1.
Baseball
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Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each, who take turns batting and fielding. A run is scored when a player advances around the bases, Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which tries to prevent runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the team who reaches a base safely can later attempt to advance to subsequent bases during teammates turns batting. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the team records three outs. One turn batting for both teams, beginning with the team, constitutes an inning. A game is composed of nine innings, and the team with the number of runs at the end of the game wins. Baseball has no clock, although almost all games end in the ninth inning. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century and this game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the sport of the United States. Baseball is now popular in North America and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, in the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball teams are divided into the National League and American League, each with three divisions, East, West, and Central. The major league champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series, the top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. 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 la soule, with similarities to baseball. Other old French games such as thèque, la balle au bâton, consensus once held that todays baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular in Great Britain and Ireland. Baseball Before We Knew It, A Search for the Roots of the Game, 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 other. It has long believed that cricket also descended from such games. The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, David Block discovered that the first recorded game of Bass-Ball took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player. William Bray, an English lawyer, recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford and this early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants
2.
Pitcher
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In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important defensive player, there are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and closer. The National League in Major League Baseball and the Japanese Central League are among the leagues that have not adopted the designated hitter position. In most cases, the objective of the pitcher is to deliver the pitch to the catcher without allowing the batter to hit the ball with the bat. A successful pitch is delivered in such a way that the batter either allows the pitch to pass through the zone, swings the bat at the ball and misses it. If the batter elects not to swing at the pitch, it is called a strike if any part of the passes through the strike zone. A check swing is when the batter begins to swing, If the batter successfully checks the swing and the pitch is out of the strike zone, it is called a ball. There are two legal pitching positions, the windup and the set position or stretch, either position may be used at any time, typically, the windup is used when the bases are empty, while the set position is used when at least one runner is on base. Each position has certain procedures that must be followed, a balk can be called on a pitcher from either position. A power pitcher is one who relies on the velocity of his pitches to succeed, generally, power pitchers record a high percentage of strikeouts. A control pitcher succeeds by throwing accurate pitches and thus records few walks, nearly all action during a game is centered on the pitcher for the defensive team. A pitchers particular style, time taken between pitches, and skill heavily influence the dynamics of the game and can determine the victor. Meanwhile, a batter stands in the box at one side of the plate. The type and sequence of pitches chosen depend upon the situation in a game. The relationship between pitcher and catcher is so important that some teams select the starting catcher for a game based on the starting pitcher. Together, the pitcher and catcher are known as the battery, although the object and mechanics of pitching remain the same, pitchers may be classified according to their roles and effectiveness. The starting pitcher begins the game, and he may be followed by relief pitchers, such as the long reliever, the left-handed specialist, the middle reliever. In Major League Baseball, every team uses Baseball Rubbing Mud to rub game balls in before their pitchers use them in games, a skilled pitcher often throws a variety of different pitches to prevent the batter from hitting the ball well
3.
Catcher
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Catcher is also a general term for a fielder who catches the ball in cricket. Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player, when a batter takes his/her turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket, positioned behind home plate, the catcher can see the whole field, and is therefore in the best position to direct and lead the other players in a defensive play. The catcher typically calls for using hand signals. The calls are based on the mechanics and strengths, as well as the batters tendencies and weaknesses. Foul tips, bouncing balls in the dirt, and contact with runners during plays at the plate are all events to be handled by the catcher and this includes a mask, chest and throat protectors, shin guards, and a heavily padded catchers mitt. The physical and mental demands of being involved on every defensive play can wear catchers down over a long season, because of the strategic defensive importance of catching, if a catcher has exceptional defensive skills, teams are often willing to overlook their relative offensive weaknesses. A knowledgeable catchers ability to work with the pitcher, via selection and location. Many great defensive catchers toiled in relative anonymity, because they did not produce large offensive numbers, notable examples of light-hitting, defensive specialists were, Ray Schalk, Jim Hegan, Jim Sundberg and Brad Ausmus. Schalks career batting average of.253 is the lowest of any player in the Baseball Hall of Fame. That he was selected for enshrinement in 1955 was largely a tribute to his defensive skills. Catchers are often able to play first base and less commonly third base, in the numbering system used to record baseball plays, the catcher is assigned the number 2. In the middle of the century, the game of baseball began to evolve from a sport played by amateurs for recreation into a more serious game played by professionals. One of the most dramatic changes was the transition of the delivery from an underhand motion to an overhanded throw. As the game progressed towards professionals and became serious, pitchers began to attempt to prevent the batter from hitting the ball by throwing faster pitches. With the introduction of the strike in 1858, catchers began inching closer to home plate due to the rules requirement that a strikeout could only be completed by a catch. These developments meant that catchers began to take on a defensive role
4.
