Popular as the American National Game, the origins of baseball can also credited
to the Britishers. The reference to the game has been made in the first half of 18th
Century in England. The basic rules for the modern game, however, were formulated by
Alexander Cartwrith of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York and the first game as
per the above rules was held on 19 June 1846.
Baseball entered the annals of Indian sport on 1 January 1985 when the first national
championship was held for men and women coinciding with the formation of the Amateur
Baseball Federation of India. The ABFI was formed due to the untiring efforts of Mr. P.C.
Bharadwaj, who was the Physical Education Director of Ramjas School, New Delhi.
It goes to the credit of India for simultaneously introducing the game among women and
men. Traditionally, women prefer to play softball. India made its international debut by
participating in the Asia Cup Championship held in Japan in 1987. Dilip Kudduvali of
Karnataka created an Asian record by hitting the first home runs - the first by the player
of any country in the Asian Championship in its debut year.
The game is now confined to a few pockets of the country, especially in the cities. The
ABFI is making efforts to spread the game farther. The traditional nine-a-side game is
played on a field called 'Diamond' with dimensions of an infield of 90 feet square and an
outfield of 320 feet. The pitching distance is 60 feet and six inches for men and 54 feet
and six inches for women.
The positions of the nine players of a fielding side are: Pithcer, catcher, I base, II
base, III base, short stop, left fielder, centre fielder and right fielder. |