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Baseball is a sport that is so popular in the United States that it is often called the national pastime. Every spring and summer, millions of people throughout the country play this exciting “bat and ball” game. Millions also watch baseball games and closely follow the progress of their favourite teams and players.

A baseball game is played on a large field between two teams of 9 or 10 players each. The teams take turns at bat (on offense) and in the field (on defense). A player of the team in the field, called the pitcher, throws a baseball towards a player of a team at bat, called the batter. The batter tries to hit the ball with a bat and drive it out of the reach of the players in the field. By hitting the ball, and in other ways, players can advance around the four bases that lie on the field. A player who does so scores a run for his team. The team that scores the most runs wins the game.

Basically, baseball matches the skills of the pitcher against those of the batter. A good pitcher can throw a variety of pitches. But fielders and base runners also play key roles in the game. Many experts believe that a batter’s job of hitting a ball thrown by a major league pitcher is the hardest thing to do in any sport. The ball reaches the batter in a fraction of a second and it may move in any way. Even so, batters are able to follow the flight of the ball.

Many people play baseball on the informal basis. They get together with their friends, choose up the sides, and play a ball game. But millions of people also play baseball on formal, organized basis. They join teams that belong to a league and play regularly scheduled games against other teams.