BASEBALL
SEPTEMBER 4, 2021
Origin Of American Baseball
The origin of American baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games played in England by the mid 18th century. The modern version developed in North America brought by immigrants.
The real history of baseball is a bit complicated and remain uncertain. Since ancient Egypt people have used bats to hit balls and in Europe bat and ball games were common.
Baseball was recognized as the national sport of the United States by the late 19th century. In 1744, a game called rounders in England is referenced in the children’s book A Little Pretty Pocket-Book where it was called Baseball. This is now one common theory of baseball origins though it is more likely that both rounders and baseball have at least some origins in the cricket.
It is believed for a long time that the first team to play baseball under modern rules was the New York Knickerbockers. Alexander Cartwright, the team founder and his committee would create what is called the Knickerbocker Rules in 1845. These rules are dealing with organizational matters as well outlining rules of the game.
The first known competitive baseball game between two teams using these rules was played at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 19th 1846. The New York nine defeated the Knickerbockers 23 to 1 and the new rules adopted across the New York area.
In 1857, sixteen teams around the New York area would form the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP). Conflict between professional and amateur ballplayers happened in 1970 and the NABBP would split into two groups : an amateur league and a professional one. In 1871 the first pro league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was founded and five years later National League was created followed by the American League in 1901.
The first World Series between the champions of the two major leagues was held in 1903 and became an annual event by 1905.
By 1877 professional baseball leagues featured teams from Canada and the sport spread to other countries in the 1800’s and 1900’s. From 1992 to 2008 it was played in the Olympics as a medal sport. The Baseball World Cup and the World Baseball Classic are other competitions between national teams, first held in 2006.
Great baseball players like Babe Ruth revolutionized the game with his prowess at hitting the home runs. It is largely due to sportsmen like Babe Ruth that baseball achieved the popularity levels that it did. And not just that, it also helped in improving the money in the game.
Throughout the last part of the 20th century, baseball became a game of strategy and hitting . However, pitching and home run hitting are the baseball benchmarks of today. The supremacy of the National and American leagues still rule the game till date.
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