Baseball – a relaxed yet intense team sport

Baseball is a sport with a relaxed rhythm and a strong sense of community. It combines the best aspects of team play and individual performance: the game features both exciting “duels” between the pitcher and the batter, as well as seamless team cooperation where each of the nine fielders has their own meaningful role.

Baseball is particularly popular in the United States, Latin America, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, and South Korea. The sport has also spread to other parts of the world, although not always at the same professional level. Baseball adapts to local culture: in Japan, the game is characterized by discipline and respect for tradition, whereas in the Caribbean, the game is infused with plenty of rhythm, energy, and a joyful atmosphere.

In training, the focus is on developing sport-specific skills, such as pitching and batting. In pitching, throwing power is crucial – at the professional level, it is common for ball speeds to exceed 150 km/h, often without a run-up and with just a single step. Batting, on the other hand, is baseball’s most difficult individual skill, and it is often said to be one of the most challenging feats in the entire world of sports. Even the best batters only succeed in about one out of three attempts.

History of Baseball

Baseball originated from bat-and-ball games played in Great Britain and Ireland. The first known baseball match was played in 1749, and even featured Frederick, Prince of Wales. The rules of the game were slightly different back then compared to today, but the sport already bore a strong resemblance to modern baseball.

From Great Britain, baseball spread first to Canada and from there to New York and the United States. The first official game was played in the United States in 1846. By the 1860s, baseball had risen to become the country’s most popular game, surpassing cricket.

The rules of the sport developed gradually, and in 1893 the American League – one of the United States’ two current major leagues – was founded. By that time, most of the rules of modern baseball were already established.

Baseball arrived in Finland indirectly in the early 20th century, when Lauri “Tahko” Pihkala developed a Finnish version, pesäpallo, based on it. Prior to this, various ball-batting games were played in Finland. The national federation for actual baseball was founded in Finland in 1981.