This page covers the vocabulary and language of baseball by looking at its background, equipment and people. Check your understanding with the vocabulary quiz and comprehension quiz.
Fruns. Today, the two most popular bat and ball games are cricket and baseball. While cricket is popular in England, Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and many other Commonwealth countries, baseball is popular in the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and many Central American countries. Baseball is becoming more and more popular in many other countries as well, especially in China where it's being actively promoted by the American leagues as they try to make it the world's number one bat and ball game.
History
In the eighteenth century, many people from Great Britain and Europe travelled to the new colonies in North America to settle and build new lives. These settlers took along traditional games that their families had been playing for generations, including several bat and ball games such as Ireland's "rounders" and Germany's "schlagball". During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, new variations like "town ball", "goal ball" and "round ball" appeared. Each form of the game had its followers, but none really dominated until the 1840's when New York fireman Alexander Joy Cartwright helped develop a new variation of "town ball" called "baseball". In 1845, he formed the Knickerbocker Baseball Club with his friends at the Knickerbocker Fire Engine Company, and they then wrote out a set of rules which became the basis of modern baseball. Cartwright umpired the first officially recorded game on June 19, 1846 in New Jersey, between the Knickerbockers and the New York Nine, and today he is seen as one of the most important pioneers of the game.In 1857 the National Association of Baseball Players was established, and in 1871 the first attempt at forming a "major league" was made when the short-lived National Association was set up. Several other attempts were made to set up professional baseball leagues, but most of them failed. The two leagues that did survive were the National League, founded in 1876, and the American League, founded in 1901. These two leagues competed for top players, commercial sponsorship and popular support. Both leagues claimed to have the best players and teams, so in 1903 the "World Series" competition was established in which the top teams from each league competed for the honor of being known as "world champions".
The World Series is still baseball's biggest prize, and the U.S.A. and Canada still have the strongest teams in the world, with top managers and players earning millions of dollars a year. Professional leagues have also been established in many other countries as well, including Cuba, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, Puerto Rico, Italy, Venezuela, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Korea, Taiwan and China, and the game seems sure to become even more popular around the world in the future.
Baseball has traditionally been played by men and boys far more than by women and girls. However, leagues for women and girls now exist in several countries, and international competitions have been held since 2001.
How the Game Works
pitcher's mound (see diagram at right), aiming to throw it over a pentagonal rubber slab known as the home plate. The batter stands to one side of this plate, and tries to hit the ball when it is pitched. If the batter doesn't hit a pitch that is in the strike zone, meaning it's over the plate and not too high or too low, the umpire calls a strike. If three strikes are called, the batter is out. If the batter hits a pitch and the ball is caught by one of the fielders, the batter is also out. But if the batter hits a pitch into fair territory and it isn't caught, he drops his bat and runs towards first base (see diagram). If a fielder gets the ball and touches the batter with it, or tags him, before he gets to first base, he is out. But if he gets there without being tagged, he is safe. He can either stop at first base, or if he thinks he can get to second base safely, or even further, he can keep going. Once he stops at a base, the next batter comes in. If the next batter hits a pitch, the first batter can run to the next base, and so on. If he can run all the bases and get back to the home plate without being tagged, he scores a run for the team. His team will keep sending out new players to bat until three of them have been given out by the umpires and the team's turn at batting is over. The opposing team then has a chance to bat and score some runs. When both teams have had a turn to bat, an inning is over. In professional baseball, the team with the most runs after nine innings have been played is the winner.
The main contest in a game of baseball is between a pitcher and a batter. The pitcher tries to win the contest by striking the batter out, or by making him hit the ball into the air so a fielder can catch him out. The batter tries to win the contest by hitting the ball and helping his team to score runs. The pitcher works closely with his catcher, who is the player standing behind home plate who catches the ball whenever it isn't hit by the batter. The catcher often decides which type of pitch the pitcher should throw, and uses secret hand signals to communicate with him. Pitchers use a range of pitches, including fast balls, curve balls, sliders and change ups, with one of the arts of pitching being to disguise the type of ball one is pitching in order to confuse the batter. But if the batter hits a pitch, he could hit a fly ball high into the air, a pop fly almost straight up and down, a line drive fast and low to the outfield, or he could hit a gentle bunt into the infield. If the batter hits a pitch high and far and "out of the park", he scores a home run. If he does this when the bases are loaded, meaning there are base runners already waiting on all three bases, all of the runners will score a run on the same play. This is called a grand slam, and it's the highest-scoring play in baseball. The dream of every major league player, and the fantasy of every young baseball fan, is to come out to bat in the final inning of a World Series, on a grand slam play with the bases loaded, and to win the series by hitting a home run. Nothing in baseball could be finer than this.
