Alexander Joy Cartwright: A Very Brief History Of Baseball

History of Baseball

Baseball is thought to have originated as a game called “rounders” in England and gained popularity in the United States in the early 1900s. It has gone by many names in the past, including “town ball,” “goal ball,” round ball,” and simply “base.” In September 1845, a group of New York City men founded the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club and wrote the first recorded rules. One of them, Alexander Joy Cartwright, would codify a new set of rules that would form the basis for modern baseball, calling for a diamond-shaped infield, foul lines and the three-strike rule. He also abolished the dangerous practice of tagging runners by throwing balls at them. Cartwright’s changes made the improving pastime faster-paced and more

Babe dominated the game, amassing numbers that had never been seen before. He changed baseball from a grind it out style to one of power and high scoring games. In 1920, he bested the homerun record he set in 1919 by belting a staggering 54 homeruns, a season in which no other player hit more than 19 and only one team hit more than Babe did individually. Babe was officially a superstar and enjoyed a popularity never seen before in professional baseball. With Babe leading the way, the Yankees became the most recognizable and dominant team in baseball, setting attendance records along the way. When the Yankees moved to a new stadium in 1923, it was appropriately dubbed “The House that Ruth Built”. During his time with the Yankees, Babe ignited the greatest dynasty in all of American sport. Prior to his arrival, the Yankees had never won a title of any kind. After joining the Yankees prior to the 1920 season, Babe helped the Yankees capture seven pennants and four World Series titles. Upon retiring from the Boston Braves in 1935, Babe held an astonishing 56 major league records at the time, including the most revered record in baseball... 714 homeruns. On June 13, 1948, his jersey number “3” was retired by the Yankees during his last appearance at Yankee Stadium. Babe lost his battle with cancer on August 16, 1948. His funeral was two days later at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.

The fielding team’s positions are made up of a pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman then three outfielders at left field, centre field and right field.

Games last for 9 innings of which both teams get to bat once. If the game is a tie after 9 innings then extra innings will be added until a winner is found. If the team batting second in the bottom of the 9th innings are already ahead on points then they do not need to complete their batting innings.

Once a batting order is picked then it cannot be changed throughout the game. Substitutes are permitted but they must bat where the previous player was batting.

If the batter manages to hit the ball from the pitcher then they must make an effort to at least get to first base. They can then run to as many bases as they wish before being tagged out. Each base must be touched with some part of the batters body when running past.

A batter gets up to three strikes before given out. A strike is deemed when a batter swings for a ball and misses it. The batter can leave the ball but if it’s within a certain area called the strike zone then a strike will also be given. If four balls miss the strike zone and the batter does not swing their bat then they can walk to first