The two main parts of offense in baseball are hitting and base running.

Hitting (batting): When a team is on offense, it sends players one by one up to home plate to bat. The batter’s goal is to get on base, either by drawing four balls (pitches that aren’t strikes) or by getting a hit. A hit is a ball that is neither caught in the air nor fielded and thrown to first base ahead of the batter.

Baserunning: If the batter hits the ball into fair territory, the batter becomes a runner—he drops the bat and runs toward first base. If the player reaches first base safely without getting out, the player is considered safe and stays at the base. If the runner thinks he can make it to second or third base without getting out, he runs past first and continues to the farthest base he thinks he can make it to safely.

After the batter either gets on base or gets out, the next batter comes to the plate and repeats the process, attempting to get on base safely and help advance the other baserunners to home plate, where they score a run. When a runner circles all four bases and touches home plate without getting out, the team at bat is awarded one run. The offense sends batters up to the plate until the defense gets three outs, at which point the two teams switch places—the offensive team plays defense, and the defensive team gets a chance to bat.