Most Famous Player
Babe Ruth
"Babe Ruth" is without doubt baseball's most famous player. He changed the game forever in the 1920's from a low-scoring, defensive contest into an exciting spectacle of huge home-run hits, and the game became far more popular as a result. George Herman Ruth, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1895, into a poor family of German immigrants. They could barely afford to raise young George, so he was sent to a Roman Catholic missionary school where he lived for twelve years, rarely seeing his family. He learned to play baseball while there, and before long it was clear to everyone that he was a very talented player. In 1914, one of his teachers introduced Ruth to Jack Dunn, owner and manager of the Baltimore Orioles, who signed him on as a pitcher and dubbed him "Babe". Dunn then sold him to the Boston Red Sox, where he played for the next five years. In 1920, he was sold to the New York Yankees, for whom many believe he played his best baseball over the next fourteen years. By this time, Babe Ruth was far more famous for his power hitting than for his pitching, and he was setting many batting records, some of which stood for decades after he retired from the game in 1935. Ruth died in 1948 after a long battle with cancer, but the legend of the great Babe Ruth will live on forever.Baseball Vocabulary
| word | example sentence | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ball | I walked to first base after the pitcher threw four balls. | a pitch thrown outside the strike zone |
| base | If the ball gets to the baseman before you do, you'll be out. | one of four "safe havens" to be reached in turn by a runner |
| base hit | He had a good game, getting five base hits altogether. | a play in which the batter hits the ball into fair territory and gets at least to first base |
| bases loaded | I was very nervous because our bases were loaded and we'd get 4 runs and win if I hit a home run. | situation in which a runner is waiting on each of three bases |
| bat | He hit the ball so hard that his bat was broken. | instrument made of aluminium or wood that is used to hit the ball while batting |
| batter | The batters wait in the dugout until it's time to bat. | player whose job is to hit the ball with a bat |
| batter's box | The umpire makes sure the batter is standing in the batter's box. | an area around home plate marked by white lines in which a batter must stand |
| bunt | He hit a bunt and the ball rolled slowly along the ground while he ran quickly to first base. | light hit made by letting the ball hit the bat without swinging it |
| catcher | Our catcher spends a lot of time practising hand signals with our pitchers. | player who squats behind home plate and catches pitches the batter doesn't hit |
| change up | One of his best pitches is his change up as most batters can't spot it and they have trouble hitting it. | a slow pitch thrown with the same arm action as a fastball, intended to deceive the batter |
| curve ball | His curve ball is hard to hit and he strikes out lots of weaker batters with it. | a pitch that moves unexpectedly in the air because of spin put on the ball by the pitcher |
| double | I hit the ball deep into the outfield and ran to second base for a double. | a hit from which the batter reaches second base |
| double play | We got two of their runners out on a double play and the inning was over. | a defensive play in which two base runners are out from two quick throws |
| dugout | The manager sat in the dugout chewing gum and shouting to his players. | area beside the field in which a team's players and coaches can sit |
| fair territory | He hit the ball over the fence, but it wasn't over fair territory so it wasn't a home run. | area of the field from home base out to the bottom of the home run fence and between the foul lines |
| fastball | Pitchers with good fastballs can throw them over 100 mph (162 km/h). | a pitch that is thrown as fast as possible |
| fly ball | He hit a fly ball into the outfield and a fielder caught it, so he was out. | batted ball that goes high in the air |
| foul ball | The hit went just outside the foul line, so it was called a foul ball. | batted ball that goes outside the foul lines |
| foul line | If a ball lands on a foul line, it is in fair territory. | lines extending from home plate through 1st and 3rd bases to the outfield fence |
| foul territory | Umpires decide whether a hit is into fair or foul territory. | all parts of the playing field outside the foul lines |
| grand slam | My son was so happy after hitting a home run on a grand slam play that he couldn't stop smiling. | a home run hit with a runner on every base, by which 4 runs are scored |
| ground ball | I knew I couldn't hit it far enough for a home run, so I hit a ground ball so it wouldn't be caught. | a batted ball that rolls or bounces in the infield |
| home plate | A pitcher usually tries to pitch the ball over the home plate. | the fourth base to which a runner runs, over which a pitcher pitches and a batter bats |
| home run | Babe Ruth held nearly all the home run records for many years. | a ball hit out of the playing field in fair territory, scoring a run for the batter and any base runners |
