Your first month

Score each one as you go

Black and white photo of a man and a boy playing catch beside a park fence under blossoming trees — Catch at the park

A baseball infield seen from above: striped grass, a pitcher on the mound and a batter at home plate

The game in eight rules

Three outs, four bases, nine innings

Teams and innings

Nine players a side, nine innings. In each inning both teams bat once, and a team bats until it makes three outs.

Scoring

A batter becomes a runner and scores one run by touching first, second, third and home in order. Bases are 90 feet apart.

Strikes

A swing and miss, a pitch through the strike zone that you do not swing at, or a foul ball with fewer than two strikes. Three strikes and you are out.

Balls

A pitch outside the strike zone that you do not swing at. Four balls and you walk to first base.

The strike zone

Over home plate, from roughly the bottom of your knees to the middle of your chest.

Fly outs

A batted ball caught before it touches the ground is an out, wherever it is caught.

Force outs and tag outs

A fielder holding the ball can touch the base a runner is forced to run to, or tag a runner who is off a base.

Fair and foul

A ball that lands between the two foul lines is in play. Outside them it is a foul ball and the batter hits again.

Every rule, explained

MLB Rules Glossary Plain-language explanations of every rule, from the strike zone to the infield fly, free to read

Four ways to play

Catch and sandlot gamesThrowing with a partner, or a pickup game with whoever turns up and whatever rules fit the head count. The base kit covers it.

Start here

Text one friend, meet at a park, and play catch for 20 minutes starting 30 feet apart. Step back five paces every time you both complete ten throws in a row without a drop.

Batting cages and tee workHitting is its own hobby inside the sport. A cage machine throws strikes all day, and a tee lets you groove one swing without a pitcher.

Start here

Find a batting cage near you, ask for the slowest baseball machine (usually 40 to 50 mph), and take three rounds. Cages lend a bat and helmet, so go once before buying your own.

Adult leagueReal nine-inning games with umpires, usually once a week, in brackets from 18-and-over up to 65-and-over. This is where cleats and a gear bag earn their place.

Start here

Look up your nearest adult league and email the commissioner that you are a new player looking for a team. Most leagues keep a free-agent list and hold a tryout or draft day before each season. Every league hitter also needs a helmet and a bat, so switch on Batting as well.

MSBL: find a league

Backyard practiceA rebound net returns your throws and a hitting net stops your swings, so one person can get a full session in a 30-foot yard.

Start here

Set a rebound net in the yard and throw 50 balls at its target every other day from 40 feet, fielding each one as it comes back. Add a hitting net later and you can swing off a tee without chasing balls.

Open one for its first step. Batting, league play and backyard practice each add their own gear to the bat bag; catch and sandlot games need nothing beyond the glove and balls.

Choosing and breaking in a glove

A hand holding a baseball in the pocket of a black leather glove — Ball in the pocket

Size

Gloves are measured from the heel to the top of the index finger. An 11.75 to 12 inch glove is the all-purpose adult size and works at every position except catcher and first base.

Hand

Listings name the hand you throw with. Right-hand throw means the glove is worn on the left hand.

Leather

Full leather costs more and starts stiff, but it molds to your hand and lasts for years. Synthetic and pigskin-blend gloves are game-ready on day one and wear out within a season or two.

Web

A closed or basket web hides the ball and suits any position. An open web (shaped like an H or an I) lets dirt fall through and is preferred in the infield.

Fit check

With your hand in, you should be able to close the glove fully using your thumb and last two fingers. If you cannot squeeze it shut after a week of catch, it is too big or too stiff for you.

Break-in

Conditioner softens the leather, catching shapes it. Skip the oven, the microwave and soaking in water, which dry out and crack the leather.

Before each session

Check that the laces are snug and knotted. After each one: store the glove with a ball in the pocket, never flattened under other gear.

Skills to build first

Throwing

Grip across the wide part of the seams with two fingers on top, turn sideways to the target, step, and finish with your throwing hand by your opposite knee.

