British baseball
Encyclopedia
British baseball, sometimes called Welsh baseball, or in the areas where it is popular simply baseball, is a bat-and-ball game played primarily in Wales
and England
. It is closely related to the game of rounders
, and indeed emerged as a distinct sport when governing bodies in Wales and England agreed to change the name of the game from "rounders" in 1892. As a traditional bat-and-ball game, its roots go back much further, and literary references to baseball and rounders date back many centuries.
.
Despite these similarities with cricket, the game is much more like baseball
in style and operates on a near identical, but smaller, diamond. There are also many similarities to rounders
, which is often considered a transitional game between cricket and baseball. The basic concepts of British baseball cross-blend the basic concepts of cricket and the more standard versions of rounders.
was founded in 1927 and is the international governing body. The only members are the English Baseball Association
and the Welsh Baseball Union
.
Men's representative teams from England and Wales meet annually in an international match. The first such international game was held in Cardiff in 1908 and the centenary international was also held in Cardiff in 2008. Wales won on both occasions. As well as the full international, a similar game is held for 'B' teams and for juniors.
in Northwest England
and South
Wales
, especially Cardiff
and Newport
.
By 2006 participation levels in Liverpool
had slumped considerably to a point where only four clubs remained active - All Saints, Anfield, Breckside and Townsend. The game in Wales is in a much healthier state and playing participation in the women's game has actually grown in recent years.
Local league and cup competitions have been organised in both countries for many years and an annual international match between England and Wales has been held since 1908. A crowd of 10,000 watched the 1948 match played at the Cardiff Castle
grounds. Internationals were also held at Cardiff Arms Park
and Goodison Park
, Liverpool
. Crowds have declined in the last quarter of a century but the England-Wales match can still draw 1,000-2,000 spectators.
Particularly, the game is often played during physical education classes in high schools and primary schools, as it allows the inclusion of a high number of pupils at once, and can quickly and easily be played.
, George Whitcombe
, Terry Yorath
, Nathan Blake
and Phil Dwyer
, and rugby's Terry Holmes
, Mark Ring
, David Bishop,and Wigan Rugby League legend and record points scorer Jim Sullivan. In England, the most famous sportsman to have played British baseball was Everton
and England
football star Dixie Dean
.
Among those who achieved fame as British baseball players were Welshman Ted Peterson
MBE, whose international appearances stretched from the 1930s to 1960s, and Irish-born Richard Paddy Hennessey
, renowned for his fast bowling.
, from their album Cardiff After Dark.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is closely related to the game of rounders
Rounders
Rounders is a game played between two teams of either gender. The game originated in England where it was played in Tudor times. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a round wooden, plastic or metal bat. The players score by...
, and indeed emerged as a distinct sport when governing bodies in Wales and England agreed to change the name of the game from "rounders" in 1892. As a traditional bat-and-ball game, its roots go back much further, and literary references to baseball and rounders date back many centuries.
Differences between the British and North American games
The sport differs in a number of ways from the internationally known game of baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
.
- Delivery of the ball - The ball is thrown underarm. As in cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
the delivery is known as bowlingBowling (cricket)In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
. In baseball it is delivered overhand or underarm and is called pitching. - Number of players - There are 11 players in a team with no substitutions allowed. Baseball is played by nine players at a time, and while substitutions are allowed, a player who leaves the game may not re-enter it.
- Number of innings - Each team has 2 innings. An innings ends when all 11 players are either dismissed or stranded on base. A regulation game of baseball consists of 9 innings, and each team's half of an inning ends when 3 outs (dismissals) are recorded. (Note that British baseball uses the cricket terminology of "innings" as both singular and plural, while baseball uses "inning" for the singular.)
- Bases – the bases are designated by poles rather than bags.
- Bat – the bat has a flat striking surface, where in baseball it is entirely round.
- Scoring system - In British baseball a player scores a run for every base he/she reaches after hitting the ball. He or she will not subsequently score when moving around the bases on another player's hit. The equivalent of a home runHome runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
scores four runs. As in cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
a bonus run can be awarded for excessively-wide deliveries. In baseball, a player scores a run only on a successful circuit of all four bases, whether on his own or another player's hit, or by other means such as a walkBase on ballsA base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
or stolen baseStolen baseIn baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
.
Despite these similarities with cricket, the game is much more like baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
in style and operates on a near identical, but smaller, diamond. There are also many similarities to rounders
Rounders
Rounders is a game played between two teams of either gender. The game originated in England where it was played in Tudor times. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a round wooden, plastic or metal bat. The players score by...
