Tuesday, February 15, 2011
wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art that uses grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two (occasionally more) competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position. There are a wide range of styles with varying rules with both traditional historic and modern styles. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into other martial arts as well as military hand-to-hand combat systems.
chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Each player begins the game with sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "check") and there is no way to remove or defend it from attack on the next move. The game's present form emerged in Europe during the second half of the 15th century, an evolution of an older Indian game, Shatranj. Theoreticians have developed extensive chess strategies and tactics since the game's inception. Computers have been used for many years to create chess-playing programs, and their abilities and insights have contributed significantly to modern chess theory. One, Deep Blue, was the first machine to beat a reigning World Chess Champion when it defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997.
Organized competitive chess began during the 16th century. The first official World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886; the current World Champion is Viswanathan Anand from India. In addition to the World Championship, there is the Women's World Championship, the Junior World Championship, the World Senior Championship, the Correspondence Chess World Championship, the World Computer Chess Championship, and Blitz and Rapid World Championships (see fast chess). The Chess Olympiad is a popular competition among teams from different nations. Online chess has opened amateur and professional competition to a wide and varied group of players.
Organized competitive chess began during the 16th century. The first official World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886; the current World Champion is Viswanathan Anand from India. In addition to the World Championship, there is the Women's World Championship, the Junior World Championship, the World Senior Championship, the Correspondence Chess World Championship, the World Computer Chess Championship, and Blitz and Rapid World Championships (see fast chess). The Chess Olympiad is a popular competition among teams from different nations. Online chess has opened amateur and professional competition to a wide and varied group of players.
basketball
car racing
| Car racing started after the production of the first automobile which used petrol. The first car racing competition was arranged in 1887 in France. The distance to cover was about two kilometers in length and was won by Georges Bouton who was only one participant. In 1894 a car racing competition arranged by Le Petit Journal was held. In year 1895 the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris Rally took place and was won by Émile Levassor. The first car racing modern type contest took place in Nice, France, in 1897. Since that time car racing have spread all over the world and became one of the most spectacular kinds of sports. It has been always developing and nowadays we have a lot of different types of car racing, also available in online betting rooms and casinos such as JackpotCity.com, and comparing in popularity with such games as poker, roulette and slots of uk fruit machines. Among them are the following: Rally car racing. This type of car racing is contest race cars driving in off-road territories where common people do not use their automobiles. The race car driver with his co-drivers drive to a certain point and then start from that place at regular time periods to get to a particular border. The participants are given the possibility to examine the racing track before the competition to receive a better notion about the area. The other members of the team work out the best strategy to get to the finish point. Single-seater car racing. This type of car racing is also very popular. In single-seater Car Racing competitions different high-speed automobiles take part. Formula One is a World Championship of this type of car racing well known to everybody. Every race driver is eager to compete in the championship of single-seater car racing. Stock car racing. This kind of car racing is known to be well spread and loved in the USA. The nascar racing also belongs to the stock car racing sport. The competitions are usually held on oval racing tracks and the automobiles which take part in them are alike ordinary cars but have numerous modifications for car speed racing. Car drag racing. This type of car racing includes covering a track of a certain distance as quickly as it is possible. The tracks are usually 400 miles in length. In the contests automobiles of different kinds took part. These can be ordinary vehicles or special racing vehicles. Sports car racing. Sports car racing competitions are usually held on closed oval tracks. In this type of car racing specially built racing automobiles contest with each other. Sports car racing involves tracks of long distances land so that several car race drivers may take part in the competitions. Off-road car Racing. From the name of this type of car racing it becomes understandable that competitions for specially modified automobiles are held far from public road or special racing tracks. They are organized on the off road areas. |
handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outfield players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team. The team with the most goals after two periods of 30 minutes wins.
Modern handball is usually played indoors, but outdoor variants exist in the forms of field handball and czech handball (which were more common in the past) and beach handball (also called sandball). American handball and Gaelic handball are completely different sports.
