Variations of baseball

[13] Other historical variants coincided with rule changes made to the game in its early history; for example, baseball played on ice in the late 19th century may have led to batters being allowed to overrun first base, and arguments for ten-person baseball teams were made at the time that the "fair foul" was permitted.

[14] The ball used could even be as simple as a rolled-up set of socks (known as a sockball)[16][17] or a taped-up wad of paper.

[18] Features of the city streets, such as the manhole covers for the sewers, were often involved in the regulations of such games.

The difficulty of affording and acquiring standard equipment, particularly in pre-industrial America, saw the rules be altered in several ways by children playing with roughshod equipment; for example, when catchers played without a mask, they would often stand further back from the plate, and stealing of home or even other bases was often prohibited.

The field is significantly smaller, with the bases only 60 feet (18 m) apart, and the pitcher is required to throw the ball underarm throughout the seven regulation innings of play.

[33] It is scheduled to be played at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and is administered by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.

Instead of a ball, a large plastic water bottle cap is thrown towards the batter, and there are only two bases to advance around before going to home plate.

The ball is designed to have more movement in the air, so that pitchers can more easily trick batters with different types of pitches.

[42] Corkball does not feature baserunning: the value of a hit is measured by the distance traveled by the batted ball.

[8] The following variations of baseball do not have a pitcher, meaning that the batter starts every play with possession of the ball.

They may feature strikes, or the batter may automatically be out for failing to legally hit the ball into fair territory.

[7] Tee-ball is a popular introductory variant of baseball for children, with the ball placed on a "batting tee" each time a batter is prepared to hit.

Bases are awarded according to how many bounces the ball takes after being hit by the batter and before being caught by the pitcher,[52] with the game played to 9 innings.

[53][54][55] Over-the-line (OTL) is a variation requiring only three players per team, and is played without gloves in some gender/age divisions.

The fair territory is designated by two parallel lines emanating at right angles from the two corners of the triangle away from the batter.

There are "spotters" who assist the fielders by indicating which section of the field the batted ball has been hit into.

Dartball is played using a dartboard, with the results of each throw of the dart relating to the rules of baseball.

"Batters" simulate an at-bat, with the dart's landing position on the board determining whether they get a ball or strike, and whether they ultimately reach base/advance runners already on base.

The ball is pitched "vertically" to the batter (such that it is thrown upwards by the opposing pitcher at home base), and is hit as it lands.