Myths, legends, folklore, and old-fashioned yarns. It seems like everything in the good old USA with a little bit of history has its fair share of all four. Sometimes we can forget just how young our country is in comparison to others around the world, but as the years go by, our history and heritage grow. Many of us become more and more interested in just we how we got to where we are.
When considering our history as a nation, we tend to look towards its defining features for answers. One of the great things the U.S. does well is sports and we have even invented our own over the past few hundred years. There are fewer sports that can come close to one of those sports – baseball – for its history. The game was undoubtedly the most popular in the U.S. for a long, long time until football and basketball exploded.
Yet, you can approach many enthusiastic baseball fans with questions about the sport that many just simply cannot answer. The history of the sport, for example, is still relatively unknown. Sure, everyone with a grandfather has heard the stories of Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech, or when the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees, but is that the full extent of baseball’s history?
Not by a long stretch. Baseball may be embedded into the very fabric of the stars and stripes, but it has come a long way to get here. Sometimes, history can be a boring subject. When it comes to baseball, there is nothing tedious about its journey through the ages. It was born from flames, and traveled through the most defining parts of American history to become a national treasure.
Below, we will uncover the complete history of baseball. It’s time to kick back, turn your phone off, and educate yourself.
Baseball’s origins can be traced back to games that were brought to the United States by immigrants in the 18th Century. There were a number of bat and ball games played in Europe, especially in Ireland and England, that are said to be the early forebearers of the sport. Rounders, cricket, hurling, and many more games – including others from continental Europe – are considered to be the inspiration for baseball.
As you may know, the U.S. experienced mass immigration in the 1800’s. This brought with it a wide range of different cultures, who mixed with each other in large cities in the early stages of America. Children and adults alike would play the same games they had learned in places like Ireland, England, Italy, and France, which interested natives and other immigrants.
Bat and ball games were certainly around long before the 19th century. Hurling, Ireland’s national sport, is said to be over 2000 years old. A manuscript traced to 1344 in France depicted religious leaders playing a bat and ball game believed to be la soule. These games were well-known among the Irish and French immigrants and are regarded as potential links to baseball.
England’s influence on American sports is also regarded as important when discussing the history of baseball. Rounders, cricket, stoolball and “tut-ball,” in particular, were very popular in Britain. Seeing as how Association Football and rugby led to the invention of football, there are many historians who argue that we should be thanking the Brits for baseball, too.
Some historians point to an English publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, written by John Newbery, as an important part of tracing the roots of baseball. Within the book, there is a description of a game called “base-ball” which is written in rhyme. Accompanying the rhyme is a depiction of a field which looks like a modern baseball field, although it is shaped like a triangle and has posts where we would have bases.
To add a little more weight behind the argument for baseball originating in England, the first record of a game referred to as “Bass-Ball” (sounds pretty similar, right?) pertains to 1749 in Surrey. The Prince of Wales reportedly took part in the game. Six years later, William Bray recorded another game of baseball in Surrey in 1755.
Historians believe that this game was taken to Canada by immigrants from England and Ireland, who later brought it to the U.S. In fact, these same immigrants are said to have brought rounders down to the United States.
Historians believe the first mention of baseball in America to be a town bylaw in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1791, a notice was circulated that was said to have prohibited baseball being played anywhere near a meeting house that had just been erected in the town. This is an important reference when trying to establish just how old the game is in the United States.
Over the next few decades, the game was growing in popularity. There were a number of publications that had referenced baseball in one form or another, which only helped to bring it to more and more players. All around the nation, several games played with a bat and ball were emerging in different towns and cities. These games are said to have been known by natives as “town ball,” “round ball,” and “base-ball.”
Throughout the 1830’s, more and more of these games were played by kids and adults across the country. One of the greatest myths about baseball can be traced back to the final year of that decade, 1839, and to a man named Abner Doubleday, who is still regarded as the “inventor of baseball.”
We’re sorry to break it to you, but the story of Abner Doubleday inventing baseball is… a myth. That’s what history seems to tell us, at least. The story goes like this: in 1839 in Cooperstown, New York, Doubleday came up with the idea of baseball and the first game was played in the town. This is a story that was presented to a group set up in 1905 with the aim of establishing if baseball was invented in the U.S. or outside of the country.