The game is quite fast and includes body contact as the defenders try to stop the attackers from approaching the goal. Contact is only allowed when the defensive player is completely in front of the offensive player, i.e. between the offensive player and the goal. This is referred to as a player sandwich. Any contact from the side or especially from behind is considered dangerous and is usually met with penalties. When a defender successfully stops an attacking player, the play is stopped and restarted by the attacking team from the spot of the infraction or on the nine meter line. Unlike in basketball where players are allowed to commit only 5 fouls in a game (6 in the NBA), handball players are allowed an unlimited number of "faults", which are considered good defence and disruptive to the attacking team's rhythm.
Goals are scored quite frequently; usually both teams score at least 20 goals each, and it is not uncommon for both teams to score more than 30 goals. This was not true in the earliest history of the game, when the scores were more akin to that of ice hockey[clarification needed]. But, as offensive play has improved since the late 1980s, particularly the use of counterattacks (fast breaks) after a failed attack from the other team, goal scoring has increased.
The team handball game of today was formed by the end of the 19th century in northern Europe, primarily Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden. Holger Nielsen, a Danish gym teacher, drew up the rules for modern handball (håndbold) in 1898 and published them in 1906, and Rasmus Nicolai Ernst, another Danish teacher, did something similar in 1897. Modern Handball is therefore widely considered a game of Danish origins.
Another set of team Handball rules was published on 29 October 1917 by Max Heiser, Karl Schelenz, and Erich Konigh from Germany. After 1919 these rules were improved by Karl Schelenz. The first international games were played under these rules, between Germany and Belgium for men in 1925 and between Germany and Austria for women in 1930.
In 1926, the Congress of the International Amateur Athletics Federation nominated a committee to draw up international rules for field handball. The International Amateur Handball Federation was formed in 1928, and the International Handball Federation was formed in 1946.
Men's field handball was played at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. During the next several decades, the game of handball flourished and evolved as an indoor sport in the Scandinavian countries. The sport re-emerged onto the world stage as team handball for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Women's team handball was added at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Due to its popularity in the region, the Eastern European countries that refined the event became the dominant force in the sport when it was reintroduced.
The International Handball Federation organized the men's world championship in 1938 and every 4 (sometimes 3) years from World War II to 1995. Since the 1995 world championship in Iceland, the competition has been every two years. The women's world championship has been played since 1957. The IHF also organizes women's and men's junior world championships. By July 2009, the IHF listed 166 member federations - approximately 795,000 teams and 19 million players.
The goal posts and the crossbar must be made out of the same material (e.g. wood or aluminium) and feature a quadratic cross section with a side of 8 cm (3 in). The three sides of the beams visible from the playing field must be painted alternatingly in two contrasting colors which both have to contrast against the background. The colors on both goals must be the same.
Each goal must feature a net. This must be fastened in such a way that a ball thrown into does not leave or pass the goal under normal circumstances. If necessary, a second net may be clasped to the back of the net on the inside.
If a player contacts the ground inside the goal perimeter he must take the most direct path out of it. However, should a player cross the zone in an attempt to gain an advantage (e.g. better position) his team cedes the ball. Similarly, violation of the zone by a defending player is only penalized if he does so to gain an advantage in defending.
Modern handball is usually played indoors, but outdoor variants exist in the forms of field handball and czech handball (which were more common in the past) and beach handball (also called sandball). American handball and Gaelic handball are completely different sports.
The game is quite fast and includes body contact as the defenders try to stop the attackers from approaching the goal. Contact is only allowed when the defensive player is completely in front of the offensive player, i.e. between the offensive player and the goal. This is referred to as a player sandwich. Any contact from the side or especially from behind is considered dangerous and is usually met with penalties. When a defender successfully stops an attacking player, the play is stopped and restarted by the attacking team from the spot of the infraction or on the nine meter line. Unlike in basketball where players are allowed to commit only 5 fouls in a game (6 in the NBA), handball players are allowed an unlimited number of "faults", which are considered good defence and disruptive to the attacking team's rhythm.
