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a game of ball between two nine-player teams played usually for nine innings on a field that has as a focal point a diamond-shaped infield with a home plate and three other bases, 90 feet (27 meters) apart, forming a circuit that must be completed by a base runner in order to score, the central offensive action entailing hitting of a pitched ball with a wooden or metal bat and running of the bases, the winner being the team scoring the most runs.
the ball used in this game, being a sphere approximately 3 inches (7 cm) in diameter with a twine-covered center of cork covered by stitched horsehide.
Cards. a variety of five-card or seven-card stud poker in which nines and threes are wild and in which threes and fours dealt face up gain the player either penalties or privileges.
Contemporary Examples

And lucky for us, we are living in what is unquestionably the golden age of baseball.
Why This Is Baseball’s Golden Age Michael Brendan Dougherty March 31, 2013

Gossip is the national pastime of Cuba, followed by baseball and sex (although the order could well be reversed).
Castro Family Values A. L. Bardach September 19, 2009

It is also the passing of a certain era of baseball, the last of a certain kind.
The Strange Genius of Tony La Russa Buzz Bissinger October 31, 2011

It is a glorious fact about baseball that the data is immortal.
What the Clemens Verdict Leaves Out Eric Bradlow, Shane Jensen June 18, 2012

So if you think about it dude, I’m 0-for-3 in marriage, but like in baseball, the scoreboard doesn’t lie.
Charlie Sheen’s 10 Worst Quotes, from Anti-Semitism to Alcoholism The Daily Beast February 24, 2011

Historical Examples

But, to tell you the truth, I like football better than baseball.
The Rival Pitchers Lester Chadwick

He is trying to get your place as captain of the baseball club.
The Cash Boy Horatio Alger Jr.

Athletic regulations should not debar a student from playing summer baseball.
Elements of Debating Leverett S. Lyon

Anyway, I advise you to resign as captain of the baseball club.
The Cash Boy Horatio Alger Jr.

Once in a while, in baseball, I feel the thrill of that spirit.
Football Days William H. Edwards

noun
a team game with nine players on each side, played on a field with four bases connected to form a diamond. The object is to score runs by batting the ball and running round the bases
the hard rawhide-covered ball used in this game
n.

in the modern sense, 1845, American English, from base (n.) + ball (n.1). Earlier references, e.g. in Jane Austen’s “Northanger Abbey,” refer to the game of “rounders,” of which baseball is a more elaborate variety. Legendarily invented 1839 by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, N.Y. Base was used for “start or finish line of a race” from 1690s; and the sense of “safe spot” found in modern children’s game of tag can be traced to 14c. (the sense in baseball is from 1868).

Related Terms

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