What are the health benefits of baseball?
Baseball is a summer game, which is played between April and September. Playing baseball will get you out in the fresh air and sunshine. It is good exercise and will improve your fitness. It is also a good way to make friends and experience playing as a team. Baseball doesn't require a lot of running, which is part of its appeal to some.
What's the aim of the game?
The aim of the game is to score runs. A ball is thrown by a pitcher to a batter. After the batter hits the ball, he or she runs in a circle, touching a series of bases on the way and returning to the "home" base.
Fielders try to catch or collect the ball while the batter runs. When the batter returns to the home base, a run is scored. The batter is out if a ball is caught before it hits the ground.
The team that scores the most runs after nine rounds of play (or innings) wins the game.
Training tips
The three basic skills of baseball are throwing, catching and hitting.
Find a friend, a baseball and two fielders' gloves and practise throwing and catching until you can do both with confidence and accuracy.
Find or borrow a bat and get a friend to throw a tennis ball (or something similar) to you to practise the timing required to make contact with the bat.
You will get more benefit from your training if you have received some basic coaching in these skills beforehand.
Advice on getting started
Most baseball teams welcome new players, including beginners, and will run sessions to teach you the game.
See the Baseball Softball UK (BSUK) website for information on how to get involved in baseball. You can also find a baseball team.
What equipment do I need?
You probably won't need any equipment to begin with, since the team or club you start with will provide the essentials. This includes bats, balls and fielders' gloves. Eventually, you may want to buy your own glove and maybe your own bat.
Advice on getting into competitive baseball
There are baseball leagues at different levels throughout the country, but the most competitive is the National Baseball League, based in the south of England. If you join a club, learn the game and do well, you could try out for a National League team.
Internationally, the Great Britain senior baseball team is ranked second in Europe. There are also under-18, under-15 and under-12 youth teams that compete in Europe. There is also a winter youth academy open to players aged 10–18.