Goals are scored quite frequently; usually both teams score at least 20 goals each, and it is not uncommon for both teams to score more than 30 goals. This was not true in the earliest history of the game, when the scores were more akin to that of ice hockey[clarification needed]. But, as offensive play has improved since the late 1980s, particularly the use of counterattacks (fast breaks) after a failed attack from the other team, goal scoring has increased.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Origins and development
There are records of handball-like games in medieval France, and among the Inuit in Greenland, in the Middle Ages. By the 19th century, there existed similar games of håndbold from Denmark, házená in the Czech Republic, hádzaná in Slovakia, gandbol in Ukraine, torball in Germany, as well as versions in Uruguay.The team handball game of today was formed by the end of the 19th century in northern Europe, primarily Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden. Holger Nielsen, a Danish gym teacher, drew up the rules for modern handball (håndbold) in 1898 and published them in 1906, and Rasmus Nicolai Ernst, another Danish teacher, did something similar in 1897. Modern Handball is therefore widely considered a game of Danish origins.
Another set of team Handball rules was published on 29 October 1917 by Max Heiser, Karl Schelenz, and Erich Konigh from Germany. After 1919 these rules were improved by Karl Schelenz. The first international games were played under these rules, between Germany and Belgium for men in 1925 and between Germany and Austria for women in 1930.
In 1926, the Congress of the International Amateur Athletics Federation nominated a committee to draw up international rules for field handball. The International Amateur Handball Federation was formed in 1928, and the International Handball Federation was formed in 1946.
Men's field handball was played at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. During the next several decades, the game of handball flourished and evolved as an indoor sport in the Scandinavian countries. The sport re-emerged onto the world stage as team handball for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Women's team handball was added at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Due to its popularity in the region, the Eastern European countries that refined the event became the dominant force in the sport when it was reintroduced.
The International Handball Federation organized the men's world championship in 1938 and every 4 (sometimes 3) years from World War II to 1995. Since the 1995 world championship in Iceland, the competition has been every two years. The women's world championship has been played since 1957. The IHF also organizes women's and men's junior world championships. By July 2009, the IHF listed 166 member federations - approximately 795,000 teams and 19 million players.
[edit] Summary
The handball playing field is similar to an indoor soccer field. Two teams of seven players (six field players plus one goalkeeper) take the field and attempt to score points by putting the game ball into the opposing team's goal. In handling the ball, players are subject to the following restrictions:- After receiving the ball, players can only hold the ball for three seconds before passing, dribbling (similar to a basketball dribble), or shooting.
- After receiving the ball, players can take up to three steps without dribbling. If players dribble, they may take an additional three steps.
- Players that stop dribbling have three seconds to pass or shoot. They may take three additional steps during this time.
- No players other than the defending goalkeeper are allowed within the goal line (within 6 meters of the goal). Goalkeepers are allowed outside this line.
[edit] Playing field
Handball is played on a court 40 by 20 metres (130 × 66 ft), with a goal in the center of each end. The goals are surrounded by a near-semicircular area, called the zone or the crease, defined by a line six meters from the goal. A dashed near-semicircular line nine meters from the goal marks the free-throw line. Each line on the court is part of the area it encompasses. This implies that the middle line belongs to both halves at the same time.[edit] Goals
Each goal has a rectangular clearance area of three meters in the width and two meters in the height. It must be securely bolted either to the floor or the wall behind.The goal posts and the crossbar must be made out of the same material (e.g. wood or aluminium) and feature a quadratic cross section with a side of 8 cm (3 in). The three sides of the beams visible from the playing field must be painted alternatingly in two contrasting colors which both have to contrast against the background. The colors on both goals must be the same.
Each goal must feature a net. This must be fastened in such a way that a ball thrown into does not leave or pass the goal under normal circumstances. If necessary, a second net may be clasped to the back of the net on the inside.
