The game, created in 1922 by Lauri Pihkala as a unique game in nine innings that involves the fielders more than in cricket & baseball, and dramatically increases the number of valid bat to ball strikes due to its a vertical toss over a round wooden home base plate. It is played on a sand field, about 100x40 meters. The ball is hard and weighs 145-155 grams; the bat is 1 meter long; and the fielders' glove has a large pouch between the thumb and fingers. The batter has three strikes per visit and he tries to hit the ball, first bouncing within the boundaries, sufficiently out of reach of the fielders for the runners to progress from one base to the next. A run is scored by either running through all the bases or by running to all the bases straight to the third base (which is the furthest away) on one hit. The fielding side can remove the batter by catching the ball (koppi) or by getting the ball to a base before the batter gets there (a run out). In pesis (meaning both pesäpallo & the contemporary version, super pesis), these two are counted differently toward the innings' end: An inning ends either when there are three run outs OR the entire team is in koppi without a run scored to liberate them. The defensive team has nine players on the field.
Since the 1990's Reform, Super Pesis: It is NOW played in two periods of four innings each; the batting team can use its nine players, or, a limited number of times: two special jokers and any seven regular players (less if three run-outs are achieved before all have had a chance to bat), during one inning (as long as they always bat in the same order, beginning with the batter after the last person to have batted in the previous inning and jokers are only used as one-off replacements). A four-inning period is won by the team which scores more runs. A sudden death extra period is used if the number of periods won are level after the normal innings.
It is very popular to watch and easy to play, with substantial leagues for boys & girls, men & women in Finland and some organised games also in other countries.
 

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