Author: Daniel

All games have their ‘fair’ and ‘foul’ rules and areas, and baseball and softball are no different. Players and officials need to understand where these areas are and the laws that govern them so there is no confusion during play. In baseball and softball, a foul ball is any ball that lands in the designated foul area without landing in the field of play or without touching a fielding player. It is also foul if it strikes the batter in softball or a batted ball makes contact with the batter while he is still in the batting box. The rules…

Baseball has a few confusing terms, one of which is the ‘complete game’ or CG. You may think this means what it says that the game has been completed with both teams batting and fielding for nine innings, but this is not the case. A complete game or CG is used when the pitcher completes the full game without being substituted or replaced by a relief pitcher. For a normal game, this is where the starting pitcher starts the game, throws for all nine innings, and ends the game on the mound. Let’s get on the mound and understand the…

Baseball and softball coaches have many strategic options during the game, and using a pinch hitter is one of those. The pinch hitter will be ‘announced’ when taking the plate and designated as ‘PH’ on the scorecard. The pinch hitter is used to replace another player that is characteristically a weaker hitter. This can be a pitcher or another defensive player. The pinch hitter is typically used toward the end of an innings when either a sacrifice bunt or a higher probability for a base hit is needed. However, there are rules and regulations that define the use of a…

June 3, 2022, Jameson Taillon had baseball fans holding their breath. The New York Yankees pitcher had faced 21 hitters from the Los Angeles Angels. Was the world witnessing their first perfect game since 2012? Alas, for poor Taillon, Jared Walsh batted that possibility away in the eighth inning. But what is a perfect game, and how is that different from a no-hitter? A perfect game in baseball means a pitcher prevented a runner from reaching a single base by hit, error, or base-on-balls. In contrast, a no-hitter means the opposing team never managed to hit a single ball the…

Like the Slugging Percentage for hitters, the WHIP in baseball is a measure of the pitcher’s effectiveness in keeping runners off the basepaths, which is the main goal for any pitcher during the game. The WHIP is an acronym for Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched and calculates how many baserunners the pitcher accords in an innings. Achieving a low WHIP means pitchers must record as many outs as possible during the innings, whether by strike out, ground out or fly out. To understand the WHIP, we will look at how to calculate it, what counts for and against the…

Like all other sports, baseball has its own set of metrics designed to communicate the effectiveness or efficiency of players in the roles, whether pitching, batting, or fielding. The slugging percentage is a key metric in the game. The baseball slugging percentage or SLG measures the number of bases a player achieves with each at bat. It measures the player’s proficiency at hitting the extra-base hits such as doubles, triples, and home runs, and any SLG over .450 is considered good, and .550 or better is exceptional. Let’s get gloved up and ready to bat as we look at the…

Gloves are worn in other club sports such as golf and cricket, as well as soccer (by the goalkeeper), football, and of course baseball, but did you ever wonder why players wear batting gloves in baseball?  Baseball batting gloves gives players better grip and traction on the bat. It reduce the impact and vibration of the ball; this improves their control and accuracy in the swing. It also reduces the sweat, oil and dirt that gets onto the bat from the player’s hands, especially if it’s a wooden bat. It’s time to haul out the baseball bat and head to…

Baseball pants have come a long way since the sport began in 1876, but you might be wondering why do baseball players wear pants? After all, baseball is typically played in the heat of the summer and wouldn’t shorts be more comfortable and make more sense? Baseball players wear long pants because it protects their legs from the dirt and grass when they slide and dive during the game. It also gives infielders added protection from their sliding opponents. In addition to protection, baseball pants have been a tradition ever since the game got started.  In this article, I’ll explain…

If you have ever watched a baseball game on TV you have probably heard the announcer say something like that was a 4-3 double play. So, you might be wondering what does a 4-3 double play mean and what do the numbers represent.  A 4-3 double play in baseball occurs when the defensive team gets two outs during the same play where the second baseman (4), and the first baseman (3) both contributed in the play. The numbers represent each position and in which order they participated in the play.  To help you better understand what the numbers in a…

If you have ever watched a baseball game on TV you have probably heard the announcer say something like that was a 5-4-3 double play. So, you might be wondering what does a 5-4-3 double play mean and what do the numbers represent.  A 5-4-3 double play in baseball occurs when the defensive team gets two outs during the same play where the third baseman (5), second baseman (4), and the first baseman (3) all contributed in the play. The numbers represent each position and in which order they participated in the play.  To help you better understand what the…