History of Baseball

Baseball is a simple game that has captivated the minds of millions of people throughout the years. It is a sport so diverse and unpredictable that you can never completely know what will happen. “I don’t care how long you’ve been around; you’ve never seen it all” Bob Lemon. Even if you aren’t playing, its still fun just being at a baseball game. The history of this great game is just about as interesting as the game itself. Although its actual origins may be unknown there is no doubt that baseball is the great American pastime.

Going to a baseball game used to be a great family affair. Nothing was better then spending an afternoon at the ballpark watching your favorite team. Now-a-days, doubleheaders are only played when there is a rain out, but back in the old days of baseball, doubleheaders were quite frequent. They were popular among fans, because you got to watch two games, for the price of one. These were less popular among players, especially catchers. Despite this semi-unpopularity, some players still enjoyed playing two games in a day. One example of this is Ernie Banks, who was famous for showing up at the ball park on nice days and saying “Let’s play two”. (Ernie Banks)

Games that have been played by using a ball, stick and some sort of base have been played for centuries. These games are not to be confused with club games such as hockey or golf, though. Examples of these can be the English games of cricket and rounders, which many people believe to be the direct ancestors of baseball. Due to the variety of these games and where they are played, the exact origins of baseball are still unknown to this day.

Baseball’s closest relatives seem to be the English and Irish games of cricket and rounders. The differences between these three games are noticeable, but that basic concepts of these games are obviously linked. In all three, a player attempts to throw a ball past another player. The second player in all three cases tries to “bat” it away. When comparing baseball and cricket, that’s where the main similarities end, but when speaking of rounders, both involve a player attempting to run around four bases, much like in baseball.

Rounders is thought by many people to be the main ancestor of baseball. There are multiple similarities that are so apparent that to someone new to both games might have a tough time discerning between the two. One of the more obvious differences is that in rounders the pitcher, or bowler as it is known, throws with a motion similar to that used in softball. The basics seem to be the same though, with the game consisting of nine innings in which teams rotate fielding and hitting. This is just one of the supposed origins of baseball. (Dehkan)

The game or baseball, as we know it now was “invented” by Alexander Cartwright. He wrote down the first rules and his club, the New York Knickerbockers played in the first official baseball game. Although this was baseball, the teams that played were purely voluntary and there was no salary issued. The first paid baseball team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who later joined other teams to form the National League. As more teams began to develop throughout the country, another group of teams came together to form the American League. There are no rule differences between the two teams, except that pitchers don’t hit in the American League, they get a special player that doesn’t play in the field, but still bats. This rule is known as the designated hitter. The best team from the American League, and the best team from the National League come together at the end of the season and play in the World Series, to determine the best team.

The game of baseball as we know it today was once played much differently. Over the past few decades, there has been an explosion of power in baseball. Coincidentally, there have also been a handful of great players that have been caught using performance enhancing drugs. As a result of this, this time in baseball has become known as the steroid era. But if you go back about fifty to sixty years ago, all the way back to the beginning of baseball you will see that there was much more emphasis on speed. There was also much more strategy to the game, with managers using more hit and run plays, sacrifice bunts, or even the suicide squeeze play. This dangerous play is used mostly in low scoring games. It is used when there is less then two outs, and a runner on third base. The batter attempts to bunt the ball while the runner attempts to steal home plate.

Steroids in baseball have ruined the game for many people. After Mark McGwire hit seventy home runs in 1998 he was a hero to many people across the nation. His reputation has been ruined due to the rumors of steroids and his admission to using performance enhancing drugs. McGwire is only one on a long list of confirmed or suspected steroid users in baseball. Other greats include Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Jose Canseco, or even the great pitcher Roger Clemens.

To some, Major League Baseball’s steroid policy seems to be strict, and to others too lenient. Under the new policy a first offense can bring about a 50 day suspension to the guilty player. A second offense can bring a 100 day suspension, and a third positive test results in a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball. Because player is yet to commit a second offense under the new system, many experts think that it is finally getting through to players that using steroids is cheating and that there are consequences.

Before the time of steroids, baseball was a purer, simpler game. There was much more emphasis on speed and strategy. In today’s game, it seems that the most beloved and famous players seem to be the ones that hit the homeruns. Back in the dead ball era, a time when pitchers dominated the game, the most envied players where those who left it all on the field. It seems that Ty Cobb put it best, “The great trouble with baseball today is that most of the players are in the game for the money and that’s it, not for the love of it, the excitement of it, the thrill of it.” (Ty Cobb) When players didn’t play for money, they played for the love of the game, and for their fans.

One of the greatest moments in baseball was when the color barrier was finally broken and Jackie Robinson broke through with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Before this, baseball was considered to be an all-white higher class gentlemen’s club. Jackie paved way for other African-Americans to break from the disintegrating Negro League into the prosperous Major Leagues. His impact was so big, that baseball’s commissioner, Bud Selig, has retired his number, 42, from all of baseball. “There is no room in baseball for discrimination. It is our national pastime and a game for all.” (Lou Gehrig)

Baseball was less entertaining when it was white-only then it is today. When the color barrier was broken, it opened up opportunities for so many young talented black and Latino players. If you look around baseball today, many of the up coming and already established stars aren’t white. Now that anyone could play, baseball was truly the American Pastime.

Although steroids and other recent activity have recently had a negative affect on baseball, it is still a game of passion and excitement that is shared by thousands of fans. Through this distinct excitement, baseball has made its way into the hearts of many Americans and become our America has made its own. Whether you are a hardcore fan that attends nearly every game in the season, or the casual fan that goes to a few games a year you still feel the passion for each game, the great feeling when your team wins, and heart broken when they lose. Baseball is made by the hard-working players, and the die hard fans.