Baseball

250px|thumbnail|Chanzo cha mchezo: mtupaji na mpiganaji wanajiandaa, mpokeaji yuko tayari
thumbnail|Miendo ya mtupaji (pitcher)
**Baseball** *(mara chache pia:* **besibol***)* ni aina ya michezo ya timu yenye asili na wafuasi wengi Marekani lakini inapendwa pia na watu wengi huko Amerika Kusini na Asia ya Mashariki. 

Timu mbili zinashindana kwa shabaha ya kupata ponti zaidi kuliko wengine. Asili ya baseball ni michezo iliyopelekwa Marekani na wahamiaji kutoka Ulaya. Kwa tabia kadhaa mchezo unafanana na kriketi.

Kila timu huwa na wachezaji 9. Timu zinabadilishana kwa zamu kushambulia na kutetea.
Shabaha ya mchezo ni kuzunguka ("run") uwanja mwenye vituo ("base") nne. Kwa kila mafanikio ya kuzunguka uwanja timu inashika pointi moja.  Timu ya wapinzani wanajaribu kuchelewesha na kuzuia wachezaji wa upande mwingine. Timu yenye pointi zaidi inashinda.

Timu ya kutetea inanza na mtupaji (pitcher) ndani ya eneo la kutupa anayetupa mpira. Analenga kwa mwenzake mshika mpira (catcher) aliye nyuma ya mpiganaji wa kinyume katika sehemu ya kupiga (strike zone) anapaswa kufikisha mpira si chini mno wala juu mno. Mpiganaji anajaribu kugonga mpira kuelekea sehemu fulani ndani ya uwanja.  Kama anafaulu kugonga mpira anaanza kukimbia kuelekea kituo cha kwanza. 

Kama mshika mpira aliukamata atalenga kwa mpiganaji anayekimbia ili amwondoe katika uwanja au kuiupa mpira kwa wenzaka katika uwanja watakaomlenga mchezaji anayekimbia kutoka kituo kimoja hadi kingine. Huyu akifika kituo yuko salama. 

Badala yake mchezaji mwingine wa timu ya shambulio anaingia kama mpiganaji. Mchezo unarudiwa na baada ya kila pigo "hit" mpiganaji wa kwanza aajaribu kuendelea hadi kituo kinachofuata na mpiganaji wa pili anamfuata. Wakati chezaji wa kwanza wa kushambulia amefika kituo cha nne ametimiza mbio (home run) na ameshika pointi.

Kuna kanuni mbalimbali zinazoleta azimio kama mkimbiaji anaweza kuendelea au kama anatoka katika nafasi yake.

## Kujisomea
thumbnail|Uwanja wa baseball; Sehemu za kahawia na kiibichi ni maeneo halali kwa mpira. Sehemu za buluu ni maeneo marufuku kwa mpira.
* Bradbury, J.C. *The Baseball Economist: The Real Game Exposed* (Dutton, 2007). ISBN 0-525-94993-3
* Dickson, Paul. *The Dickson Baseball Dictionary*, 3d ed. (W. W. Norton, 2009). ISBN 0-393-06681-9
* Elias, Robert (2010) *The Empire Strikes Out: How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy and Promoted the American Way Abroad*. New York: The New Press. ISBN 978-1-59558-195-2
* Elliott, Bob. *The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way* (Sport Classic, 2005). ISBN 1-894963-40-7
* Euchner, Charles. *The Last Nine Innings: Inside the Real Game Fans Never See* (Sourcebooks, 2007). ISBN 1-4022-0579-1
* Fitts, Robert K. *Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game* (Southern Illinois University Press, 2005). ISBN 0-8093-2629-9
* Gutkind, Lee. *The Best Seat in Baseball, But You Have to Stand: The Game as Umpires See It* (Southern Illinois University Press, 1999). ISBN 978-0-8093-2195-7
* Gillette, Gary, and Pete Palmer (eds.). *The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia*, 5th ed. (Sterling, 2008). ISBN 1-4027-6051-5
* James, Bill. *The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract*, rev. ed. (Simon and Schuster, 2003). ISBN 0-7432-2722-0
* James, Bill. *The Bill James Handbook 2009* (ACTA, 2008). ISBN 0-87946-367-8
* Mahony, Phillip, Baseball Explained  (McFarland Books, 2014) ISBN 978-0-7864-7964-1. 
* Peterson, Robert. *Only the Ball was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams* (Oxford University Press, 1992 [1970]). ISBN 0-19-507637-0
* Posnanski, Joe (2007) *The Soul of Baseball* New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-085403-4
* Reaves, Joseph A. *Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia* (Bison, 2004). ISBN 0-8032-3943-2
* Ritter, Lawrence S. *The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It*, enlarged ed. (Harper, 1992). ISBN 0-688-11273-0
* Tango, Tom, Mitchel G. Lichtman, and Andrew E. Dolphin, *The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball* (Potomac, 2007). ISBN 1-59797-129-4
* Sexton, John (2013) *Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game* New York: Gotham Books. ISBN 978-1-59240-754-5.
* Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. *Baseball: An Illustrated History* (Alfred A. Knopf, 1996). ISBN 0-679-40459-7

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## Viungo vya Nje
;Ligi
* Major League Baseball
* International Baseball Federation
* Minor League Baseball
* British Baseball Federation 

;Takwimu za mchezo
* Baseball Almanac
* Baseball-Reference.com
* Retrosheet 

;Hanari za baseball
* BaseballLibrary.com 
* Baseball Prospectus
* Society for American Baseball Research
* *Baseball* PBS documentary directed by Ken Burns
* Mister Baseball  European baseball news