The Basics of Baseball Counting

There is a lot to keep track of in baseball, including a batter's batting average, home runs, and stolen bases. But perhaps the most important statistic is the baseball counting, which tells the pitcher how many balls and strikes a batter has in his current plate appearance. The batter is out if he gets three strikes, but he can also earn a walk or reach base on a fielder's choice.

The pitch count is often displayed on a scoreboard, as well as verbally by the umpire (usually in between pitches). The number of balls and strikes a batter has can be found in the top right corner of the screen, while the current pitch type is indicated below that. In addition, the batter's current batting average is shown on the bottom left.

A baseball player is allowed to pitch a maximum of 30 pitches in a day, and the count must be kept by the scorekeeper or another game official. The count is tracked in both the Major Leagues and Minor Leagues, and pitchers must be allowed a minimum of one full calendar day's rest between starts. The pitch count is usually determined by the first pitch thrown to a batter, though it can be changed as the game progresses.

In baseball, there are four types of hits: singles, doubles, triples and home runs. A single is a simple strike that goes into play, while a double is a two-base hit that requires a teammate to run to second base. A triple is a three-base hit, while a home run is a solo shot that allows the batter to go all the way around the bases. All four of these hits count equally when calculating a batter's batting average, but other stats can provide more granular information about how far a batter is getting on each hit.

One of the most interesting aspects of baseball counting is its ability to reveal what a player is likely to do in future at-bats. Various counting stats try to take into account the likelihood that a batter will reach base on each pitch, while also taking into account the hitter's previous success against that count. This is how statistics like batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average are calculated.