Baseball
Baseball is a competitive sport where two opposing teams take turns batting and fielding a ball with the goal to score the most runs by the end of the game. The game is played when the pitcher from the fielding (defensive) team throws the baseball to a player on the batting (offensive) team who attempts to hit it with a bat. Runs (points) are scored when players on the batting team successfully hit the baseball into play and run counter-clockwise around the bases until they score by reaching home plate.
It is the goal of the defensive team to keep the offensive team from running the bases by striking them out at bat, by catching the ball when it is hit into play, or by fielding and tagging a base with the ball before the runner arrives. Each team takes turns batting and fielding every three outs. The game ends after each team has played the decided amount of innings (usually nine). In North America, professional baseball is organized by Major League Baseball (MLB).
The modern game of baseball was established by the Knickerbocker Baseball Club in New York City in 1845 though variants of similar games have existed since the 18th century in the form of cricket and rounders.
Often called America’s pastime, baseball is also well established in Canada, Latin America, the Netherlands, Australia, and Japan.
The longest home run ever is estimated to be 643’ | 196 m and was hit by Mickey Mantle in 1960.
