Baseball
It is believed that baseball developed from a British game called Rounders, but what we know for certain is that the first American Baseball Club was formed in New York, in 1845.
Baseball is played by two teams of nine players on a diamond-shaped field having a base at each corner. While one team bat, that is attempt to strike the ball with a bat, the other team attempt to catch the ball before it strikes the ground or tag the base before the runner arrives or tag the runner himself.
The pitcher throws the ball to the catcher who waits to receive it in a crouching position. A batter from the opposing team tries to intercept it by hitting it with a bat. A ball that is thrown by the pitcher between the batter’s knees and his shoulders level is considered a “strike”. If the pitch is outside this zone, the umpire calls it “ball”. After 3 strikes the runner is strike out, after 4 balls the runner has the right to walk to first base. After hitting the ball, the batter runs to as many bases as he can before the fielders return the ball.
If the player hits the ball out of the park or if he manages to run home after hitting the ball, he scores a “home-run”, the greatest achievement in baseball; if he is obliged to remain on base, the next batter attempts to hit the ball and make the runner score because when a player runs round all bases safely, he scores a run, a point. This continues until 3 outs have been made. At that time, the opposing team get an opportunity to hit the ball and score runs. The game continues for 9 innings, that is when both teams have had nine turns at batting, unless the score is tied at the end of nine innings. The team that scores the most runs wins the game. In the event of a tie, the teams continue to play with each team batting until one team outscores the other.
Amongst the most famous baseball players there are Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Joe Di Maggio, who was married to Marilyn Monroe, Ted Williams, Sammy Sosa, Nolan Ryan.