Baseball and America have grown up together. In fact, Baseball is such an integral part of our culture that we often take for granted its deep day-to-day significance in our lives.

I. Baseball A. Baseball Basics 1. Baseball is a sport played between two teams usually of nine players each. 2. It is a bat and ball game in which a pitcher throws a hard, fist sized, leather covered ball toward a batter on the opposing team. 3. The batter attempts to hit the baseball with a tapered cylindrical bat, made of wood, or a variety of other materials. 4. A team scores runs only when batting, by advancing its players via hits counterclockwise past a series of four markers called bases arranged at the corners of a 90 foot square. 5. The game, played without time restriction, is structured around nine segments called innings. 6. In each inning, both teams are given the chance to bat and score runs. 7. A teams half inning ends when 3 outs are recorded against that team. 8. In the U.S., professional MLB teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL). 9. Each League has 3 divisions a. East b. West c. Central 10. 4 Teams make the playoffs from each league a. The 3 division leaders b. One wildcard team with the best record among the remaining teams in the league. 11. Each major league ream has a “farm system” of minor league teams at various levels. a. These teams allow younger players to gain experience against opponents with similar levels of skill. 12. By the late nineteenth century, baseball was widely recognized as the national sport of the U.S. 13. Baseball on both the professional and amateur levels is popular in many places around the world. a. North America b. Central America c. South