First baseman
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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 players team. A first baseman is the player on the team playing defense who fields the area nearest first base, in the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3. Also called first sacker or cornerman, the first baseman is ideally a tall player who throws left-handed and possesses good flexibility, flexibility is needed because the first baseman receives throws from the other infielders, the catcher and the pitcher after they have fielded ground balls. In order for the runner to be called out, the first baseman must be able to stretch towards the throw and they often are power hitters who have a substantial number of home runs and extra base hits while maintaining a.270 plus batting average. Good defensive first basemen, according to Bill James, are capable of playing off first base so that they can field ground balls hit to the side of first base. The first baseman then relies upon the pitcher to cover first base to receive the ball to complete the out, indications of a good defensive first baseman include a large number of assists and a low number of throwing errors by other infielders. The nature of play at first base often requires first basemen to stay close to the bag to hold runners or to reach the bag before the batter. First basemen are not typically expected to have the range required of a baseman, shortstop. As a result, first base is not usually perceived to be as physically demanding as other positions, however, it can also be a very hard position to play, a large amount of concentration and timing is required. Though many play at first base their entire career, it is common for players to be moved to first base in order to extend their careers or to accommodate other recently acquired players. Facing a possible trade or a reduction in playing time. Catchers and corner outfielders are often moved to first base due to deteriorating health or if their fielding abilities at their position are detrimental to the team. When first base is not occupied by a baserunner, the first baseman usually stands behind first base, the distance he plays from the base and foul line is dependent on the current hitter and any runners on base. The exact position may depend on the first basemans experience, preference. For a known right-handed pull hitter, the first baseman might position himself further towards the second basemans normal fielding position, for a known left-handed pull hitter, the first baseman will position himself closer to the foul line in order to stop a ball hit down the line. To protect against a bunt on the first base side of the infield, as soon as the pitcher commits to throwing towards home plate, the first basemen will charge towards the hitter to field the bunt. During these plays, it is the responsibility of the second basemen to cover first base, with a base runner present at first base, the first baseman stands with his right foot touching the base to prepare for a pickoff attempt. Once the pitcher commits to throwing towards home plate, the first baseman comes off the bag in front of the runner and gets in a fielding position
5.
Shortstop
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Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. The position is filled by defensive specialists, so shortstops are generally relatively poor batters who bat later in the batting order. In the numbering used by scorers to record defensive plays. More hit balls go to the shortstop than to any position, as there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters. Like a second baseman, a shortstop must be agile, for example performing a 4-6-3 double play. Also, like a third baseman, the shortstop fields balls hit to the side of the infield. Doc Adams of the Knickerbockers created the concept of the position, according to Thorn. In the first five years the Knickerbockers played, the team fielded anywhere from eight to eleven players, the only infielders were the players covering each of the bases, if there were more than eight players, extra outfielders were sometimes used. The outfielders had difficulty throwing baseballs into the infield, because of the light weight. Adams shortstop position, which he started playing at some time from 1849 to 1850, was used to field throws from the outfielders, with the advent of higher-quality baseballs, Adams moved to the infield, since the distance the balls could travel increased. Adams had a playing career with the Knickerbockers, he remained a player with the team until 1860. The shortstop ordinarily is positioned near second base on the third-base side, a shortstop must also be extremely agile, because balls hit to or near the shortstop position are usually hit harder than to other infield positions. Shortstops are required to cover second base in double play situations when the ball is hit to the second baseman or first baseman and they also cover second when a runner is attempting a stolen base, but only when a left-handed hitter is batting. This is because the infield will respond to a batter by shifting toward first base. They often become the man on balls to any part of the outfield that are being directed towards third base and all balls to left. Depending on the system the shortstop may cut balls from left field heading home, however, the emphasis on defense makes the position unusually difficult to fill. Historically, a strong shortstop did not have to be a good hitter.200, since the 1960s, however, such mediocre hitting has become rarer as teams increasingly demand players with ability to both field and hit. Alex Rodríguez, Michael Young, or Miguel Tejada, the year in which the player was inducted is given in brackets after his name
6.