Catching

Move your feet to get your chest behind the ball rather than reaching to the side, and watch it into the pocket.

Fielding ground balls

Feet wide, seat low, glove open on the ground out in front of your eyes. Work up from the ground, because a ball that stays low goes under a high glove.

Hitting

Feet shoulder-width apart, hands back near your rear shoulder, head still. Swing level through the ball and keep your eyes on the point of contact.

Tracking fly balls

Your first step is back, not in. Call for the ball out loud and catch it above your head with two hands.

What trips beginners up

Errors every rookie makes

Expect hitting to be the hard part. Missing more than half the pitches in a first cage session is normal, and professionals fail seven times in ten.
Expect a sore arm if you throw hard on day one. Throwing fitness builds over weeks, and the fix is more short sessions rather than fewer long ones.
Expect to flinch at hard-hit balls for a while. Ground balls off grass take odd hops, and confidence comes from hundreds of slow ones first.
Throwing with only the arm: power comes from stepping and turning the hips. All-arm throws are weak and are what hurts elbows.
Buying a glove that is too big: an oversized glove is harder to close and control, so it catches less, not more.
Starting on a fast machine: speed hides swing flaws. Solid contact at 45 mph is worth more than foul tips at 70.

Staying safe

A baseball is hard and weighs 5 ounces. Never throw to someone who is not looking, and say their name before every throw until it is a habit.
Wear a helmet any time a ball is pitched to you, including in a batting cage. Cages will not let you in without one.
Warm up before throwing: five minutes of arm circles and jogging, then short, easy throws before long or hard ones.
Stop at the first sharp pain in your elbow or shoulder. General soreness the next day is normal; pain during a throw is not.
Before swinging a bat, look behind you and to both sides. Most bat injuries happen to someone standing too close, not to the hitter.
Keep hitting nets and rebounders pointed away from windows, cars and neighbors. A missed net sends a ball a long way.

A young batter in a helmet with the bat back as the pitch comes in — Helmet on for every pitched ball

A row of baseball bats hanging on a chain-link dugout fence

Where to learn and find a team

Governing body, rules glossary, two adult leagues

The sport's national governing body publishes coaching courses and development material, and the professional league keeps a free glossary that explains each rule in a paragraph. For games, two national organizations run adult hardball leagues in most metro areas, split by age and skill so a first-year player is not facing former college pitchers. City parks and recreation departments list the public diamonds near you, and local batting cages often post lesson times and know which teams are short a player.

Coaching material and adult leagues

Why the kit is built this way

A glove and a handful of baseballs are the whole essential kit, because catch is the foundation of everything else and needs nothing more. Conditioner is recommended because a leather glove only works once it is broken in. Everything for hitting sits behind the Batting add-on: cages lend bats and helmets, so there is no reason to buy them before you know you like swinging. Cleats and a bag wait behind League Play, since a league will tell you what it allows before your first game, and the two nets are for people with a yard and no throwing partner.

Two netted batting cages on a public field with trees behind — Batting cages at a public field

Pack the bat bag

Compare the options below, then set your tiers and check out from the bat bag. Clicking a card selects it there. The glove, the baseballs and the conditioner start in the bag. Batting gear, league gear and the backyard nets join once you switch on their add-on.

Adult baseball fielding glove

essential · Core equipment

You cannot catch a real baseball safely without one, and it is the piece of gear you will use every single session.

budget

Franklin Sports Field Master Baseball Glove

4.6(9.6K)

$27.99

Baseball

Your first month

The game in eight rules

Four ways to play

Choosing and breaking in a glove

Skills to build first

What trips beginners up

Staying safe

Where to learn and find a team

Why the kit is built this way

Pack the bat bag

Adult baseball fielding glove

Leather practice baseballs

Glove conditioner

Adult baseball bat

Adult batting helmet

Adult batting gloves

Batting tee

Molded baseball cleats

Baseball bat backpack

Pitchback rebounder net

Baseball hitting net