Baseball At Turn Of Century Essay, Research Paper

Baseball:

The Sport at the Turn of the Century

The legendary athletics of baseball, what a merriment interest and great activity. But, where did it all start? Who came up with this great game? What were the people s names that shaped what we know as baseball today? To name baseball merely a athletics, would be an understatement. The history of this great athletics is about every bit good as the game itself.

Baseball has been supplying witnesss and participants with merriment and exhilaration for more than one hundred and 50 old ages. ( Ritter ) On June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey the first game resembling baseball, as we know it today, was played. The New York Knickerbockers lost to the New York Nine on that twenty-four hours, 23-1. Alexander J. Cartwright, a surveyor and an recreational jock, drew up the regulations for the game to be played by. Abner Doubleday, did non invent baseball. It was Alexander Cartwright, non Abner Doubleday, who foremost laid out the present dimensions of the playing field and established the basic regulations of the game. ( Ritter ) The first Professional baseball squad was the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who toured the state in 1869 and didn & # 8217 ; t lose a individual game all twelvemonth. Baseball began to pull so many fans that in 1876 the National conference was organized-the same National conference that still exists today. ( Ritter, 3 )

The game, although played in 1876, was distinguishable from all other athleticss at the clip. For illustration, hurlers had to throw underhand, the manner they do in playground ball. The hitter had the option to take whether the ball was to be thrown high or low ; it took a humongous nine balls, alternatively of the usual four, to acquire a hitter on base from balls ; and the pitching distance was merely 45 pess to place home base. The regulations were bit by bit changed over the undermentioned 20 old ages, until by about 1900 the game was more or less the same as it is today. In 1884, the hurlers were permitted to throw overhand ; in 1887, the hitter was no longer allowed to bespeak a & # 8220 ; high & # 8221 ; or & # 8220 ; low & # 8221 ; pitch ; by 1889, it took merely four balls to acquire a hitter to a base on balls ; the pitching distance was lengthened to sixty- pess, six inches. ( Ritter )

And since that twenty-four hours in 1846, there have been many great 1s to do up the game baseball such as Ty Cobb, who was born in a little town in Georgia in 1886. He threw right-handed, but batted left-handed. He held his custodies a few inches apart on the chiropteran and learned to bunt or slap line thrust hits exactly where he wanted them. He made topographic point hitting an art. In the summer of 1905, Cobb joined a major conference baseball squad, the Detroit Tigers. On August 9, Ty Cobb registered his first base hit as a member of the Tigers. In the many old ages to follow he added over four thousand more hits. Along with those hits, would come a national repute. ( Koppett106-114, America 61, America203 ) Another participant, who has changed the game, is Jackie Robinson. On April 15, 1947 at two o & # 8217 ; degree Celsiuss

lock that Tuesday afternoon when nine Brooklyn Dodgers sprang out of their dugout to take the field to get down the 1947 baseball season. It was a memorable event in baseball history, so in American history. Undoubtedly, Robinson was a great baseball player. He was National league’s Rookie of the twelvemonth in 1947 and its most valuable participant ( MVP ) in 1949. He won the election in 1962 to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first African- American of all time chosen for that award. ( Ritter, 43-47 ) And possibly the greatest baseball player of all clip was George Herman ( Babe Ruth ) . During the 1920, Ruth’s foremost season as a New York Yankee, he hit.376, non plenty to win the American conference batting title but a figure far beyond what today is registered by major conferences leaders. He besides hit safely in 26 back-to-back games, clubbed 9 three-base hits and 36 doubles, and batted in 137 tallies. Despite his weight of over 215, he stole 14 bases. Most unusually, nevertheless, Ruth slugged 54 place tallies for the season. ( Ritter, 26-31 ) Closest to him in the American League was George Sisler, with 19 home runs, while the National League leader recorded a sum of merely 15. Almost every squad in both conferences registered a entire figure far below the 54 of Babe Ruth entirely. There have been many more gifted and great ball- participants in the game such as Ted Williams, Leo Durocher, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio and all these baseball players have done their portion to form and model the game of Baseball. ( Koppett )

And today, we now have a new coevals of ball- participants like Mark McGwire, who in the 1998 season hit an unprecedented 76 place tallies. Sammie Sosa closely followed him with 70 home runs. This effort in the 1920 s and 30 & # 8217 ; s was impossible. Hiting 15 place tallies was a big undertaking, now participants can hit 15 place tallies by May 15th. Another amazing difference is participants today are gaining infinite 1000000s of dollars, unlike yearss of yesteryear when participants merely made if they were lucky 125,000 dollars.

Besides the equipment has changed some, for case the baseball mitt. Players didn & # 8217 ; t get down have oning baseball mitts until the 1880 & # 8217 ; s. In the beginning, they merely wore a thin piece of leather, covering merely the thenar of the manus. It had five holes cut out, one for each finger. By the 1890 s, nevertheless, the baseball mitts began to look like today & # 8217 ; s baseball baseball mitts. Presents, the baseball mitt is much larger than it used to be, and the ball is non caught in the thenar of the manus but be trapped in the & # 8220 ; pocket & # 8221 ; , between the pollex and fore- finger. Since the mid 1950 & # 8217 ; s, the baseball mitt has become more of a net with which to trap the ball instead than merely a protective covering for manus. ( Ritter )

Baseball provided amusement at the bend of the century and more. Now a national yesteryear clip, it has become a kind of American icon. It is an American icon like apple pie, or Uncle Sam, or the ill-famed Hollywood. This game all started with Alexander Cartwright. Hopefully we will hold many more old ages of this fantastic athletics.