Closer (baseball)
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In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer, is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is assigned to a teams best reliever. Before the 1990s, pitchers in similar roles were referred to as a fireman, short reliever, a small number of closers have won the Cy Young Award. Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Bruce Sutter, a closer is generally a teams best reliever and designated to pitch the last few outs of games when their team is leading by a margin of three runs or fewer. Rarely does a closer enter with their team losing or in a tie game, a closers effectiveness has traditionally been measured by the save, an official Major League Baseball statistic since 1969. Over time, closers have become one-inning specialists typically brought in at the beginning of the inning in save situations. The pressure of the last three outs of the game is cited for the importance attributed to the ninth inning. Closers are often the highest paid relievers on their teams, making money on par with starting pitchers, in the rare cases where a team does not have one primary pitcher dedicated to this role, the team is said to have a closer by committee. New York Giants manager John McGraw in 1905 was one of the first to use a pitcher to save games. He pitched Claude Elliott in relief eight times in his ten appearances, though saves were not an official statistic until 1969, Elliot was retroactively credited with six saves that season, a record at that time. In 1977, Chicago Cubs manager Herman Franks used Bruce Sutter almost exclusively in the eighth or ninth innings in save situations, while relievers such as Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage were already being used mostly in save situations, Frankss use of Sutter represented an incremental change. Sutter was the first pitcher to start the inning in 20 percent of his career appearances. Clay Carroll in 1972 was the first pitcher to make a third of his seasons appearances in the beginning of the ninth inning, which would not be repeated until Fingers in 1982. John Franco in 1987 was the first to be used over 50 percent of the time in the beginning of the ninth in a season, lee Smith in 1994 was the first to be used over 75 percent of the time in that situation. Tony La Russa while with the Oakland As is frequently named as the innovator of the position, La Russa explained that be ahead a large number of games every week. Thats a lot of work for somebody throwing more than one inning, also, there was the added advantage of not getting overexposed. We tried to get to face three or four batters an outing. Baseball teams often copy one another, following a strategy based on one teams success, in 1990, Bobby Thigpen set a record with 57 saves while breaking Francos one-inning saves record with 41
7.
Ball boy
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Though non-essential, their activities help to speed up play by reducing the amount of inactive time. In 1920, ball boys were introduced at Wimbledon, ball boys are chosen from schools. Ball girls were introduced at Wimbledon in 1977, due to the nature of the sport, quick retrieval of loose tennis balls and delivery of the game balls to the servers are necessary for quick play in tennis. In professional tournaments, every court will have a squad of ball boys/girls with positionings and movements designed for maximum efficiency. As well as dealing with the balls, ball boys/girls may also provide the players with other assistance, such as the delivery of towels. Nets are located on side of the net to retrieve balls that are trapped by the net. Their job is to gather dead balls from the court and feed them to the bases after a point and this is usually done by rolling them alongside the court. Bases are located just off each corner and their job is to retrieve balls from the nets and then feed balls to the server. Feeding is how the boys and girls give the balls to the players. At different tournaments, they use different techniques for feeding. At some tournaments, bases have both arms in the air, then feed the balls with one arm, at others, they have one arm in the air which they feed the balls with, when feeding the ball, they must also be aware of a players preference. Most players accept the standard, which is for the boy or girl to gently toss the ball such that it bounces one time then to the proper height for the player to catch the ball easily. There are various methods for selecting the ball boys and girls for a tournament, in some other tournaments, such as the Nottingham Open, Australian Open and the US Open, positions are advertised and there are open try-outs. Applicants are required to pass a physical ability assessment, in addition to fitness and stamina, the abilities to concentrate and remain alert are essential. High-profile association football matches may employ ball boys to avoid long delays when a ball leaves the pitch. Ball boys are not permitted to enter the field of play, methods for selecting ball boys vary between grounds. On occasion, away teams have complained about perceived favour of ball boys towards home sides, hazard was subsequently sent off for violent conduct and suspended for three games
8.
Mascot
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Mascots are also used as fictional, representative spokespeople for consumer products, such as the rabbit used in advertising and marketing for the General Mills brand of breakfast cereal, Trix. In the world of sports, mascots are used for merchandising. Team mascots are often confused with team nicknames, while the two can be interchangeable, they are not always the same. For example, the teams of the Auburn University are nicknamed the Auburn Tigers. Costumed mascots are commonplace, and are used as goodwill ambassadors in the community for their team, company. It was originally sporting organisations that first thought of using animals as a form of mascot to bring entertainment and excitement for their spectators, before mascots were fictional icons or people in suits. Animals were mostly used in order to bring a different feel to the game. The event that prompted these changes was the invention of the Muppets in the late 1960s, the puppets offered something different to what everyone was used too. It allowed to people to not only have visual enjoyment but also allowed them to interact physically with the mascots, marketers quickly realized the great potential in three-dimensional mascot and took on board the Muppet-like idea. This change encouraged other companies to start creating their own mascots, resulting in mascots being a necessity amongst not only the sporting industry, the word mascot originates from the French term mascotte which means lucky charm. This was used to describe anything that brought luck to a household, the word was first recorded in 1867 and popularised by a French composer Edmond Audran who wrote the opera La Mascotte, performed in December 1880. But didnt enter into the English language until the year after in 1881, however, before this, the terms were familiar to the people of France as a slang word used by gamblers. The term is a derivative of the word masco meaning sorceress or witch, before the 19th century, the word mascot was associated with inanimate objects that would be commonly seen such as a lock of hair or a figurehead on a sailing ship. But from then on until the present day, the term was seen to be associated with good luck animals. Often the choice of mascot reflects a desired quality, an example of this is the fighting spirit. In the United States, controversy surrounds some mascot choices, especially those using human likenesses, Mascots based on Native American tribes are particularly contentious, as many argue that they constitute offensive exploitations of an oppressed culture. However several Indian tribes have come out in support of keeping the names. For example, the Utah Utes and the Central Michigan Chippewas are sanctioned by local tribes, similarly, the Florida State Seminoles are supported by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in their use of Osceola and Renegade as symbols
9.