, which is often considered a transitional game between cricket and baseball. The basic concepts of British baseball cross-blend the basic concepts of cricket and the more standard versions of rounders.
International Baseball Board
The International Baseball BoardInternational Baseball Board
The International Baseball Board was founded in 1927 and is the international governing body for British baseball.It has two member organisations, the English Baseball Association and the Welsh Baseball Union...
was founded in 1927 and is the international governing body. The only members are the English Baseball Association
English Baseball Association
The English Baseball Association was founded in 1892 and is the governing body of British baseball in England.It is based in Liverpool and is a member of the International Baseball Board.-External links:*...
and the Welsh Baseball Union
Welsh Baseball Union
The Welsh Baseball Union is the national governing body of British baseball in Wales.It is a member of the International Baseball Board. The WBU organises the men's and youth league and cup competitions, as well as selecting and managing the Wales international teams at adult and youth level.The...
.
Men's representative teams from England and Wales meet annually in an international match. The first such international game was held in Cardiff in 1908 and the centenary international was also held in Cardiff in 2008. Wales won on both occasions. As well as the full international, a similar game is held for 'B' teams and for juniors.
Popularity
The game has maintained a strong following only in two areas - MerseysideMerseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
in Northwest England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and South
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, especially Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
.
By 2006 participation levels in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
had slumped considerably to a point where only four clubs remained active - All Saints, Anfield, Breckside and Townsend. The game in Wales is in a much healthier state and playing participation in the women's game has actually grown in recent years.
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
grounds. Internationals were also held at Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
and Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Crowds have declined in the last quarter of a century but the England-Wales match can still draw 1,000-2,000 spectators.
Particularly, the game is often played during physical education classes in high schools and primary schools, as it allows the inclusion of a high number of pupils at once, and can quickly and easily be played.
Notable players
Several players who became notable in other sports have played British baseball. In Wales, these include association football players John ToshackJohn Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...
, George Whitcombe
George Whitcombe
George Charles Whitcombe was a Welsh footballer. He also captained Wales at baseball, winning a total of five caps....
, Terry Yorath
Terry Yorath
Terence Charles Yorath is a former footballer and has been a manager at both club and international level. He is also the father of television presenter Gabby Logan....
, Nathan Blake
Nathan Blake
Nathan Alexander Blake is a Welsh former professional footballer, who played in the Premier League for several clubs and also represented his country at international level...
and Phil Dwyer
Phil Dwyer
Philip Joseph Dwyer is a Welsh former professional footballer and Wales international. During his career, he attained 10 caps for Wales and played his club football for Cardiff City, where he still holds the club's all-time appearance record, as a centre-half-Football career:Dwyer, affectionally...
, and rugby's Terry Holmes
Terry Holmes
Terence David Holmes is a Welsh former dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who won 25 caps for as a scrum-half and later played rugby league for Bradford Northern....
, Mark Ring
Mark Ring
Mark Gerarde Ring played rugby union for Cardiff RFC, Pontypool RFC and Wales between 1982 and 1996. He was regarded as among the most gifted players of his generation but his career was hampered by serious injury.- Club career :...
, David Bishop,and Wigan Rugby League legend and record points scorer Jim Sullivan. In England, the most famous sportsman to have played British baseball was Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
and England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
football star Dixie Dean
Dixie Dean
William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...
.
Among those who achieved fame as British baseball players were Welshman Ted Peterson
Ted Peterson
Ted Peterson MBE was a baseball player, whose unparalleled achievements in the sport earned him the title ‘Mr Baseball’....
MBE, whose international appearances stretched from the 1930s to 1960s, and Irish-born Richard Paddy Hennessey
Paddy Hennessey
Richard Christopher “Paddy” Hennessey is an Irish-born former baseball player, famed for his high-speed bowling.-Life and playing career:...
, renowned for his fast bowling.
In popular culture
The sport is the subject of a song, "The Baseball Song", by The HennessysThe Hennessys
The Hennessys are one of Wales' foremost traditional folk music groups.In 1966 Frank Hennessy and Dave Burns , both from Cardiff's Irish community, won a talent competition organised by Cardiff City Council which persuaded them to take up music professionally shortly afterwards, adding Paul Powell ...
, from their album Cardiff After Dark.
British Baseball
- English Baseball Association
- BBC Southeast Wales: Baseball
- Welsh Ladies Baseball Union
- Welsh Baseball Union
- Welsh Baseball on the Web