The History of Baseball and How Baseball Evolved?

Baseball is of the most entertaining games of the USA. In USA, people choose baseball over cricket and it is their national games too. Have you ever thought or read about the history of baseball?

When baseball was invented, it was a basic bat and ball game which had some similarity with different types of sports related to French manuscript. Some of the related French games are la Soule, la bslle au baton and theque. Baseball originated in England, initially it was known as a round game which was another regional variant. It came from stool ball and tut-ball, the two English games. In a book the triangular field of baseball is described in a rhythmic manner. Baseball was then called bass-ball and bases were known as grounds.

In 1749, the first game was recorded by David Block in Surrey, featuring the Prince of Wales. Then, in 1755, the next game was recorded by a lawyer named William Bray on the day of Easter in Guildford, Surrey. This game was brought down by English immigrants to Canada. In 1791 in Pitts field, Massachusetts, Baseball was referred to the Americans.

Gradually, it gained popularity as a pastime. People started playing bat and ball games in different parts of North America and were known as the town-ball, round ball or baseball in different parts of the country. The games played there was very similar to the baseball game, but its difference lay in its rule. There were five bases; the batter was considered to be out when a hit ball was caught after the first bounce and first bye was declared at 18 feet from the home bye. Initially, it was said that the inverter of baseball was Abner Doubleday in 1839 in Cooperstown, New York.

Abner Doubleday is considered as a Civil War hero and he hasn’t claimed to have done anything with baseball. In 1907 the original story came up. The main founder of the baseball game is Alexander Cartwright.

Knickerbocker Rules were drawn by Alexander Cartwright in 1845. He was the one of the members of the Knickerbocker Club, which is in New York City. According to the rules, players should use as well as hard bat and ball. On June 19, 1846, the first official baseball game was held in U.S. in Hoboken, New Jersey between New York Nine and Knickerbocker. In his match Knickerbocker was defeated by New York Nine by 23-1, in four innings.

It was during the mid 1850s when the craze to play baseball hit the New York area. It was declared the national game or pastime in 1856. After the declaration, within one year there were 16 local clubs who came together to form the National Association of Base Ball Players.

The first baseball game to charge admission took place in Corona, Queens New York. The participants of the game were Brooklyn and New York. All the best teams like Brooklyn Atlantics, Putnam, Eckford of Brooklyn, Excelsior of Brooklyn, New York Knickerbockers, Eagles and empires and Gotham.

Slowly and steadily baseball game was gaining popularity and soon for the first time a professional club was declared in 1869 which was the Cincinnati Red Stockings. It was such a powerful team that none of the amateur teams could defeat them. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players held their ever first professional league in 1871 which lasted till 1875.

In 1876, a senior circuit league known as National League was formed which had a formal structure. It is the oldest association which is still alive. In between this period, many leagues were formed and they even collapsed. Some of the associations are American Association, Negro Leagues, and Western League. In 1903, the National Agreement for peace was signed between the two different leagues. New York Giants won the national league championship, which led to the establishment of the World Series as an annual championship event.

Players frequently raised their problems with the owners regarding equal income distribution and control issues, but they were bound by the different clauses of the agreement they signed with the clubs they belong to. When the Black Sox Scandal took place it led to the establishment of a new national commission to draw the two leagues closer. In 1920, Kennesaw Mountain Landis was elected as the first major league baseball commissioner. Negro League was also formed which was in operation till 1931 and it was merged with Eastern Colored League.

As baseball became the national game of U.S.A it was also included in the Olympics in 1992 games. It was quite a surprise when Australia won a silver medal in Olympics 2004. The different competitions in baseball games are Baseball World Cup and Olympic Baseball Tournament. It is administered by the International Baseball Federation and is now merged with International Softball Federations.

It was eliminated from the Olympics in 2012 as it couldn’t get a majority of the votes in its favor. Though it was a part of the 2008 Olympics still it could not receive that much votes to include it again in the Olympic Games. In 2016 Summer Olympics, baseball was trying to get a spot but failed in that attempt.

With the rules, formulate by Alexander Cartwright are tough which makes the game tough and difficult. Right now there are 30 teams with two conferences and five divisions. There are nine players and a substitution in each team fighting for the title of becoming world champion. In a team, there is a pitcher, a batter and fielders and the length of the game is of 9 innings.

The size of the bat and ball are decided by the association. It is fixed for all the games. People don’t get time to stay fit or relax during weekdays so; you should try to play baseball to relax yourself from the pressure of a hectic schedule.

This was all about the evolution of baseball. If you want to suggest anything or add few more points about the history of baseball do write below in the comment box.