Why Americans are so passionate about baseball?

One of the most popular bat and ball game, Baseball is commonly seen as the game of USA, and its popularity is more so in the country than in other countries of the world. The game is usually played between two teams with 9 players per team. The game of baseball can be compared to the game of Cricket, which is more popular in UK. The game of baseball in USA was basically played by the middle class and followed by almost all classes of the population. The baseball gear is very particular to the game, and no game is ever played without the proper baseball uniform. Their protective gear consists of gloves which is exclusive for the batters and it differs in design from the gloves worn by the catchers, which is called the “Catcher’s Mitt.” Besides the gloves and the mitts, the players also wear helmets from sports stores for protection. The male players also must protect their groin by using gear that is referred to as cups. The two teams take turns in batting and pitching the ball, and each turn is known as an inning. The visiting team is usually honored by being allowed to bat first. The game is presided by a couple of umpires whose decision is final regarding the outcome of the game. One umpire usually stands behind the catcher to get a complete view of the batter.
Cricket vs. Baseball
The game plan in both these sports is almost similar, and many parallels can be drawn between the strategies involved in both the games. However, baseball popularity can never be overtaken by any other sport, especially in USA, and definitely not Cricket. Most attributes in baseball is similar to that of cricket, the differences being firstly in the number of players. Baseball has 9 player, whereas cricket consists of 11 on field players and 3 players benched. The number of games played in baseball depends on the innings played, while in cricket, it is the number of overs, which consists of 6 balls per over, that is usually taken into account for the duration of a cricket match. Another very apparent difference is in their dressing, and this difference lies basically in the fact that the game of baseball requires more protection while that of cricket does not. In cricket, only the catcher or the players standing close to the batter use helmet. Another difference that is seen is that the batter in baseball leaves the bat and runs to score while the batter in cricket carries the bat and runs.
The Game Plan in Baseball
Once the nine players of the baseball team have positioned themselves around the field, the game starts with the pitcher pitching the ball towards the batter, and the batter trying to hit the ball towards the outfield .The catcher who stands behind the batter in the home ground is responsible for not only catching the ball, so that he batter does not score, but also for the protection of the home ground. The number of times the batter runs towards the home base or towards the second base scores that many runs. The team that makes the maximum number of hits as it is referred to in baseball wins the match.