Baseball, baseball or baseball is a team sport played with a ball and a bat. The term comes from the English language "baseball”.
Brazilian baseball player
In the United States it is one of the most popular sports, which is played by both men and women.
Its practice requires a lot of training from the players. Agility, fitness and precision are essential.
Origin and History
There is controversy about the origin of baseball. Some believe it is of English origin, and others believe it was created by Abner Doubleday in New York in the year 1839.
Abner Doubleday, considered the creator of baseball
The truth is that a similar game, called “rounders”, was already practiced in the 18th century in England.
Before that, descriptions of a ball and club sport were found in French documents dating back to the 14th century.
Probably the rounders it was brought to America by English immigrants. And later, it was adapted for baseball as we know it today.
In addition to Abner Doubleday, considered the creator of this sport, Alexander Cartwright deserves to be highlighted, who contributed to systematize baseball rules. The first official game of this modality took place in 1846, in New York City.
Today baseball is a very popular sport in North and Central American countries. It spread quickly and nowadays we can find teams and millions of supporters all over the world.
At the 1992 Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona, baseball was introduced as an Olympic sport, where Cuba won.
However, in 2012 it was removed. However, it has already been decided by the Olympic Committee that he will be present at the Olympics in 2020 in the city of Tokyo.
baseball in Brazil
In Brazil, baseball was spread mainly by North Americans who lived and worked in the country.
At the beginning of the 20th century, it began to be practiced in São Paulo and in 1936 the first Brazilian baseball championship took place.
Although it is not widely practiced in the country, in 1946 the "São Paulo Federation of Baseball and Softball" (FPBS) was created in São Paulo. After that, its practice spread to several Brazilian states.
Map shows baseball fields in Brazil
In 1990 the "Brazilian Confederation of Baseball and Softball" (CBBS) was founded. This body is responsible for organizing events of this type at the national level.
Baseball Fundamentals
Baseball is played on a field that can be outdoors, or on a closed court. A game is made up of 9 matches without a set time.
It has two teams consisting of 9 players each. Alternately, teams attack and defend.
Player positions alternate during the match.
Baseball Rules: How is it played?
The baseball is thrown by one player (thrower) while the batter of another team is positioned to hit the ball with the bat. Behind him is a catcher who belongs to the pitcher's team.
If the ball is hit by the batter, he must run through the four bases of the field. If he manages to reach all four, the team gets one point.
In baseball, points are scored by the path taken by the players. Therefore, the team with the most runs during the match wins.
If the batsman throws the ball outside the stadium, the team receives a point. This movement is called home run.
players
According to their function and position on the field, baseball players are classified into:
- Pitcher
- Catcher
- First baseman (first baseman)
- Second baseman
- Third baseman
- Interbases (shortstop)
- Left camper (left fielder)
- Central camper (center fielder)
- Right camper (right fielder)
Field
The baseball field is diamond shaped with a main and a secondary area. It is marked by a square measuring 27.4 meters on a side that is enclosed in a semicircle.
baseball field
Baseball Equipment
The main equipment in baseball are:
bat: Cylindrical in shape is usually made of wood. It is up to 1.5 meters long and can weigh up to 1 kilo.
baseball bats
Ball: spherical equipment made of cork, cotton, wool, rubber and a leather covering. The baseball weighs about 140 grams and its size varies between 10 to 40 centimeters.
Glove: Made of leather and stitched with cotton, nylon or polyester threads.
Curiosities
- A game very similar to baseball is the softball. It is practiced in closed fields and still has some distinct rules. In this modality, in addition to the ball being larger than baseball, the playing field is smaller.
- In Brazil baseball is called “Japanese sport”. This is because, in addition to the North Americans having introduced the sport in the country, with the great Japanese immigration in the 20th century, this group began to practice this modality. Currently, many descendants of Japanese residents in Brazil are baseball players.
- In a baseball game many balls are used. This must-have has a lifespan of a maximum of 10 casts.
- In addition to the United States, Cuba and South Korea have very strong baseball teams.
Read more about sports:
- Handball
- Soccer
- futsal
- Volleyball
- Basketball
- Badminton
