Rules of America's Pastime!

    In the United States, there has consistently been four major sports- Basketball, Football, Hockey, and Baseball. Of these four, baseball is the oldest, and commonly referred to as "America's pastime". I grew up watching the Chicago Cubs for as long as I can remember, and this sport has, and always will, have a special place in my heart. Here are the biggest rules when it comes to baseball:

1. Each game consists of two teams of nine players- pitcher, catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, right field, centerfield, and left field. 
2. Each game consists of 9 innings, each team batting once (every half inning). If tied after the 9th inning, the game goes into "extra innings" until someone wins. If home team is already winning, there is no need to play the bottom half of the 9th inning. 
3. Once the batting order is created, it cannot be changed throughout the game. Substitutes (pinch hitters) are allowed, but they must be in the same order as before. 
4. If you hit the ball, try to get on base. You can try for as many bases as you want before being tagged or thrown out. Each base must be touched by a part of your body to count. 
5. There is no limit on how many pitches you can face in one at-bat; however, you can only have 3 strikes before it is an out. 4 balls outside of the strike zone is a walk. If you hit foul balls, the first two count as strikes; any fouls after 2 strikes don't count. 
6. Batter can run to next base at any time, which is called stealing.
7. One run is equal to one score. Whoever has the most runs at the end of 9 innings is the winner.
8. There are four major ways to get "out"- strike out (3 strikes thrown before getting on base), force out/ground out (runner not at base before fielder with the ball is at the base), fly out (ball is hit in the air and caught), and tag out (runner is tagged by fielder with the ball on way to the base).

    Hopefully knowing these rules make this game more enjoyable for you. Baseball has changed over the last few years, but at it's core, it's still the game that your great grandparents grew up with. Some people consider baseball a dying sport, but I feel that, with the right people behind it and the new generations to come of players, it can go back to being what it was in it's prime. 

The Game of BananaBall!

    The very first thing I posted on here last season was the rules for BananaBall. Since I wrote that, there have been a few new rules added, so I thought I would make an updated list of the rules.

1. Whoever scores the most runs per inning gets a point, but not every run counts for a point. The most points you can get per inning (excluding the last inning) is 1 point. In the last inning, every run counts as a point.
2. There is a 2 hour time limit, or 9 innings, whichever comes first. 
3. Hitters cannot step out of the box or it is called a strike. 
4. NO BUNTING. If you bunt, you're ejected from the game.
5. Batters can steal first base if they feel the opportunity is there! 
6. There are no walks. Instead, there are "Ball 4 sprints". Runner can advance to however many bases they want and the ball isn't live until all field players touch the ball.
7. There are no mound visits. Pitchers have to do their best on their own and trust the signs from the catcher.
8. If a fan catches a foul ball, it's an out. This is a big deal in the world of sports because it increases fan involvement, and last season we saw this end a game!
9. There are no traditional extra innings in a tie. There is a tiebreaker showdown. 1 hitter vs 1 pitcher. 
10. The Bananaball challenge rule- each team gets one challenge per game, and for the first time in professional sports, the fans also get a challenge! (This rule was introduced midseason last year.)
11. The Golden Batter rule- once per game, a team can send any batter that is in the lineup up to bat at any point, regardless of where in the lineup they are. (This rule is new to the season.)

It's important to understand the rules and how they are different from regular baseball. I plan to follow the Bananas, Party Animals, and Firefighters, so knowing the rules will help everything later on make sense. I'm going to make one on the rules of baseball as well because I will be following the Chicago Cubs and Nashville Sounds as well.