The man who presented the story was Abner Graves. The group he presented the story to was the (now famous) Mills Commission. According to graves, the future American Civil War general, Doubleday, was solely responsible for inventing the game. If this was true, it would prove that baseball was an American invention and not a variant of rounders, as some had previously thought.
Chicago Cubs president Albert Spalding, with National League president Abraham G. Mills, also argued that the game was 100% American. With Graves’ testimony, the Mills Commission – who had also chosen committee members who rejected the rounders theory – declared that baseball was invented in the U.S. The story was the reason for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum locating to Cooperstown. To this day, the building sits on 25 Main Street in Cooperstown.
While Doubleday was declared the inventor of baseball, which made the game a 100% American invention – many disagreed. Graves had claimed to the press that he had personally witnessed Doubleday create a diagram of a baseball field, which was published in the Beacon Journal newspaper. He also provided names of seven men he had claimed had played in the first game of baseball, overseen by Doubleday. Spalding had asked for more evidence to support his claims, however.
This led to Graves sending a replication of the diagram of the baseball field, as the original could not be found. The players who had taken part in the initial game could not be called for questioning, as most had passed away. Graves’ inability to sufficiently provide concrete evidence has led to many criticisms from historians and those who argue that baseball was invented in the U.S., however. In other words, there are some who believed that Graves was fabricating the truth a little.
There has been a lot of criticism for Graves’ story when it comes to Doubleday inventing baseball. For a start, Graves said he witnessed Doubleday invent the game in 1839. However, he would have been just five years old in that year. Some point towards Graves’ anti-English bias as being a motivating factor for pushing for baseball to be declared a game 100% invented in the U.S.
Some also see his spell in an insane asylum in the later stages of his life as being an indication to his ability to tell the truth, which is somewhat harsh. However, the fact that Doubleday had never been in Cooperstown in 1839 is the perhaps the most important point raised when arguing against Graves’ story. For many historians, Doubleday did not invent baseball. In short, the story was a myth.
One of the most important developments in the history of baseball was the development of the Knickerbocker Rules. It is painful to admit that there are many who dispute that these rules were 100% original, however. It just seems that the history of baseball is as confusing as it gets for any sport. Regardless, let us take a look at what these rules entail before we get into that.
For many baseball enthusiasts, the Knickerbocker Rules represented a move towards modernizing baseball. Created in 1845 by the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club’s William R. Wheaton and William H. Tucker, these rules were known as the “New York style” of the game which would become baseball, standing out from other variants and rulesets from other regions of the U.S.
Many baseball historians argue against the rules being an invention of the Knickerbockers, given that they had been used by clubs that were around before the club in question. Gotham Club had rules devised by Wheaton in 1837, for example, which has brought the claim of originality into serious question. One historian, Jeffrey Kittel, claims that only one Knickerbocker rule was original (three-out innings).
The beginnings of baseball as we know it today happened in 1850’s in and around New York. More and more players got involved in baseball, which was now considered a craze by those who had been swept away by its powers. Baseball was already being referred to as the “national pastime” of America, which really speaks volumes for how much it was being played across the United States.
It was in 1857 when sixteen baseball clubs would band together to set up the very first governing body of baseball, known as the National Association of Base Ball Players. The association would have a huge influence on the development of the game, eventually making a move to disallow putouts that could be made by catching a ball on the first bounce.
A few years later, the association inflicted a ban on African Americans playing baseball. With a huge interest in the sport and a buzzing club scene, especially in the New York metropolitan area, baseball was emerging as a viable commercial game. In 1869, the formation of the Cincinnati Red Stockings – the first professional baseball club – was another step towards a major league in baseball.
The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players would be set up in 1871, before being disbanded in 1875. The association to take its place was the more professional sounding National League, just one year later. An abundance of other leagues were set up around this time, only to fail shortly after. This included African American leagues, although some independent teams found success as barnstormers.
It was in 1884 that one of the most important rule changes came into place. Overhand pitching was accepted into baseball laws. This would change the face of how the game would be played forever, and pave the way for the modern game. A few years later, softball – which was then known as indoor baseball – was conceived in order to be played by participants throughout the winter.
