Since the beginning of baseball, each ball that has ever been made has exactly one hundred and eight stitches on them (“How Many Stitches Does a Baseball Have”). Baseball is without a doubt the most frustrating and challenging sport there is today. In the words of former Major League player and manager, Leo Durocher, “Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand” (“Leo Durocher Quote”). This sheds just a little bit of light on just how difficult this game is to understand. The question is often asked of Major League Baseball, “Is it really just a game?” To fully understand, one must look beyond the playing aspect of baseball to the side that no one else pays much attention to. Furthermore, before one can understand that, they …show more content…
To this day, many of the things that are still present in the game were also used back then; things like pitching and batting were very similar between …show more content…
The Knickerbocker Club, which was the first organized baseball team, made the first official rules for the game of baseball in New York, 1837 (“The Evolution of Baseball”). Some of the rules they made are still used today but as with anything, over time, things change. Since the first official rules in 1837, many new rules have since been added. For example, in 1857, the length of baseball contests was changed to nine innings. In 1858, called strikes were introduced. In 1887, if batters were hit by a pitch, they were awarded first base. In 1889, if a pitcher threw four balls, the batter got a base on balls or a walk. In 1893, this is more of a regulation, the pitching distance between the mound and home plate was set at sixty feet and six inches, and another critical rule addition was in 1971 when it became required for batters to wear helmets when batting to avoid head injuries (“Baseball Rule Change Timeline”). For years, these rules have remained the same but the majority of these rules became disputable in 2008. In 2008, the MLB added in instant replay which allows teams to challenge a call made by the umpire to try and get it changed (“Baseball Rule Change Timeline”). This is without a doubt the biggest rule change in baseball history because now calls that are made are not