HOMERUN: Baseball, Cricket’s Close Cousin

 

HOOOMMEEEERUUUNN!!’ As kids, we all have known about Baseball through Doraemon. It feels nostalgic remembering how Nobita, who wasn’t good at the game, was always shunned by his peers. Watching that anime, we all have wondered, ‘What is this weird Cricket they’re playing?’ Well, yes, that’s Baseball, and yes, it is a close cousin to Cricket.

Well, my wonderings are justified, as Baseball is a sport that isn’t that common in our part of the world. If you’re someone like me, who does not know about the game but wishes to know more, then this blog is for you.

1. Like Cricket, Baseball is a bat-ball based game. It is played between two opposing teams who take turns batting and fielding. 

2. Similar to Cricket, there’s a bowler, known as a “Pitcher” who throws the ball at a batter who hits it with his bat. 

3. The objective of the batting team (offensive team) is to hit the ball as far as possible, allowing its players to run bases in an anti-clockwise direction, scoring “Runs”.

4. On the other hand, the objective of the fielding team (defensive team) is to prevent the offensive team from scoring runs.

5. The batting team first tries to have one of its players safely reach first base. After the player has managed to do so without getting called “Out,” they can attempt to advance to the subsequent bases as a runner or during their teammates’ batting.

6. The fielding team tries to “Out” the players, which forces them out of their field of play. The pitcher and fielders have many methods to achieve this goal.

7. Once the fielding team records three “Outs,” the turn of the battling team (to bat) is over. One such turn is called an “Inning”.

8. A usual game of Baseball lasts for nine innings. At the end of the nine innings, the team with the higher number of runs wins.

9. For situations where the runs of the two teams are tied at the end of nine innings, an extra-inning is played as a tie-breaker. Unlike Soccer, Baseball has no game clock, and the game usually ends after nine innings.

There you go. Now you have a general idea about the game, played in countries that do not have Cricket. It does seem a bit complicated. Maybe, that is why Nobita in Doraemon had a hard time playing it. *Poof* Mind-Blown!