The best way to learn is to watch a few games with knowledgeable friends. They'll tell you about the subtleties of the game that make it the great American pastime. If you've never been to a ballgame, go to one.There's no substitute for the experience.

2torial #0542: Learn2 Understand Baseball (Continued) Watch the pitcher and batter Much of the action in a baseball game takes place between two players. The pitcher stands on a pile of dirt called the pitcher's mound; the batter stands over a slab of white rubber with five sides, located about sixty feet away on home plate. A batting team sends players to home plate one at a time. When a batting player stands at home plate, he's called a batter. The fielding team has nine players standing at specified positions on the field. Included in that number is the pitcher. The pitcher tries to throw a small, hard white ball past the batter and to the catcher, who stands behind home plate. The batter tries to hit the ball back onto the field with a wooden or aluminum bat. Each of the pitcher's throws toward home plate is called a pitch, and the pitcher generally tries to throw the ball over home plate within a specified area. Also at home plate, standing behind the catcher, is a game official unconnected either team. This is the umpire, who decides if the pitch is within a specified area called the strike zone. If it is within the strike zone, the umpire calls it a strike. If it's outside the strike zone, he calls it a ball. You'll understand the importance of these terms in a moment. A batter has the option of swinging the bat at the ball on any pitch. If a batter swings at the ball with the bat and completely misses, that is a strike. If the batter swings at the ball and hits it out of bounds (a foul), that is almost always a strike. It is not a strike if the umpire has already called two strikes. In this case, the pitcher continues to pitch. There is no limit to the number of fouls a batter can hit. The pitcher's objective, generally, is to throw three strikes before throwing four balls. If he throws three strikes (they don't need to be consecutive, or "one-after-the-other"), the batter is out. He must return to the his team's dugout and is not eligible to return to bat until everyone else in the batting team's lineup (the list of players that are registered to bat) has batted. If the pitcher throws four balls before throwing three strikes, the batter receives a walk from the umpire: he goes to the first of the three bases. When a batter reaches any of the three bases, he's called a runner. A base is like a safe haven where a batter may reside safely, under certain conditions, without being taken out by the actions of the fielding team. A special situation develops when there's a full count: the pitcher has thrown two strikes and three balls. This places extra presssure on him to strike out the batter. If the pitcher throws another ball, the batter gets a walk and goes to first base. If the batter swings at the ball and hits it within bounds, a whole bunch of stuff happens. That stuff is described next. Step 3