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{{Short description|Bat-and-ball game}}
{{About|the sport}}
{{Redirect|Base ball|old time baseball|Vintage base ball}}
{{Pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox sport
|name       = Baseball
|image      = File:Tommy Milone gives up a home run to Mike Trout on May 21, 2017.jpg
|imagesize  = 300px
|caption    = [[Los Angeles Angels]] center fielder [[Mike Trout]] hits a [[home run]] off a pitch from [[New York Mets]] pitcher [[Tommy Milone]] on May 21, 2017.
|union      = [[World Baseball Softball Confederation]]
|nickname   =
|first      = 18th-century [[England]] (predecessors)<br />19th-century [[United States]] (modern version)
|registered =
|type       = [[Team sport]], [[bat-and-ball games|bat-and-ball]]
|venue      = [[Baseball park]]<br />[[Baseball field]]
|glossary   = [[Glossary of baseball terms]]
|region     = Worldwide (most prominent in the Americas and East Asia)<!-- According to [[Template:Infobox sport]], this section is suppose to list ALL geographic areas the sport is present in the broadest possible terms. -->
|contact    = [[Contact sport#Tagging-only|Tagging-only]]
|clubs      =
|equipment  = [[Baseball (ball)|Baseball]] <br /> [[Baseball bat]] <br /> [[Baseball glove]]<br />[[Batting helmet]]<br />[[Catcher|Catcher's gear]]
|team       = 9 baseball players:<br>[[pitcher]]<br>[[catcher]]<br>[[first baseman]]<br>[[second baseman]]<br>[[third baseman]]<br>[[shortstop]]<br>[[left fielder]]<br>[[center fielder]]<br>[[right fielder]]
|mgender    = Yes, separate competitions
|category   = [[Bat-and-ball games|Bat-and-ball]]
|olympic    = [[Demonstration sport]]: [[Baseball at the 1912 Summer Olympics|1912]], [[Baseball at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936]], [[Pesäpallo at the 1952 Summer Olympics|1952]], [[Baseball at the 1956 Summer Olympics|1956]], [[Baseball at the 1964 Summer Olympics|1964]], [[Baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1984]] and [[Baseball at the 1988 Summer Olympics|1988]]<br />Medal sport: [[Baseball at the 1992 Summer Olympics|1992]]–[[Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics|2008]], [[Baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics|2020]]
|IWGA       = [[1981 World Games|1981]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Sargis|first=Joe|title=The World Games slipped out of town Monday, quietly...|publisher=United Press International|date=August 3, 1981|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/08/03/The-World-Games-slipped-out-of-town-Monday-quietly/8794365659200/|access-date=August 13, 2018|archive-date=August 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814071521/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/08/03/The-World-Games-slipped-out-of-town-Monday-quietly/8794365659200/|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

{{HistBaseball nav}}

'''Baseball''' is a [[bat-and-ball games|bat-and-ball]] [[sport]] played between two [[team sport|teams]] of nine players each, taking turns [[batting (baseball)|batting]] and [[Fielding (baseball)|fielding]]. The game occurs over the course of several [[Pitch (baseball)|plays]], with each play beginning when a player on the [[fielding team (baseball)|fielding team]], called the [[pitcher]], throws a [[Baseball (ball)|ball]] that a player on the [[batting team (baseball)|batting team]], called the [[Batter (baseball)|batter]], tries to hit with a [[baseball bat|bat]]. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the [[Base (baseball)|bases]], having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "[[Run (baseball)|runs]]". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming [[Base running|runners]], and to prevent runners [[base running|advancing around the bases]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019_Official_Baseball_Rules_FINAL_.pdf|title=''Official Baseball Rules''|publisher=Major League Baseball|edition=2019|access-date=September 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502205240/https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019_Official_Baseball_Rules_FINAL_.pdf|archive-date=May 2, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter).

The initial objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base [[safe (baseball)|safely]]; this occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base [[Force play|before]] an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing the ball [[Base on balls|out of the batter's reach]]. Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called "[[Out (baseball)|out]]" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by using the ball to get batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three [[Pitch (baseball)|pitches]] which result in [[Strike (baseball)|strikes]], while fielders can get the batter out by [[Catch (baseball)|catching]] a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by [[Tag out|tagging]] them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base.

The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an [[inning]]. A game is usually composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, [[extra innings]] are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature [[Pace of play|pace-of-play]] regulations such as a [[pitch clock]] to shorten game time.

Baseball [[Origins of baseball|evolved from older bat-and-ball games]] already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, [[History of baseball in the United States|where the modern version developed]]. Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of [[escapism]] during troubled points in American history such as the [[American Civil War]] and the [[Great Depression]], have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as the [[national sport]] of the [[Baseball in the United States|United States]], though in modern times is considered [[Sports in the United States#Most popular sports in the United States|less popular than other sports]], such as [[American football]]. In addition to [[North America]], baseball spread throughout the rest of the Americas and the Asia–Pacific in the 19th and 20th centuries,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bjarkman |first=Peter C. |date=2006-09-01 |title=American Baseball Imperialism, Clashing National Cultures, and the Future of Samurai Besuboru |url=https://studiesonasia.scholasticahq.com/article/14327-american-baseball-imperialism-clashing-national-cultures-and-the-future-of-samurai-besuboru |journal=Studies on Asia |language=en |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=123–140 |quote=Formal league baseball has long thrived in amateur and professional play around the world, especially in the Caribbean Basin and along the Asian-Pacific Rim. Its history in those regions is every bit as ancient and deep-rooted as it is on the North American continent." |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |access-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915170509/https://studiesonasia.scholasticahq.com/article/14327-american-baseball-imperialism-clashing-national-cultures-and-the-future-of-samurai-besuboru |url-status=live }}</ref> and is now considered the most popular sport in parts of [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], the [[Caribbean]], and [[East Asia]], particularly in [[Baseball in Japan|Japan]], [[Baseball in South Korea|South Korea]], and [[Sports in Taiwan#Baseball|Taiwan]].

In [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB), the highest level of [[professional baseball]] in the United States and Canada, teams are divided into the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL) and [[American League]] (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The MLB champion is determined by [[Major League Baseball postseason|playoffs]] that culminate in the [[World Series]]. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the [[Central League|Central]] and [[Pacific League]]s and in Cuba between the [[Cuban National Series|West League and East League]]. The [[World Baseball Classic]], organized by the [[World Baseball Softball Confederation]], is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world. Baseball was played [[Baseball at the Summer Olympics|at the Olympic Games]] from 1992 to 2008, and was reinstated on a one-off basis in 2020.

==Rules and gameplay==
{{Further|Rules of baseball|Outline of baseball}}

=== Overview ===
[[File:Baseball diamond.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Diagram of a [[baseball field]]. ''Diamond'' may 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.]]
[[File:DR_vs_PR._World_Baseball_Classic.jpg|thumb|[[2013 World Baseball Classic championship]] match between the [[Dominican Republic national baseball team|Dominican Republic]] and [[Puerto Rico national baseball team|Puerto Rico]], March 20, 2013]]

A baseball game is played between two teams, each composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an [[inning]]. A game consists of nine innings (seven innings at the high school level and in [[doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheaders]] in college, [[Minor League Baseball]] and, since the [[2020 Major League Baseball season|2020 season]], [[Major League Baseball]]; and six innings at the Little League level).<ref name="League">{{Cite news |title=Little League Rules, Regulations, and Policies |url=https://www.littleleague.org/playing-rules/rules-regulations-policies/ |access-date=March 19, 2018 |work=[[Little League Baseball]] |archive-date=March 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319213650/https://www.littleleague.org/playing-rules/rules-regulations-policies/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 the game is to score more points ([[run (baseball)|runs]]) than the other team. The players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by touching all four bases, in order, set at the corners of the square-shaped [[baseball field|baseball diamond]]. A player bats at [[home plate]] and must attempt to safely reach a base before proceeding, [[counterclockwise]], from first base, to second base, third base, and back home to score a run. The team in the field attempts to prevent runs from scoring by recording [[out (baseball)|outs]], which remove opposing players from offensive action until their next turn at bat 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, [[extra innings]] are played to resolve the contest. Many amateur games, particularly unorganized ones, involve different numbers of players and innings.<ref>Thurston (2000), p. 15; {{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/foreword.jsp|title=Official Rules/Foreword|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124020327/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/foreword.jsp|archive-date=January 24, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011325/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011321/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/02_definition_of_terms.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011327/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/04_starting_ending_game.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

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. The 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)|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011325/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011321/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/02_definition_of_terms.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

There are three basic tools of baseball: the [[baseball (ball)|ball]], the [[baseball bat|bat]], and the [[baseball glove|glove or mitt]]:
* The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around {{convert|9|in|cm|abbr=off|sp=us}} 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)|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011325/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=live}}</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 {{convert|2.5|in|cm|abbr=off|sp=us}} in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around {{convert|34|in|cm|abbr=off|sp=us}} long, and not longer than {{convert|42|in|cm|abbr=off|sp=us}}.<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)|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011325/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=live}} {{cite web|author=Fitzgerald, Stephen|url=http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2005/0176531.html|title=Polymer Composite Baseball Bat Endcap (U.S. Patent Application 20050176531)|date=November 8, 2005|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=FreePatentsOnline.com|display-authors=etal|archive-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501095916/https://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2005/0176531.html|url-status=live}}</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)|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011325/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
Protective [[batting helmet|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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011325/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

=== Fielding positions ===
[[File:Baseball positions.svg|thumb|Diagram indicating the standard layout of positions]]
At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players of the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the [[pitcher]], 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 fielding team player, the [[catcher]], squats on the far side of home plate, facing the pitcher. The rest of the fielding team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielders—who set up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines (basepaths) between first, second, and third base—and three outfielders. In the [[baseball positions|standard arrangement]], there is a [[first baseman]] positioned several steps to the left of first base, a [[second baseman]] to the right of second base, a [[shortstop]] to the left of second base, and a [[third baseman]] to the right of third base. The basic outfield positions are [[left fielder]], [[center fielder]], and [[right fielder]]. With the exception of the catcher, all fielders are required to be in fair territory when the pitch is delivered. A neutral [[umpire (baseball)|umpire]] 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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011323/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/09_the_umpire.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Other umpires will be distributed around the field as well.<ref>{{cite news|title=AP source: 7 umpires rotate at World Series|newspaper=USA Today|agency=Associated Press|date=September 29, 2014|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/09/29/ap-source-7-umpires-rotate-at-world-series/16437053/|access-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref>

=== Offense ===
[[File:David-ortiz-batters-box.JPG|thumb|right|[[David Ortiz]], the batter, awaiting a pitch, with the catcher and umpire]]
Play starts with a member of the batting team, the batter, standing in either of the two [[batter's box]]es next to home plate, holding a bat.<ref name=RulesPuttingBallInPlay>{{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|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011326/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/05_putting_ball_in_play.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011324/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205082219/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The batter waits for the pitcher to throw a pitch (the ball) toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Epstein |first=David |author-link=David Epstein (journalist) |date=August 8, 2011 |title=It's All About Anticipation: Ryan Howard and Rafael Nadal don't have quicker reflexes than you do. They hit the fastest pitches and return the hardest serves because they can see the future |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1188950/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213074933/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1188950/index.htm |archive-date=December 13, 2011 |access-date=September 4, 2011 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref> with the bat.<ref name=RulesPuttingBallInPlay/> 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''). 
[[File:5TH 3689 Lou Marson.jpg|left|thumb|165x165px|A runner sliding into home plate and scoring.]]
A batter-runner who reaches first base without being [[putout|put out]] is said to be ''[[safe (baseball)|safe]]'' and is 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 [[hit (baseball)|hit]]. A player who reaches first base safely on a hit is credited with a [[single (baseball)|single]]. If a player makes it to second base safely as a direct result of a hit, it is a [[double (baseball)|double]]; third base, a [[triple (baseball)|triple]]. If the ball is hit in the air within the foul lines over the entire outfield (and outfield fence, if there is one), or if the batter-runner otherwise safely circles all the bases, it is a [[home run]]: 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. The ultimate and most desirable result possible for a batter would be to hit a home run while all three bases are occupied or "loaded", thus scoring four runs on a single hit. This is called a [[grand slam (baseball)|grand slam]]. A player who reaches base due to a fielding mistake is not credited with a hit—instead, the responsible fielder is charged with an [[error (baseball)|error]].<ref name="RulesPuttingBallInPlay" />

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, as only one runner may occupy a base at any given time; the same applies for other runners if they are on a base that a teammate is forced to advance to. If a ball hit into play rolls foul before passing through the infield, it becomes [[dead ball (baseball)|dead]] and any runners must return to the base they occupied when the play began. If the ball is hit in the air and caught before it lands, the batter has [[flyout|flied out]] and any runners on base may attempt to advance only if they [[tag up]] (contact the base they occupied 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 [[stolen base]].<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|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011321/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/02_definition_of_terms.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011326/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/05_putting_ball_in_play.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011324/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011328/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/07_the_runner.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205082219/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Defense ===
[[File:Strike zone en.JPG|left|thumb|The [[strike zone]] determines the result of most pitches, and varies in vertical length for each batter.]]
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 [[strikeout|strikes out]]. A batter against whom four balls are recorded is awarded a [[base on balls]] or walk, a free advance to first base. (A batter may also freely advance to first base if the batter's body or uniform is [[Hit by pitch|struck by a pitch]] outside the strike zone, provided the batter does not swing and attempts to avoid being hit.)<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 6.08b)|access-date=April 12, 2012|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529025727/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|archive-date=May 29, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> Crucial to determining balls and strikes is the umpire's judgment as to whether a pitch has passed through the [[strike zone]], 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|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011321/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/02_definition_of_terms.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> Any pitch which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball, unless the batter either swings and misses at the pitch, or hits the pitch into foul territory; an exception [[Foul tip|generally]] occurs if the ball is hit into foul territory when the batter already has two strikes, in which case neither a ball nor a strike is called.

