Baseball and softball

In baseball two teams of nine take turns batting and fielding: the pitcher throws, and the batter tries to hit the ball and run round four bases back "home". Softball is played on a smaller field with a larger ball, and at the Olympics it is a women's event.

History

The modern rules of baseball were written in New York in 1845, and the professional National League was founded in 1876. Baseball was an Olympic sport from 1992 to 2008 and at Tokyo 2020, and softball from 1996 to 2008 and in 2020; both return at Los Angeles 2028. The international federation, WBSC, was formed by a merger in 2013.

Major competitions

The Olympic Games, the World Baseball Classic (since 2006), Major League Baseball and its World Series, the Japanese and Korean professional leagues and the WBSC Premier12.

In the Turkic world

Baseball is still little played in the Turkic countries, mostly by university and amateur teams. Yet striking a small wooden peg with a stick to send it flying — "chelik-chomak" in Türkiye, "chilingaghaj" in Azerbaijan — is an old Turkic children's game with the same spirit.