Baseball’s box score has all kinds of shorthand, which came from a need to keep things concise, since box scores were only printed in newspapers for the first 100 years after box scores started being used. While baseball fans are familiar with other box score abbreviations such as HR for Home Run, E for Error, […]
Years ago, most players used ash bats. That soon changed, owing to Barry Bond’s triumphant display courtesy of a maple bat. Barry Bonds set a single-season home run record in 2001, and since then, the perception that maple hits farther owing to its harder, denser structure has stuck. Last year, for instance, about 70% of […]
Baseball fans generally love the statistics behind the game. One statistic that has become a popular way to measure the overall effectiveness of batters is the OPS stat. Lets define OPS in baseball – What does OPS stand for? OPS in baseball stands for On-base plus slugging. This is a stat that sums a player’s […]
New baseball fans just getting into the game often wonder, “How Long Is a Baseball Game?” The short answer is: baseball does not depend on a ticking clock, unlike most team sports that use quarters, periods, or halves to measure time. There is no specific time length for a baseball game – teams at the […]
Youth players who experiment with different positions begin to see what role suits them early on. Some kids can play the field, hit, and pitch, all in the course of one game. Over time and with skill development, however, some kids find out that they are best suited to be a pitcher over any other […]
There are nine players on the field. This concept hasn’t changed since the game’s invention in 1845. However, not every player can play every game, and with the increasing need for substitutions, roster sizes have changed. In fact, at just about every level of play, rosters are generally far above the nine needed on the […]
In baseball and softball, a Fielder’s Choice is most commonly referred to as FC in scorebooks. It occurs when a ground ball is fielded by a defensive player and, instead of getting the batter out at first base, decides to get a baserunner out that is advancing to another base or home plate. The base […]
What is a double play in baseball? Well, the double play is an integral part of a baseball game. If you’ve ever seen a game on television or heard one on the radio, you’ve probably heard an announcer comment on the type of double play that just took place. It could be the usual 4-6-3 […]
For those that have been a part of baseball or softball at various levels, either as a coach, player, parents, or spectator, you have likely witnessed a game end early due to the 10 Run Rule. Not all leagues have a 10 Run Rule, but a lot of them do. If you’re a novice, perhaps […]
A common question by fans just getting into baseball is how many teams there are in Major League Baseball. The number of teams has increased steadily over the years, and as of 2021, there are 30 teams throughout Major League Baseball, divided into two leagues with three divisions in each league. The teams are placed […]