[[File:Navy baseball.jpg|thumb|A [[shortstop]] tries to [[tag out]] a runner who is sliding head first, 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. In addition to the strikeout and flyout, common ways a member of the batting team may be put out include the [[Ground out (baseball)|ground out]], [[force play|force out]], and [[tag out]]. These occur either when a runner is forced to advance to a base, and a fielder with possession of the ball reaches that base before the runner does, or the runner is touched by the ball, held in a fielder's hand, while not on a base. (The batter-runner is always forced to advance to first base, and any other runners must advance to the next base if a teammate is forced to advance to their base.) It is possible to record two outs in the course of the same play. This is called a [[double play]]. Three outs in one play, a [[triple play]], is possible, though rare. Players put out or retired must leave the field, returning to their team's [[dugout (baseball)|dugout]] 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 as every half-inning begins with the bases empty.<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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011324/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011328/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/07_the_runner.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Batting order and substitution ===
[[File:Chris Tillman, Buck Showalter (36615791150).jpg|thumb|A pitcher handing off the ball after being taken out of the game during a [[mound meeting]].]]
An individual player's turn batting or [[plate appearance]] is complete when the player reaches base, 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 [[caught stealing]] (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 the player's team have all taken their turn at bat in the [[batting order (baseball)|batting order]]. The batting order is set before the game begins, and may not be altered except for [[Defensive substitution|substitutions]]. Once a player has been removed for a substitute, that player may not reenter the game. Children's games often have more lenient rules, such as Little League rules, which allow players to be substituted back into the same game.<ref name="League" /><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)|access-date=February 2, 2009| publisher=Major League Baseball| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011326/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/03_game_preliminaries.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}} {{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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011324/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

If the [[designated hitter]] (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)|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011324/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Personnel ==
{{see also|Baseball positions}}

=== Players ===
{{Category see also|Category:Baseball players|Lists of baseball players}}

The number of players on a baseball roster, or ''squad'', varies by [[Baseball league|league]] and by the level of organized play. A [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) team has a roster of 26 players with specific roles. A typical roster features the following players:<ref>See, e.g., {{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=April 4, 2009|access-date=April 21, 2009|publisher=Washington Nationals/Major League Baseball|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714104000/http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20090404&content_id=4127882&vkey=pr_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was|archive-date=July 14, 2011}}{{update inline|date=April 2023}}</ref>
* Eight [[position player]]s: the [[catcher]], four [[infielder]]s, and three [[outfielder]]s—all of whom play on a regular basis
* Five [[starting pitcher]]s who constitute the team's [[Pitch (baseball)|pitching]] rotation or starting rotation
* Seven [[relief pitcher]]s, including one [[closer (baseball)|closer]], who constitute the team's [[bullpen]] (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up)
* One backup, or substitute, catcher
* Five backup infielders and backup outfielders, or players who can play multiple positions, known as [[utility player]]s.

Most baseball leagues worldwide have the DH rule, including MLB, [[Pacific League|Japan's Pacific League]], and Caribbean professional leagues, along with major American amateur organizations.<ref>{{cite book|last=Alexander|first=Charles C.|title=Our Game: An American Baseball History|publisher=Macmillan|year=1991|page=[https://archive.org/details/ourgameamerican000alex/page/290 290]|isbn=9780805015942|url=https://archive.org/details/ourgameamerican000alex/page/290}}</ref> The [[Central League]] in [[Japan]] does not have the rule and high-level minor league clubs connected to National League teams are not required to field a DH.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ringolsby |first=Tracy |date=January 20, 2016 |title=Tide is turning toward a universal DH |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/national-league-could-add-dh-before-long/c-162404308 |access-date=April 22, 2018 |website=MLB.com |archive-date=August 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827201738/https://www.mlb.com/news/national-league-could-add-dh-before-long/c-162404308 |url-status=live }}</ref> In leagues that apply the designated hitter rule, a typical team has nine offensive regulars (including the DH), five starting pitchers,<ref>{{cite web|last=McLaughlin|first=Dan|title=Designated Hitters and the Economics of Baseball|publisher=[[Grantland]]|date=July 12, 2011|url=http://grantland.com/the-triangle/designated-hitters-and-the-economics-of-baseball/|access-date=August 6, 2017}}</ref> seven or eight relievers, a backup catcher, and two or three other reserve players.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dunn|first=Jay|title=Jay Dunn: It's Time For MLB Teams to Consider Grooming Two-Way Players|work=[[The Trentonian]]|date=June 21, 2017|url=http://www.trentonian.com/article/TT/20170621/SPORTS/170629946|access-date=August 6, 2017|archive-date=August 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806221951/http://www.trentonian.com/article/TT/20170621/SPORTS/170629946|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Goldman|first=Steven|title=It Is Time for Baseball to Fight Back Against Big Bullpen|publisher=[[VICE Media]]|date=April 26, 2016|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/it-is-time-for-baseball-to-fight-back-against-big-bullpen/|access-date=August 6, 2017|archive-date=September 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914104021/https://www.vice.com/en/article/it-is-time-for-baseball-to-fight-back-against-big-bullpen/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Managers and coaches ===
The [[manager (baseball)|manager]], or head coach, 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 [[coach (baseball)|coaches]]; 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, who occupy designated coaches' boxes, just outside the foul lines. These coaches 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 to be allowed on the field to confer with players during a game.<ref>"The Fans Speak Out" [''Baseball Digest'' staff], ''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)|access-date=April 27, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520205621/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/03_game_preliminaries.pdf|archive-date=May 20, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Umpires ===
Any baseball game involves one or more [[Umpire (baseball)|umpires]], 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 MLB, 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|access-date=February 18, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224215915/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/09_the_umpire.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Strategy ==
{{see also|Baseball positioning}}

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|access-date=February 8, 2009|work=[[Newsweek]]|archive-date=March 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309065835/http://www.newsweek.com/id/146842|url-status=live}}</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 and 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 (known as a [[defensive substitution]]).<ref>See, e.g., Davis, Hank, ''Small-town Heroes: Images of Minor League Baseball'' (Univ. of Iowa Press, 1997), p. 186.</ref>

==Tactics==
=== Pitching and fielding ===
[[File:Indiana vs Navy, Baseball pick-off attempt.jpg|right|thumb|A [[first baseman]] receives a [[pickoff]] throw, as the runner dives back to first base.]]

{{see also|Pitch (baseball)}}

The tactical decision that precedes almost every play in a baseball game involves pitch selection.<ref>{{cite news|last=Paine|first=Neil|title=Game Theory Says R.A. Dickey Should Throw More Knuckleballs|work=FiveThirtyEight|date=August 13, 2015|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/game-theory-says-r-a-dickey-should-throw-more-knuckleballs/|access-date=April 22, 2018|archive-date=April 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423102215/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/game-theory-says-r-a-dickey-should-throw-more-knuckleballs/|url-status=live}}</ref> By gripping and then releasing the baseball in a certain manner, and by throwing it at a certain speed, pitchers can cause the baseball to break to either side, or downward, as it approaches the batter, thus creating differing pitches that can be selected.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Mechanics Of A Breaking Pitch|magazine=Popular Mechanics|date=December 6, 2004|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/sports/a3207/1283161/|access-date=April 23, 2018|archive-date=May 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516170451/https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/sports/a3207/1283161/|url-status=live}}</ref> Among the resulting wide variety of pitches that may be thrown, the four basic types are the [[fastball]], the [[changeup]] (or off-speed pitch), and two [[breaking ball]]s—the [[curveball]] and the [[Slider (baseball)|slider]].<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|access-date=February 21, 2009|publisher=[[The Hardball Times]]|archive-date=April 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409112752/http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/fastball-slider-changeup-curveball-an-analysis|url-status=live}}</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 or horizontal location.<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), p. 192.</ref> If there is disagreement on the selection, the pitcher may [[Glossary of baseball terms#shake off|shake off the sign]] and the catcher will call for a different pitch.

With a runner on base and [[Glossary of baseball terms#lead|taking a lead]], the pitcher may attempt a [[pickoff]], a quick throw to a fielder [[covering a base|covering the base]] to keep the runner's lead in check or, optimally, effect a tag out.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCarver |first1=Tim |author-link=Tim McCarver |title=Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans: Understanding and Interpreting the Game So You Can Watch It Like a Pro |last2=Peary |first2=Danny |publisher=Random House |year=2013 |isbn=9780307831774 |pages=71, 272–273}}</ref> Pickoff attempts, however, are subject to rules that severely restrict the pitcher's movements before and during the pickoff attempt. Violation of any one of these rules could result in the umpire calling a [[balk]] against the pitcher, which permits any runners on base to advance one base with impunity.<ref>{{cite web|title=Balk|publisher=Major League Baseball|url=https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/balk|access-date=April 23, 2018|archive-date=January 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119135337/https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/balk|url-status=live}}</ref> If an attempted [[stolen base]] is anticipated, the catcher may call for a [[pitchout]], 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 [[Glossary of baseball terms#shift|shift]], 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 [[Glossary of baseball terms#playing in|play in]], moving closer to home plate to improve the odds of throwing out the runner on a [[Glossary of baseball terms#ground ball|ground ball]], 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 ===
[[File:Mookie Betts hitting the ball (36478781664).jpg|thumb|[[Boston Red Sox]] player [[Mookie Betts]] hits a pitch by swinging his [[Baseball bat|bat]].]]
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 [[hit and run (baseball)|hit and run]] is sometimes employed, with a skillful [[contact hitter]], 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 [[sacrifice bunt]], calls for the batter to focus on making soft contact with the ball, so that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance into [[scoring position]] as the batter is thrown out at first. A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt to [[bunt (baseball)|bunt]] for a hit. A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a [[squeeze play (baseball)|squeeze play]].<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 [[sacrifice fly]].<ref name=SB45/> In order to increase the chance of advancing a batter to first base via a walk, the manager will sometimes signal a batter who is [[Glossary of baseball terms#ahead in the count|ahead in the count]] (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to [[Glossary of baseball terms#take sign|take]], or not swing at, the next pitch. The batter's potential reward of reaching base (via a walk) exceeds the disadvantage if the next pitch is a strike.<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), p. 186.</ref>

== History ==
{{main|History of baseball}}

{{Further|Origins of baseball}}

Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game [[rounders]], popular among children in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain and Ireland]].<ref name="BlockRader"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Rounders (English Game)|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/510872/rounders|access-date=October 23, 2018|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=April 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426161127/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/510872/rounders|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Cohen|first=Claire|title=Save rounders! It's the only sport for people who hate sport|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11384071/Rounders-Its-the-only-sport-for-people-who-hate-sport.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11384071/Rounders-Its-the-only-sport-for-people-who-hate-sport.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Telegraph|date=February 2, 2015|access-date=October 23, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> American baseball historian David Block suggests that the game originated in [[England]]; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. According to Block and official MLB historian [[John Thorn (baseball historian)|John Thorn]], this earlier version of baseball may have involved hitting the ball with a hand, making it akin to today's [[punchball]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thorn |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqF84JTKCNoC&pg=PA58 |title=Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game |date=2012-03-20 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-9404-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Curtis |first=Bryan |date=October 18, 2013 |title=In Search of Baseball's Holy Grail |url=https://grantland.com/features/baseball-archaeologist-david-block/ |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=Grantland |publisher=ESPN}}</ref> 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 [[stoolball]] and "tut-ball".<ref name="BlockRader">Block (2005), pp. 86, 87, 111–113, 118–121, 135–138, 144, 160; Rader (2008), p. 7.</ref> The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, ''[[A Little Pretty Pocket-Book]]'', by [[John Newbery]].<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|access-date=April 12, 2008|publisher=Colonial Williamsburg Foundation|archive-date=January 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110115349/http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume2/june04/pocketbook.cfm|url-status=dead}} See [[s:A Little Pretty Pocket-book/Base-Ball|Wikisource edition of ''A Little Pretty Pocket-Book'']].</ref> Block discovered that the first recorded game of "Base Ball"<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 1749 baseball season |date=June 11, 2013 |url=https://hertsbaseball.com/2013/06/11/the-1749-baseball-season-with-the-prince-of-wales-at-bat-and-the-earl-of-middlesex-on-deck/}}</ref> took place in 1749 in [[Surrey]], and featured the [[Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]] as a player.<ref>{{cite news|title=Why isn't baseball more popular in the UK?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23425907|access-date=July 26, 2013|work=BBC News|date=July 26, 2013}}</ref> This early form of the game was apparently brought to [[Canada]] by English immigrants.<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|access-date=February 3, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321043321/http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050802&content_id=1154441&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos|archive-date=March 21, 2006}}</ref>