By 1893, the vast majority of rules associated with modern baseball were firmly in place. By 1901, the final change to take baseball there was brought into play: counting foul balls as strikes. That same year saw a rivalry to the National League emerge for the very first time, the American League. The American League had derived from the minor Western League and aimed to overtake the National League in terms of popularity.
Both leagues consisted of eight teams and were intent on securing the most talented players playing baseball in America. This led to numerous arguments, disputes, and legal battles between the National League and the American League in the early years of the 20th century. It was clear that there were major changes set to take place in baseball and everyone wanted a piece of the action.
One of the pivotal moments in baseball history came in 1903 when the National Agreement was made. This helped pave the way for a cooperative working relationship between both leagues and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, who looked after the minor leagues. It appeared that there was to be some peace, for once, in baseball. One major idea was also conceived that would last from there on out.
This idea was The World Series, an annual game played between the champions of both major leagues. Although the concept was not yet fully sanctioned by both leagues, the first World Series game went ahead in the fall of 1903. The game was played by the Boston Americans of the American League and the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. Boston would claim the title in the inaugural series.
The following year, there was to be no World Series, following National League kings the New York Giants refusing to recognize the American League and their title holders. However, in 1905, the Giants won the championship and agreed to take on the winner of the American League, who coincidentally was the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Giants won their first World Series that day.
If the World Series proved anything to players, it was that baseball was a sport that attracted big bucks. As such, the early 1900’s saw numerous competitors challenge franchise owners for better pay and for autonomous power. The major league players resorted to strikes, which were typically called off when owners showed no sign of relenting to their threats. After all, who could afford to lose their jobs back then?
Owners of teams had pioneered methods of controlling players, adding contractual stipulations to keep them in line. For example, the reserve clause meant that a player had obligations to their team even when their contract had expired. This led to severe resentment from players across different teams, who were growing fed up at seeing rival players being paid at higher rates than they were. Eventually, something had to give.
In the history of baseball, there has never been anything to come remotely close to the impropriety of the Black Sox Scandal. At the time, this was seen as so shocking that it led to a level of national coverage never seen before in sports. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox plotted to throw the 1919 World Series, helping the infamous gangster. Arnold Rothstein, profit majorly from the result.
The incident is still a black mark on the face of baseball and harmed the reputation of the White Sox for decades to come. All eight men involved in the racket were banned from pro baseball for life by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who was named as the first Commissioner of Baseball in order to bring respect to the game following the incident. The men were publically acquitted, although eternally shamed.
It was not uncommon, as we covered above, for players to protest club owners regarding pay. The White Sox’s owner, Charles Comiskey, was considered a tight-fisted owner and was severely resented by players of the White Sox for his shallow pockets. It was no secret that Comiskey was not willing to pay players even the minimum of what they deserved, despite them being World Series champions in 1917.
Comiskey, who knew that the derided reserve clause in baseball kept players in line, knew that he could do as he pleased. The fact that there was no union for players only helped to grant him with the power to believe that he didn’t have to pay players any more than he wished. Many baseball historians argue that Comiskey was not that bad, however, and that the White Sox were the highest paid team in the league.
Despite this, players were disgruntled and would be open to offers from gambling syndicates to make more money if they wanted to do so. There was a split down the middle at the White Sox, with two groups of players in the team who stuck with their own. The “Clean Sox” were the straighter flying group, while the “Black Sox,” as they would later be called, were anything but straightlaced.
Not all White Sox players approached to throw the World Series actually followed through with it. An initial meeting was held on Sep. 21 at a room in the name of Chick Gandil at the Ansonia Hotel in New York. One player in attendance, Buck Weaver, would not accept money for the fix but was still banned for not reporting the plot to his bosses or anyone else of standing.
Fred McMullin was another player who had an interesting role in the fix. Despite only featuring briefly in the series, McMullin blackmailed the other players involved to pay him, otherwise, he would report the crime. McMullin reportedly heard about the plot from other players, with Bill Burns believed to be one of the men who had passed on knowledge of the plot.
One of the “Clean Sox” players, Red Faber, had allegedly pulled out of the game due to flu. It is widely believed that the pitcher – if he had been involved – would have prevented the fix from happening. Despite Faber’s absence, the plot would still be in place in the days leading up to Game One, which was set to go down on October 1 of that year. However, rumors did begin to spread among gamblers that something wasn’t right.