| infield | A bunt is a gentle shot played into the infield. | area inside the square formed by the four bases |
| infielder | The infielders have to have speed and very good reflexes. | player who fields in the infield, including first, second and third basemen and shortstop |
| inning | In professional baseball, a game usually lasts for nine innings. | a period of play in which each team bats until 3 batters are out |
| line drive | Good batters can hit line drives between fielders so they don't get caught. | a ball hit hard and low in the air |
| out | I hit the ball a long way, but a fielder caught it and I was out. | to be dismissed, or to have one's turn ended |
| outfield | How many fielders are usually placed in the outfield? | area between the infield and the home run fence |
| outfielder | Outfielders must be able to throw the ball a long way. | a player who fields in the outfield |
| pitcher's mound | Our relief pitcher walked slowly out to the pitcher's mound. | a raised section in the middle of the diamond on which pitchers stand when pitching |
| play | They threw the ball quickly and got both runners out on the same play. | a move or manoeuvre in a sport or game |
| run | We got three runs in the first innings, but didn't get any more until the eighth. | a score earned when a base runner safely gets to home plate |
| shortstop | The shortstop is near the batter and must be brave enough to catch or stop hard hits. | fielder whose position is between second and third bases |
| slider | Our best pitcher has four good pitches; his fastball, his curve ball, his change up and his slider. | a pitch that acts like a fastball until it breaks suddenly as it reaches the plate |
| steal | A pitcher has to keep an eye on the runners in case one tries to steal a base. | to run a base between pitches without the batter hitting the ball |
| strike | I was nervous because I'd already had two strikes called and if another one was called I'd be out. | a strike is called if a batter swings at a pitch and misses, or if the pitch passes through the strike zone without being hit |
| strike out | Joe's pitches are difficult to hit, so he strikes out a lot of batters. | to be out for having three strikes called |
| strike zone | Different umpires have different ideas on how big the strike zone should be. | the area over home plate and between the batter's armpits and knees as he stands ready to bat |
| tag | The fielder got the ball and tagged me out just before I got to the base. | to get a runner out by touching them with the ball or with the glove holding the ball |
| triple | I hit it way into the outfield and managed to run to third base for a triple. | a hit from which the batter reaches third base |
| triple play | Fielders must throw fast and accurately to make a triple play. | a defensive play in which three base runners are tagged out with three quick throws |
| walk | Their pitcher was replaced after walking three batters in a row. | free pass to first base given to a batter after a pitcher throws four balls outside the strike zone |
speaking english practice, speaking english fluently, speaking english fluently in 10 days, speaking english conversation, speaking english fluently tutorial, speaking english practice in india, speaking english practice videos, speaking english course, speaking english with subtitle, speaking english in hindi, speaking english advanced pronunciation, speaking english activity, speaking english at work, speaking english about family, speaking english accent, speaking english at the airport, speaking english australia, speaking english advanced, speaking english american accent, speaking english and khmer, a french speaking english, speaking english basic, speaking english beginner, speaking english british, speaking english bts, speaking english backwards, speaking english badly, speaking english by niharika, speaking english bangla, speaking english - bad habits, speaking english bbc, bobby team b speaking english, block b speaking english, team b speaking english, zico block b speaking english, kyung block b speaking english, jazzy b speaking english, m.i.b speaking english, b.i speaking english, b.a.p speaking english, b.i.g speaking english, speaking english conversation practice, speaking english comedy, speaking english course in bangla, speaking english class, speaking english confidently, speaking english contest, speaking english children, speaking english course in hindi, c clown rome speaking english, c clown speaking english, c.a.p speaking english, c ronaldo speaking english, speaking english dan artinya, speaking english daily, speaking english denis drolet, wooyoung speaking english dream high, g dragon speaking english, danny ahn speaking english, dutch accent speaking english, dara speaking english, d.o speaking english, dilma rousseff speaking english, simon d speaking english, g.o.d speaking english, d.o exo speaking english, d.o speaking english samsung, d.o speaking english 2014, speaking english everyday, speaking english exercises, speaking english easily, speaking english exam, speaking english