[[File:Cricket vs. baseball (4050380395).jpg|thumb|upright|By the 1860s [[American Civil War|Civil War]], baseball (bottom) had overtaken its fellow bat-and-ball sport [[cricket]] (top) in popularity within the United States.{{Efn|Partially because baseball was much shorter in duration than the form of cricket [[First-class cricket|played at the time]] and did not require a [[Cricket pitch|special playing surface]].}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crown |first=Daniel |date=2017-10-19 |title=The Battle Between Baseball and Cricket for American Sporting Supremacy |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cricket-baseball-american-sport |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Why cricket and America are made for each other |url=https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2022/12/20/why-cricket-and-america-are-made-for-each-other |access-date=2023-01-05 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> Growing American influence abroad meant the same occurred in Japan and the Dominican Republic by the early 20th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Guthrie-Shimizu |first=Sayuri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dx2i3f5k6MkC&pg=PA26 |title=Transpacific Field of Dreams: How Baseball Linked the United States and Japan in Peace and War |date=2012-04-04 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-8266-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=DR1.com - Dominican Republic News & Travel Information Service |url=https://dr1.com/articles/cricket.shtml |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=dr1.com}}</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.<ref>Block (2005), pp. 4–5, 11–15, 25, 33, 59–61, et. seq.</ref> The first recorded baseball game in North America was played in [[Beachville, Ontario]], Canada, on June 4, 1838.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Giddens|first=David|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sportslongform/entry/how-canada-invented-american-football-baseball-basketball-and-hockey|title=How Canada invented 'American' football, baseball, basketball and hockey|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=June 15, 2017|access-date=June 4, 2019|language=en-US|archive-date=May 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503181804/https://www.cbc.ca/sportslongform/entry/how-canada-invented-american-football-baseball-basketball-and-hockey|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1845, [[Alexander Cartwright]], a member of New York City's [[Knickerbocker Base Ball Club|Knickerbocker Club]], led the codification of the so-called [[Knickerbocker Rules]],<ref>Sullivan (1997), p. 292.</ref> which in turn were based on rules developed in 1837 by [[William R. Wheaton]] of the Gotham Club.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://protoball.org/1845_Knickerbocker_Rules|title=Evolution or Revolution? A Rule-By-Rule Analysis of the 1845 Knickerbocker Rules|publisher=Protoball|author=Kittel, Jeffrey|access-date=May 9, 2016|archive-date=December 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205115830/https://protoball.org/1845_Knickerbocker_Rules|url-status=dead}}</ref> While there are reports that the [[Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York|New York Knickerbockers]] played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]]: 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> The game then went on to spread throughout the [[Pacific Rim]] and the Americas,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Guthrie-Shimizu |first=Sayuri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dx2i3f5k6MkC&pg=PP15 |title=Transpacific Field of Dreams: How Baseball Linked the United States and Japan in Peace and War |date=2012-04-04 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-8266-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317980360 |title=Mapping an Empire of American Sport |date=2013-09-13 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-98036-0 |editor-last=Dyreson |editor-first=Mark |edition=0 |doi=10.4324/9781315872971 |editor-last2=Mangan |editor-first2=J.A. |editor-last3=Park |editor-first3=Roberta J.}}</ref> with Americans backing the sport as a way to spread American values.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=Beyond the outfield: Baseball fiction and historical fantasy, 1864-present |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2142/104978 |publisher=University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |date=2019-03-29 |degree=text |first=Debora N. |last=Tienou |pages=1|hdl=2142/104978 }}</ref>

=== In the United States ===
{{Further|Baseball in the United States|History of baseball in the United States}}

==== Establishment of professional leagues ====
In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the [[New York metropolitan area]],<ref>Rader (2008), pp. 9, 10.</ref> and by 1856, local journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game".<ref>Tygiel (2000), p. 6.</ref> A year later, the sport's first governing body, the [[National Association of Base Ball Players]], was formed. In 1867, it barred participation by [[African Americans]].<ref>Rader (2008), p. 27; Sullivan (1997), pp. 68, 69.</ref> The more formally structured [[National League (baseball)|National League]] was founded in 1876.<ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 83, 130, 243.</ref> Professional [[Negro league baseball|Negro leagues]] formed, but quickly folded.<ref>Sullivan (1997), p. 115.</ref> In 1887, [[softball]], 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> The National League's first successful counterpart, the [[American League]], which evolved from the minor [[Western League (original)|Western League]], was established in 1893, and virtually all of the modern [[baseball rules]] were in place by then.<ref name=R71>Rader (2008), p. 71.</ref><ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 243–246.</ref>

The National Agreement of 1903 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 [[minor league baseball|minor professional leagues]].<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|access-date=January 29, 2009|archive-date=February 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201020524/http://roadsidephotos.sabr.org/baseball/1903NatAgree.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[World Series]], pitting the two major league champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall.<ref>Sullivan (1997), pp. 13–16.</ref> The [[Black Sox Scandal]] of the [[1919 World Series]] led to the formation of the office of the [[Commissioner of Baseball]].<ref>Powers (2003), pp. 39, 47, 48.</ref> The first commissioner, [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]], was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the [[Negro National League (1920–1931)|Negro National League]]; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of the 1920s, it was joined by the [[Eastern Colored League]].<ref>Burgos (2007), pp. 117, 118.</ref>

==== Rise of Ruth and racial integration ====
Compared with the present, professional baseball in the early 20th century was lower-scoring, and pitchers were more dominant.<ref>Sullivan (1997), p. 214.</ref> This so-called "[[dead-ball era]]" ended in the early 1920s with several changes in rule and circumstance that were advantageous to hitters. Strict new regulations governed the ball's size, shape and composition, along with a new rule officially banning the [[spitball]] and other pitches that depended on the ball being treated or roughed-up with foreign substances, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit.<ref>Zoss (2004), p. 90.</ref> The rise of the legendary player [[Babe Ruth]], the first great power hitter of the new era, helped permanently alter the nature of the game.<ref>Zoss (2004), p. 192.</ref> In the late 1920s and early 1930s, [[St. Louis Cardinals]] general manager [[Branch Rickey]] invested in several [[minor league baseball|minor league clubs]] and developed the first modern [[farm team|farm system]].<ref>Burk (2001), pp. 34–37.</ref> A new [[Negro National League (1933–1948)|Negro National League]] was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the [[Negro American League]]. The [[Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1936|first elections]] to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]] took place in 1936. In 1939, [[Little League Baseball]] was founded in Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.littleleague.org/about/history.asp|title=History of Little League|access-date=June 26, 2007|publisher=Little League|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514082459/http://www.littleleague.org/about/history.asp|archive-date=May 14, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Jackie Robinson Kansas City Monarchs.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Robinson posing in the uniform cap of the Kansas City Monarchs, a [[Negro League]] baseball team, 1945|[[Jackie Robinson]] in 1945, with the [[Negro American League]]'s [[Kansas City Monarchs]]]]

Many minor league teams disbanded when [[World War II]] led to a player shortage. [[Chicago Cubs]] owner [[Philip K. Wrigley]] led the formation of the [[All-American Girls Professional Baseball League]] to help keep the game in the public eye.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/pages/league/12/league-history|title=League History|author=Lesko, Jeneane|year=2005|publisher=All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724213445/http://aagpbl.org/index.cfm/pages/league/12/league-history|archive-date=July 24, 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=January 29, 2009}}</ref> The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled professional ball occurred in 1945: [[Jackie Robinson]] was signed by the National League's [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] and began playing for their minor league [[Montreal Royals|team in Montreal]].<ref>Burgos (2007), p. 158.</ref> In 1947, Robinson broke the major leagues' color barrier when he debuted with the Dodgers.<ref>Burgos (2007), pp. 180, 191.</ref> Latin-American players, largely overlooked before, also started entering the majors in greater numbers. In 1951, two Chicago White Sox, Venezuelan-born [[Chico Carrasquel]] and black Cuban-born [[Minnie Miñoso]], became the first Hispanic [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Stars]].<ref name="P111">Powers (2003), p. 111.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3DD113FF935A15753C1A9639C8B63|title=Baseball: White Sox and Fans Speak Same Language, with a Spanish Accent|date=October 26, 2005|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 4, 2009|archive-date=October 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022090235/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3DD113FF935A15753C1A9639C8B63|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Racial integration|Integration]] proceeded slowly: by 1953, only six of the 16 major league teams had a black player on the roster.<ref name="P111" />

==== Attendance records and the age of steroids ====

In 1975, the union's power—and players' salaries—began to increase greatly when the reserve clause was [[Seitz decision|effectively struck down]], leading to the [[free agent|free agency system]].<ref>Powers (2003), pp. 178, 180, 245.</ref> Significant work stoppages occurred in [[1981 Major League Baseball strike|1981]] and [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike|1994]], the latter forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 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">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><ref>Koppett (2004), pp. 376, 511.</ref> After play resumed in 1995, non-division-winning [[wild card (sports)|wild card]] teams became a permanent fixture of the post-season. Regular-season [[interleague play]] was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was set.<ref>Koppett (2004), p. 481.</ref> 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 (baseball)|umpire]] supervision—they had administered separately were consolidated under the rubric of MLB.<ref>Koppett (2004), p. 489.</ref>

In 2001, [[Barry Bonds]] 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 [[Banned substances in baseball|the abuse of illegal steroids]] (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; {{cite magazine|author=Verducci, Tom|title=To Cheat or Not to Cheat|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/magazine/05/29/baseball.steroids/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601005751/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/magazine/05/29/baseball.steroids/index.html?|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 1, 2012|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=May 29, 2012|access-date=May 30, 2012}}</ref> In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing [[Hank Aaron]], 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|access-date=January 29, 2009}}</ref><ref name="MinorAtRec">{{cite web|title=Minor League Baseball History|url=http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/history/|publisher=Minor League Baseball|access-date=January 29, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120173052/http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/history/|archive-date=January 20, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Around the world{{Anchor|Around-the-world}} ===
{{Main|History of baseball outside the United States}}

Despite having been called "America's national pastime", baseball is well-established in several other countries. As early as 1877, a professional league, the [[International Association for Professional Base Ball Players|International Association]], featured teams from both Canada and the United States.<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,<ref>{{cite web|title=Canada: Baseball participation, popularity rising across the nation|publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation|date=October 12, 2016|url=http://www.wbsc.org/canada-baseball-participation-popularity-rising-across-the-nation/|access-date=April 2, 2018|archive-date=April 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402231713/http://www.wbsc.org/canada-baseball-participation-popularity-rising-across-the-nation/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor1=Flaherty, David H.|editor2=Manning, Frank E.|title=The Beaver Bites Back?: American Popular Culture in Canada|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|year=1993|pages=157–158|isbn=9780773511200}}</ref> the American major leagues did not include a Canadian club until 1969, when the [[Montreal Expos]] joined the National League as an expansion team. In 1977, the expansion [[Toronto Blue Jays]] joined the American League.<ref>{{cite book|last=Riess|first=Steven A.|title=Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century: An Encyclopedia|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|pages=172, 656–657|isbn=9781317459477}}</ref>

[[File:WBC2006 Sadaharu Oh.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|[[Sadaharu Oh]] managing the [[Japan national baseball team|Japan national team]] in the [[2006 World Baseball Classic]]. Playing for the [[Central League]]'s [[Yomiuri Giants]] (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs.]]
In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico at [[Parque Los Berros]] in [[Xalapa]], [[Veracruz]].<ref>Terry (1909), p. 506.</ref> The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition. The [[Baseball in Dominican Republic|Dominican Republic]] 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 Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto Rico (1938).<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. 356, 123, 137, xxiv, 11, 233; Gmelch (2006), p. 296.</ref> The [[Nippon Professional Baseball|Japanese major leagues]] have long been considered the highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States.<ref>McNeil (2000), p. 113.</ref>

[[File:Eino Kaakkolahti.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Pesäpallo]], a [[Finland|Finnish]] variation of baseball, was invented by [[Lauri Pihkala|Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala]] in the 1920s,<ref>
    {{cite web |url= http://www.pesis.fi/pesapalloliitto/international_site/introduction/ |title= Introduction to the game  |website= Pesis.fi |publisher= Pesäpalloliitto |access-date=October 16, 2015 }}</ref> and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in [[Jyväskylä]], Finland.]]

