Baseball knowledge

Baseball guides | Rules, innings, scoring and statistics

Clear evergreen explanations of baseball rules, game structure and common statistics, checked against current official sources.

Baseball basics

Baseball rules: innings, runs and outs explained

A practical guide to the basic flow of baseball: how teams alternate between batting and fielding, how an inning ends, how runs score and how…

Field and bases

A guide to the main field measurements in baseball: the 90-foot infield square, where the bases and home plate sit, the standard 60 ft 6 in p…

Positions and defensive roles

A practical guide to the nine defensive positions, what each area of the field is responsible for, and how the 1–9 scorekeeping numbers map t…

Balls, strikes, outs and the count

How the pitch count works, why four balls award first base, why three strikes usually mean a strikeout, and how foul balls and outs affect an…

Batting and pitching statistics

A practical guide to common batting and pitching rate statistics, how their formulas differ, and what the numbers do and do not tell you.

Substitutions and designated hitter

How batting-order substitutions, pinch hitters and runners, defensive replacements, pitching changes and the designated hitter work — and whe…

Extra innings and tied games

What happens when regulation ends tied, how walk-off endings work, and why MLB regular season, MLB postseason and WBSC tournaments can start…

Box score and scorekeeping

A practical guide to inning-by-inning scoring, R-H-E totals, hitter and pitcher columns, and scorekeeping symbols such as K, BB, E and 6-3.