Baseball Crossword Puzzle for Kids

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played on a field by two teams against each other. In baseball, a player on one team throws a small round ball at a player on the other team, who tries to hit it with a bat. Then the player who hits the ball has to run around the field. Players get runs by running in a full circle around three points on the ground called bases, back to where they started, which is called home plate. They have to do this without getting caught by the players on the other team.

Baseball started in the United States in the 1700s and 1800s. Many people in North America, South America, and East Asia play baseball, but the sport is most known in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., baseball is called the national pastime, because so many people in the United States used to spend a lot of time playing or watching baseball games. Today, though, most Americans follow football more than baseball, especially when it comes time for the Super Bowl.

How baseball is played

A game of baseball is played by two teams on a baseball field. Each team has 9 players. There are also 4 umpires. Umpires watch everything carefully to decide what happened, make calls about a play, and make sure everyone follows the rules.

On a baseball field, there are four bases. The bases form a diamond that goes around the field to the right from the starting base. The starting base is called home plate. Home plate is a pentagon, which is a shape that has five sides. First base is on the right side of the field, second base is at the top of the infield, third base is on the left side of the field, and home plate is at the back of the field, where the catcher plays.

The game is played in innings. Professional baseball games have 9 innings. In an inning, each team has one turn to bat and try to score runs, adding one point. When one team hits the ball, the other team defends and tries to get three players on the other team out. The team that is playing defense always has the ball. This is different from other team sports. When the team on defense gets three players out, it is their turn to try and score runs. Then the team that was batting starts playing defense, and the team that was playing defense starts batting. After nine innings, the team that has the most runs is the winner. If the teams have the same number of runs, they play more innings until one team wins. At the start of the game, the home team pitches, while players on the visiting team bat. Only one player can bat at a time.

The baseball field, or diamond, has two main parts, the infield and the outfield. The infield is where the four bases are. The outfield is beyond the bases, from the view of home plate. The lines from home plate to first base and home plate to third base are the foul lines, and the ground outside of these lines is called foul territory. A ball that is hit with a bat and flies between the foul lines is a fair ball, and the batter and runners can try and run around the bases and score. A ball that is outside the foul lines is a foul ball. If the ball hits the ground in the foul area rather than being caught in the air, the batter continues to bat, and any runners must return to the base that they were on before the ball was hit. If the batter has fewer than two strikes, a foul ball counts as a strike. If the batter already has two strikes, and the foul ball is not caught in the air, then the batter continues to hit. If a ball is caught by a fielder in fair or foul ground, the batter is out.

The most important part of the game is between the pitcher and the batter. The pitcher throws, or pitches, the ball towards home plate. The pitcher normally throws the ball close enough for the batter to hit it. If the pitcher throws the ball in the strike zone, which is the area over home plate and between the hitter's knee and chest, the pitch is a "strike", unless the batter hits the ball. If the batter swings the bat and misses the ball, the pitch is always a strike regardless of where it is, so the batter must have good aim with the bat. Three strikes are a "strikeout", and this is one way to make an "out". A pitch that the batter does not swing at, and which is not called a strike, is a "ball." On the fourth "ball" thrown by a pitcher, the batter "walks" to first base, so it is important to pitch well.

Baseball terms

Base: Four points on the field the players must run to. The player starts at Home plate and must go to each of the other bases in order and return to Home plate to score a run. The other bases are named First base, Second base and Third base. Home plate is a piece of hard rubber and the other bases are made of cloth. In professional baseball, the bases are 90 feet from each other. The bases on the field are in the shape of a diamond.

Baseline: The line between each of the bases in order. For example, from home plate to first base, from first base to second base, and so on.

Base path: The area along the baseline where the players run from base to base.

Ball: A pitch that was thrown outside the strike zone and that the batter did not swing at.

Strike: A pitch that was thrown inside the strike zone and that the batter did not swing at, a pitch that the batter swung at and missed, or a ball that the batter hit into foul territory.

The Game

Grounder: A ball that bounces and rolls on the ground after being hit.

Pop Fly: A ball that goes high in the air after being hit. It can be caught for an out or it can fall for a hit

Double Play: When the defense gets two outs on one play. Often happens when a ground ball is hit to an infielder with a runner on base.

Bunt: when the batter holds his bat out to try and hit the ball rather than swinging it. A bunted ball does not go far usually. Pitchers often bunt because they are not as good at hitting. A bunt is also often used when trying to advance another runner already on one of the bases. This is called a "sacrifice" or "sacrifice bunt."

Hit: When the batter hits the ball (thrown by the pitcher) in fair territory.

Text adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article “Baseball” (revision 10884268, 2026-06-11), authors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.