After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American countries, most prominently [[Baseball in Venezuela|Venezuela]] (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955).<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. xxiv, xxv; Burgos (2007), p. 46.</ref> Since the early 1970s, the annual [[Caribbean Series]] has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin American winter leagues: the [[Dominican Professional Baseball League]], [[Mexican Pacific League]], [[Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League]], and [[Venezuelan Professional Baseball League]]. In Asia, South Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990) and China (2003) all have professional leagues.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. 362, 368; Gmelch (2006), pp. 100, 75, 59.</ref>

The English football club, [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]], were the first British baseball champions winning the [[1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Kendrick |first=Mat |url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-the-day-the-claret-and-blues-157375 |title=Aston Villa: The day the claret and blues won the baseball league |newspaper=[[Birmingham Mail]] |access-date=October 3, 2016 |archive-date=October 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005110644/http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-the-day-the-claret-and-blues-157375 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Cheats>{{cite news|title=The Baseball Championship: Aston Villa the Winners|publisher=Sporting Life|date=September 3, 1890|page=1}}</ref> The 2020 [[Baseball in the United Kingdom#National Baseball Champions|National Champions]] were the [[London Mets]]. Other European countries have seen professional leagues; the most successful, other than the [[Honkbal Hoofdklasse|Dutch league]], is the [[Serie A1 (baseball)|Italian league]], founded in 1948.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. xv.</ref> In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the [[2004 Olympic Games|Olympic Games]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Mayo, Jonathan|title=Perspective: Baseball in the Holy Land|url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-501366|publisher=Minor League Baseball|date=January 28, 2009|access-date=February 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131063101/http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090127&content_id=501366&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp|archive-date=January 31, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> The Confédération Européene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes a number of competitions between clubs from different countries. Other competitions between national teams, such as the [[Baseball World Cup]] and the [[Baseball at the Summer Olympics|Olympic baseball tournament]], were administered by the [[International Baseball Federation]] (IBAF) from its formation in 1938 until its 2013 merger with the [[International Softball Federation]] to create the current joint governing body for both sports, the [[World Baseball Softball Confederation]] (WBSC).<ref>{{cite web|title=International Baseball Federation (Confederations/Member Federations)|url=http://www.ibaf.org/|publisher=International Baseball Federation|access-date=February 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306131244/http://www.ibaf.org/|archive-date=March 6, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Women's baseball]] is played on an organized amateur basis in numerous countries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Seymour Mills|first=Dorothy|title=Chasing Baseball: Our Obsession with its History, Numbers, People and Places|publisher=McFarland & Company|year=2009|pages=169–170|isbn=9780786455881}}</ref>

After being admitted to the Olympics as a [[Olympic sport|medal sport]] beginning with the [[1992 Summer Olympics|1992 Games]], baseball was dropped from the [[2012 Summer Olympic Games]] at the 2005 [[117th IOC Session|International Olympic Committee meeting]]. It remained part of the [[2008 Summer Olympic Games|2008 Games]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Fewer Sports for London Olympics|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/4658925.stm|work=BBC News|date=July 8, 2005|access-date=September 16, 2008|archive-date=February 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208214941/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/4658925.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> While the sport's lack of a following in much of the world was a factor,<ref>{{cite web|title=Secret ballot eliminates baseball, softball|publisher=[[ESPN]]|agency=Associated Press|date=July 8, 2005|url=http://www.espn.com/olympics/news/story?id=2103234|access-date=June 2, 2019|archive-date=December 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214064042/https://www.espn.com/olympics/news/story?id=2103234|url-status=live}}</ref> more important was MLB's reluctance to allow its players to participate during the major league season.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Fetters, Ashley|title=Lost Sports of the Summer Olympics|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/07/lost-sports-of-the-summer-olympics/260101/|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|date=July 20, 2012|access-date=June 2, 2019|archive-date=November 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112150247/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/07/lost-sports-of-the-summer-olympics/260101/|url-status=live}}</ref> MLB initiated the [[World Baseball Classic]], scheduled to precede its season, partly as a replacement, high-profile international tournament. The [[2006 World Baseball Classic|inaugural Classic]], held in March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature a significant number of MLB participants.<ref>{{cite news|author=Isidore, Chris|title=The Spring Classic?|url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/03/10/commentary/column_sportsbiz/sportsbiz/index.htm|publisher=CNNMoney.com|date=March 11, 2006|access-date=February 3, 2009|archive-date=October 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007104544/http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/10/commentary/column_sportsbiz/sportsbiz/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=McNeal, Stan|title=Your Guide to the '06 World Baseball Classic|work=[[Sporting News]]|publisher=CBS Interactive|date=March 3, 2006|access-date=February 3, 2009|url=http://business.highbeam.com/62653/article-1G1-142729829/your-guide-06-world-baseball-classic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701033537/http://business.highbeam.com/62653/article-1G1-142729829/your-guide-06-world-baseball-classic|archive-date=July 1, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after its [[2011 Baseball World Cup|2011 edition]] in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.ibaf.org/en/news/2011/12/03/the-congress-approved-a-new-format-of-internationa/cd3e0ea8-a62d-4c01-85f5-4c2aafba5119|title=IBAF Congress Approves New Format of International Tournaments|publisher=International Baseball Federation|date=December 3, 2011|access-date=January 20, 2013|archive-date=November 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102111418/http://www.ibaf.org/en/news/2011/12/03/the-congress-approved-a-new-format-of-internationa/cd3e0ea8-a62d-4c01-85f5-4c2aafba5119|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Distinctive elements ==
Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following. All of these sports use a clock,<ref>Guttmann (2007), p. 140.</ref> play is less individual,<ref name="Mandelbaum5557">Mandelbaum (2005), pp. 55–57.</ref> and the variation between playing fields is not as substantial or important.<ref>Morris (2007), p. xi.</ref> The [[comparison between cricket and baseball]] demonstrates that many of baseball's distinctive elements are shared in various ways with similar sports.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Melville |first=Tom |date=1996 |title=Cricket and Mr. Spalding |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/cricket-and-mr-spalding/ |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=[[Society for American Baseball Research]] |archive-date=June 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250609232835/https://sabr.org/journal/article/cricket-and-mr-spalding/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Crown |first=Daniel |date=2017-10-19 |title=The Battle Between Baseball and Cricket for American Sporting Supremacy |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cricket-baseball-american-sport |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en |archive-date=January 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105141613/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cricket-baseball-american-sport |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== No clock to kill ===
[[File:A worn-out baseball.JPG|thumb|A well-worn baseball]]
In clock-limited sports, games often end with a team that holds the lead [[stalling (gaming)|killing the clock]] rather than competing aggressively against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock, thus 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> Whereas, in the case of multi-day [[Test cricket|Test]] and [[first-class cricket]], the possibility of a [[draw (cricket)|draw]] (which occurs because of the restrictions on time, which like in baseball, originally [[Timeless Test|did not exist]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 22, 2015|title=The Test match that went on and on and on. Without a winner but with meaning {{!}} Andy Bull|url=http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/dec/22/the-spin-cricket-the-timeless-test-1939|access-date=September 6, 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>) often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind, to bat defensively and run out the clock, giving up any faint chance at a win, to avoid an overall loss.<ref>Eastaway, Rob, ''What Is a Googly?: The Mysteries of Cricket Explained'' (Anova, 2005), p. 134.</ref>

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 20th 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 news|author=Bodley, Hal|url=https://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|access-date=February 3, 2009|work=[[USA Today]]|archive-date=March 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314204330/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/columnist/bodley/2004-02-26-bodley_x.htm|url-status=live}}</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 news|author=Greenfield, Jeff|author-link=Jeff Greenfield|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988721,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930042801/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988721,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2007|title=Midnight Baseball|date=July 13, 1998|access-date=February 3, 2009|magazine=Time}}</ref> In 2004, Major League Baseball declared that its goal was an average game of 2:45.<ref name="HB"/> By 2014, though, the average MLB game took over three hours to complete.<ref>{{cite news|author=Berg, Ted|url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/09/mlb-games-length-three-hours-pace-of-play|title=Why Are Baseball Games Getting So Much Longer?|date=September 30, 2014|access-date=December 27, 2014|work=USA Today|archive-date=December 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228075648/http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/09/mlb-games-length-three-hours-pace-of-play|url-status=live}}</ref> 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, [[Nippon Professional Baseball]] 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|access-date=February 18, 2009|publisher=Japan for Sustainability|archive-date=July 7, 2009|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090707230418/http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/027087.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, the average nine-inning playoff game in Major League baseball was 3 hours and 35 minutes. This was up 10 minutes from 2015 and 21 minutes from 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last=Crasnick |first=Jerry |author-link=Jerry Crasnick |date=October 17, 2017 |title=Major league teams playing marathon-length games in October |url=http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21057049/mlb-playoff-games-averaging-three-hours-thirty-five-minutes-season |access-date=October 18, 2017 |publisher=[[ESPN]] |archive-date=May 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508123014/https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21057049/mlb-playoff-games-averaging-three-hours-thirty-five-minutes-season |url-status=live }}</ref> In response to the lengthening of the game, MLB decided from the 2023 season onward to institute a [[pitch clock]] rule to penalize batters and pitchers who take too much time between pitches; this had the effect of shortening 2023 regular season games by 24 minutes on average.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pitch Timer (2023 rule change) {{!}} Glossary |url=https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/pitch-timer |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=MLB.com |language=en |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406075754/https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/pitch-timer |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McCullough |first=Andy |title=The pitch clock meets the postseason: MLB's new rules face October pressure |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4917785/2023/10/02/pitch-clock-postseason-mlb/ |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=The Athletic |date=October 2, 2023 |language=en |archive-date=August 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250825021117/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4917785/2023/10/02/pitch-clock-postseason-mlb/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Individual focus ===
[[File:Babe Ruth2.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Babe Ruth]] in 1920, the year he joined the [[New York Yankees]]]]
Although baseball is a team sport, individual players are often placed under scrutiny and pressure. While rewarding, it has sometimes been described as "ruthless" due to the pressure on the individual player.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url = https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/ways-to-stay-sane-in-baseball|title = Ways to Stay Sane in Baseball|magazine = [[The New Yorker]]|date = April 4, 2015|access-date = June 12, 2021|archive-date = December 9, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221209003253/https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/ways-to-stay-sane-in-baseball|url-status = live}}</ref> 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> 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 [[baseball statistics|statistical precision of baseball]] is both facilitated by this isolation and reinforces it.

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 [[partnership (cricket)|batting partnership]] and the practicalities of tandem running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy the [[wicket]] for an hour or much more.<ref>{{Cite web|title=10 Cricketers who batted on all five days of a Test match|url=https://cricket.yahoo.net/news/10-cricketers-batted-five-days-184512717|access-date=September 6, 2020|website=cricket.yahoo.net}}</ref> 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 [baseball]. 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.'...&nbsp;[T]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 parks ===
{{Further|Ballpark}}
[[File:Fenway Park - Oct 5th, 2021 - ALCS Wild Card.jpg|thumb|left|[[Fenway Park]], home of the [[Boston Red Sox]]. The [[Green Monster]] is visible beyond the playing field on the left.]]

