Baseball – An All Time Favorite Sport

Introduction:


Baseball is a sport requiring a bat, ball and a glove. It is also a team sport that promotes the following:
· Relieve stress
· Release muscle tension
· Develop overall fitness
· Give healthy respect to the body, especially for teenagers
· Promotes physical fitness
· Tones muscle

What is baseball?
This is a team sport where a defensive player throws a fist-size ball or aka the pitcher, and an offensive player or the batter hits the ball with his round, smooth stick bat. This has become a national pastime of many Americans and became part of their culture for almost 200 years already. It is one of the most popular sports and there is no sign of sinking off yet.

Evolution of baseball

According to record, it is difficult to trace the precise origin of this sport. There is a French manuscript with an illustration of a game similar to baseball. This sport has a number of names including ‘Round ball’ and ‘Goal Ball’.  It was Alexander Cartwright who invented the modern baseball field. Together with his member in New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club, they worked out the first rules and regulations resulting to the regulations followed by modern game baseball.

Gears in playing baseball

Playing this type of sport requires a number of gears. The simple gears you will need are as follows:

·         Baseball bat – in the 19^th century, bats felt and looked different from today’s bats. Modern baseball bats are made from various materials like wood, aluminum or other metals.

·         Gloves and mitts – the baseball gloves today differ on what position you are playing. There is a huge collection of gloves for pitcher, catcher, or for someone in the infield and outfield. The first glove used in playing baseball is a leather work glove, with or without full fingers.

·         Baseballs – the first balls used were made by a solid substance and surrounded with hand wound yarn or string.  During the yearly conventions for this sport, many agreed that the weight of the ball must be between five and three-fourth ounces and between nine and three-fourths to ten inches in circumference.

Health Benefits

This sport exercises various muscle groups compared with other sports that only concentrate on a limited range of exercise. Following are additional benefits of this sport to human body:

·         Develops lower legs and thighs

·         Boosts  flexibility of feet and hands

·         Improves coordination of eyes and hands

·         Improves upper body strength

·         Disorders can be prevented like heart disease

·         Frees your mind from stress and refreshes mind from distractions

Intentional Cardio Suggestions

·         30 meter dash – endurance in cardio-respiratory is important because players need to run through bases and if you are fit, your team has the advantage than the other team. Run as fast as you can on your 30 meter mark and have a 15 second break. Increase the distance as the week progresses.

·         Innings – this cardio suggestion can be challenging even to the fit athletes. This can increase the endurance and maintain the athletes’ strong cardio respiratory system. Additionally, this workout is designed to keep them physically and mentally tough.

·         Jump rope – this workout can burn up to 1000 calories per hour. It helps in toning your muscles both in major and lower and lean muscles in major muscle groups. At the same time, it optimizes cardio respiratory and make best use of sporty skills by combining timing, rhythm, and agility. Use a jumping rope and jump the rope as many as you can. Do it for 2 minutes, 3 minutes and increase the time as week progresses.

·         90 feet sprints – essential cardio-respiratory exercise in running and stealing bases. Mark the 90 feet spot and run as fast as you can and stop on that spot. You can walk or jog slowly going back to where you started. Repeat this as many as you can and push yourself to a higher level as days go by.

·         90 feet high knees – this is a pre-game exercise that stretch muscles in your thigh. In an open area, run slower than sprint and pull your knees up to your chest at the same time. This will give you all the benefit of this exercise.

Conclusion

·         As one of the world’s famous sports, it is not only an enjoyable sport for players that has a lean body but also to non-athletes.

·         This is another recreational activity for everyone because it only requires a low level of physical conditioning.

·         Best to play with family and friends as it provide health benefits.