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Finnish baseball ("pesäpallo") is a fast-moving ball sport greatly similar to baseball. It is the de facto national sport of Finland and has some presence in other countries, such as Germany, Sweden and Australia.
Finnish Baseball was developed and refined by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala, who based it on baseball and a local game, around 1910-1920. The rules have remained the same since, aside from some fine-tuning in the 1990s by the Finnish Baseball Federation. The basic structure of the game is identical to baseball's. Finnish baseball has 3 out-bases and a homebase. Players use a bat to hit the ball out to catchers, then move from base to base trying to arrive before the ball.
The more significant differences between baseball and pesäpallo include:
Finnish Baseball Federation (Pesäpalloliitto) World Cup 2006