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 MLB 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)|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011325/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Major league teams often skirt even this rule. For example, at [[Daikin Park]], which became the home of the [[Houston Astros]] in 2000, the [[Crawford Boxes]] in left field are only {{convert|315|ft|m|0}} from home plate.<ref>{{cite news|author=Nightengale, Bob|date=August 20, 2008|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-08-20-bestseats-minutemaid_N.htm|title=No. 8: Out in Left Field in Houston's Crawford Boxes|access-date=February 17, 2009|work=USA Today|archive-date=March 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310185131/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-08-20-bestseats-minutemaid_N.htm|url-status=live}}</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 [[Fenway Park]], in use since 1912: the [[Green Monster]] 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>

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 foulout 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 [[inside-the-park home run]].<ref>Puhalla, Krans, and Goatley (2003), p. 198; {{cite news|author=Shaikin, Bill|date=May 27, 2006|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-27-sp-angels27-story.html|title=Guerrero Becomes Mr. Inside|access-date=February 17, 2009|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728193529/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-27-sp-angels27-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The surface of the field is also unregulated. While the adjacent image 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)|access-date=February 2, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205011325/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/01_objectives_of_the_game.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Some fields—including several in MLB—use [[artificial turf]]. 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 news|author=Shaikin, Bill|date=October 8, 2002|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-oct-08-sp-angnote8-story.html|title=No Fly Ball Routine in Dome|access-date=February 17, 2009|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 play the way foul territory in baseball does, so variations in that regard are largely insignificant.<ref>Puhalla, Krans, and Goatley (2003), p. 207.</ref>

[[File:Red Sox Yankees Game Boston July 2012.jpg|thumb|A [[New York Yankees]] batter ([[Andruw Jones]]) and a [[Boston Red Sox]] catcher at [[Fenway Park]]]]

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 play. 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 [[Coors Field]], home of the [[Colorado Rockies]]. Its high altitude—{{convert|5282|ft|m|0}} above sea level—is partly responsible for giving it the strongest hitter's park effect in the major leagues due to the low air pressure.<ref>Keri (2007), pp. 295–301.</ref> [[Wrigley Field]], home of the Chicago Cubs, is known for its fickle disposition: a pitcher's park when the strong winds off [[Lake Michigan]] are blowing in, it becomes more of a hitter's park when they are blowing out.<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|access-date=February 17, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201003317/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080930&content_id=3575106&vkey=ps2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb|archive-date=December 1, 2008|url-status=dead}}</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 an easy catch on the [[warning track]] 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 [[pull hitter]]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 news|author=Sheinin, Dave|date=March 26, 2008|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402798.html|title=After Move, a Breaking In Process|access-date=February 17, 2009|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525165417/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402798.html|url-status=live}} See also Powers (2003), p. 85.</ref>

== Statistics ==
{{Further|Baseball statistics}}

Organized baseball lends itself to [[statistics]] to a greater degree than many other sports. Each play is discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes. In the late 19th century, a former cricket player, English-born [[Henry Chadwick (writer)|Henry Chadwick]] of [[Brooklyn]], was responsible for the "development of the [[box score (baseball)|box score]], tabular standings, the annual baseball guide, the [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]], 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 [[Alan Schwarz]] 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 MLB require the [[official scorer]] to categorize each baseball play unambiguously. The rules provide detailed criteria to promote consistency. The [[baseball scorekeeping|score report]] 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|access-date=February 22, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224215917/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> General managers, managers, and [[scout (sport)|baseball scouts]] use statistics to evaluate players and make strategic decisions.

[[File:Baseball steal.jpg|right|thumb|[[Rickey Henderson]]—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)|access-date=February 22, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224215917/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[At bat]]s: plate appearances, excluding walks and [[hit by pitch]]es—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 a base is reached safely, because of a batted, fair ball without a fielding error or [[fielder's choice]]
* Runs: times circling the bases and reaching home safely
* [[Run batted in|Runs batted in]] (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 (baseball)|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)|access-date=February 22, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224215917/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</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
[[File:Cy young pitching.jpg|right|thumb|[[Cy Young]]—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual [[Cy Young Award|awards for the best pitcher in each league]] 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)|access-date=February 22, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224215917/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Win–loss record (pitching)|Wins]]: credited to pitcher on winning team who last pitched before the team took a lead that it never relinquished (a starting pitcher must pitch at least five innings to qualify for a win)
* [[Win–loss record (pitching)|Losses]]: charged to pitcher on losing team who was pitching when the opposing team took a lead that it never relinquished
* [[Save (baseball)|Saves]]: 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 [[on deck (baseball)|on deck]]; or (c) the pitcher pitched three or more innings
* [[Innings pitched]]: outs recorded while pitching divided by three (partial innings are conventionally recorded as, e.g., "5.2" or "7.1", the last digit actually representing thirds, not tenths, of an inning)
* Strikeouts: times pitching three strikes to a batter
* [[Winning percentage]]: wins divided by decisions (wins plus losses)
* [[Earned run average]] (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)|access-date=February 22, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224215917/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Putout]]s: times the fielder catches a fly ball, tags or forces out a runner, or otherwise directly effects an out
* [[Assist (baseball)|Assists]]: times a putout by another fielder was recorded following the fielder touching the ball
* [[Error (baseball)|Errors]]: times the fielder fails to make a play that should have been made with common effort, and the batting team benefits as a result
* [[Total chances]]: putouts plus assists plus errors
* [[Fielding average]]: 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 [[intentional base on balls|intentionally walk]] 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 ===
[[Sabermetrics]] is the field of baseball statistical study and the development of new statistics and analytical tools. Such new statistics are also called sabermetrics. The term was coined around 1980 by one of the field's leading proponents, [[Bill James]], and derives from the [[Society for American Baseball Research]] (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>
* [[On-base percentage]] (OBP) 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)|access-date=February 22, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224215917/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Slugging percentage]] (SLG) measures a batter's ability to hit for power. It is calculated by taking the batter's [[total bases]] (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)|access-date=February 22, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224215917/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules/10_the_official_scorer.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some of the new statistics devised by sabermetricians have gained wide use:
* [[On-base plus slugging]] (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>
* [[Walks plus hits per inning pitched]] (WHIP) measures a pitcher's ability at preventing hitters from reaching base. It is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits a pitcher surrendered, then dividing by the number of innings pitched.<ref>Guzzo (2007), pp. 140–141.</ref>
*[[Wins Above Replacement]] (WAR) measures number of additional wins his team has achieved above the number of expected team wins if that player were substituted with a [[replacement-level player]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is WAR? {{!}} Sabermetrics Library|url=https://library.fangraphs.com/misc/war/|access-date=October 12, 2021|archive-date=October 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010010307/https://library.fangraphs.com/misc/war/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Popularity and cultural impact ==
[[File:Waseda University baseball players.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's [[Waseda University]] in 1921]]
Writing in 1919, philosopher [[Morris Raphael Cohen]] described baseball as the national religion of the US.<ref>Cohen, Morris Raphael, "Baseball as a National Religion" (1919), in Cohen, ''The Faith of a Liberal'' (Transaction, 1993 [1946]), pp. 334–336: p. 334.</ref> In the words of sports columnist [[Jayson Stark]], 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 |first=Jayson |author-link=Jayson Stark |date=February 8, 2009 |title=A-Rod Has Destroyed Game's History |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3892788 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210124048/http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3892788 |archive-date=February 10, 2009 |access-date=February 8, 2009 |work=[[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, [and] how thoroughly it was radically reshaped and nativized in Japan."<ref>Bjarkman (2004), p. xix.</ref>

=== Western Hemisphere ===
American influence in the Western Hemisphere has meant that baseball grew significantly in the region.

==== In the United States ====
{{See also|Baseball in Canada}}
[[File:911 President George W. Bush at World Series, 10302001..jpg|thumb|[[George W. Bush|President George W. Bush]] taking advice before [[2001 World Series#September 11 and the month of November|throwing the first pitch]] of World Series game 3, weeks after [[9/11]]]]
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 popular blue-collar-oriented American spectator sports.<ref>Riess (1991), pp. 247–248.</ref>

Overall, baseball has a large following in the United States; a 2006 poll found that nearly half of Americans are fans.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=Jeffrey M.|date=April 4, 2006|title=Nearly Half of Americans are Baseball Fans|url=http://news.gallup.com/poll/22240/nearly-half-americans-baseball-fans.aspx|access-date=May 31, 2018|publisher=Gallup|archive-date=June 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617092923/https://news.gallup.com/poll/22240/nearly-half-americans-baseball-fans.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> This led to baseball being granted the title of "America's favorite pastime" by many American baseball fans.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-14 |title=America's Favorite Pastime |url=https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/baseball-and-the-archives |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=National Archives |language=en |archive-date=March 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311211947/https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/baseball-and-the-archives |url-status=live }}</ref> The game was historically seen as contributing to the [[melting pot]] society of the nation, encouraging immigrants to integrate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Missimer |first=Katy |date=2019-03-18 |title=American Immigration and Baseball: A Parallel Pastime |url=https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/the_histories/vol5/iss2/5/ |journal=The Histories |volume=5 |issue=2 |archive-date=August 7, 2024 |access-date=October 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807004254/https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/the_histories/vol5/iss2/5/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the late 1900s and early 2000s, baseball's position compared to football in the United States moved in contradictory directions. In 2008, MLB set a revenue record of $6.5&nbsp;billion, matching the NFL's revenue for the first time in decades.<ref>{{cite news|author=Kercheval, Nancy|date=October 1, 2008|title=Major League Baseball Revenue Reaches Record, Attendance Falls|publisher=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=asFEMjfiKA5s|url-status=dead|access-date=February 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629051650/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=asFEMjfiKA5s|archive-date=June 29, 2011}} {{cite news|author=Battista, Judy|date=December 9, 2008|title=Feeling Pinch, N.F.L. Will Cut About 150 Jobs|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/sports/football/10nfl.html|access-date=February 8, 2009}} {{cite web|author=Haudricourt, Tom|date=October 20, 2007|title=Bases Loaded|url=http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/29405374.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706194429/http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/29405374.html|archive-date=July 6, 2009|access-date=February 8, 2009|work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]}}</ref> A new MLB revenue record of more than $10&nbsp;billion was set in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 22, 2017|title=Report: MLB revenues exceed $10 billion for the first time|work=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/11/22/mlb-revenues-exceed-10-billion/890041001/|access-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref> On the other hand, the percentage of American sports fans polled who named baseball as their favorite sport was 9%, compared to pro football at 37%.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bonesteel|first=Matt|date=January 10, 2018|title=Despite all the bad news, poll shows football still is America's favorite sport by a wide margin|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/01/10/despite-all-the-bad-news-poll-shows-football-still-is-americas-favorite-sport-by-a-wide-margin/|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-date=March 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328102734/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/01/10/despite-all-the-bad-news-poll-shows-football-still-is-americas-favorite-sport-by-a-wide-margin/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1985, the respective figures were pro football 24%, baseball 23%.<ref>{{cite web|date=January 27, 2009|title=Professional Football Continues Dominance over Baseball as America's Favorite Sport|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/sports-recreation/sports-games-outdoor/11762627-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110073300/http://www.allbusiness.com/sports-recreation/sports-games-outdoor/11762627-1.html|archive-date=January 10, 2011|access-date=September 15, 2010|work=Business Wire|publisher=AllBusiness}}</ref> Because there are so many more major league games played, there is no comparison in overall attendance.<ref>{{cite news|last=McGinty|first=Jo Craven|date=April 10, 2015|title=Popularity Contest: Baseball vs. Football|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/popularity-contest-baseball-vs-football-1428679449|url-access=subscription|access-date=May 18, 2018|archive-date=September 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903113149/https://www.wsj.com/articles/popularity-contest-baseball-vs-football-1428679449|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, total attendance at major league games was the second-highest in history: 78.6&nbsp;million, 0.7% off the record set the previous year.<ref name="MajorAtRec" /> The following year, amid the U.S. recession, attendance fell by 6.6% to 73.4&nbsp;million.<ref name="Brown10">{{cite web|author=Brown, Maury|date=February 25, 2010|title=MLB Sees a Record $6.6 Billion in Revenues for 2009|url=http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4124:mlb-sees-a-record-66-billion-in-revenues-for-2009&catid=30:mlb-news&Itemid=42|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027080204/http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4124%3Amlb-sees-a-record-66-billion-in-revenues-for-2009&catid=30%3Amlb-news&Itemid=42|archive-date=October 27, 2010|access-date=September 17, 2010|publisher=Biz of Baseball}}</ref> Eight years later, it dropped under 73&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jeff Passan|date=April 16, 2018|title=10 Degrees: MLB's enormous attendance drop due to bad weather or something far worse for baseball?|work=Yahoo Sports|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/10-degrees-mlbs-enormous-attendance-drop-due-bad-weather-something-far-worse-baseball-152051024.html|access-date=June 16, 2018|archive-date=June 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617043342/https://sports.yahoo.com/10-degrees-mlbs-enormous-attendance-drop-due-bad-weather-something-far-worse-baseball-152051024.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Attendance at games held under the Minor League Baseball umbrella set a record in 2008, with 43.3&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|date=September 9, 2015|title=Minor League attendance tops 42.5 million|url=https://www.milb.com/milb/news/gcs-148297748|access-date=June 16, 2018|publisher=Minor League Baseball|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308154434/https://www.milb.com/milb/news/gcs-148297748|url-status=live}}</ref> While MLB games have not drawn the same national TV viewership as football games, MLB games are dominant in teams' local markets and regularly lead all programs in [[primetime]] in their markets during the summer.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hayes|first1=Dade|date=February 14, 2020|title=Baseball Returns As Playoff Format Debate, Houston Astros Cheating Scandal Raise Questions About Future Of ESPN, Turner TV Rights|work=Deadline|url=https://deadline.com/2020/02/baseball-houston-astros-playoff-format-changes-tv-rights-1202859213/|access-date=October 29, 2020|archive-date=August 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817172853/https://deadline.com/2020/02/baseball-houston-astros-playoff-format-changes-tv-rights-1202859213/|url-status=live}}</ref> After multiple years of declines since 2017, baseball attendance has grown slightly in recent years. In 2024, attendance was 71.3 million, the highest since 2017.<ref>{{cite news|date=October 1, 2024|title=MLB Finishes 2024 Season With Highest Attendance in Seven Years|work=Major League Baseball|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-finishes-2024-season-with-highest-attendance-in-seven-years|access-date=May 10, 2025}}</ref>

