Baseball5 | Wikipedia Explained

Baseball5 (partly too B5 or BB5^[1]) is a simplified variation of baseball or softball. Internationally, the sport is represented by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).

A baseball field in Cuba

The origins of Baseball5 come from Latin America and are already several decades old, like something Four Corners from Cuba or Rubber Ball from Venezuela.^[2]^[3]

The WBSC tried to establish various variants of baseball and softball specifically for children and young people, but without any significant success.^[4] The advantages of Baseball5 should be that the sport should be more beginner-friendly and cheaper. Apart from the ball, unlike baseball or softball, no other equipment is required.^[5] The sport is also more inclusive; it was designed from the outset for mixed teams and does not include purely men’s or women’s teams.^[6]

The playing field in Baseball5 is a square with a side of 13 meters, with a base at each corner. The fair measures 18 meters, with one of the corners forming the home base. The field of the racket is also square, with a side length of 3 meters. It is located outside the field of play and is located on the extension of the two foul lines that overlap at home base.^[7]

In contrast to baseball or softball, the bases are not marked by physical objects but by 60cm squares on the ground.^[7]

The ball is a hollow rubber ball with a circumference of 20.84cm^[7]

The away team starts the game on offense. The goal of the team on offense is for every player on the team to hit the ball and then run clockwise all 4 bases without being eliminated by the opposing team. When hitting the ball, the player is completely in the corresponding field. The ball is hit with the hand, either the palm or the fist. The ball must then touch the ground for the first time at least 3 meters from the home base, but must not hit the foul zone.

A player who touches all 4 bases scores a run for his team and then leaves the field until it is his turn to bat again.

An offensive player can eliminate himself in various ways. These differ depending on whether he is at home base as a bat or as a runner on a base

Leaving the field before the ball has touched the ground for the first time
Hitting the ball into the foul zone
Not hitting the ball
Faking a blow
Disregarding the batting order

Leaving the base before the bat has hit the ball
Overtaking a player from your own team
Slide or slide to avoid elimination by the Defense Team

If a run is scored where the batter hit the ball illegally, the play is voided (that is, any runners who were out or advanced around the bases during the play return to their bases as if the play had never occurred) and the batter is out.

The players of the team on defense stay within the field when the bat hits the ball. If the ball goes outside the field due to a mistake by the defense team, for example a missed throw, the team on offense gets an extra base, i.e. the bat goes to second base, the player on first base goes to third, etc.

To eliminate an offense player, you have the following options:

Touching the base to which the opposing player would have to run next while in possession of the ball
Touching a runner while the runner is not on a base.
Catching a ball before it hits the ground (results in the elimination of the bat)

If the latter occurs, all runners must go to the base they were previously on.^[7]

The game ends automatically after 5 innings if one of the teams is in the lead. If the home team is in the lead after the visiting team has completed its fifth offensive inning, the game is also over. Many Baseball5 tournaments are played in best-of-three mode, with the first team to win two games winning.^[7]

Another way to win is this Run-ahead-Regel. If a team is in the lead by 15 runs after the third inning or by 10 runs after the fourth inning, the game is also ended early.^[7]

In the event of a tie, additional innings are played until one team takes the lead. After seven more innings, the game ends in a tie.^[7]

There are only 5 players per team on the field
The game lasts only 5 innings
There are no pitchers, catchers or outfielders
No gloves are worn or bats are used

The first international baseball5 game took place in Rome at the Foro Italico in May 2018.^[8] There were also demonstrations at MLB All-Star Week, the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.^[9]^[10]

The Baseball5 World Cup has been a world championship since 2022.^[11] The first continental competitions took place in Europe in 2020, followed by Africa and Asia in 2022 and America in 2024.^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]