In sports, the term diamond sports refers to recreational (often scaled down) variants of baseball, a bat-and-ball sport.[1] The most popular and closely related sport to baseball is softball,[2] with the two sports being administered internationally by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), alongside Baseball5.[3][4]
Many variations of baseball change the game significantly. For example, many variations are played informally, with less equipment/space requirements and a softer ball, and certain variations do not feature a pitcher, and/or have the batters hit the ball using their hands or feet,[5][6] with failure to legally hit the ball on the first opportunity resulting in an automatic out.[7] There may be a lack of baserunning, with base hits awarded according to the distance or number of bounces the batted ball takes before being fielded, and imaginary "ghost runners" advancing around the bases in lieu of actual runners.[8][9]
There are also some bat-and-ball sports which are distinct from baseball, such as rounders, that strongly resemble it.[10]
- ^ "Australian baseball, softball governing bodies backing 2028, 2032 Olympic push". wbsc.org. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ^ "The Differences between Softball and Baseball". dummies. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
- ^ "Riccardo Fraccari: WBSC's culture of innovation brings series of firsts to 2022". www.insidethegames.biz. 2022-12-17. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
- ^ "WBSC Organisational Profile". wbsc.org. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
- ^ "WBSC approves esports and Baseball5 as disciplines of baseball and softball". www.insidethegames.biz. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
- ^ "Streetplay.com: Stickball Basics". www.streetplay.com. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:4was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Baseball Discovered: Rules of the Game: Rounders". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2021-09-08.