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A description of baseball

Baseball has been an Olympic sport since 1992. The Olympic format consists of one elimination tournament with eight teams, each with nine players.

The first four teams go through to the semi-finals, with the first-placed team playing the fourth-placed team and the second playing the third. The winners progress to the final.

The home plate and the three bases enclose the field of play. This is where the name “diamond” comes from. The square bases lie 27,43 m apart and are turned on a 45-degree angle.

A team scores a point when a player completes one tour of the interior field, passing by the three bases to arrive back at the home plate. To do this, he must first hit the ball past the outfield defenders (also called the "catchers"). Aluminium bats, deemed to be more powerful than wooden bats, are permitted in Olympic baseball. - (AFP)

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