Baseball

In England, a game called baseball is documented for the first time in 1744, and the first documented club founded in the USA was the New York Knickerbockers in 1845. In Germany, the first official baseball game at the Olympic Games took place in Berlin in 1936.

Baseball is a bat and throw game between 2 teams of 9 players each, a duel between the hitting party's batter and the catching party's pitcher. This consists of the catcher, 4 infielders and 3 outfielders. Up to 4 batsmen are used for the batting party in a round. The offensive side scores a point if the batsman manages to return to his starting point in one run around the entire inner court square. A game has 9 rounds per team, if the score is tied, the game is extended.

A game is usually officiated by 2 referees. A scorer or scorekeeper at the edge of the field logs all actions and moves on a ready-made form, which, when filled out, not only serves as a game report. On the basis of this game report, extensive statistics are also created, including the playing strength of individual players and teams.

A baseball bat is made of wood or aluminum alloy, and each player on the field team wears a large leather glove that allows the ball to be caught easily and painlessly. Batter and runner wear plastic helmets, the catcher wears additional protective equipment.

Between 1989 and 2005, the German national team failed to establish itself permanently in the European elite. In 2007, however, the team achieved fourth place at the European Championships and was able to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 30 years.