==== Latin America ====
{{See also|Latin America–United States relations#Sports}}

Baseball is very popular in Venezuela; in 2011, 95% of people surveyed claimed it to be the national sport.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lang |first=Jack |title=Baseball is Venezuela's national sport – but the 2024 Copa America shows why that might be changing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5615753/2024/07/05/venezuela-copa-america-baseball-soccer/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |work=The New York Times |date=July 10, 2024 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705130438/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5615753/2024/07/05/venezuela-copa-america-baseball-soccer/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In Nicaragua and Panama, baseball is also considered the national sport.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=David |date=March 7, 2023 |title=The history of baseball in Nicaragua |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/nicaragua-baseball-history |access-date=May 10, 2025 |website=Major League Baseball |language=en |archive-date=July 1, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250701022418/https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/nicaragua-baseball-history |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 18, 2025 |title=Over 200K fans show up for Panama's U-18 National Baseball Championship as Coclé repeats championship run |url=https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/over-200k-fans-show-up-for-panamas-u-18-national-baseball-championship-as-cocle-repeats-championship-run |access-date=May 10, 2025 |website=WBSC |language=en |archive-date=March 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250318164819/https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/over-200k-fans-show-up-for-panamas-u-18-national-baseball-championship-as-cocle-repeats-championship-run |url-status=live }}</ref> While soccer is still more popular, baseball is a fast-growing sport [[Baseball in Mexico|in Mexico]]. In 2024, top [[Mexican League]] baseball teams outdraw some [[Liga MX]] teams in attendance.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rodriguez|first=Carlos|date=April 16, 2025|title=Mexican Baseball League eager to build on growing attendance|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/apr/16/mexican-baseball-league-eager-to-build-on-growing/|access-date=April 16, 2025|website=Chattanooga Time Free Press|language=en|archive-date=April 18, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250418210646/https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/apr/16/mexican-baseball-league-eager-to-build-on-growing/|url-status=live}}</ref> Baseball also is somewhat popular in Colombia, though secondary to soccer, especially in coastal areas such as [[Barranquilla]] and [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]] which are [[Caribbean region of Colombia|near the Caribbean]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paul Morosi |first=Jon |date=September 24, 2020 |title=Next baseball juggernaut? Colombia has case |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/colombia-becoming-baseball-powerhouse |access-date=May 10, 2025 |website=MLB.com}}</ref> In recent years, baseball has grown in popularity in Colombia, especially in the capital of [[Bogotá]], due an increase of Venezuelan immigrants.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wagner|first=James|date=November 24, 2023|title=Baseball Flourishes in Colombia's Capital. But Not Because of Colombians|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/sports/baseball/baseball-colombia-bogota-venezuela.html|access-date=May 10, 2025|website=The New York Times|language=en|archive-date=August 16, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250816155524/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/sports/baseball/baseball-colombia-bogota-venezuela.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In Brazil, baseball fan popularity has grown in the last few years, thanks to MLB broadcasts in [[ESPN (Brazil)|Brazilian ESPN]] and the historic silver medal in [[Baseball at the 2023 Pan American Games|2023 Pan-American games]]. However, it still lags behind [[Basketball in Brazil|Basketball]] and [[American football in Brazil|American Football]] in the list of most played sports in Brazil.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pessôa |first=Lucas |title=Impulsionado por força econômica da MLB, beisebol mira expansão no Brasil |trans-title=Driven by MLB's economic strength, Baseball aims for expansion in Brazil |url=https://www.lance.com.br/lancebiz/mercado-do-esporte/pais-do-beisebol-impulsionado-por-forca-economica-da-mlb-esporte-mira-expansao-no-brasil.html |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=[[Lance!]] |language=pt-br |archive-date=January 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250110120819/https://www.lance.com.br/lancebiz/mercado-do-esporte/pais-do-beisebol-impulsionado-por-forca-economica-da-mlb-esporte-mira-expansao-no-brasil.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kobayashi Deckrow |first=Andre |date=2023-10-23 |title=How Baseball Became Brazilian |url=https://defector.com/how-baseball-became-brazilian |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=[[Defector Media|Defector]]}}</ref> Baseball has also grown in popularity in Argentina and Peru in recent years due to Venezuelan immigrants.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zea |first=Tibisay |date=June 24, 2024 |title=Baseball rises in Argentina thanks to Venezuelan migration |url=https://theworld.org/stories/2024/06/24/baseball-rises-in-argentina-thanks-to-venezuelan-migration |access-date=May 10, 2025 |website=The World |language=en |archive-date=July 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250708044918/https://theworld.org/stories/2024/06/24/baseball-rises-in-argentina-thanks-to-venezuelan-migration |url-status=live }}</ref> Costa Rica has also seen a growth in the popularity of baseball. Since 1987, baseballs have exclusively been made in the Costa Rican town of [[Turrialba (district)|Turrialba]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Llorca Castro|first=Fernando|date=October 25, 2021|title=Turrialba Makes, the World Series Takes|url=https://www.wsj.com/opinion/turrialba-makes-the-world-series-takes-baseball-costa-rica-11635195464|access-date=May 10, 2025|website=The Wall Street Journal|language=en|archive-date=August 16, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250816110500/https://www.wsj.com/opinion/turrialba-makes-the-world-series-takes-baseball-costa-rica-11635195464|url-status=live}}</ref> Baseball is also played in [[Honduras]]. In recent years, Major leaguer [[Mauricio Dubón]] has made efforts to increase support for the sport in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rome|first=Chandler|date=March 8, 2023 |title=Flag bearers: Houston's Mauricio Dubón and Bligh Madris are face of baseball in Honduras, Palau|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/honduras-mauricio-dubon-palau-bligh-madris-astros-17826867.php |access-date=September 3, 2025 |website=Houston Chronicle|language=en}}</ref>

The sport's overall popularity in Latin America has assisted in [[Hispanic and Latino Americans#Sports|integrating Latin American migrants to the United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chamberlain |first=Craig |date=2020-10-12 |title=Capturing the story of Latinos and baseball |url=https://las.illinois.edu/news/2020-10-12/capturing-story-latinos-and-baseball |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Illinois |archive-date=December 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226004224/https://las.illinois.edu/news/2020-10-12/capturing-story-latinos-and-baseball |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Caribbean ====
Since the early 1980s, the Dominican Republic, in particular the city of [[San Pedro de Macorís]], has been the major leagues' primary source of foreign talent.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), pp. 159–165.</ref> In 2017, 83 of the 868 players on MLB Opening Day rosters (and disabled lists) were from the country. Among other Caribbean countries and territories, a combined 97 MLB players were born in Venezuela, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite web|title=Opening Day Rosters Feature 230 Players Born Outside the U.S.|date=April 6, 2015 |publisher=Major League Baseball|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/opening-day-rosters-feature-230-players-born-outside-the-us/c-116591920|access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref> Hall-of-Famer [[Roberto Clemente]] remains one of the greatest national heroes in Puerto Rico's history.<ref>Bjarkman (2004), p. 487.</ref> While baseball has long been the island's primary athletic pastime, its once well-attended professional winter league has declined in popularity since 1990, when young Puerto Rican players began to be included in the major leagues' annual first-year player draft.<ref>{{cite news|author=Castillo, Jorge|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/sports/baseball/puerto-rico-traces-decline-in-prospects-to-inclusion-in-the-baseball-draft.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/sports/baseball/puerto-rico-traces-decline-in-prospects-to-inclusion-in-the-baseball-draft.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited|title=Puerto Rico Traces Baseball's Slide to the Draft|date=January 16, 2012|access-date=January 25, 2012|work=The New York Times}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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 news |author=Weissert, Will |date=March 5, 2009 |title=Cubans' Baseball Dreams Take Root on Rocky Fields |work=USA Today |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2009-03-05-3277668016_x.htm |access-date=April 28, 2009 |archive-date=March 10, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310031255/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2009-03-05-3277668016_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Baseball is also one of the most popular sports of [[Aruba]] and [[Curaçao]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Belson |first=Ken |date=March 7, 2017 |title=With Talent From Two Small Islands, the Netherlands Is a W.B.C. Favorite |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/sports/baseball/wbc-netherlands-win.html |access-date=May 10, 2025 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112022853/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/sports/baseball/wbc-netherlands-win.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and a growing sport in [[The Bahamas]] and the [[US Virgin Islands]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Yates|first=Clinton|date=January 24, 2022|title=Baseball and the Bahamas: A deeper bond than you may realize|work=Andscape|url=https://andscape.com/features/baseball-and-the-bahamas-a-deeper-bond-than-you-may-realize/|access-date=May 10, 2025|archive-date=August 15, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250815224911/https://andscape.com/features/baseball-and-the-bahamas-a-deeper-bond-than-you-may-realize/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Clendinen Jr.|first1=Cletis A.|last2=Harrigan Sr|first2=Ronald E.|date=January 19, 2017 |title=Baseball comes to the DWI and the USVI |work=The Virgin Islands Daily News|url=https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/baseball-comes-to-the-dwi-and-the-usvi/article_8372f8bb-3612-54db-91c3-d5bce568e0b4.html/ |access-date=September 3, 2025}}</ref>

=== Asia ===
[[File:Afghan girl playing baseball in 2002.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002]]
In East Asia, baseball is among the most popular sports in Japan,<ref>{{cite news |author=Hernandez, Dylan |date=March 21, 2017 |title=World Baseball Classic keeps sport relevant in Japan |url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-us-japan-hernandez-20170321-story.html |access-date=April 26, 2018 |work=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=March 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331233138/http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-us-japan-hernandez-20170321-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Taiwan<ref>{{Cite news |title=A Cultural Exploration of Baseball in Taiwan |url=https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=3729 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704221715/https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=3729 |archive-date=July 4, 2024 |access-date=2025-01-10 |work=[[CommonWealth Magazine (Taiwan)|CommonWealth Magazine]] |language=zh-TW |url-status=live }}</ref> and South Korea.<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Korea baseball history |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/south-korea-baseball-history |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=MLB.com |language=en |archive-date=January 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250110120820/https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/south-korea-baseball-history |url-status=live }}</ref> In Japan, where baseball is inarguably the [[Baseball in Japan|leading spectator team sport]], combined revenue for the twelve teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the body that oversees both the Central and Pacific Leagues, was estimated at $1&nbsp;billion in 2007. Total NPB attendance for the year was approximately 20&nbsp;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>{{Cite news|author=Whiting, Robert|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2007/04/11/baseball/is-the-mlb-destroying-japans-national-pastime/|title=Is the MLB Destroying Japan's National Pastime?|date=April 11, 2007|access-date=February 8, 2009|work=[[The Japan Times]]|archive-date=November 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102110936/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2007/04/11/baseball/is-the-mlb-destroying-japans-national-pastime/|url-status=live}}</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&nbsp;... because its greatest interest has always been the development of athletes".<ref>González Echevarría (2001), p. 366.</ref> In Taiwan, baseball is one of the [[Baseball in Taiwan|most widely spectated sports, in TV and person]].<ref name="Taiwan Culture Portal">{{Cite web |last=Yeh |first=Joseph |date=September 30, 2008 |title=Taiwan Baseball a new rallying point for national pride |url=http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=918&Itemid=157 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712193311/http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=918&Itemid=157 |archive-date=July 12, 2015 |access-date= May 1, 2022}}</ref>

Baseball has [[Baseball in China|grown significantly in China]] in recent years, with MLB estimating in 2019 that there are 21 million active fans in the country.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Feature: China sees growing youthful exuberance on baseball diamond -Xinhua |url=https://english.news.cn/20231024/88327d19144e4ada846036e80a00365d/c.html |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=english.news.cn |archive-date=December 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241201212202/https://english.news.cn/20231024/88327d19144e4ada846036e80a00365d/c.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Baseball was considered a national pastime in the Philippines in the 1960s and 70s, but the sport has since declined in popularity. Since 2005, there have been efforts to revitalize the sport in the country.<ref name="renaissance">{{cite web |last1=Fidler |first1=Gabriel |title=Philippines Preparing for Baseball Renaissance |url=http://www.mister-baseball.com/philippines-preparing-baseball-renaissance/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140503155013/http://www.mister-baseball.com/philippines-preparing-baseball-renaissance/ |archive-date=May 3, 2014 |accessdate=July 8, 2014 |website=Mister Baseball |ref=November 12, 2012}}</ref>

