Pesäpallo - Finnish Baseball

To visit different sports locations all around the world. The ultimate goal would be to visit an American baseball field or even a Finnish baseball field outside of Finland. Please post photos along the way!

Pesäpallo ("pesis") is the national game of Finland. It is a combination of traditional ball-batting team games and American baseball. 2022 is the 100th aniversary of the game. Pesis is played in an elite league called Superpesis, but it's also enjoyed in schools and as a hobby for both kids and grown-ups.

The rules of pesis are quite complicated, but the idea of the game is simple. One team tries to score by hitting the ball and running through the bases, the other team tries to defend by catching the ball and putting the runners out by delivering the ball to the base before the runner reaches it.

The key to the game and the most important difference between pesis and baseball is the vertical pitching. The batter and the pitcher face each other in the home base, on opposite sides of the circular plate. The pitch is delivered by throwing the ball directly upwards above the plate, to a height of at least 1 meter over the head of the pitcher. Hitting the ball, as well as controlling the power and direction of the hit, is much easier compared to the horisontal pitching of American baseball. This gives the offensive game much more variety, speed and tactical dimensions. The fielding team is forced to counter the batter’s choices with defensive schemes and anticipation, and the game becomes a mental challenge.

You can read more about pesis here: https://www.pesis.fi/pesis-info/in-english/

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