In sports, offense (American spelling) or offence (Commonwealth spelling, see spelling differences; pronounced with first-syllable stress; from Latin offensus), known as attack outside of North America, is the action of attacking or engaging an opposing team with the objective of scoring points or goals. The term may refer to the tactics involved in offense, or a sub-team whose primary responsibility is offense.
Generally, goals are scored by teams' offenses, but in sports such as American football it is common to see defenses and special teams (which serve as a team's offensive unit on kicking plays and defensive on returning plays) score as well. The fielding side in cricket is also generally known as the bowling attack despite the batting side being the side that scores runs, because they can prevent batting players from scoring by getting them out, and end the batting team's scoring turn by getting them all out.
In countries outside North America, the term offence is almost always taken to mean an infraction of the rules, a penalty or foul, and attack is more likely to be used where Americans would use offense.
Many sports involve elements of offense and defense, where teams take turns trying to score points while also trying to prevent the opposing team from scoring. Sports that use an offense and defense:
Baseball's offense revolves around the team trying to get on base and score runs against the opposing team. Each team has nine chances to score runs, with a total of once per inning.[1]
Batting Order
The offensive side of baseball follows an order in which the players will take turns “at-bat” or when they face the opposing team’s pitcher. The batting order is a total of nine players long, and the order in which the players are aligned varies from team to team based on skill and strategy.
At-Bat
When a player from the batting team steps up to the plate, they face a crucial challenge from the pitcher from the opposing team. The pitcher, a key defensive player, throws the ball toward home plate, aiming to get it past the batter and into the catcher's mitt. The batter's goal is to hit the ball into fair territory, away from the defenders. The batter can get on base by getting a hit or walking.[2]
Hits and Walks
During an at-bat, the batter attempts to reach base by contacting the baseball with the baseball bat and putting it in fair territory without the defense making a play to get them out.[3] Hits are classified in four separate ways:
Single – When a batter hits the ball into fair territory and reaches first base safely.[4]
Double – When a batter safely hits the ball into fair territory and reaches second base.[5]
Triple - When a batter hits the ball into fair territory and reaches third base safely.[6]
Home run – When a batter hits the ball into fair territory and it either goes over the fence without touching the ground, the batter is awarded all four bases and scores a run. An inside-the-park home run occurs when a player hits the ball into fair territory and reaches home plate safely after touching all other bags.[7]
Walk – A walk occurs when an at-bat ends if the pitcher throws four “balls” before throwing three “strikes” or the batter puts the ball in play.[8]
Base-Running
Once a batter reaches base, they becomes a baserunner. Baserunners can advance to the next base on subsequent hits, walks (when the pitcher throws four balls outside the strike zone), or when they steal a base (attempt to advance while the pitcher is delivering the ball). Baserunners must touch each base in order, and they can be tagged out by defenders with the ball.
Scoring Runs
The batting team's objective is to score runs. A run is scored when a baserunner successfully advances around all four bases and touches home plate before the defensive team can record three outs.[9]
Outs
The batting team has three outs per inning to try to score runs. An out can occur in various ways, including striking out (when the batter fails to hit the ball after three strikes), getting caught by a fielder, or by force outs (when a fielder with possession of the ball reaches a base before the baserunner).
Strategy
Offense in baseball also involves strategic decisions by the batters and coaches. This includes bunting (purposefully tapping the ball lightly to advance baserunners), stealing bases, hitting for power, and executing hit-and-run plays.
In football, the offense is the team with the ball and trying to score points. At the start of the game, the offense gets the ball first. The main goal of the offense is to move the ball down the field toward the opponent's end zone. This is done by running with the ball or throwing it to the offensive teammates. The offense has four chances (called downs) to move the ball at least 10 yards. If the offense succeed, they get another set of downs. If the offense does not, the other team will get the ball. The offense uses different strategies and plays to outsmart the defense and move the ball efficiently and effectively. The coaches design these plays and involve players running specific routes, blocking opponents, and making quick decisions with the ball.[10]
Scoring
The ultimate aim of the offense is to score points. They can do this by carrying the ball into the opponent's end zone for a touchdown (worth 6 points) or by kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal (worth 3 points). If they score a touchdown, they can also score an extra point by kicking the ball through the goalposts (1 point) or running or passing the ball into the end zone (2-point conversions).[11]
The offense's job is to advance the ball down the field and score points while avoiding turnovers and getting stopped by the defense.
Offensive Positions
Quarterback (QB): Leader of the offense. They call plays, receive the snap, and pass the ball to a teammate or hand it off to the running backs.