=== Europe ===
[[File:Tigers2017Champions.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|The [[Tampere Tigers]] celebrating the 2017 title in [[Turku]], [[Finland]]]]
Baseball is generally a [[Baseball in Europe|niche sport in Europe]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stangler|first=Cole|title=Does Baseball Have a Future in Europe?|url=https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/ducks-over-pond|website=Commonweal|date=July 6, 2019|access-date=May 11, 2025|archive-date=August 16, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250816142725/https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/ducks-over-pond|url-status=live}}</ref> However, baseball is somewhat popular [[Baseball in the Netherlands|in the Netherlands]], where it is known as ''honkbal'', thanks to influence from the United States after World War II and the Kingdoms control over Aruba and Curaçao where it is the most popular sport.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tagliabue|first=John|title=In Netherlands, Soccer Is King, but Baseball Eyes Crown|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/world/europe/21dutch.html |website=The New York Times|date=May 21, 2008|access-date=May 11, 2025}}</ref> Baseball is also somewhat popular in portions of Italy, especially in the town of [[Nettuno]], due to influence from American soldiers after World War II.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Monagan|first=Matt|title=The seaside Italian town obsessed with baseball|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/the-italian-town-obsessed-with-baseball|website=Major League Baseball|date=March 1, 2023|access-date=May 11, 2025|archive-date=June 19, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250619050806/https://www.mlb.com/news/the-italian-town-obsessed-with-baseball|url-status=live}}</ref> Baseball has grown in recent years in the [[Czech Republic]], due in part to the Czech teams' success in the [[2023 World Baseball Classic]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Wisniewski|first1=Emilia|last2=Durben|first2=Alexa|title=Czech national baseball team expands its family of supporters|url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/2024/10/01/czech-national-baseball-team-expands-its-family-of-supporters/75147268007/ |website=Knoxville News Sentinel|date=October 1, 2024|access-date=May 11, 2025}}</ref> 

=== Oceania ===
{{See also|Baseball in New Zealand}}
Baseball is one of the most popular sports in [[Palau]] and [[Guam]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sepe-Chepuru |first1=Shanthi |title=Madris makes history as MLB's first player from Palau |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/bligh-madris-first-palauan-player-in-majors |access-date=June 21, 2022 |work=MLB.com |date=June 21, 2022 |archive-date=April 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403223031/https://www.mlb.com/news/bligh-madris-first-palauan-player-in-majors |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Exploring the Fascinating World of Guam's Most Popular Sport |url=https://guamportal.com/blog/exploring-the-fascinating-world-of-guams-most-popular-sport |access-date=September 3, 2025 |work=Guam Portal |date=January 17, 2025 |archive-date=July 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250720123119/https://guamportal.com/blog/exploring-the-fascinating-world-of-guams-most-popular-sport |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[Baseball in Australia|Australia]], Baseball is a niche sport but the country does have a professional league. Because the league is played in winter for the western hemisphere, it attracts American and Korean professional players looking to play [[winter league baseball]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Garro|first=Adrian|title='Something in the water': What makes Australian baseball so special?|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/australian-baseball-league-and-what-makes-it-special |website=Major League Baseball|date=March 27, 2024|access-date=May 11, 2025}}</ref>

===Africa===
The Dodgers operate a large baseball academy in [[Mpigi]], [[Uganda]], and there are also baseball programs in [[Luwero]], Uganda.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Presto|first=Greg|title=On the banks of the Nile in Uganda, a Pirates prospect's major-league dream begins|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6064063/2025/01/16/pirates-pittsburgh-uganda-armstrong-muhoozi/|website=The Athletic|date=January 16, 2025|access-date=September 3, 2025|archive-date=March 23, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250323013940/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6064063/2025/01/16/pirates-pittsburgh-uganda-armstrong-muhoozi/|url-status=live}}</ref> Baseball was popular in [[South Africa]] prior to World War 2 but popularity has since waned. There are still teams and attempts to raise the popularity of baseball in the country, including the introduction of [[Baseball5]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sithole|first=Wendy|title=How SA Baseball is fighting for a future|url=https://www.citizen.co.za/north-glen-news/news-headlines/local-news/2025/05/10/how-sa-baseball-is-fighting-for-a-future/ |website=Northglen News|date=May 10, 2025|access-date=September 3, 2025}}</ref>

=== Among children ===
{{as of|2024}}, [[Little League Baseball]] oversees leagues with 2&nbsp;million participants in more than 80 countries.<ref>{{cite web |year=2024 |title=Little League Baseball World Series Media Guide |url=https://www.littleleague.org/downloads/2024-llbws-media-guide/ |access-date= |publisher=[[Little League Baseball]] |page=14}}</ref> The number of players has fallen since the 1990s, when 3 million children took part in Little League Baseball annually.<ref>{{cite news|author=Fisher, Mark|title=Baseball is struggling to hook kids – and risks losing fans to other sports|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 5, 2015|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/baseballs-trouble-with-the-youth-curve--and-what-that-means-for-the-game/2015/04/05/2da36dca-d7e8-11e4-8103-fa84725dbf9d_story.html|access-date=April 30, 2018|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709031628/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/baseballs-trouble-with-the-youth-curve--and-what-that-means-for-the-game/2015/04/05/2da36dca-d7e8-11e4-8103-fa84725dbf9d_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Babe Ruth League]] teams have over 1&nbsp;million participants.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Babe Ruth League Program|url=https://www.baberuthleague.org/history.aspx|publisher=Babe Ruth League Online|access-date=April 10, 2018|archive-date=September 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929080218/https://www.baberuthleague.org/history.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the president of the [[International Baseball Federation]] in 2009, between 300,000 and 500,000 women and girls play baseball around the world, including Little League and the introductory game of [[Tee Ball]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Frommer, Frederic J|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2009-04-06-2437047144_x.htm|title=Baseball to Add Women to Olympic Bid|date=April 6, 2009|access-date=April 29, 2009|agency=Associated Press|work=USA Today}}</ref>

A varsity baseball team is an established part of [[physical education]] departments at most high schools and colleges in the United States.<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|access-date=May 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209193735/http://www.sportseventsmagazine.com/article/baseballsoftball/207/|archive-date=February 9, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2015, nearly half a million high schoolers and over 34,000 collegians played on their schools' baseball teams.<ref>{{cite web|title=Estimated probability of competing in college athletics|publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association|url=https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/estimated-probability-competing-college-athletics|access-date=April 22, 2018|date=March 2, 2015|archive-date=April 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423035501/http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/estimated-probability-competing-college-athletics|url-status=live}}</ref> By early in the 20th century, intercollegiate baseball was Japan's leading sport. Today, [[High school baseball in Japan|high school baseball]] 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 [[National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament]] in the spring, and the even more important [[National High School Baseball Championship]] in the summer—are broadcast around the country. The tournaments are known, respectively, as Spring Koshien and Summer Koshien after the [[Koshien Stadium|55,000-capacity stadium]] 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|access-date=April 28, 2009|publisher=Major League Baseball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014063836/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060810&content_id=1602960|archive-date=October 14, 2009|url-status=dead}}</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/>

=== In popular culture ===
[[File:Honus wagner t206 baseball card.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|The [[American Tobacco Company]]'s line of baseball cards featured shortstop [[Honus Wagner]] of the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, [[T206 Honus Wagner|the card shown here]] sold for $2.8&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3007893|title=Honus Wagner Card Sells for Record $2.8 Million|agency=Associated Press|publisher=ESPN|date=September 6, 2007|access-date=May 3, 2009}}</ref>]]

Baseball has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the United States and elsewhere. Dozens of [[English language idioms derived from baseball|English-language idioms have been derived from baseball]]; in particular, the game is the source of a number of widely used [[Baseball metaphors for sex|sexual euphemisms]].<ref>Kte'pi (2009), p. 66.</ref> The first networked radio broadcasts in North America were of the [[1922 World Series]]: famed sportswriter [[Grantland Rice]] announced [[play-by-play]] from New York City's [[Polo Grounds]] on [[WABC (AM)#WJZ Newark (1921–1923)|WJZ]]–[[Newark, New Jersey]], which was connected by wire to [[WGY (AM)|WGY]]–[[Schenectady, New York]], and [[WBZ (AM)|WBZ]]–[[Springfield, Massachusetts]].<ref>Rudel (2008), pp. 145–146.</ref> The [[baseball cap]] 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://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Too-much-self-esteem-spoils-your-child-2552521.php|title=Too Much Self Esteem Spoils Your Child|publisher=New America Media|date=July 6, 2007|access-date=May 2, 2009|archive-date=July 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703113756/http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Too-much-self-esteem-spoils-your-child-2552521.php|url-status=live}} {{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3660333.stm|title=Happy 50th, Baseball Caps|work=BBC News|date=April 27, 2004|access-date=May 2, 2009|archive-date=August 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827140836/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3660333.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Baseball has inspired many works of art and entertainment. One of the first major examples, [[Ernest Thayer]]'s poem "[[Casey at the Bat]]", 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 [[vaudeville]] 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 [[baseball movie]]s, including the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]–winning ''[[The Pride of the Yankees]]'' (1942) and the Oscar nominees ''[[The Natural (film)|The Natural]]'' (1984) and ''[[Field of Dreams]]'' (1989). The [[American Film Institute]]'s selection of the ten best sports movies includes ''The Pride of the Yankees'' at number 3 and ''[[Bull Durham]]'' (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|access-date=May 2, 2009|archive-date=August 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810160512/http://www.afi.com/10top10/sports.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Baseball has provided thematic material for hits on both stage—the [[Richard Adler|Adler]]–[[Jerry Ross (composer)|Ross]] musical ''[[Damn Yankees]]''—and record—[[George J. Gaskin]]'s "Slide, Kelly, Slide", [[Simon and Garfunkel]]'s "[[Mrs. Robinson]]", and [[John Fogerty]]'s "[[Centerfield (song)|Centerfield]]".<ref>Zoss (2004), pp. 373–374.</ref> The baseball-inspired comedic sketch "[[Who's on First?]]", popularized by [[Abbott and Costello]] in 1938, quickly became famous. Six decades later, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' named it the best comedy routine of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,36533,00.html|title=The Best of the Century|magazine=Time|date=December 26, 1999|access-date=May 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504145236/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C36533%2C00.html|archive-date=May 4, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Literary works connected to the game include the short fiction of [[Ring Lardner]] and novels such as [[Bernard Malamud]]'s ''[[The Natural]]'' (the source for the movie), [[Robert Coover]]'s ''[[The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop.]]'', [[John Grisham]]'s [[Calico Joe]] and [[W. P. Kinsella]]'s ''[[Shoeless Joe (novel)|Shoeless Joe]]'' (the source for ''Field of Dreams''). Baseball's literary canon also includes the beat reportage of [[Damon Runyon]]; the columns of Grantland Rice, [[Red Smith (sportswriter)|Red Smith]], [[Dick Young (sportswriter)|Dick Young]], and [[Peter Gammons]]; and the essays of [[Roger Angell]]. Among the celebrated nonfiction books in the field are [[Lawrence S. Ritter]]'s ''[[The Glory of Their Times]]'', [[Roger Kahn]]'s ''[[The Boys of Summer (book)|The Boys of Summer]]'', and [[Michael Lewis (author)|Michael Lewis]]'s ''[[Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game|Moneyball]]''. The 1970 publication of major league pitcher [[Jim Bouton]]'s tell-all chronicle ''[[Ball Four]]'' is considered a turning point in the reporting of professional sports.<ref>{{cite web|author=Neyer, Rob|author-link=Rob Neyer|url=http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/ballfour/neyer.html|title='Ball Four' Changed Sports ''and'' Books|work=ESPN.com|date=June 15, 2000|access-date=May 12, 2009|archive-date=July 29, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090729133223/http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/ballfour/neyer.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Baseball has also inspired the creation of new cultural forms. [[Baseball card]]s were introduced in the late 19th century as [[trade card]]s. A typical example featured 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 confectionery 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 [[trading card]] industry, involving similar products for different sports and non-sports-related fields.<ref>Zoss (2004), pp. 16–25.</ref>

Modern [[fantasy sports]] began in 1980 with the invention of [[Fantasy baseball#Rotisserie League Baseball|Rotisserie League Baseball]] by New York writer [[Daniel Okrent]] and several friends. Participants in a Rotisserie league draft notional teams from the list of active MLB 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 [[fantasy baseball]], 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&nbsp;million on the hobby.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/07/prweb1084994.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503091523/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/07/prweb1084994.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 3, 2009|title=Fantasy Sports Industry Grows to an $800 Million Industry with 29.9 Million Players|work=PRWeb|date=July 10, 2008|access-date=October 25, 2011}}</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>