A massive amount of money was placed on Cincinnati to win the World Series by the time Game One came around. Rumors now began to spread like wildfire and many journalists cooperated to take notes regarding White Sox players who seemed to be a little off form on the day. Eddie Cicotte, pitching for the Sox, threw a strike with his first pitch before throwing the ball at Morrie Rath’s back in the second. The fix was in.
Throughout the next few games, several oddities happened. The gambling syndicate was not paying out for the games thrown, which led to the White Sox playing honest baseball and winning the 6th and 7th games in the series. With Game 8 set to determine the World Series, White Sox lost, and Cincinnati was declared champions. The players in question received somewhere around $5,000, with Gandil claiming $35,000 for his part.
Rumors gathered pace and plagued the team until a formal investigation was launched by the grand jury in Sep. 1920. Eddie Cicotte admitted to his part in the role, which led to the jury suspending seven of the White Sox still in the majors. This would also prevent them from winning the American League pennant in 1920. A decision to implicate five gamblers and eight players was announced the following month.
Those eight players were: Arnold “Chick” Gandil, Eddie Cicotte, Oscar “Happy” Felsch, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Charles “Swede” Risberg, George “Buck” Weaver, and Claude “Lefty” Williams. All eight would eventually be banned from Major League Baseball for life.
Baseball in the 1920’s was defined by a wilier attitude which saw fewer scores with a greater talent in pitching, rather than batting. The legendary Ty Cobb – and his style of “scratching for runs” – was the perfect way of summing up how the offensive attitude of the time was a little savvier than flashy. It was clear that the Major League needed change and it was about to witness something pretty spectacular.
This period is often referred to as the “dead-ball era.” Baseball moved past this often frustrating period by creating an environment designed to help hitters. Ray Chapman, who was hit by a ball in the head and subsequently died, was enough for bosses to change the ball used in the game and to completely ban spitball and roughing up the ball before it was thrown.
Following the end of World War I, the official ball used in the Major Leagues was higher quality and would travel much more when hit. Naturally, this led to a higher run count for hitters. Outfield fences were brought forward, which made it easier to hit home runs, too, which was music to the ears of the vainest hitters in the league. From this point onwards, it was good to be a hitter, that’s for sure.
Perhaps the most famous baseball player of all time would first emerge in this period. Babe Ruth, a worldwide phenom, was sold to the New York Yankees by the Boston Red Sox in 1920. He made the change from pitcher to power-hitter and never looked back. With Ruth in their ranks, the Yankees changed the way the game was to be played forever, becoming the best team in the majors by some distance.
Things did not begin to brightly for Ruth at the Yankees, as he struggled to impose himself at the club. Soon after hitting a tape measure home run on May 1, which sent the ball flying completely out of the grounds, Ruth began to find serious form. He would go on to set a ridiculous number of records and take the Yankees to never before seen heights in Major League Baseball.
That wasn’t the only change to come in the decade, however. Beginning in the late 1920’s, St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey had plans which would become the first “farm system.” Rickey had allotted money to a number of minor league teams in order to reap the benefits of any standout players that happened to come through the ranks in any of them.
This forward thinking led to more advancements in the way baseball was run, which helped to pave the way for another wave of commercial interest and growth, in general. African-Americans formed a new Negro League in 1933 which paved the way for the Negro American League in 1937. Soon enough, more and more African-Americans were enjoying the sport and displaying some serious talent to boot.
In 1939, the U.S. watched on as the European conflict began to gain traction. For most Americans, neutrality was the preferred option. Not long after the end of World War I, it was commonly thought that it was best to avoid a reason to send any more sons of America to the trenches in order to help solve a problem in Europe. Many had preferred to stay out of the conflict, for a number of reasons.
One major reason for many Americans shunning the prospect of joining the war was that the U.S. Army was not large enough to deal with the demands. There was estimated be less than one-quarter of a million active soldiers, with less than 20,000 in the Air Corps. While the Navy was pretty well equipped, in contrast, there was still no reason to be pulled into another war. That was until Pearl Harbor happened. Soon, the draft was brought in and the U.S. Army would have over 2 million active servicemen enlisted. While Major League Baseball was thriving, players would not escape the draft. The first Major Leaguer to join the army was the Philadelphia Phillies’ Hugh Mulcahy, nicknamed “Losing Pitcher” for his poor run of losses at one of the worst teams in the league. For Mulcahy, he was now on to a winner.
