Charging the mound Charging the mound In baseball, charging the mound is an assault by a batter against the pitcher, usually the result of being hit by a pitch or nearly being hit by a pitch, such as a brushback. The first incidence of a professional charging of the mound has not been identified, but the practice dates back to the game's early days. Charging the mound is the most common initiator of a bench-clearing brawl. Before charging, the batter usually throws his bat and helmet aside so that he may face the pitcher unarmed (it is a very serious breach of baseball
Comparison of baseball and cricket the game situation. In baseball, pitcher, batter, and fielders all play far differently in the late innings of a close game (e.g., waiting for walks, trying for stolen bases or the squeeze play to score a decisive run) than they do early, or when one team has already scored many more runs than the other (where batters will be likely to swing at many more pitches and try for extra-base hits and even home runs). The number, speed, and position of baserunners, which have no equivalent in cricket, all dramatically change the strategies used by pitcher and batter. A runner