the visiting team bats in the top of the inning.
the visiting team bats in the top of the inning.
who bats in the top of the inning?
the visiting team
each half-inning formally starts when the umpire calls "play" or "play ball". a full inning consists of six outs, three for each team; and, in major league baseball and most other adult leagues, a regulation game consists of nine innings. the visiting team bats in the first half-inning, the top of the inning, derived from the position of the visiting team at the top line of a baseball line score. the home team's half of an inning is the bottom of the inning, and the break between halves of an inning is the middle of the inning. if the home team is leading in the middle of the final scheduled inning, or scores to take the lead in the bottom of the final scheduled inning, the game immediately ends in a home victory.
inning
veteran first baseman ryan zimmerman's 2018 spring training regimen was extremely unusual and perhaps unprecedented, sparking much discussion and debate among fans and the press. during the spring he appeared in only one major-league game, against the new york mets at first data field at port st. lucie, florida, on march 2, going 1-for-2 with a line out to right fielder jay bruce in the first inning and a soft liner into center field for a double off pitcher hansel robles in the fourth inning. otherwise, he stayed out of the public eye, playing strictly in simulated and minor-league games on the back fields of the fitteam ballpark of the palm beaches complex, virtually unobserved by fans and the press. a reported bout zimmerman had with back stiffness early in spring training led to speculation among fans and the press that zimmerman and the nationals were trying to hide an injury from public scrutiny, but the nationals' staff denied it. they explained that zimmerman disliked the conventional spring training regimen, seeing himself a needing only 50 at-bats to prepare himself for the regular season, and that he had proposed to manager dave martinez early in the 2018 edition of spring training that he restrict himself to the back fields and prepare for the regular season at his own pace to ensure that he would be in the best possible health when the season began, and martinez had approved of the plan under the assumption that, as a veteran, zimmerman could be trusted to prepare in a way that was best for him. by playing in the more controlled environment of simulated and minor league games, he enjoyed far more flexibility than in grapefruit league games; he could prepare at his own pace, batting – even leading off – in every inning or skipping at-bats, all while having a choice as to whether to play in the field or not from inning to inning. the nationals' staff assured reporters that zimmerman was getting plenty of at-bats, looked good on the back fields, and would be fully ready for opening day. in discussions with the press about his unusual spring training plan, zimmerman dismissed concerns about his health and preparedness for the regular season, good-naturedly arguing that his success or failure during the regular season would be the best way to judge his spring regimen, and that by early in the regular season fans and reporters would forget all about spring training. by opening day, zimmerman revealed that he had avoided baserunning and fielding entirely so as to better manage his chronic problems with an arthritic shoulder and plantar fasciitis, and that in simulated and minor-league games he had often had eight at-bats a day rather than the two or three he would have had in grapefruit league games, and he entered the regular season fully healthy.
2018 washington nationals season