher´shoulders.

Outs

A batter is out when any of the following circumstances occurs:

 They get 3 strikes.

 They hit a ball that is caught before the ball hits the ground.

 The ball is thrown to the first-baseman and the first-baseman touches the base with his foot
while the ball is in his glove or hand.

 Any member of the fielding team tags the batter with the ball or the glove containing the ball
before they get safely to 1st base.

 Any member of the fielding team tags the batter with the ball or the glove containing the ball
when the batter is on their way to 2nd base, 3rd base, or home.

Any base-runner is out if any of the following circumstances occur:

 The base runner is forced out before arriving at the next base.That means that there can only be
one runner on each base at the same time and a runner on a base can try to move to another
one at any time.

 The base runner is tagged out while off base.

TIPS FOR BETTER PLAYING:

Hold on strongly to the bat: it is very important to hold the bat properly in order to hit the ball.
Throwing the ball:: The throws among the Fielders are very important and must be accurate.
Retrieving (Recuperar):It is important for the fielders not only make accurate throws but also
retrieve the ball when thrown.
Defending: The fielders must be concentrated at all times as the runners can change base.

3
GAME TECHNIQUES

Throw: The ball is grasped with the index and middle fingers by its upper part,
while the thumb is supported by its inferior part. The arm is thrown from back
to forth while taking a step forward with the opposite foot. When the step is
completed, the arm is thrown forward while the body rotates to give more
power to the shot. The ball is released over the shoulder with the forearm
parallel to the floor and with the final action of the wrist.

Bat: The player will take the bat by its end with the left hand and attached to it will place the right one.
He should keep his legs shoulder- width, his arms apart from the torso and look at the ball.

BATTING TEAM (OFFENSIVE)

Its aim is to score runs.

The batter tries to win the contest by hitting the ball and helping
his team to score runs.
Actions: Running the Bases
After a batter hits a fair ball, they will attempt to do one of the following:
 Run to 1st base only.
 Run to 1st base, then to 2nd base (called a double).
 Continue past 2nd base and run to 3rd base (called a triple).
 Continue past 3rd base to home plate (called a home run).
In addition, any previous batters that are on one of the bases may advance to subsequent bases and
finally home. A run is scored for each player of the batting team successfully reaching home plate.

PITCHER TEAM (DEFENSIVE)

Pitcher: The pitcher throws the ball from the pitcher's mound aiming to throw it
over a pentagonal rubber slab (loseta) known as the home plate. The pitcher tries
to win the contest by striking the batter out, or by making him hit the ball into the
air so a fielder can catch him out.

Infielder players: The mission of these players is to cut the path of any batted ball trying to eliminate
the player who batted and who has become a runner.
When one of the bases is occupied, the inner player must throw the ball to the teammate of the base to
which the runner is moving to eliminate him.

Outfielder players: Outfielders must cover a lot of ground, so speed and quickness to react to the ball
are important. They must be able to catch fly balls above their head and on the run and throw the ball at
a long distance and accurately.