What Baseball Fans Need to Know

The baseball season is just around the corner, and fans everywhere are getting excited. But what do you really need to know to be a true baseball fan?

America’s Favorite Pastime

Baseball is a game that is enjoyed by many Americans. It is a sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders. Baseball is a game that is easy to understand and can be played by anyone.

The History of Baseball

The game of baseball has been around for centuries, with its roots trace back to England. The first recorded game of baseball was played in Surrey, England in 1749. The game then made its way to North America, where it was popularized in the early 1800s. In 1845, the first official baseball game was played in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Baseball quickly became a popular sport in the United States, and by the late 1800s, professional baseball leagues began springing up all over the country. The first professional baseball team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who were established in 1869. Major League Baseball (MLB) was founded in 1903 and is currently made up of 30 teams.

Baseball is often considered America’s favorite pastime, and it is one of the most popular sports in the world. Every year, millions of people tune in to watch MLB games, and even more play the game recreationally.

The Rules of Baseball

The basic rules of baseball are simple. Two teams of nine players each take turns batting and fielding. The team that scores the most runs in nine innings wins the game.

There are nine innings in a regulation game, with each team getting three outs per inning. A player on the batting team tries to hit the ball thrown by the pitcher on the fielding team, and then runs around the bases, trying to score runs. The defensive team tries to prevent runs from being scored and gets outs by putting batters out in various ways.

The most common way to get an out is by catching a fly ball hit by the batter. An infielder or outfielder can catch a fly ball and hold on to it for an out. A fielder can also touch first base with the ball in his glove before a runner gets there for an out, or he can touch home plate with the ball in his glove before a runner scores for an out.

Another way to get an out is called a strikeout. A batter strikes out when he swings at three pitches and misses them all, or when he swings at four pitches and misses two of them (these are called swinging strikeouts). A batter can also strike out if he doesn’t swing at any pitch and the catcher catches two strikes (this is called a looking strikeout).

The Baseball Season

With the baseball season just around the corner, fans are getting excited for another year of America’s pastime. Whether you’re a casual fan or a die-hard fanatic, there are a few things you should know about the sport. From the basics of the game to the differences between the leagues, here’s everything you need to get prepared for the baseball season.

Spring Training

Spring training is the time when baseball players in the United States and Canada prepare for the upcoming season. It typically lasts for about six weeks, from February to March. During this time, players undergo physical examinations and conditioning drills. They also play practice games against other teams in their league.

Spring training gives players a chance to shake off any rust from the previous season and get back into game-shape. It also allows them to get acclimated to playing in warm weather, as the regular season takes place during the summer months. For fans, spring training is a time to get excited about the upcoming season and see their favorite players in action.

If you’re planning on attending spring training, it’s important to know that most games are played in the afternoon or evening. This is because the daytime temperatures can be very hot, especially in southern states like Florida and Arizona. Many stadiums have bleacher seating that can be quite uncomfortable in direct sunlight. It’s also a good idea to bring along sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses.

The Regular Season

The regular baseball season is when all 30 of the Major League Baseball teams play 162 games each. That’s a lot of baseball! The season starts in early April and ends in late September or early October, depending on whether or not any teams make it to the playoffs.

During the regular season, each team plays divisional opponents 19 times, home and away. They also play every team in the other two divisions in their league 10 or 11 times each. That leaves them with 24 to 33 games against teams in the other league, which they play in what’s called “interleague play.”

The schedule is designed so that every team plays almost every other team over the course of the season, but not too much so that it becomes repetitive. That said, there are always some intriguing matchups that pop up during interleague play, such as the annual “freeway series” between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels.

The regular season is important because it determines which teams make it to the playoffs. The divisional winners automatically clinch a spot, as do the two teams with the best record in each league (regardless of division). There are also two wild card spots available in each league, which go to the two Teams with the next-best records after the divisional winners and best-record holders.

So, in total, 10 teams make it to the playoffs: six division winners and four wild card winners. From there, they all compete in a single-elimination tournament to determine who will represent their league in the World Series.

The Postseason

In order to make the playoffs, a team must first win their division or one of the two wild card spots. The three division winners in each league (the team with the best record in each division) get a spot in the postseason automatically. The remaining two teams are the wild cards, and they are determined by the two teams with the best overall record, regardless of division.

The playoffs consist of the divisional series, the league championship series, and the World Series. The divisional series is a best-of-five series, meaning that whichever team wins three games first advances. The league championship series is a best-of-seven series. The World Series is also a best-of-seven series and is played between the winner of the American League and the winner of the National League.

Baseball’s Greatest Players

Babe Ruth

George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed “The Bambino” and “The Sultan of Swat”, he began his MLB career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth established many MLB batting (and some pitching) records, including career home runs (714), runs batted in (RBIs) (2,213), bases on balls (2,062), slugging percentage (.690), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.164); the latter two still stand as of 2019. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time.

In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its “first five” inaugural members. At age 27, he had set single-season home run records for both the Red Sox (29 in 1919) and the Yankees (54 in 1920). When Ruth was sold to the Yankees after the 1919 season, he became part of New York’s vaunted “Murderer’s Row” lineup that led them to victory in four World Series titles between 1920 and 1923. With his perceived abilities to predict pitches and hit for both power and average, Ruth was one of baseball’s first five superstar players; according to baseball historian Frederick Ivor-Campbell, he was “without question baseball’s first superstar”.

Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron was one of the best all-around baseball players who ever played the game. He excelled as a hitter and as a fielder. He was born in Mobile, Alabama, on February 5, 1934.

Aaron began his professional career in 1952 with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League. He played for the Milwaukee Braves from 1954 to 1974 and for the Atlanta Braves from 1975 to 1976. He retired from baseball in 1976 with a lifetime batting average of .305 and 755 home runs, a record that stood until 2007 when it was broken by Barry Bonds. Hank Aaron was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Willie Mays

Willie Mays is widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. A center fielder who played most of his 22-season career with the New York/San Francisco Giants, Mays was a 20-time All-Star, won two National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, and retired with the third-most hits in major league history. He is the only player in history to finish his career with a batting average over .300, more than 600 home runs, and more than 2,000 RBIs. He is also a member of the 3,000 hit club.

America’s Ballparks

No trip to America is complete without taking in a game at one of the nation’s many iconic baseball stadiums. From the historic Fenway Park in Boston to the new home of the Seattle Mariners, Safeco Field, there’s a ballpark for every fan. Here’s a look at some of the best.

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field, located on the North Side of Chicago, is the home of the Chicago Cubs. The ballpark was built in 1914 and has a seating capacity of 41,649. Wrigley Field is known for its Ivy-covered brick walls, manual scoreboard, and for being the last Major League ballpark to have lights installed for night games.

Fenway Park

Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, is the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. Built in 1912, it is also the smallest ballpark by seating capacity at just under 37,000. Located in Boston’s Kenmore Square neighborhood, Fenway Park has a distinctive “Green Monster” in left field and is known for its lively and passionate fans.

Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium, located in the Bronx borough of New York City, is the home ballpark for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is one of the four Major League ballparks opened in 2009. The $1.5 billion stadium was built on the former site of the original Yankee Stadium, and it incorporates design elements from its predecessor. The ballpark seats 50,287 people for baseball games and has a clear view of all the action on the field from every seat.