Running Back (RB): Lines up behind or beside the quarterback and primarily carries the ball. They can also be used as receivers in passing plays or blockers to protect the quarterback.
Wide Receiver (WR): Lines up on the outside edges of the offensive formation. Their primary role is to catch passes from the quarterback and advance the ball down the field. They must be fast, agile, and skilled at catching the ball in traffic.
Tight end (TE): Versatile players who line up on the offensive line next to the tackles but can also split out wide like a wide receiver. They are often used as blockers in running plays or pass protectors in passing plays. Additionally, tight ends can catch passes and are a valuable receiving option for the quarterback.
Offensive line (OL): Consists of five players: the center, two guards, and two tackles. Their primary job is to protect the quarterback from the defense's pass rush and create openings for the running backs by blocking defensive players. The center starts each play by snapping the ball to the quarterback.[12]
Baseball statistics refers to a variety of metrics used to evaluate player and team performance in the game of baseball.
In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an error or a passed ball committed by the defense.
In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided that he made an honest effort to avoid the pitch, although failure to do so is rarely called by an umpire. Being hit by a pitch is often caused by a batter standing too close to, or "crowding", home plate.
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base, but the official scorer rules on the question of credit or blame for the advance under Rule 10 of the MLB's Official Rules.
In many team sports, defense or defence is the action of preventing an opponent from scoring. The term may also refer to the tactics involved in defense, or a sub-team whose primary responsibility is defense. Similarly, a defense player or defender is a player who is generally charged with preventing the other team's forwards from being able to bear down directly on their own team's goalkeeper or goaltender. Such positions exist in association football, ice hockey, water polo and many other sports.
A bunt is a batting technique in baseball or fastpitch softball. Official Baseball Rules define a bunt as follows: "A BUNT is a batted ball not swung at, but intentionally met with the bat and tapped slowly within the infield." To bunt, the batter loosely holds the bat in front of home plate and intentionally taps the ball into play. A properly executed bunt will create weak contact with the ball and/or strategically direct it, forcing the infielders to make a difficult defensive play to record an out.
In baseball, fielder's choice refers to a variety of plays involving an offensive player reaching a base due to the defense's attempt to put out another baserunner, or the defensive team's indifference to his advance. Fielder's choice is not called by the umpires on the field of play; rather, it is recorded by the official scorer to account for the offensive player's advance without crediting him with an offensive statistic such as a hit or stolen base.
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket.
Dead ball is a term in many ball sports in which the ball is deemed temporarily not playable, and no movement may be made with it. Depending on the sport, this event may be quite routine, or more uncommon.
In baseball, the batting order or batting lineup is the sequence in which the members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. In Major League Baseball, the batting order is set by the manager, who before the game begins must present the home plate umpire with two copies of his team's lineup card, a card on which a team's starting batting order is recorded. The home plate umpire keeps one copy of the lineup card of each team, and gives the second copy to the opposing manager. Once the home plate umpire gives the lineup cards to the opposing managers, the batting lineup is final and a manager can make changes only under the Official Baseball Rules governing substitutions. If a team bats out of order, it is a violation of baseball's rules and subject to penalty.
Throughout the history of baseball, the rules have frequently changed as the game continues to evolve. A few common rules most professional leagues have in common is that four balls is a base on balls, three strikes is a strikeout, and three outs end a half-inning.
In baseball, interference occurs in situations in which a person illegally changes the course of play from what is expected. Interference might be committed by players on the offense, players not currently in the game, catchers, umpires, or spectators. Each type of interference is covered differently by the rules.
Pesäpallo is a fast-moving bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other places including Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada's northern Ontario. It is similar to brännboll, rounders, lapta, and baseball.
A hit and run is a high risk, high reward offensive strategy used in baseball. It uses a stolen base attempt to try to place the defending infielders out of position for an attempted base hit.
A platoon system in baseball or American football is a method for substituting players in groups (platoons), to keep complementary players together during playing time.
Bat-and-ball games are field games played by two opposing teams. Action starts when the defending team throws a ball at a dedicated player of the attacking team, who tries to hit it with a bat and run between various safe areas in the field to score runs (points). The defending team can use the ball in various ways against the attacking team's players to force them off the field when they are not in safe zones, and thus prevent them from further scoring. The best known modern bat-and-ball games are cricket and baseball, with common roots in the 18th-century games played in England.
This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries.
The wheel play is a defensive strategy in baseball designed to defend against a sacrifice bunt. The play's name derives from the wheel-like rotation of the infielders.
In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat.
Baseball5 (B5) is an internationally played safe haven game with many of the same rules as baseball and softball, which is governed alongside those sports by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
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