The biggest star to be drafted was Hank Greenberg of Detroit, who would later be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Greenberg, known as “Hammering Hank,” had already played in three World Series games and was just two home runs short of Babe Ruth’s record in 1938. It seemed that baseball was set to involuntarily halted until the war was over.
Despite the war raging on, President Roosevelt declared: “I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going” during the war. Roosevelt was keen to keep the nation’s spirits upbeat and had emphasized that, while there may be a dip in talent considering most young men joining the military, there was still a place for baseball, even in wartime.
It was even more important for those in active service to have baseball continuing to be played. All in all, it is believed that more than 500 Major Leaguers were part of the military in World War II. Over 4,000 Minor League players signed up to take on Hitler, which saw a decrease in leagues across the nation from 44 to just 12. There was little doubt that the war had severely affected baseball.
One measure to keep baseball alive in the hearts and minds of Americans was the creation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943. The league would operate until 1954.
The signing of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League represented a seismic shift in the game of baseball. Branch Rickey, the forward-thinking former general manager of the Cardinals, was now at the helm of the Dodgers and looking to make even more progress in the name of the sport. Robinson would start off playing in the minor league in Montreal, but would soon get his big break.
In 1947, Robinson would break the color barrier in the majors when he played his first game for the Dodgers. Not soon after, Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians would also make an impression. It was not just African-Americans that began to contribute to the league, as a high number of Latin Americans began to join the major leagues.
By 1951, Chicago White Sox had Venezuelan and Cuban-born players in Cico Carrasquel and Minnie Miñoso, who would go on to be the first-ever Hispanic All-Stars in Major League Baseball. Over the next couple of decades, more and more players from all backgrounds and ethnicities would slowly join teams in the major leagues and would also have a hand in shaping the future of the sport.
With the birth of television came more exposure to sports as a whole. The problem for baseball was that it now had to compete with other sports, such as football, for attention. The sport did witness a little lull in popularity, mostly due to the breakout of World War II, but was back on its feet in the 1950’s. However, this newfound competition had threatened to severely hit the popularity of “America’s pastime.”
In order to keep baseball popular, something would have to change. For a start, there was an untapped audience west of St. Louis that had no team in the major leagues. In 1958, the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles while the New York Giants would find a new home in San Francisco. Major League Baseball was now on the West Coast, and it was hoped that this would help push the game to the forefront of fans’ minds.
With the American League now with a presence on the West Coast, including the arrival of the Los Angeles Angels expansion team, the season now had 162 games, rather than 154. As a result of the increase in games, Roger Maris was able to break Babe Ruth’s record for single-season home runs, which did draw further attention to the league. In 1961, three more franchises were added to Major League Baseball, with 20 in total.
The sixties saw pitchers begin to establish themselves as the most important players on the field, as they had done during the 1920’s. It was to be short-lived, however, as the strike zone was reduced which also led to the pitcher’s mound height being lowered to 10 inches from 15. This led to some reasonable backfire from some players, but it was judged to be in the best interests of the sport for this to happen.
Other major developments in the 1960’s were both major leagues adding another two expansion teams, which, in turn, led to two divisions for each league. The World Series would now have a post-season playoff system in place. This was seen as a pretty significant change at the time, but one which would help further modernize baseball and lead us to where we are today.
In 1969, St. Louis Cardinals’ Curt Flood took it upon himself to challenge the reserve clause. This led to something of an awakening for players who had felt as though they were being treated unfairly. Rather than try and rig the World Series, however, the first general players’ strike happened three years later, in 1972.The strike affected the new season, delaying it by more than two weeks.
In 1975, the players’ union grew in power, which also led to salaries growing exponentially as a result. The reserve clause was completely written out of the major leagues, which opened up the free agency system that we now know of in modern baseball. It wouldn’t be until 1981 where another work stoppage was experienced, which happened to be at an all-time high attendance rate for MLB games.
With the addition of two more expansion teams in the American League in 1977, baseball was riding on a great crest of popularity and commercial success. The leagues were thriving, to put it simply, and this would carry through the duration of the 1980’s until the early 1990’s.
