Please help a baseball layman (TPs)

[P2]

So I know what baseball is, but I don't really know how the game is structured, and I also don't know anything about stats. I'm planning on getting MLB 2K10 for PC, and need your help.

Anybody who can explain to me step-for-step the game of baseball with explanation of stats gets TPs (multiple). If somebody doesn't mention something, just add to this thread and you will also be rewarded TP(s).

Thanks in advance.

[Redz]

Wow.  The basics are pretty simple, but the details take a lifetime and would be hard to explain without you playing it for real.

I can't even begin to do this w/o dedicating a whole lot more thought than I have to offer today.

It's funny to think about it at this level though, and I'd love to try.

Maybe if I start one thing and someone else adds, then someone else adds to that we can do it as a group.

The first thing you need to know is that each team has an active lineup of 9 players each playing offense and defense (we'll leave the designated hitter out of this for now).  The offense's objective to to reach home plate and score a "run" by reaching safely at each of 4 "bases" (the last being home plate - where they started)...

[BudweiserCeltic]

Any stat in particular you have trouble with... there are just too many stats to elaborate?

This might help you out a bit:
http://www.stathead.com/bbeng/woolner/statglossary.htm

[irish_celtic_fan]

A couple of key stats on each side of the ball:
Pitchers:
ERA is the Earned Run Average, and is the sum of earned runs (runs that do not occur as a result of walks or errors) divided by the total number of innings that the pitcher pitched.
WHIP: is Walks/Hits per Innings Pitched.  Simply put, it is the sum of the walks given up and hits allowed over the total number of innings pitched.

Hitters:
Average: The number of hits divided by the number of plate appearances.  When factoring the average, at-bats that end up in the hitter getting on base as a result of a walk or an error are omitted.
On-base percentage:  This number is the percent of the time that the hitter gets on base by any means.  Walks, being hit by a pitch, reaching on an error, etc. all raise this number.
Slugging %:  This number is the sum of total bases reached by the hitter (single = 1, double = 2, triple = 3, home run = 4) divided by the total plate appearances.
OPS: Is the sum of a hitter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.  This is a pretty good indicator of offensive prowess.

There are many more, and I'll try to post some more later, but I have to go to class now...

[housecall]

Like most sports you usually start off with a favorite team or player(s)#2.familiarize yourself with their stats,history,etc.Usually most people become attached to their homestate,city,town team(s).MLB has a website that list players,teams,stats of all the teams and some history of the teams.

[furball]

A couple of key stats on each side of the ball:
Pitchers:
ERA is the Earned Run Average, and is the sum of earned runs (runs that do not occur as a result of walks or errors) divided by the total number of innings that the pitcher pitched.
WHIP: is Walks/Hits per Innings Pitched.  Simply put, it is the sum of the walks given up and hits allowed over the total number of innings pitched.

Hitters:
Average: The number of hits divided by the number of plate appearances.  When factoring the average, at-bats that end up in the hitter getting on base as a result of a walk or an error are omitted.
On-base percentage:  This number is the percent of the time that the hitter gets on base by any means.  Walks, being hit by a pitch, reaching on an error, etc. all raise this number.
Slugging %:  This number is the sum of total bases reached by the hitter (single = 1, double = 2, triple = 3, home run = 4) divided by the total plate appearances.
OPS: Is the sum of a hitter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.  This is a pretty good indicator of offensive prowess.

There are many more, and I'll try to post some more later, but I have to go to class now...

Not to be a stickler for details but ERA is not based on innings pitched but on 9 innings.  so if a guy pitches three ininngs and gives up 1 run his ERA would be 3.00.  He'd average 3 runs per 9 innings.

[Redz]

A couple of key stats on each side of the ball:
Pitchers:
ERA is the Earned Run Average, and is the sum of earned runs (runs that do not occur as a result of walks or errors) divided by the total number of innings that the pitcher pitched.
WHIP: is Walks/Hits per Innings Pitched.  Simply put, it is the sum of the walks given up and hits allowed over the total number of innings pitched.

Hitters:
Average: The number of hits divided by the number of plate appearances.  When factoring the average, at-bats that end up in the hitter getting on base as a result of a walk or an error are omitted.
On-base percentage:  This number is the percent of the time that the hitter gets on base by any means.  Walks, being hit by a pitch, reaching on an error, etc. all raise this number.
Slugging %:  This number is the sum of total bases reached by the hitter (single = 1, double = 2, triple = 3, home run = 4) divided by the total plate appearances.
OPS: Is the sum of a hitter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.  This is a pretty good indicator of offensive prowess.

