RULES · THE GAME
How innings, runs and outs fit together
The teams take turns batting. The batting team tries to move runners around four bases and back home; the fielding team tries to make three outs and end that half of the inning.
Checked against the 2025–2026 WBSC Official Rules of Baseball · Updated 1 September 2026The whole game starts with three ideas
- 01An inning has two halves, so each team gets a turn to bat.
- 02Three outs end a team’s batting turn.
- 03A run scores when a runner reaches first, second and third, then safely returns to home plate.
INTERACTIVE INNING EXAMPLES
Follow the runner and the out count.
Switch between a run, a routine out and the third out that changes which team bats.
Loading the 3D field…
HOME → 1ST → 2ND → 3RD → HOMEThe runner completes the circuit and touches home safely, adding one run.
Drag to rotate · Double-click to reset01 / INNINGS
Both teams bat once per inning
The visiting team normally bats in the top half and the home team in the bottom half. When both turns are complete, one inning has been played.
A standard adult game commonly has nine innings. Youth, amateur and shortened formats may use fewer.
02 / OUTS
Three outs stop the batting turn
Common outs include a caught fly ball, a strikeout, a force play at a base, or a tag on a runner who is not touching a base.
Outs do not usually erase runners who are already safe. Those runners remain on their bases until the third out ends the half-inning.
03 / RUNS
Touch all four bases in order
A batter becomes a runner and tries to reach first, then second, third and home. A safe trip back to home plate scores one run.
Several runners may score on one batted ball. A home run over the outfield fence in fair territory allows the batter and every runner already on base to score.