Umpire (baseball)
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The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump. They are also addressed as blue at lower levels due to the common color of the uniform worn by umpires. In professional baseball, the blue is seldom used by players or managers. In a game officiated by two or more umpires, the umpire in chief is the umpire who is in charge of the entire game. This umpire calls balls and strikes, calls fair balls, foul balls short of first/third base, to avoid injury, the home plate umpire wears the same mask the catcher wears. If another umpire leaves the infield to cover a potential play in foul ground or in the outfield, in the event that an umpire is injured and only three remain, the second base position will generally be left vacant. In nearly all levels of organized baseball, including the majors, an umpiring crew rotates so that each umpire in the works each position, including plate umpire. In the earliest days of baseball, however, many senior umpires always worked the plate, Klem did so for the first 16 years of his career. On the Major League level, an umpiring crew generally rotates positions clockwise each game, for example, the plate umpire in one game would umpire third base in the next. Other umpires are called base umpires and are stationed near the bases. When two umpires are used, the umpire is simply the base umpire. This umpire will make most calls concerning runners on the bases and nearby plays, to indicate a full swing, he will clench his fist. When four umpires are used, each umpire is named for the base at which he is stationed, sometimes a league will provide six umpires, the extra two are stationed along the outfield foul lines are called the left-field and right-field umpires. Outfield umpires are used in events, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. For Major League Baseball, all levels use six umpires, while at lower levels. Rulings on catches of batted balls are made by the umpire closest to the play. The term umpire-in-chief is not to be confused with the crew chief, at the major-league and high minor-league levels, the crew chief acts as a liaison between the league office and the crew and has a supervisory role over other members of the crew. For example, on the Major League level, The Crew Chief shall coordinate, an umpires judgment call used to be final, unless the umpire making the call chose to ask his partner for help and then decided to reverse it after the discussion
10.
Baseball scorekeeping
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Baseball scorekeeping is the practice of recording the details of a baseball game as it unfolds. Professional baseball leagues hire official scorers to keep a record of each game. Sportswriter Henry Chadwick is generally credited as the inventor of baseball scorekeeping and his basic scorecard and notation have evolved significantly since their advent in the 1870s but they remain the basis for most of what has followed. Some symbols and abbreviations are shared by nearly all scorekeeping systems, at the end of the game Listing the pitchers in the game Usually two scorecards are used to score a game. Because the traditional method has been in use for so long, it has the most variations in its symbols and it is difficult, at this point in time, to describe an authoritative set of rules for traditional scorekeeping, but what is described here is a representative sample. In the traditional method, each cell in the area of the scoresheet represents the lifetime of an offensive player, from at-bat to baserunner. When an out is recorded, the combination of defensive players executing that out is recorded. If the next batter hits a ball to the fielder who catches it on the fly for the second out, it would be noted as F8. If the following batter strikes out, it would be noted as K, If the batter did not swing at the third strike, a backwards K is traditionally used. Other forms include Kc for a third strike with no swing. A slash should be drawn across the right corner to indicate the end of the inning. If in another inning, a baserunner is caught stealing second base and it is then noted CS, with some scorers adding the uniform number or batting position of the batter to indicate when the runner was put out. Then the defensive combination of the put out, normally 2–4 or 2–6 for a play, is written. If the runner on first is instead picked off by the pitcher, a cut off mark is noted on the base lines. If a batter reaches first base, either due to a walk, a hit, or an error, the basepath from home to first base is drawn, for example, If a batter gets a base hit, the basepath is drawn and 1B is written below. If the batter hits a double, however, the basepaths from home to first and first to second are drawn and this change of position is done to indicate that the runner did not advance on another hit. If the batter hits a triple, the basepaths are drawn from home to first to second to third, If a batter gets a walk, the basepath is drawn and BB or W is written below. IBB is written for a base on balls