easy, speaking english english, bts speaking english eng sub, austin powers speaking english english, kai speaking english exo, kris speaking english exo, san e speaking english, e vidyarthi english speaking, e.den lc9 speaking english, speaking english for kids, speaking english fluently and confidently, speaking english funny, speaking english fluently practice, speaking english for beginners, speaking english fluently ielts, speaking english funny videos, f(x) amber speaking english, f(x) speaking english, f(x) sulli speaking english, f(x) luna speaking english, f(x) victoria speaking english, speaking english grammar, speaking english game, 2pm speaking english game, mark speaking english got7, japanese speaking english game show, jackson speaking english got7, kpop speaking english game, german accent speaking english, got7 speaking english, ns yoon g speaking english, tiny g speaking english, g.na speaking english, g dragon speaking english 2014, g.na speaking english to kyuhyun, g.e.m speaking english, g dragon speaking english kcon 2014, speaking english how to answer the phone, speaking english how to say p f b v, speaking english how to say ch & sh, speaking english hindi, speaking english - how to count syllables, lauren speaking english hello baby, tablo speaking english haru, learn english speaking through hindi, hindi to english speaking course full, how learn english speaking, speaking english ielts, speaking english in japan, speaking english ielts test, speaking english in korea, speaking english in france, speaking english in germany, speaking english indonesia, speaking english in quebec, speaking english in canada, speaking english japanese, speaking english japan, shinee speaking english jonghyun, xi jinping speaking english, jackson got7 speaking english, jessica speaking english, super junior speaking english, jay park speaking english, bts jungkook speaking english, bts jin speaking english, may j speaking english, shorry j speaking english, crown j speaking english, lucky j speaking english, j hope speaking english, j balvin speaking english, speaking english khmer, speaking english kpop, speaking english kids, speaking english korean, jyp speaking english kpop star, exo speaking english kai, ailee speaking english korean, nicole speaking english kara, iu speaking english kcon, kai exo k speaking english, exo k speaking english, jun k speaking english, 2pm jun k speaking english, k idols speaking english, k-on speaking english, k will speaking english, k-idols speaking english eng sub, speaking english lesson 1, speaking english like a native speaker, speaking english learning, speaking english lesson, speaking english like an american, speaking english language, speaking english learning videos, speaking english lessons for beginners, speaking english lesson in hindi.english grammar.spoken english-fluent and confident lvl 1 lesson 5-a, speaking english lectures, infinite l speaking english, l.joe speaking english, l.joe speaking english weekly idol, speaking english muet, speaking english movies, speaking english malayalam, scottish people speaking english maybe, messi speaking english, angela merkel speaking english, kiko mizuhara speaking english, martina stoessel speaking english, wow mali english speaking kariton, got7 mark speaking english, luhan exo m speaking english, exo m speaking english, b m english speaking, speaking english naturally, speaking english niharika, speaking english news, aron speaking english nu'est, nichkhun speaking english, neymar speaking english, nepali actress speaking english, lets talk english speaking niharika, norwegian accent speaking english, nadech kugimiya speaking english, vixx n speaking english, speaking english online, speaking english on phone, bts speaking english on plane, online english speaking course free, english lectures on speaking, oxford english speaking course, onew speaking english, speaking old english, ok taecyeon speaking english, exo d.o speaking english, exo d.o speaking english compilation, mblaq g.o speaking english, speaking english practice for beginners, speaking english practice in hindi, speaking english practice with subtitle, speaking english practice for kids, speaking english practice ielts, speaking english practice toefl, speaking english practice in india in hindi, t.o.p speaking english, t.o.p speaking english interview, t.o.p speaking english 2014, p j joseph speaking english, english speaking p, speaking english quickly, queen letizia speaking english, queen maxima speaking english, queen beatrix speaking english, sultan qaboos speaking english, queen silvia speaking english, queen mathilde speaking english, queen sirikit speaking english, queen sofia speaking english, quebecois speaking english, speaking english ronnie, wendy speaking english red velvet, park bom speaking english roommate, exo speaking english ranking, roy kim speaking english, cristiano ronaldo speaking english, ronaldo speaking english, rain speaking english, russian speaking english, red velvet speaking english, t r speaking english, speaking english slowly, speaking english skill, speaking english subtitles, speaking english story, speaking english