[edit] Goal perimeter
The goals are surrounded by the crease. This area is delimited by two quarter circles with a radius of six meters around the far corners of each goal post and a connecting line parallel to the goal line. Only the defending goalkeeper is allowed inside this perimeter. However, the court players may catch and touch the ball in the air within it as long as the player starts his jump outside the zone and releases the ball before he lands.If a player contacts the ground inside the goal perimeter he must take the most direct path out of it. However, should a player cross the zone in an attempt to gain an advantage (e.g. better position) his team cedes the ball. Similarly, violation of the zone by a defending player is only penalized if he does so to gain an advantage in defending.
[edit] Substitution area
Outside of one long edge of the playing field to both sides of the middle line are the substitution areas for each team. The areas usually contain the benches as seating opportunities. Team officials, substitutes and suspended players must wait within this area. The area always lies to the same side as the team's own goal. During half-time substitution areas are swapped. Any player entering or leaving the play must cross the substitution line which is part of the side line and extends 4.5 meters from the middle line to the team's side.[edit] Duration
swimming
Swimming on the side
At the water surface resistance is proporational to the breadth of a boat. Laying flat on the chest in freestyle or on the back in backstroke exposes the breadth of the body to the water. Rolling on the side reduces the breadth and the resistance. In freestyle and backstroke you should roll from one side to the other in the stroke and glide on the side as much as possible.
c2 = gl/2π
Here c is the velocity of the wave in m/s, g is the gravitational acceleration (9.81 m/s2), and l is the wave length in m. If the maximum swimming speed of c=2.1m/s is entered you get a length of l=2.82m. This is about the length of a 2m swimmer with extended arms. So the longer you can glide with the extended arm the less wave resistance. This is also called front quadrant swimming.
Swimming is an event at the Summer Olympic Games, where male and female athletes compete in 13 of the recognized events each. Olympic events are held in a 50 meter pool (long course). There are 37 officially recognized individual swimming events – 18 male events and 19 female events, however the International Olympic Committee only recognizes 35 of them – 17 male and 18 female. The international governing body for competitive swimming is the Fédération Internationale de Natation ("International Swimming Federation") better known as FINA..
At the water surface resistance is proporational to the breadth of a boat. Laying flat on the chest in freestyle or on the back in backstroke exposes the breadth of the body to the water. Rolling on the side reduces the breadth and the resistance. In freestyle and backstroke you should roll from one side to the other in the stroke and glide on the side as much as possible.
[edit] Extended arm
Sailboats are categorized according to boat length. This is due to the wave resistance at the surface. According to Froude, a ship engineer in the 19th century, a body moving at the surface of the water creates a wave. The wave length of the wave depends on the speed. The faster the boat the longer the wave. Now Froude found that resistance goes up dramatically when the wave length reaches the length of the boat. There is a simple formula connecting wave velocity to wave length (dispersion equation, metric):c2 = gl/2π
Here c is the velocity of the wave in m/s, g is the gravitational acceleration (9.81 m/s2), and l is the wave length in m. If the maximum swimming speed of c=2.1m/s is entered you get a length of l=2.82m. This is about the length of a 2m swimmer with extended arms. So the longer you can glide with the extended arm the less wave resistance. This is also called front quadrant swimming.
[edit] Competition
Competitive swimming became popular in the nineteenth century. The goal of competitive swimming is to constantly improve upon one's time(s) in any given event. To be the best in a particular event means having the fastest time in that event, though some professional swimmers who do not have a number one national or world ranking are known to be the best with regard to their technical skills in the water. Typically, an athlete goes through a cycle of training in which the body is overloaded with work in the beginning and middle segments of the cycle, and then the workload is decreased in the final stage as the swimmer approaches the competition in which he or she is to compete in. This final stage is often referred to as "shave and taper"; the swimmer has tapered down his or her work load to the point where he or she is able to perform at their optimal level, and then the swimmer shaves off all exposed hair and dead skin cells for the sake of reducing drag and having a sleeker and more hydrodynamic feel in the water. [3]Swimming is an event at the Summer Olympic Games, where male and female athletes compete in 13 of the recognized events each. Olympic events are held in a 50 meter pool (long course). There are 37 officially recognized individual swimming events – 18 male events and 19 female events, however the International Olympic Committee only recognizes 35 of them – 17 male and 18 female. The international governing body for competitive swimming is the Fédération Internationale de Natation ("International Swimming Federation") better known as FINA..
