Essay on The History of Baseball

The MLB didn’t start until 1876 with the National league and then they brought in the American league in 1901. The first World Series was held in 1903 with the Boston Americans beating the Pittsburg pirates 5-3. Baseball hasn’t always been glorified as it was though. It experienced rough times in the 1940’s when African Americans weren’t allowed to play in the major league but thanks to Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby, they eliminated the racial discrimination in baseball and outside the baseball world. Baseball has also experienced rough times during the WWII and Vietnam era. During the time of war, players would go and serve in the military and baseball would have to replace them with less talented players. But Upon return, baseball returned to its once prestige self.

The Victory Season: The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball’s Golden Age written by Robert Weintraub is focused on the 1946 Major League Baseball season after World War II when “America was ready to heal.” During the war, parks were empty, the balls were made with fake rubber, and all of America’s favorite players were serving in the war. When players returned, they exchanged their military uniforms for baseball uniforms and the sport of baseball quickly became a key tool which helped many American’s return to their normal, everyday lives. Parks began to fill up again and a new era of baseball was born. Although so many soldiers returning at once did cause some issues, the National League was very competitive and many thrived on it. Weintraub discusses many events considered to be baseball’s best times including: the difficult, yet rewarding transition of baseball players from military service to the major leagues, The Brooklyn Dodgers breaking the racial segregation in the league by signing a black man, Jackie Robinson, the introduction of the Mexican League, in which American players signed with to receive higher salaries, and the 1946 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals, where the Cardinals defeated the Sox in the seven game series. Weintraub strongly focuses

However, that could not have been more false when the lost the first game 9-1. It was a humiliating defeat, but exactly what the players, and gamblers wanted to see. Game two did not fare any better for White Sox fans when their hometown boys lost 4-2. Game three gave hope when the Sox won 3-0 against the Reds to put the eight game series at 2 games to 1. The Sox went on to lose games four and five. However, even though the Sox were throwing the series, they were not getting paid. The gamblers had not honored their agreement. This sparked the White Sox, who in turn went back to their winning ways. The Sox humiliated the Reds by winning games six and seven in a no contest finish. The Sox were feeling good about the series when their actions began to harm them. The players started receiving threats from the gamblers that they would harm their families if they did not lose game eight. The 1919 White Sox lost game eight, giving the Reds their first World Series title in franchise history. The scandal however, did not end

The 1919 White Sox--the White Sox of Eddie Collins, Eddie Cicotte, Dickie Kerr, Ray Schalk, Buck Weaver and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson--are considered by baseball historians to be one of the greatest teams ever to take the field (Solomon). The “Black” Sox were the major favorites of the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Chicago had the better pitching, the better hitting, and the better fielding, but they somehow lost. The “Black” Sox lost in eight games, back in 1919 the only playoff series they was the World series so they played a max of nine games. A few months after the Reds won the World Series, on December fifteenth, 1919, “The New York World published an explosive article by Hugh Fullerton suggesting the the World Series was fixed” (Linder).

In 1914, after a long run of mediocrity, the team turned around their last place standing by going 41-12 from July through September. They swept the Philadelphia A's in the World Series for the first

The LA Dodgers were found on 1883 in Brooklyn , New York. The LA Dodgers with their history of different names like the Brooklyn Bridegrooms because seven players got married in the same season on 1888, Trolley Dodgers was another name they were given because of all the Trolley cars that weaved through Brooklyn, New York. In 1890, the Dodgers transferred from the American Association to National League. In the 1900 , the Brooklyn Dodgers went under manager Ned Hanlon. In 1901 , the Dodgers went into Third place and finished Second place in 1902. Jimmy Shekard was the Dodgers first home run champion and Zach Wheat was another great player. The Longest game in Dodger History was on the First of May in 1920. On 1925, the Dodger's President

The Sox were an unhappy team, and they fought often. The World Series in 1919 was the first national championship game after the war, and baseball was back to normal. Many gamblers were present at professional baseball games, and players frequently gambled with them. Some even threw single games to gather cash.

Although research fails to indicate the first credible sports team represented by a Native American word, the first recorded teams were the MLB’s Atlanta Braves in 1912, and the MLB’s Cleveland Indians in 1915. Originally the Boston Red Stockings in the 1870s, the team changed their name in 1912 as a desperate hope to emerge from three consecutive 100-loss seasons. At the suggestion of the team’s president, the team adopted the title of the Braves. The name was selected because the club's new owner was a member of a political organization in Tammany Hall, a New

The team acquired nine league titles, and three Negro League World Series titles. The team’s final season was in 1950 (“Baseball History”).

The Yankees faced The Giants in the 1922 World Series. The Yankees lost in five games. In 1923, it was the first time playing at Yankee Stadium. On April 18, 1923 Ruth hit the first ever homerun at Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox. Babe Ruth was the only person to win the American League Most Valuable Player award in his career. In 1923 The Yankees played The Giants again. Babe Ruth hit three homeruns in the six game series.

The cause of the World Series is that people wanted to play pro baseball. The Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first pro baseball team. They formed a team around the late 1890’s.Since there were pro teams sprouting everywhere, some baseball officials met. They had people join leagues which had rules, schedules and contracts. By the 1890’s, there were two major baseball leagues. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, and their rival , The American Association of Baseball Clubs. The AA (American Association) folded in and took its place. The first World Series was the Cincinnati Red Stockings V.S the Chicago White Stockings. Cinnati was from AA and the Whites from NLBC ( National League of Baseball Clubs). Before the game, some

    The Dodgers share a strong rivelry with the San Francisco Giants, the oldest rivelry in baseball, going all the way back to when both teams were in new york. Both teams moved west for the 1958 season. the Brooklyn and Los Angeles dodgers have appeared in the world series 18 times. while the new york and san Francisco giants have appeared in 20. the dodgers have won 21 national leauge titles; while the Giants hold the record with

In an big effort to end a bitter rivalry and promote unity in baseball, National League and newly established American League decided to come together for a new kind of season finale. Nine years earlier, the two top teams in the National League competed in an post-season championship in which Boston defeated Pittsburgh five games to three. In 1903, both teams found themselves competing against one another in the first official "World Series". Pittsburgh's Barney Dreyfuss and Boston's Henry Killilea agreed that their ball clubs, who were both pennant winners, should meet in a best-of-nine playoff series for the "World Championship."

rules changed over time such as the length of the game change to nine innings and the distance from the pitchers found to home

Baseball is a game of skill that is played with a hard ball and a bat between two teams of nine players each at a time on the playing field at once. Although many different people play Baseball all over the world it is most popular in the United States. It is so popular in fact, it is referred to as the national pastime of the United States because of the tradition and popularity associated with the game. Baseball consists of many complicated rules. It also has a very elaborate history. One can not fully understand the game America has grown to love until learning about not only the rules but also the history.