song, practice speaking english skills, learn english speaking english subtitles, henry speaking english super junior, exo speaking english sehun, improve english speaking skills, speaking english, speaking english tutorial, speaking english topics, speaking english tips, speaking english to strangers, speaking english test, speaking english to koreans, speaking english to japanese, speaking english to foreigners, speaking english to bangla, speaking english to russians, zion t speaking english, t-ara speaking english, t rajendar speaking english, t-ara dani speaking english, t s madaan english speaking, speaking english uk, speaking english usa, speaking english urdu, uk english speaking practice, urdu to english speaking course full, u kiss speaking english, usa english speaking practice, english urdu speaking course, us english speaking practice, urassaya sperbund speaking english, u kiss jun speaking english, u kiss aj speaking english, u kiss kevin speaking english, u kiss eli speaking english, u kiss dongho speaking english, u-know yunho speaking english, u kiss alexander speaking english, speaking english video, speaking english very fast, speaking english vocabulary, speaking english video in hindi, how to speaking english very well, funny speaking english video, learning speaking english video, vijaykanth english speaking comedy, vladimir putin speaking english, british english speaking videos, v speaking english bts, bangtan boys v speaking english, bangtan v speaking english, v s achuthanandan speaking english, speaking english with a spanish accent, speaking english with american accent, speaking english with a german accent, speaking english with russian accent, speaking english with confidence, speaking english with strangers, speaking english with misterduncan, speaking english with text, speaking english with british accent, exo speaking english xiumin, xiumin speaking english, xavi speaking english, xabi alonso speaking english, ximena duque speaking english, xiah junsu speaking english, bo xilai speaking english, xi jinping speaking english in india, amber f(x) speaking english, winner speaking english yg, bobby speaking english yg, yoochun speaking english, yuki furukawa speaking english, gong yoo speaking english, aaron yan speaking english, yong hwa speaking english, yoona speaking english, joon young speaking english, park yoochun speaking english, zhoumi speaking english, zelo speaking english, zico speaking english, jiang zemin speaking english, zea kevin speaking english, zidane speaking english, zlatan ibrahimovic speaking english, bap zelo speaking english, zhao wei speaking english, momoiro clover z speaking english, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 01, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 02, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 05, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 03, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 04, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 09, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 06, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 08, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 07, learn english speaking lesson 01, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 11, english speaking practice title 1, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 12, english conversation - learn english speaking - part 10, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 10, 15& speaking english, jimin 15& speaking english, 1tym teddy speaking english, top 10 english speaking countries, english speaking part 1, english speaking practice lesson 1, learn english speaking 1, english speaking practice 1, english speaking english conversation lesson 1, english speaking practice part 1, english speaking class 1, english speaking for grade 1, tiffany speaking english 2014, jessica speaking english 2014, taeyang speaking english 2014, tablo speaking english 2014, gd speaking english 2014, 2ne1 speaking english 2014, rain speaking english 2014, neymar speaking english 2014, tiffany snsd speaking english 2014, hassan 2 speaking english, invincible youth 2 speaking english, roommate season 2 speaking english, english speaking practice title 2, english speaking lesson 2, 2pm speaking english, learn english speaking 2, english speaking practice title 3, 30 days english speaking course, sims 3 speaking english, english speaking lesson 3, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 30, 4minute speaking english, english speaking practice title 4, the sims 4 speaking english, learn english speaking 4, english speaking practice 4, english speaking lesson 4, 4 minute speaking english, english speaking practice title 5, 5zic speaking english, english speaking practice 5, english speaking practice title 6, english speaking lesson 6, english speaking practice title 7, english speaking 7 rules, speaking english subtitle part 7, english speaking practice title 8, 9muses sera speaking english, english speaking practice title 9, 96neko speaking english, 9 muses sera speaking english, english speaking practice title 10, learn english speaking 10
No comments:
Post a Comment