[edit] Swimm styles
In competitive swimming four major styles have been established. They have been relatively stable over the last 30-40 years with minor improvements:baseball
Every team plays every other in their league, and they play more games against those in their division. The leagues don't meet until the World Series, apart from a few specially created interleague games.
The leagues also play an All-Star exhibition game during the mid-season break, with the starting outfield players selected by a fans' ballot.
Each team plays 162 regular season games. They play each other in three or four-game series, and teams often play a string of these away on a road trip.
Each league's three divisional winners are joined by one wild card to make up the league semi-finals, followed by best-of-seven league finals and then the World Series, also known as the Fall Classic.
HITS (H): Any time a player connects with the ball and gets to at least first base. This is the most important statistic for a non-pitcher.
You don't get a hit if a fielder makes a mistake, known as an error , or decides to throw to another base to get somebody else out, a fielder's choice.
Getting to first is called a single, second a double, third a triple (quite rare), and all the way around is a home run. But they all count as one hit.
A batter who records the rare feat of a single, a double, a triple and a home run in the same game is said to have hit for the cycle.
BATTING AVERAGE (AVG): As in cricket, this is the key measure of player's worth. In short, this is hits divided by at bats.
The average is calculated as a fraction of one, ie. 0.300 (the benchmark of a good player) means the batter gets a hit in 30% of his at bats. Hence, you may see references to a player's average being .300.
Batting averages do not include getting on base via a walk - when the pitcher throws four pitches, or balls outside the strike zone.
Also not counted are sacrifice flies (when a batter hits the ball far enough for a player to score after the catch has been made), being hit by the pitch (which gives you first base), and fielder's choices or errors.
A good batting average is anything over .300; a decent one is about .260; anything below .240 is poor.
Pitchers bat only in the National League (the American League uses designated hitters, who do not field, in their place), and like bowlers in cricket they tend to bat at the end of the nine-man order.
Towards the end of a close game they, and other bad batters, are often substituted so that pinch hitters can take their at bat.
ON BASE PERCENTAGE (OBP): Like the above but includes all those other bits too. A good OBP is .400 - anything below .300 is bad.
STOLEN BASE (SB): Once on base, fast-running players will try to steal a base - normally from first to second, as second base is the furthest throw for the catcher to make from behind home plate.
The player on base starts running as soon as the pitcher begins his action. If the pitcher attempts to break his action by throwing to base instead of the plate it is called a balk, which advances players on base.
The player attempts to beat the catcher's throw to the second baseman or shortstop (the two fielders who defend the middle of the infield).
SBs are important because if a player gets to second base he can normally get home for a run on a base hit.
A pitcher can try to stop people stealing bases by keeping them close to first base.
The runner will try to get a good head start by going as far from first base as he dares.
But if a pitcher can throw the ball to the first baseman before the runner gets back to the bag, the fielder can tag him out. This is called a pick off.
RUNS BATTED IN (RBI): After batting averages, this is the most important batting stat. You get an RBI every time you enable someone to score (including yourself).
So, if you hit a home run you get one because you have scored. If you get hit by the pitch when the bases are loaded (players on first, second and third), you get an RBI as everyone has to move around one base. If you hit a home run with the bases loaded (a grand slam) you get four RBIs.
An ERA is how many runs a pitcher gives up per nine innings. Runs scored by players who got on base due to an error are not his fault and therefore unearned - a bit like byes on a bowling average.
A good ERA is anything below 4.00 (ie four runs per nine innings), a bad one is 6.00+.