=== Derivative games ===
{{Main|Variations of baseball}}

[[File:Queens stickball.jpg|thumb|198x198px|[[Stickball]] is a common street variant of baseball which often features impromptu adaptations. (Note the painted strike zone on the wall behind the batter.)]]
Informal [[variations of baseball]] have popped up over time, with games like [[corkball]] reflecting local traditions and allowing the game to be played in diverse environments.<ref>{{cite web |title=Derivative Games |url=https://mlb.mlb.com/memorylab/spread_of_baseball/derivative_games.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116003643/https://mlb.mlb.com/memorylab/spread_of_baseball/derivative_games.jsp |archive-date=2014-01-16 |access-date=February 20, 2022 |publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref> Two variations of baseball, [[softball]] and [[Baseball5]], are internationally governed alongside baseball by the [[World Baseball Softball Confederation]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Baseball Softball Confederation |url=https://www.wbsc.org/ |access-date=October 4, 2021 |website=[[World Baseball Softball Confederation]] |language=en |archive-date=December 4, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001204155100/http://www.wbsc.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== British baseball ====
{{Main|British baseball}}

American [[professional baseball]] teams toured Britain in 1874 and 1889, and had a great effect on similar sports in Britain. In Wales and Merseyside, a strong community game had already developed with skills and plays more in keeping with the American game and the Welsh began to informally adopt the name "baseball" (Pêl Fas), to reflect the American style. By the 1890s, calls were made to follow the success of other working class sports (like Rugby in Wales and Soccer in Merseyside) and adopt a distinct set of rules and bureaucracy.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales|publisher=University of Wales Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7083-1953-6|editor1-last=Davies|editor1-first=John|editor1-link=John Davies (historian)|location=Cardiff|page=53|editor2-last=Jenkins|editor2-first=Nigel|editor2-link=Nigel Jenkins|editor3-last=Menna|editor3-first=Baines|editor4-last=Lynch|editor4-first=Peredur I.}}</ref> During the 1892 season rules for the game of "baseball" were agreed and the game was officially codified.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beynon |first1=Ivor |title=The Inside Story of Baseball |last2=Evans |first2=Bob |date=1962 |publisher=Unknown |location=Cardiff |page=4}}</ref>

==== Finnish baseball ====
{{Main|Pesäpallo}}

Finnish baseball, also known as pesäpallo, is a combination of traditional ball-batting team games and North American baseball, invented by [[Lauri Pihkala|Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala]] in the 1920s.<ref name="INTRO2">{{cite web|title=Introduction to the game|url=http://www.pesis.fi/pesapalloliitto/international_site/introduction/|access-date=October 16, 2015|website=Pesis.fi|publisher=Pesäpalloliitto|archive-date=October 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029075041/http://www.pesis.fi/pesapalloliitto/international_site/introduction/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Clair |first=Michael |date=2 August 2024 |title=There's a pitcher, a batter... even a river sometimes. Welcome to Finnish baseball |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/first-english-language-broadcast-of-finland-baseball-game-pesapallo |access-date=4 August 2024 |website=MLB.com |archive-date=August 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240804133607/https://www.mlb.com/news/first-english-language-broadcast-of-finland-baseball-game-pesapallo |url-status=live }}</ref> The basic idea of pesäpallo is similar to that of baseball: the offense tries to score by hitting the ball successfully and running through the bases, while the defense tries to put the batter and runners out. One of the most important differences between pesäpallo and baseball is that the ball is pitched vertically, which makes hitting the ball, as well as controlling the power and direction of the hit, much easier. This gives the offensive game more variety, speed, and tactical aspects compared to baseball.<ref name="INTRO2"/>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Baseball}}
* {{anl|Baseball awards}}
* [[Baseball clothing and equipment]]
* [[List of baseball films]]
* [[List of organized baseball leagues]]
* [[Women in baseball]]

===Related sports===
* [[Brännboll]] – Scandinavian bat-and-ball game
* [[Comparison of baseball and cricket]]
* [[Comparison of baseball and softball]]
* [[Lapta (game)]] – Russian bat-and-ball game
* [[Oină]] – Romanian bat-and-ball game
* [[Snow baseball]] – Game with similar rules played in India during winters
* {{anl|Stickball}}
* {{anl|Stoop ball}}
* {{anl|Vitilla}}
* {{anl|Wiffle ball}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}{{Notelist}}

== General and cited sources ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Bjarkman |first=Peter C. |title=Diamonds Around the Globe: The Encyclopedia of International Baseball |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0-313-32268-6 |oclc=58806121}}
* {{cite book |last=Block |first=David |title=Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game |url=https://archive.org/details/baseballbeforewe00davi |url-access=registration |year=2005 |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |isbn=978-0-8032-6255-3 |oclc=70261798}}
* {{cite book |last=Burgos |first=Adrian |title=Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line |url=https://archive.org/details/playingamericasg00burg |url-access=registration |year=2007 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-25143-4 |oclc=81150202}}
* {{cite book |last=Burk |first=Robert F. |title=Never Just a Game: Players, Owners, and American Baseball to 1920 |year=2001 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |isbn=978-0-8078-4961-3 |oclc=28183874}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Charlton |editor-first=James |title=The Baseball Chronology: The Complete History of the Most Important Events in the Game of Baseball |year=1991 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers (United States)|Macmillan]] |isbn=978-0-02-523971-5 |oclc=22704314}}
* {{cite book |author1=Clarke, William Jones |author2=Fredrick Thomas Dawson |name-list-style=amp |title=Baseball: Individual Play and Team Play in Detail |url=https://archive.org/details/baseballindivid00dawsgoog |year=1915 |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons]] |oclc=2781766}}
* {{cite book |last=Gmelch |first=George |title=Baseball Without Borders: The International Pastime |year=2006 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-7125-8 |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=978-0-19-514605-9 |oclc=46601626}}
* {{cite book |last=Guttmann |first=Allen |title=Sports: The First Five Millennia |year=2007 |publisher=[[University of Massachusetts Press]] |isbn=978-1-55849-610-1 |oclc=5912442808}}
* {{cite book |last=Guzzo |first=Glenn |title=The New Ballgame: Baseball Statistics for the Casual Fan |year=2007 |publisher=ACTA |isbn=978-0-87946-318-2 |oclc=123083947}}
* {{Cite book |title=Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong |publisher=Basic |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-465-00547-5 |editor-last=Keri |editor-first=Jonah |editor-link=Jonah Keri |oclc=77795904}}
* {{Cite book |last=Koppett |first=Leonard |author-link=Leonard Koppett |title=Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball |publisher=[[Carroll & Graf Publishers|Carroll & Graf]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7867-1286-1 |oclc=54674804}}
* {{cite book |last=Kte'pi |first=Bill |chapter=Baseball (Amateur) |title=Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society, Volume 1 |editor=Rodney Carlisle |year=2009 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-1-4129-6670-2 |oclc=251215353}}
* {{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Michael M. |author-link=Michael Lewis |title=Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game |year=2003 |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company|W. W. Norton]] |isbn=978-0-393-32481-5 |oclc=54896532}}
* {{cite book |last=Mahony |first=Phillip |url=http://www.baseballexplained.com |title=Baseball Explained |year=2014 |publisher=McFarland Books |isbn=978-0-7864-7964-1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813034018/http://www.baseballexplained.com/ |archive-date=August 13, 2014 }}
* {{cite book |last=Mandelbaum |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Mandelbaum |title=The Meaning of Sports: Why Americans Watch Baseball, Football, and Basketball and What They See When They Do |year=2005 |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=978-1-58648-330-2 |oclc=55539339 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/meaningofsportsw0000mand }}
* {{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 |url=https://archive.org/details/baseballsotheral0000mcne |url-access=registration |year=2000 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-0784-2 |oclc=42976826}}
* {{cite book |last=Morris |first=Peter |title=Level Playing Fields: How the Groundskeeping Murphy Brothers Shaped Baseball |year=2007 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-1110-0 |oclc=70884952}}
* {{cite book |last=Porterfield |first=Jason |title=Baseball: Rules, Tips, Strategy, and Safety |year=2007 |publisher=Rosen |isbn=978-1-4042-0991-6 |oclc=67773742}}
* {{cite book |last=Powers |first=Albert Theodore |title=The Business of Baseball |year=2003 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1426-0 |oclc=50866929}}
* {{cite book |author1=Puhalla, Jim|author2=Jeff Krans|author3=Mike Goatley |title=Baseball and Softball Fields: Design, Construction, Renovation, and Maintenance |year=2003 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-0-471-44793-1 |oclc=50959054}}
* {{cite book |last=Rader |first=Benjamin G. |title=Baseball: A History of America's Game |edition=3rd |year=2008 |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |isbn=978-0-252-07550-6 |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=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-06216-2 |oclc=23739530}}
* {{cite book |last=Rudel |first=Anthony J. |title=Hello, Everybody!: The Dawn of American Radio |year=2008 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]] |isbn=978-0-15-101275-6 |oclc=192042215 |url=https://archive.org/details/helloeverybodyd00rude }}
* {{Cite book |last=Schwarz |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Schwarz |title=The Numbers Game: Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics |publisher=Thomas Dunne |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-312-32222-9 |oclc=54692908}}
* {{cite book |editor=Stallings, Jack |editor2=Bob Bennett |title=Baseball Strategies: Your Guide to the Game Within the Game |year=2003 |publisher=American Baseball Coaches Association/Human Kinetics |isbn=978-0-7360-4218-5 |oclc=50203866 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780736042185 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Sullivan |editor-first=Dean |title=Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825–1908 |url=https://archive.org/details/earlyinningsdocu00sull |url-access=registration |year=1997 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-9244-4 |oclc=36258074}}
* {{cite book |last=Terry |first=Thomas Philip |title=Terry's Mexico: Handbook for Travellers |edition=2nd rev. |year=1911 |publisher=Gay and Hancock, Houghton Mifflin, and Sonora News |oclc=7587420}}
* {{cite book |last=Thurston |first=Bill |title=Coaching Youth Baseball: A Baffled Parents Guide |year=2000 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-135822-4 |oclc=43031493 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/baffledparentsgu0000thur }}
* {{cite book |last=Tygiel |first=Jules |title=Past Time: Baseball as History |url=https://archive.org/details/pasttimebaseball0000tygi |url-access=registration |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-508958-5 |oclc=42290019}}
* {{cite book |last=Votano |first=Paul |title=Stand and Deliver: A History of Pinch-Hitting |year=2013 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1588-5 |oclc=52047315}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zimbalist |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Zimbalist |url=https://archive.org/details/inbestinterestso00andr |title=In the Best Interests of Baseball?: The Revolutionary Reign of Bud Selig |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-470-12824-4 |oclc=62796332 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Zoss |first=Joel |title=Diamonds in the Rough: The Untold History of Baseball |year=2004 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-9920-7 |oclc=54611393 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/diamondsinroughu0000zoss }}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Dickson, Paul. ''The Dickson Baseball Dictionary'', 3rd ed. (W. W. Norton, 2009). {{ISBN|0-393-06681-9}}.
* Fitts, Robert K. ''Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 2005). {{ISBN|0-8093-2629-9}}.
* [[Gary Gillette|Gillette, Gary]], and [[Pete Palmer]] (eds.). ''The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'', 5th ed. (Sterling, 2008). {{ISBN|1-4027-6051-5}}.
* Peterson, Robert. ''Only the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams'' (Oxford University Press, 1992 [1970]). {{ISBN|0-19-507637-0}}.
* Reaves, Joseph A. ''Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia'' (Bison, 2004). {{ISBN|0-8032-3943-2}}.
* Ward, Geoffrey C., and [[Ken Burns]]. ''Baseball: An Illustrated History'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 1996). {{ISBN|0-679-40459-7}}.

== External links ==
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{{Sister project links|wikt=baseball|s=1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Base-Ball|auto=1|voy=Baseball in the United States}}
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* [http://www.wbsc.org/ World Baseball Softball Confederation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718130950/http://www.wbsc.org//en/ |date=July 18, 2011 }}
* [https://www.britannica.com/sports/baseball "Baseball"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927054000/https://www.britannica.com/sports/baseball |date=September 27, 2023 }}. ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' Online.
* [http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ Baseball Prospectus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909215125/http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ |date=September 9, 2006 }}
* [http://www.sabr.org/ Society for American Baseball Research] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517161345/http://www.sabr.org/ |date=May 17, 2021 }}
* [http://www.mister-baseball.com/ Mister Baseball] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010113247/https://www.mister-baseball.com/ |date=October 10, 2018 }} European baseball news
* [http://baseballheritagemuseum.org/ Baseball Heritage Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619170336/http://www.baseballheritagemuseum.org/ |date=June 19, 2006 }} at [[League Park]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]]
* "[https://books.google.com/books?id=p4o9AQAAIAAJ Perils of Base Ball Playing]", historical perspective on statistics of baseball injuries, ''[[Scientific American]]'', July 13, 1878, p.&nbsp;21
* [https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/subject-baseball-nmahphc/N5DAuhDVcVe9hDmJ Baseball collection] at the [[National Museum of American History|Smithsonian National Museum of American History]]

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