Henry Chadwick, called the father of baseball, its first writer and the inventor of the box score, claimed that American baseball was positively descended from the British game of rounders, which became "town ball" in this country, then baseball. He was an eyewitness to the evolution, having seen rounders played as a boy in England, and rounders, town ball and baseball in this country.
A. G. Spalding, founder of the famous sporting goods house, a fine pitcher himself, and publisher of the "Baseball Guide," claimed that such a theory was nonsense and that baseball was purely an American invention. A committee was appointed to investigate the matter. The findings of the committee - that baseball had been invented in 1839 by Abner Doubleday, a distinguished Civil War General, in Cooperstown, New York - were based wholly upon evidence submitted in a letter written by a man who stated that he had observed the actual invention when he was a schoolboy in Cooperstown.
Many accepted the findings of the committee even though there seemed to be much more evidence to support Chadwick's claim than that of Spalding. To this day, even though numerous baseball authorities have repeatedly poked holes in the Doubleday theory, there are many who still believe this old story. It should be noted that Abner Doubleday himself never made any claims whatever to having had any influence on baseball. He had died years before the findings were published.
By the early 1840s, the baseball games played in this country had been pretty well standardized into "Town Ball," played East of New York, and "the New York Game," played, naturally, in New York. They were alike in many respects but Town Ball was patterned more after the ancient rounders, while the New York Game seems to have been largely taken from cricket. In 1842, the New Yorkers drew up the first diagram of a baseball field and grown men began to take this boys' game seriously and to see in it possibilities for a great sport.
In 1845, the Knickerbocker Baseball Club of New York was formed, the first such organization in history. It was an amateur group with duly elected officers. No professional organization was to appear for twenty-five more years. The Club immediately began drawing up a set of standard rules and making plans for a more satisfactory playing field. Draftsman and surveyor Alexander Cart-wright was given the task of preparing a diagram for a new type of field.
By the following year, Cartwright had prepared the diamond diagram which, except for minor changes, is the baseball field used to this day wherever baseball is played. The Knickerbockers also established uniform rules which set the pattern for present-day ball.
The First Game. - The Knickerbockers then issued challenges to take on all comers and the first baseball game ever played under organized rules took place on June 19, 1846, at Elysian Fields (near Hoboken), New Jersey. "The New York Nine" was the opposing team and they beat the Knicks 23-1 in four innings.
So depressed were the Knickerbockers that they played no more inter-city games until 1851, but limited their play to practice games. After five years of practice, they evidently believed they were ready for another go at the game and took on the "Washington Baseball Club of New York" on June 3, 1851 on the same Elysian Fields.
Both teams were tied at the end of the ninth, but the Knicks got two runs in the tenth to win the game 22-20.
From this small beginning, the great game of baseball has developed into the huge game it is today.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Buying & Breaking In A New Baseball Glove
Buying a New Baseball Glove
When searching for a new baseball glove, there are many factors to consider, such as the feel of the glove, the size of the glove, and your budget. A glove can run you anywhere from $15 to over $200 for a good glove. The quality of the glove is generally the determining factor in the price. The higher quality, the more expensive, and the longer they will probably last. It may be more cost effective in the long run to spend a few extra dollars now. On the other hand, when purchasing a glove for a child, you don't want to invest too much because they may soon grow out of it.
Sizes of baseball gloves depend largely on the age and size of the buyer, the position on the field the buyer will be playing, and the type of game (baseball or softball). A measurement is made from the heel of the glove to the top of the glove on the palm side. This is called the pattern size. Gloves for younger people range from 8" to 12". Grown up's gloves usually fall around twelve to thirteen inches. According to rule 1.14, a professional baseball players glove can be no more than twelve inches long and eight inches wide.
The feel of the glove is the most important part of purchasing a baseball glove. You may spend a hundred and seventy five dollars on a glove, only to have it give you a nasty little blister between two of your fingers. Make sure the glove is comfortable, and that there aren't any spots where the glove rubs excessively on your hand. Be sure that it isn't too loose though it needs to be able to stay on your hand.