SAVES (SV): Not every pitcher is a starter - most teams have a rotation of 4-5 starters. The rest of the pitching staff or bullpen (usually 10-12 players) are known as relievers.
When the starting pitcher gets tired or is having an off day, a team manager calls in a reliever.
If the team was still leading when the starter retired, you are attempting to complete the win and earn a save.
A pitcher only earns a save if the lead he inherits is three runs or less, and he has to pitch at least a full inning.
The best relievers, known as closers, will normally only pitch the last innings. They are often preceded by set-up men who tend to pitch the eighth innings. Relievers that bail out starters earlier in the game by pitching for two or more innings are called middle relievers.
If a reliever enters the game in a save situation and lets the opposition win, that is a blown save.
A starter going all the way to the end pitches a complete game. If he does this without giving up a hit that is a no-hitter, which is very rare. Even rarer is a perfect game - no hits or walks, just 27 straight outs.
STRIKEOUTS: Three strikes and you're out. The only complicating factor is foul balls. If the batter hits the ball behind the tramlines that extend into the stands from the lines marking first and third base this is called a foul.
This counts as a strike against the batter, but only up to two strikes. The only way you can foul out is by fouling a bunt - the baseball equivalent of a drop shot in tennis - attempt on two strikes. This is very rare.
Balls are pitches outside the strike zone (over the plate between the batter's knees and chest) - four of those and you get a walk.
A hit batsman speaks for itself - the result is the same as a walk.
A wild pitch is when the pitcher misses his target making it impossible for the catcher to do his primary job.
If he misses a catch he should have held, allowing a runner or runners to advance, this is known as a passed ball (PB).
DOUBLE PLAY (DP): In a bases loaded situation, if you're on first and the batter hits the ball, you have to start running.
If the ball fails to get past the infield (the innermost four fielders) there is a good chance that they can get the man on base out and still have time to throw to first to get you out.
A triple play is very rare, and rarer still is an unassisted triple play where a fielder makes all three outs himself - usually, by catching a line drive, stepping on a base to get one runner out, and tagging another runner with the ball between bases.
The leagues also play an All-Star exhibition game during the mid-season break, with the starting outfield players selected by a fans' ballot.
Each team plays 162 regular season games. They play each other in three or four-game series, and teams often play a string of these away on a road trip.
Each league's three divisional winners are joined by one wild card to make up the league semi-finals, followed by best-of-seven league finals and then the World Series, also known as the Fall Classic.
KEY TERMS - BATTING
AT BATS (AB): Turns at batting. Normally four or five per game for a starting outfield player. HITS (H): Any time a player connects with the ball and gets to at least first base. This is the most important statistic for a non-pitcher.
You don't get a hit if a fielder makes a mistake, known as an error , or decides to throw to another base to get somebody else out, a fielder's choice.
Getting to first is called a single, second a double, third a triple (quite rare), and all the way around is a home run. But they all count as one hit.
A batter who records the rare feat of a single, a double, a triple and a home run in the same game is said to have hit for the cycle.
BATTING AVERAGE (AVG): As in cricket, this is the key measure of player's worth. In short, this is hits divided by at bats.
 Florida Marlins lead-off hitter Juan Pierre |
The average is calculated as a fraction of one, ie. 0.300 (the benchmark of a good player) means the batter gets a hit in 30% of his at bats. Hence, you may see references to a player's average being .300.
Batting averages do not include getting on base via a walk - when the pitcher throws four pitches, or balls outside the strike zone.
Also not counted are sacrifice flies (when a batter hits the ball far enough for a player to score after the catch has been made), being hit by the pitch (which gives you first base), and fielder's choices or errors.
A good batting average is anything over .300; a decent one is about .260; anything below .240 is poor.
Pitchers bat only in the National League (the American League uses designated hitters, who do not field, in their place), and like bowlers in cricket they tend to bat at the end of the nine-man order.