1994 was set to be a pretty important year for the MLB. There were two new expansion teams added to the leagues, which had led to yet another reorganization of the majors. There was also another surge in the number of home runs that were scored in 1993, which had led to much anticipation for the season ahead.
The 1994 season will always be remembered for one thing, however, and that is the cancellation of the World Series. As we mentioned above, there was only ever one instance when the World Series did not go ahead and that was in 1904. The prospect of no World Series game in 1994 – 90 years later – was unthinkable, and yet, that’s exactly what happened.
Embarrassing. That was the word on most baseball enthusiasts’ lips as the world watched on in disbelief. America also scratched their heads as the Major League Strike of that year abruptly spelled an end to top-quality baseball for a staggering 232 days. For the players, however, it was a battle that just had to be bought. The players of the modern age certainly have a lot owe the men involved in the strike.
Players’ wages would increase astronomically as a result of the players who decided to “stick it to their bosses.” For the average man on the couch, it was difficult to deal with. However, future players would reap the benefits of the strike, earning the option of early retirement, among other perks, thanks to the men of 1994. One of the most famous being Chicago Bulls legend, Michael Jordan, who was playing for the White Sox at the time.
1995 picked up where 1994 had left off, kind of, with a trend in home runs. There was also a feature of non-division-winning wild cards making the post-season. Just a couple of years later, interleague play was brought into the regular-season. In 1998, two players – Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa – cracked the single-season record set by Roger Maris in 1961.
Towards the end of the millennium, another two franchises were added, signifying more change for Major League Baseball. At the turn of the new millennium, it was announced that both the National and American Leagues were no longer entities in the eyes of the law. While both names were maintained for structural reasons, both would join together under the name Major League Baseball. The MLB as we know it was born.
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants would break most major records in the MLB in 2001. Most notably, Bonds smashed the record of single-season home runs, making 73. While Bonds’ achievements were seen as incredible, there was allegedly suspicion that performance-enhancing drugs were behind his efforts. This hit the media the following year and would become a topic of debate.
As there was no penalty for the use of steroids or any other performance enhancers in the MLB until 2004, it was not technically an infraction to be caught doing so. Regardless, Bonds would go on to set the record as the MLB’s leading home run leader of all time. Bonds would also earn a number of other records and achievements in the process. Still, talk of steroid use would plague him throughout his career.
In 2005, six-time All-Star, Jose Canseco, claimed that Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, and Jason Giambi all used steroids. The media attention led to the MLB furthering their drug testing policy and attitude towards drugs in the sport. For Bonds, despite allegations of steroid use, he would be lauded as perhaps the greatest player in the history of baseball.
As the MLB improved their drug-testing policies and general attitude towards performance-enhancing drugs, 2010 was known as the “Year of the Pitcher.” Much like the cycle that has occurred numerous times in major league history, pitchers and hitters tend to enjoy periods where the other dominates. In this case, many believed it was simply down to the ban on such drugs.
It was amazing to see the stats begin to show this at the end of the season. The most striking of these stats was that runs per game were at the lowest they had been in 18 years. To put even more emphasis on how the new drug testing policies had affected players, strikeouts were also higher than they had been in almost 50 years. This represented one of the biggest shifts in baseball that had been seen in some time.
Throughout the 2010’s, baseball also began to grow in countries around the world. While the game had already been established in places such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, and in Central and South America, it was clear that it was growing even further in stature. Even countries like Ireland and Italy began to play baseball at a higher level, indicating that there may be major leagues across the globe, one day.
From disputed origins and myths to the major leagues, there is no doubt that baseball has a rich and fascinating history. While the game has long been considered “America’s pastime,” it has also defied the clean-cut, apple-pie image that has made it such a popular feature across the nation. From gangsters and match-fixing to steroid use and cheating, there have been many characters who have brought baseball back down to earth.
Regardless of the bad days, the game continues to live on, growing stronger and stronger as each year passes. The game which was claimed to be “100% American” all those years ago, is now shared by people of all races, backgrounds, and religions. It is a game so simple in its execution, by so wonderful in its style, and will surely continue to write its own history in the U.S. and around the world, for years to come.
