In baseball, the batting order or batting lineup is the sequence in which the members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. In Major League Baseball, the batting order is set by the manager, who before the game begins must present the home plate umpire with two copies of his team's lineup card, a card on which a team's starting batting order is recorded. The home plate umpire keeps one copy of the lineup card of each team, and gives the second copy to the opposing manager. Once the home plate umpire gives the lineup cards to the opposing managers, the batting lineup is final and a manager can only make changes under the Official Baseball Rules governing substitutions. If a team bats out of order, it is a violation of baseball's rules and subject to penalty.
Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little League, six), each of which is divided into halves: the visiting team bats first, after which the home team takes its turn at bat. However, if the score remains tied at the end of the regulation number of complete innings, the rules provide that "play shall continue until (1) the visiting team has scored more total runs than the home team at the end of a completed inning; or (2) the home team scores the winning run in an uncompleted inning."
An inning in baseball, softball, and similar games is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team playing defense. A full game typically is scheduled for six, seven, or nine innings, although this may be shortened due to weather or extended in the event that the score is tied at the end of the scheduled innings.
In baseball, on-deck refers to being next in line to bat. In a professional game, the batter who is on deck traditionally waits in a location in the foul territory called the on deck circle. Being on deck only guarantees the batter will get a chance to bat in the inning if there are fewer than two outs, and the number of outs plus the number of baserunners adds up to fewer than three because a double or triple play could occur. Additionally, the manager reserves the right to pull the on-deck hitter for a substitute at his discretion.
An out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When three outs are recorded in an inning, a team's half of the inning, or their turn at batting, ends. To signal an out, an umpire generally makes a fist with one hand, and then flexes that arm either upward, particularly on pop flies, or forward, particularly on routine plays at first base
There are 9 fielding positions in baseball. Each position conventionally has an associated number, which is used to score putouts: 1 (pitcher), 2 (catcher), 3 (first baseman), 4 (second baseman), 5 (third baseman), 6 (shortstop), 7 (left fielder), 8 (center fielder), and 9 (right fielder).
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured. A player may score by hitting a home run or by any combination of plays that puts him safely "on base" (that is, on first, second, or third) as a runner and subsequently brings him home. The object of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent.
In baseball in the United States and Canada, the seventh-inning stretch is a tradition that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of a game – in the middle of the seventh inning. Fans generally stand up and stretch out their arms and legs and sometimes walk around.
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This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles "Baseball", "Batting order (1-9)", "Extra innings", "Inning", "On-deck", "Out (baseball)", "Positions (baseball)", "Run (baseball)", "Seventh-inning stretch", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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