Towards the end of a close game they, and other bad batters, are often substituted so that pinch hitters can take their at bat.
ON BASE PERCENTAGE (OBP): Like the above but includes all those other bits too. A good OBP is .400 - anything below .300 is bad.
STOLEN BASE (SB): Once on base, fast-running players will try to steal a base - normally from first to second, as second base is the furthest throw for the catcher to make from behind home plate.
 Stealing a base adds a sudden burst of drama to a game |
The player on base starts running as soon as the pitcher begins his action. If the pitcher attempts to break his action by throwing to base instead of the plate it is called a balk, which advances players on base.
The player attempts to beat the catcher's throw to the second baseman or shortstop (the two fielders who defend the middle of the infield).
SBs are important because if a player gets to second base he can normally get home for a run on a base hit.
A pitcher can try to stop people stealing bases by keeping them close to first base.
The runner will try to get a good head start by going as far from first base as he dares.
But if a pitcher can throw the ball to the first baseman before the runner gets back to the bag, the fielder can tag him out. This is called a pick off.
RUNS BATTED IN (RBI): After batting averages, this is the most important batting stat. You get an RBI every time you enable someone to score (including yourself).
So, if you hit a home run you get one because you have scored. If you get hit by the pitch when the bases are loaded (players on first, second and third), you get an RBI as everyone has to move around one base. If you hit a home run with the bases loaded (a grand slam) you get four RBIs.
KEY TERMS - PITCHING & FIELDING
EARNED RUN AVERAGE (ERA): After their win-loss record, this is the key stat for pitchers (akin to bowling averages in cricket). An ERA is how many runs a pitcher gives up per nine innings. Runs scored by players who got on base due to an error are not his fault and therefore unearned - a bit like byes on a bowling average.
A good ERA is anything below 4.00 (ie four runs per nine innings), a bad one is 6.00+.
SAVES (SV): Not every pitcher is a starter - most teams have a rotation of 4-5 starters. The rest of the pitching staff or bullpen (usually 10-12 players) are known as relievers.
 Relief pitcher Ugueth Urbina in action for Florida |
When the starting pitcher gets tired or is having an off day, a team manager calls in a reliever.
If the team was still leading when the starter retired, you are attempting to complete the win and earn a save.
A pitcher only earns a save if the lead he inherits is three runs or less, and he has to pitch at least a full inning.
The best relievers, known as closers, will normally only pitch the last innings. They are often preceded by set-up men who tend to pitch the eighth innings. Relievers that bail out starters earlier in the game by pitching for two or more innings are called middle relievers.
If a reliever enters the game in a save situation and lets the opposition win, that is a blown save.
A starter going all the way to the end pitches a complete game. If he does this without giving up a hit that is a no-hitter, which is very rare. Even rarer is a perfect game - no hits or walks, just 27 straight outs.
STRIKEOUTS: Three strikes and you're out. The only complicating factor is foul balls. If the batter hits the ball behind the tramlines that extend into the stands from the lines marking first and third base this is called a foul.
This counts as a strike against the batter, but only up to two strikes. The only way you can foul out is by fouling a bunt - the baseball equivalent of a drop shot in tennis - attempt on two strikes. This is very rare.
Balls are pitches outside the strike zone (over the plate between the batter's knees and chest) - four of those and you get a walk.
A hit batsman speaks for itself - the result is the same as a walk.
A wild pitch is when the pitcher misses his target making it impossible for the catcher to do his primary job.
If he misses a catch he should have held, allowing a runner or runners to advance, this is known as a passed ball (PB).
DOUBLE PLAY (DP): In a bases loaded situation, if you're on first and the batter hits the ball, you have to start running.
If the ball fails to get past the infield (the innermost four fielders) there is a good chance that they can get the man on base out and still have time to throw to first to get you out.
A triple play is very rare, and rarer still is an unassisted triple play where a fielder makes all three outs himself - usually, by catching a line drive, stepping on a base to get one runner out, and tagging another runner with the ball between bases.
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