Breaking That New Glove In
If you asked a team full of baseball players how they prefer to break in there gloves, you would most likely get a different answer from every single one of them. There are many ways to break in a glove, from the old tradition of leaving it under your mattress for a few days, to actually baking it. Some people even prefer to let the break in from play. There two things to improve upon when breaking a glove in: the softness of the leather, and the shape of the pocket. Some of the various ways to soften the leather are using oils and lotions, such as Vaseline, saddle soap, glove manufacturer's oils, tanners glove oil, and a Hot Glove treatment. A hot glove treatment is where you put a special foam on the glove and bake it for about four minutes in your oven. Though some people swear by this method of softening your glove, there are others who say it puts the integrity of the glove at risk. When breaking in your glove, don't use extra oil or soap to help it soften quicker, it won't help, instead it will make the leather deteriorate faster.
Of course, the most popular method of forming your gloves pocket is to play catch, or sitting on the back porch tossing a baseball into the pocket of your baseball glove. Another excellent way to form the pocket of your new glove is to take a baseball, place it in the pocket of the glove, and tie it shut. Also, you can just take a trip to your closest batting cage and catch balls from the machine to help form the pocket. This constant catching also helps to soften the leather of your baseball glove quite a bit.
When searching for a new baseball glove, there are many factors to consider, such as the feel of the glove, the size of the glove, and your budget. A glove can run you anywhere from $15 to over $200 for a good glove. The quality of the glove is generally the determining factor in the price. The higher quality, the more expensive, and the longer they will probably last. It may be more cost effective in the long run to spend a few extra dollars now. On the other hand, when purchasing a glove for a child, you don't want to invest too much because they may soon grow out of it.
Sizes of baseball gloves depend largely on the age and size of the buyer, the position on the field the buyer will be playing, and the type of game (baseball or softball). A measurement is made from the heel of the glove to the top of the glove on the palm side. This is called the pattern size. Gloves for younger people range from 8" to 12". Grown up's gloves usually fall around twelve to thirteen inches. According to rule 1.14, a professional baseball players glove can be no more than twelve inches long and eight inches wide.
The feel of the glove is the most important part of purchasing a baseball glove. You may spend a hundred and seventy five dollars on a glove, only to have it give you a nasty little blister between two of your fingers. Make sure the glove is comfortable, and that there aren't any spots where the glove rubs excessively on your hand. Be sure that it isn't too loose though it needs to be able to stay on your hand.
Breaking That New Glove In
If you asked a team full of baseball players how they prefer to break in there gloves, you would most likely get a different answer from every single one of them. There are many ways to break in a glove, from the old tradition of leaving it under your mattress for a few days, to actually baking it. Some people even prefer to let the break in from play. There two things to improve upon when breaking a glove in: the softness of the leather, and the shape of the pocket. Some of the various ways to soften the leather are using oils and lotions, such as Vaseline, saddle soap, glove manufacturer's oils, tanners glove oil, and a Hot Glove treatment. A hot glove treatment is where you put a special foam on the glove and bake it for about four minutes in your oven. Though some people swear by this method of softening your glove, there are others who say it puts the integrity of the glove at risk. When breaking in your glove, don't use extra oil or soap to help it soften quicker, it won't help, instead it will make the leather deteriorate faster.
Of course, the most popular method of forming your gloves pocket is to play catch, or sitting on the back porch tossing a baseball into the pocket of your baseball glove. Another excellent way to form the pocket of your new glove is to take a baseball, place it in the pocket of the glove, and tie it shut. Also, you can just take a trip to your closest batting cage and catch balls from the machine to help form the pocket. This constant catching also helps to soften the leather of your baseball glove quite a bit.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Baseball In Japan - The Other Major League
Just as baseball is popular in the United States, so it is in Japan. In fact, it has already started to turn towards becoming the premiere sport in the country, being by far, the one with the most fans in Japan.
Baseball was brought to Japan by Horace Wilson in 1872. Yakyu, is how baseball is known in Japan. In 1878, the first formal Japanese team was established. This team was called the Shimbashi Athletic Club formed by Hiroshi Hiraoka and his co-workers at Japan's national railways.
