What Are the Base Paths? Simply put, the base paths in baseball refer to the imaginary lines that connect each base on a diamond-shaped field. These paths allow players to run from one base to another without leaving the field or crossing over another player’s path. The four bases (home plate, first base, second base, and … Read more
A switch hitter is a baseball player who can hit effectively from the left and right sides of the plate. These hitters tend to have consistent batting averages and power when hitting as a lefty or righty, making them valuable to any team to have on their roster. As a switch-hitting player, you technically have … Read more
You’ve probably heard of the seventh-inning stretch if you’ve been to a baseball game. After all, the iconic “Take Me out to the Ballgame” starts playing over the speakers during this break in the action, and fans stand, stretch, and sing to the song’s lyrics. You can hear this song during Minor League and Major … Read more
An intentional walk during a baseball game occurs when the other team automatically gives a hitter first base freely during their plate appearance. Before 2017, baseball pitchers had to throw four pitches out of the strike zone with the catcher standing at home plate, signaling to throw it away from the hitter in a lob … Read more
The dropped third strike rule might be one of the most confusing baseball and softball rules. To help make more sense of it, imagine that the dropped third strike is the same as a fly ball to an outfielder. If the outfielder does not catch the fair ball on the fly before it touches the … Read more
When watching a baseball or softball game, you will witness a foul ball. The baseball/softball diamond and field have lines that run from the top left and top right corner of home plate, or batter’s box, to the foul pole out in the outfield. Anything inside both of those lines is fair territory, while anything … Read more
A 4-6-3 double play means that the second baseman threw the ball to the shortstop covering second base, who then threw it to the first baseman to record both outs. A 4-6-3 (and 6-4-3) tends to be the most common double play since the defense plays closer to the second base on the diamond to … Read more
Major League Baseball Games in 2023 take about 2.5 hours to complete with the new rules. To put that in perspective, MLB games in 2022 took over three hours to complete. Some of the rules in 2023 that are helping speed up the pace of play include the pitch clock, how many times you can … Read more
NCAA college baseball games are traditionally nine innings of play. Just like in Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball, the game goes into extra innings if college baseball games don’t have a winner after nine innings. However, for various reasons, when there is a doubleheader match during the season, the games can go to … Read more
During the 2022 season, Minor League Baseball experimented with a pitch clock to reduce the time it takes to complete a baseball game, and the results were telling. Minor League Baseball games with a pitch clock took around 2.5 hours to complete, while games without them were closer to three hours. Three hours was the … Read more