Part 2 (1/2)

There are always two opposing teams of nine players each, and they play on a field laid out in the shape of a diamond, as seen in time diagram on the following page.

At each corner of the diamond is a base, and these are known respectively as home base, first base, second base, and third base. One of the teams takes ”the field,” that is, each of its nine players occupies one of the nine fielding positions shown in the diagram, and known as pitcher, catcher, first base, second base, third base, short stop, left field, centre field, and right field; the other team goes to ”the bat” and tries to make ”runs.” A run is scored in this way: One of the nine batting players takes his position at the home base and endeavors to hit the ball, thrown to him by the opposing pitcher, to some part of the field where it can neither be caught before touching the ground, nor thrown to first base before the batter himself can run there; if he can hit it far enough to allow him to reach not only first base, but second or third or even home, so much the better, for when he has made the complete circuit of the bases his side is credited with one run. If he cannot make home on his own hit he may be helped around by the good hits of succeeding batsmen, for each one of the nine takes his regular turn at the bat. This batting and running goes on until three of the batting side have been ”put out,” whereupon the batting side take the field and the other team comes in to take its turn at bat and make as many runs as possible. When three of a batting side have been ”put out,” that side is said to have had its ”inning,” and each side is ent.i.tled to nine innings.

A player is ”put out” in various ways, princ.i.p.al among which are the following: If he strikes three times at the ball and misses it and on the third strike the ball is caught by the catcher; a ball which pa.s.ses over the plate between the height of the knee and shoulder and not struck at, is called a strike just as though it had been struck at and missed. The batsman is also ”out” if the ball which he hits is caught by some fielder before touching the ground; or if, having touched the ground, it is thrown to time first-baseman before the batter himself can reach that base. He is out if, at any time after having hit the ball, he is touched with it in the hands of a fielder, when no part of his person is touching a base.

There are lines drawn from the home base through the first and third- base corners and continued indefinitely into the field. These are called ”foul lines,” and any hit ball falling outside of them counts as nothing at all, unless, of course, it be caught before touching the ground; in which case it puts the striker ”out.”

Outside of the nine players on each side there is another important personage, known as ”The Umpire.” He is not placed there as a target for the maledictions of disappointed spectators. He is of flesh and blood, and has feelings just the same as any other human being. He is not chosen because of his dishonesty or ignorance of the rules of the game, neither is he an ex-horse thief nor an escaped felon; on the contrary, he has been carefully selected by the President of the League from among a great number of applicants on account of his supposed integrity of character and peculiar fitness for the position; indeed, in private life he may even pa.s.s as a gentleman.

His duties are arduous; he must decide all points of play, though taking place on widely separated portions of the field; he determines whether a ball has been fairly pitched over the home-base, whether a hit is ”fair”

or ”foul,” or whether a player has been put out in accordance with the rules. In brief, he is expected to see all parts of the field at once and enforce all the princ.i.p.al and incidental rules of the game. It would not be strange, therefore, if he made an occasional mistake or failed to decide in a way to suit all.

I have given thus concisely, and with the use of as few technical terms as possible, the first principles of the game. Many things are purposely left for the novice to learn, because any attempt to go into detail would prove confusing. For the instruction of those who wish to master the technical terms generally used, I subjoin some definitions. They are intended for beginners, and though not in all cases covering the entire ground, will yet convey the idea.

DEFINITIONS.

A batsman, batter, or striker is the player who is taking his turn at bat.

A base-runner is what the batter becomes instantly after having hit a fair ball, though for convenience of distinction he is often still called a batter until he has reached first base.

A fielder is any one of the nine fielding players.

A coacher is one of the batting players who takes his position within certain prescribed limits near first or third base to direct base- runners and to urge them along.

A fair hit is, generally speaking, a ball hit by a batsman which falls within the foul lines.

A foul hit is one which falls without the foul lines. A base hit is a fair hit by a batsman which can neither be caught before touching the ground nor fielded to first base in time to put out the striker. It may be either a two-base hit, a three-base hit, or a home run, according as two or three or four bases have been made on the hit without an intervening error.

An error is made when a fielder fails to make a play that he should fairly have been expected to make.

A fly is a hit caught before touching the ground.

A m.u.f.f is made when a ”fly” or thrown ball, striking fairly in the hands of a fielder, is not caught.

A grounder is a hit along the ground.

A steal is made when a base-runner gets from one base to another without the a.s.sistance of a base hit or an error.

A wild pitch is a ball thrown by the pitcher out of the fair reach of the catcher, and on which a base-runner gains a base.

A pa.s.sed ball is a throw by the pitcher which the catcher should stop but fails, and by his failure a base-runner gains a base.

For the purpose of distinction, the nine fielders are subdivided into The Battery, The In-field, and The Out-field. The Battery means the Pitcher and Catcher, the In-field includes the First, Second, and Third Bas.e.m.e.n, and the Short-stop; and the Outfield is composed of the Left, Centre, and Right Fielders.

As for the theory of the game, remember that there are opposing sides, each of which has nine turns at the bat, i.e., nine innings, and the object each inning is to score as many runs as possible. A run is scored every time a player gets entirely around the bases, either by his own hit alone or by the help of succeeding batters, or by the errors of the opposing fielders, and the team making the most runs in nine innings is declared the winner. An inning is ended when three of the batting side have been ”put out,” and a player may be put out in various ways, as before enumerated. The umpire is not trying to be unfair, he is doing the best he can, and instead of abuse he is often deserving of sympathy.

CHAPTER II. TRAINING.

Some one has truthfully said, that ball players, like poets and cooks, are born, not made, though once born, their development, like that of their fellow-artists, may be greatly aided by judicious coaching. Of what this training shall consist becomes then a question of much importance.

The only way to learn base-ball is to play it, and it is a trite saying that the best practice for a ball player is base-ball itself. Still, there are points outside of the game, such as the preliminary training, diet, and exercise, an observance of which will be of great advantage when the regular work is begun. The method and style of play and the points of each position are given in the subsequent chapters, so that I shall here speak only of those points which come up off the field and are not included in the game proper.