Top Of The Inning for Dummies

Top of the inning is a phrase that we often use when we talk about baseball games. It refers to a specific phase or part of the game where one team gets a chance to play offense while the other team takes the field on defense. When we say "top of the inning," it means that it is the beginning of a new inning, and the team that is up to bat gets the opportunity to try and score runs.

To understand this phrase, let's imagine we are watching a baseball game together. The game is divided into smaller parts called innings, just like how a cake can be divided into slices. Each inning is like a slice of the game, and there are usually nine innings in a professional baseball game. So, the top of the inning is like the first bite you take from that slice of the game.

Let me give you some more details to make it crystal clear: imagine you are playing a game of catch with a friend. You take turns throwing the ball to each other. Now, let's say it's your turn to throw the ball and your friend's turn to catch it. When your friend is getting ready to catch the ball, that's like the top of the inning in a baseball game - it's their opportunity to be on offense and do their best to score runs.

In baseball, the top of the inning is the half of the inning where the visiting team gets their chance at bat. The visiting team, also known as the away team, comes up to the plate and tries to hit the ball as far as they can, run around the bases, and ultimately score points called runs. The other team, the home team, takes the field and tries to prevent the visiting team from scoring any runs by catching the ball, throwing it to the right places, and tagging out the runners.

So, to sum it up, "top of the inning" is a phrase used in baseball to describe the part of the game where the visiting team gets a turn to hit, while the home team takes the field on defense. It's like the first piece of cake you take from the inning, where the team up to bat tries to score runs and the other team tries to stop them.