There are many more, and I'll try to post some more later, but I have to go to class now...

Not to be a stickler for details but ERA is not based on innings pitched but on 9 innings.  so if a guy pitches three ininngs and gives up 1 run his ERA would be 3.00.  He'd average 3 runs per 9 innings.

yup its (ER/IP) * 9

If you pitch one inning and give up 1 run you have an ERA of 9.00

[Brickowski]

I don't think it is possible to do the things you are asking on this forum. IMHO the best way to learn the game itself is to watch games with someone who is relatively knowledgable about the game to give you some commentary.  There are plenty of past games available on DVD.  ESPN used to have a "classic baseball" channel but I'm not sure what happened to it.

After you have a sense of how the game is played, get a book like Jerry Remy's "Watching Baseball: Discovering the Game within the Game." Read the book, then watch more games.

As for statistics, you should know that there are two kinds:  traditional and sabermetric.  Traditional statistics are the numbers that were traditionally used to measure player performace:  batting average, runs scored, runs batted in and earned run average.  But a man named Bill James came along and argued convincingly that the traditional statistics do not really capture performance.  So, you will see statistics like OPS, OPS+, ERA+ and WHIP.  There is a very good summary of baseball statistics here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_statistics

And if you want statistics on every former and current U.S. major league player and team, go here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/

[housecall]

I don't think it is possible to do the things you are asking on this forum. IMHO the best way to learn the game itself is to watch games with someone who is relatively knowledgable about the game to give you some commentary.  There are plenty of past games available on DVD.  ESPN used to have a "classic baseball" channel but I'm not sure what happened to it.

After you have a sense of how the game is played, get a book like Jerry Remy's "Watching Baseball: Discovering the Game within the Game." Read the book, then watch more games.

As for statistics, you should know that there are two kinds:  traditional and sabermetric.  Traditional statistics are the numbers that were traditionally used to measure player performace:  batting average, runs scored, runs batted in and earned run average.  But a man named Bill James came along and argued convincingly that the traditional statistics do not really capture performance.  So, you will see statistics like OPS, OPS+, ERA+ and WHIP.  There is a very good summary of baseball statistics here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_statistics

And if you want statistics on every former and current U.S. major league player and team, go here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/

Bingo!you are 100%correct,best way to learn, is from someone with the knowledge watching games with you.tp

[Redz]

I don't think it is possible to do the things you are asking on this forum. IMHO the best way to learn the game itself is to watch games with someone who is relatively knowledgable about the game to give you some commentary.  There are plenty of past games available on DVD.  ESPN used to have a "classic baseball" channel but I'm not sure what happened to it.

After you have a sense of how the game is played, get a book like Jerry Remy's "Watching Baseball: Discovering the Game within the Game." Read the book, then watch more games.

As for statistics, you should know that there are two kinds:  traditional and sabermetric.  Traditional statistics are the numbers that were traditionally used to measure player performace:  batting average, runs scored, runs batted in and earned run average.  But a man named Bill James came along and argued convincingly that the traditional statistics do not really capture performance.  So, you will see statistics like OPS, OPS+, ERA+ and WHIP.  There is a very good summary of baseball statistics here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_statistics

And if you want statistics on every former and current U.S. major league player and team, go here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/

Bingo!you are 100%correct,best way to learn, is from someone with the knowledge watching games with you.tp

Yeh, there's just no way to easily describe the logistics of the game w/o seeing it.

Basketball, hockey, football, soccer pretty simple to get the basics...baseball not so much

[P2]

OK guys, thanks. TP to everybody who answered to this thread.

But I want to know the real basics first: Who starts the game, what is the sequence, how is the game divided (I would often hear phrases like "bottom of the 5th")? Etc.

By the way, I'm not from the US, but there's always a baseball game each day on ESPN or Fox Sports.

A couple of key stats on each side of the ball:
Pitchers:
ERA is the Earned Run Average, and is the sum of earned runs (runs that do not occur as a result of walks or errors) divided by the total number of innings that the pitcher pitched.
WHIP: is Walks/Hits per Innings Pitched.  Simply put, it is the sum of the walks given up and hits allowed over the total number of innings pitched.

What is a run, what is a walk, what is an error?

[P2]

I found something: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball#Rules_and_gameplay

Maybe that will help.

EDIT: I read through it and it does make some sense to me now. But how does a team collect points? How many points is a single, double, triple, and how many a home run?

And which team to root for other than the Red Sox?

[Brickowski]

Your team get no "points" for any of those things.  What matters is runs.  A player has to go around the bases: get to first base, then to second base, then to third base, and then touch home plate. It's like cricket in this respect.