BASE-BALL. 



81 





secondly, on the catch of a foul ball ; thirdly, 

 on three strikes ; fourthly, on a foul strike all 

 of these chances occurring while he is the bats- 

 man ; and then, as a base-runner, from being 

 put out at first base ; or when touched while 

 off a base ; from being " forced " off; for allow- 

 ing a batted ball to hit him ; for not avoiding 

 a fielder while catching or fielding a batted 

 ball ; for going beyond the base-line to avoid 

 being touched by the ball ; and, lastly, for bat- 

 ting out of his regular turn at the bat. 



The Materials. The size of a ball-ground 

 ranges from three to four hundred feet in 

 width and from four to five hundred feet in 

 length, and the upper end of the ground con- 

 tains the diamond field. The home-base corner 

 of the diamond must be at least ninety feet 

 from the boundary of the ground. The mate- 

 rials of the game are a ball and bats of the 

 regulation size, and to these are added 

 three base-bags and a stone base, two 

 foul-ball posts and flags, and iron plates 

 for the pitcher's position. The rules de- 

 fining the measurements of bats, balls, 

 and bases are as follow : 



The in-field must "be a space of ground 

 thirty yards square. 



The bases must be four in number, and 

 designated as first base, second base, third 

 base, and home-base. 



The home-base must be of white rubber, 

 twelve inches square, so fixed in the ground 

 as to be even with the surface, and so placed 

 in a corner of the in-field that two of its sides 

 will form part of the boundaries of said in- 

 field. 



The first, second, and third bases must be 

 canvas bags, fifteen inches square, painted 

 white, and filled with some soft material, and 

 so placed that the center of each shall be 

 upon a separate corner of the in-field, the 

 first base at the right hand, the second base 

 opposite, and the third base at the left of the 

 home-base. 



All the bases must be securely fastened in 

 their position, and so placed as to be distinct- 

 ly seen by the umpire. 



The foul lines must be drawn in straight 

 lines from the outer corner of the home-base 

 through the center of the positions of the 

 first and third bases, to the boundaries of the 

 ground, and a line shall be laid down from 

 first base forty-five feet in length toward the 

 home-base and three feet outside the foul 

 lines. 



The pitcher's lines must be straight lines 

 forming the boundaries of a space of ground 

 in the in-field six feet long by four feet wide, 

 distant fifty feet from the center of the home- 

 base, and so placed that the six-fjoot lines 

 would each be two feet distant from and 

 parallel with a straight line passing through 

 the center of the nome and second bases. 

 Each corner of this space must be marked 

 by a flat iron plate or stone six inches square, 

 fixed in the ground even with the surface. 



The batsman's lines must be straight lines 

 forming the boundaries of a space on the 

 right, and of a similar space on the left of the 

 home-base, six feet long by four feet wide, 

 extending three feet in front of and three feet behind 

 the center of the home-base, and with its nearest line 

 distant one foot from the home-base. 



The ball must weigh not less than five nor more 

 than five and a quarter ounces, avoirdupois. It must 

 VOL. xxv. 6 A 



measure not less than nine nor more than nine and 

 a quarter inches in circumference. 



The bat must be made wholly of wood. It must 

 be round ; must not exceed two and one half inches 

 in diameter in the thickest part, and must not exceed 

 forty-two inches in length. 



For the rules of the game in detail, see 

 Spalding's "League Guide" for 1886 ; and for 

 special instructions in the four departments 

 of the game, see hand-books on "Pitching," 

 "Batting," " Fielding," and "Base-Running," 

 by Henry Chadwick. 



The appended diagram gives the figures 

 showing the measurement of all the different 

 lines and positions of the diamond field, in ac- 

 cordance with the rules of the National League 

 of Professional Base-Ball Clubs for 1886. 



The Science of the Game. Skill in the art of 

 fielding is the most attractive feature of base- 



ball. It is something all can appreciate and 

 understand. "While scientific batting is only 

 attractive to those who fully understand the 

 difficulties attendant upon it, fine play in the 



