Baseball in Finland

Baseball In Finland

Pesäpallo (; Swedish: Boboll, also referred to as "Finnish baseball") is a fast-moving ball sport that is quite often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other countries, such as Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, and Northern Ontario in Canada (Both Canada and Australia have high Scandinavian populations). The game is similar to brännboll, rounders, baseball and lapta.

Pesäpallo is a combination of traditional ball-batting team games and North American baseball. The game was first developed by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s. Pesäpallo has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Its success as spectator sport is based on the unique combination of skills, smarts, athleticism and teamwork required in the modern game. The game is nowadays also known by the informal name of pesis. Rooted deeply in the history of Finland as a nation and in the everyday life in the country regions, pesäpallo is also enjoyed by all Finns in schools, parks and fields as a hobby, which can be played by everybody for great fun.

The rules of pesäpallo 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. The key to the game and the most important difference between pesäpallo and baseball is the vertical pitching. Hitting the ball, as well as controlling the power and direction of the hit, is much easier. This gives the offensive game much more variety, speed and tactical dimensions than in baseball. The fielding team is forced to counter the batter’s choices with defensive schemes and anticipation, and the game becomes a mental challenge.

The manager has an important role in pesäpallo. The offensive and defensive strategies include several prepared plays for every situation. The manager leads his team’s offense by giving signals to the players with a multicolored fan. The defensive team play is directed by the manager’s orders and hand signals by the fielders.

To an experienced fan the elite league games of Superpesis offer endless variations and innovations of the tactical battle, while a newcomer to the game can be fascinated by the rapidly developing play action and the physical skills, speed and finesse of the players.

In 2009, there were over 15,000 official players in Finland.

Pesäpallo was a demonstration sport at the 1952 Summer Olympics, held in Helsinki, Finland.