In 1896, a team from the Tokyo University defeated an American team from the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club with a score of 29 to 4. That game was the first international baseball game in Asia. Since then, the sport has remained popular among the Japanese.
Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan's highest level of professional baseball association, is the Japanese equivalent of the United States' Major League Baseball (MLB). It also has 2 leagues, namely, the Pacific and the Central Leagues. The two leagues have 6 teams each.
Much like the Major League, only one of the two leagues use the designated hitter style of play, the Pacific League. Japan's baseball season is eight months long. Unlike the Major League though, Nippon Professional Baseball teams get their names from the names of their owners and not where they are based. All Japanese teams are owned by corporations.
The rules of the Nippon League are the same as that of the Major League in the U.S. except that the former allows tied games. Likewise, some technical elements in Nippon Professional Baseball are different, i.e., the strike zone, baseball and field used are smaller than that of the Major League. Moreover, the Japanese baseball is harder and is wound tightly.
Five of the Nippon teams have undersized home playing fields. With regards to their strike zone, it is narrower inside than away from the batter. Foreign players are allowed but there can not be more than four per team.
Japan's love for the sport of baseball must have been what led many Japanese players to try out for the Major Leagues in the United States. In fact, there are now a total of 37 Japanese players who have played Major League Baseball between 1964 and 2008. This number does not include players with American parents but who were born in Japan or players with Japanese blood but grew up in the U.S.
Although not the first, Hideo Nomo was a Japanese player that became very successful in his baseball career in the Major League. His success was said to have set a trend among Japanese players entering Major League Baseball. Other famous Japanese players in the MLB are Kosuke Fukudome, Hedeki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito and Kazuhiro Sasaki, among others.
To prove Japan's competitive spirit in the field of baseball, just last month, in a game played over two continents, Japan emerged to become the champion of the World Baseball Classic. They fought Cuba in the finals with a score of 10-6 making them world champions in baseball. With this new title to further boost their love for the sport, expect to see more of them in the future.
Baseball was brought to Japan by Horace Wilson in 1872. Yakyu, is how baseball is known in Japan. In 1878, the first formal Japanese team was established. This team was called the Shimbashi Athletic Club formed by Hiroshi Hiraoka and his co-workers at Japan's national railways.
In 1896, a team from the Tokyo University defeated an American team from the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club with a score of 29 to 4. That game was the first international baseball game in Asia. Since then, the sport has remained popular among the Japanese.
Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan's highest level of professional baseball association, is the Japanese equivalent of the United States' Major League Baseball (MLB). It also has 2 leagues, namely, the Pacific and the Central Leagues. The two leagues have 6 teams each.
Much like the Major League, only one of the two leagues use the designated hitter style of play, the Pacific League. Japan's baseball season is eight months long. Unlike the Major League though, Nippon Professional Baseball teams get their names from the names of their owners and not where they are based. All Japanese teams are owned by corporations.
The rules of the Nippon League are the same as that of the Major League in the U.S. except that the former allows tied games. Likewise, some technical elements in Nippon Professional Baseball are different, i.e., the strike zone, baseball and field used are smaller than that of the Major League. Moreover, the Japanese baseball is harder and is wound tightly.
Five of the Nippon teams have undersized home playing fields. With regards to their strike zone, it is narrower inside than away from the batter. Foreign players are allowed but there can not be more than four per team.
Japan's love for the sport of baseball must have been what led many Japanese players to try out for the Major Leagues in the United States. In fact, there are now a total of 37 Japanese players who have played Major League Baseball between 1964 and 2008. This number does not include players with American parents but who were born in Japan or players with Japanese blood but grew up in the U.S.
Although not the first, Hideo Nomo was a Japanese player that became very successful in his baseball career in the Major League. His success was said to have set a trend among Japanese players entering Major League Baseball. Other famous Japanese players in the MLB are Kosuke Fukudome, Hedeki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito and Kazuhiro Sasaki, among others.
To prove Japan's competitive spirit in the field of baseball, just last month, in a game played over two continents, Japan emerged to become the champion of the World Baseball Classic. They fought Cuba in the finals with a score of 10-6 making them world champions in baseball. With this new title to further boost their love for the sport, expect to see more of them in the future.
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