Let´s Play Baseball!

Baseball is the national sport of the US. Most American kids love to play baseball. Do
you like baseball?
Baseball is played on a grass field. The field has an infield and an outfield. In the infield
are four bases. They are first base, second, third, and home. When a player goes to all
of these bases he scores a run. Runs are like points. The team with the most runs wins!
There are nine players on each team. One team is on offense. This team is hitting, or
batting. The other team is on defense. This team is in the field. A player uses a bat to try
to hit the ball. He is called the batter. A player on the other team throws the ball. He is
called the pitcher.
The batter tries to hit the ball and go to a base. The pitcher does not want this to
happen! If the batter cannot get to a base he is out. Each team has three outs. After the
hitting team makes three outs then the other team hits.
There are two main leagues in professional baseball. They are called the National
League and the American League. The National League started in 1876. The American
League started in 1901. The National League champion plays the American League
champion for the championship. This is called the World Series. Almost everyone in
America watches the World Series!
There are many famous baseball players. The most famous is Babe Ruth. He played
mostly in the 1920s. Babe Ruth was famous for hitting homeruns. A homerun is when
the ball goes over the fence. A homerun means the player goes to all four bases with
just one hit. Wow! Ruth played for the New York Yankees. He was as famous as a
movie star. In his career he hit 714 homeruns.
Many kids play in baseball leagues. Almost every school has a team. School teams play
other schools in a league. There are also university leagues. There are even leagues for
adults. Everyone loves baseball!
There is also baseball in the Czech Republic! The top league is the Extraliga. There are
ten teams in the Extraliga. Draci Brno is the best team in the league. Do you want to
watch baseball? Go to www.baseball.cz and see if there is a team close to you. There
are also kids baseball leagues in the Czech Republic. You can play too!

Match 1-6 with A-h. Some answers you will not use!
1. Baseball is played on a…
2. The National League is…
3. The American League began playing…
4. Babe Ruth hit 714…
5. There are four…
6. There is an infield and…

A. Bases
B. Godzilla
C. Grass field
D. Outfield
E. Dab
F. The oldest league
G. Homeruns
H. In 1901