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The History of baseball in the United States can be traced to the 18th century, when amateurs played a baseball-like game by their own informal rules using improvised equipment. The popularity of the sport inspired the semi and fully professional baseball clubs in the 1860s. By the following decade, American newspapers were referring to baseball as the "National Pastime" or the "National Game." The first attempt at forming a "major league" produced the National Association, which lasted from 1871 to 1875. In response to the shortcomings of the National Association, the current National League was formed in 1876. After a series of rival leagues were organized but failed, the current American league, evolving from the minor Western League of 1893, was established in 1901.
In the early part of the 20th century, known as the "dead-ball era," baseball rules and equipment favored the "inside game" and the game was played more violently and aggressively than it is today. This period ended in the 1920s with several changes that gave advantages to hitters. In the largest parks, the outfield fences were brought closer to the infield. In addition, the strict enforcement of new rules governing the size, shape and construction of the ball caused it to travel farther when hit.
The first professional black baseball club, the Cuban Giants, was organized in 1885. Subsequent professional black baseball clubs played each other independently, without an official league to organize the sport. Rube Foster, a former ballplayer with a gift for organization, founded the Negro National League in 1920. A second league, the Eastern Colored League, was established in 1923. These became known as the Negro Leagues. The Negro National League did well until 1930, but folded during the great depression.
From 1942 to 1948 the Negro League World Series was revived. This was the golden era of Negro League baseball, a time when it produced some of its greatest stars. In 1947, Jackie Robinson signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the color barrier that had prevented talented African American players from entering the white-only major leagues. Although the transformation was not instantaneous, baseball has since become fully integrated. In 1948, the Negro Leagues faced financial difficulties that effectively ended their existence.
Pitchers dominated the game in the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1973 the designated hitter (DH) rule was adopted by the American League, while in the National League pitchers still bat for themselves to this day. The DH rule now constitutes the primary difference between the two leagues. During the late 1960s, the Baseball Players Union became much stronger and conflicts between owners and the players' union led to major work stoppages in 1972, 1981, and 1994. The 1994 baseball strike led to the cancellation of the World Series, and was not settled until the spring of 1995. In the wake of the 1994 players' strike, functions that had been administered separately by the two major leagues' administrations were united under the rubric of Major League Baseball.
At this time the games tended to be low scoring, dominated by such legendary pitchers as Walter "The Big Train" Johnson, Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, and Grover Cleveland Alexander to the extent that the period 1900–1919 is commonly called the "dead ball era". The term also accurately describes the condition of the baseball itself. Baseballs cost three dollars apiece, a hefty sum at the time, equaling approximately 65 inflation adjusted US dollars as of 2005; club owners were therefore reluctant to spend much money on new balls if not necessary. It was not unusual for a single baseball to last an entire game. By the end of the game, the ball would be dark with grass, mud, and tobacco juice, and it would be misshapen and lumpy from contact with the bat. Balls were only replaced if they were hit into the crowd and lost, and many clubs employed security guards expressly for the purpose of retrieving balls hit into the stands—a practice unthinkable today.
As a consequence, home runs were rare, and the "inside game" dominated—singles, bunts, stolen bases, the hit-and-run play, and other tactics dominated the strategies of the time.
Despite this, there were also several superstar hitters, the most famous being Honus Wagner, held to be one of the greatest shortstops to ever play the game, and Detroit's Ty Cobb, the "Georgia Peach". Cobb was a mean-spirited man, fiercely competitive and loathed by many of his fellow professionals, but his career batting average of .366 has yet to be bested.
The 1908 pennant races in both the AL and NL were among the most exciting ever witnessed. The conclusion of the National League season, in particular, involved a bizarre chain of events, often referred to as the Merkle Boner. On September 23, 1908, the New York Giants and Chicago Cubs played a game in the Polo Grounds. Nineteen-year-old rookie first baseman Fred Merkle, later to become one of the best players at his position in the league, was on first base, with teammate Moose McCormick on third with two out and the game tied. Giants shortstop Al Bridwell socked a single, scoring McCormick and apparently winning the game. However, Merkle, instead of advancing to second base, ran toward the clubhouse to avoid the spectators mobbing the field, which at that time was a common, acceptable practice. The Cubs' second baseman, Johnny Evers, noticed this. In the confusion that followed, Evers claimed to have retrieved the ball and touched second base, forcing Merkle out and nullifying the run scored. Evers brought this to the attention of the umpire that day, Hank O'Day, who after some deliberation called the runner out. Because of the state of the field O'Day thereby called the game. Despite the arguments by the Giants, the league upheld O'Day's decision and ordered the game replayed at the end of the season, if necessary. It turned out that the Cubs and Giants ended the season tied for first place, so the game was indeed replayed, and the Cubs won the game, the pennant, and subsequently the World Series (the last Cub Series victory to date, as it turns out).
For his part, Merkle was doomed to endless criticism and vilification throughout his career for this lapse. In his defense, some baseball historians have suggested that it was not customary for game-ending hits to be fully "run out", it was only Evers's insistence on following the rules strictly that resulted in this unusual play.[2] In fact, earlier in the 1908 season, the identical situation had been brought to the umpires' attention by Evers; the umpire that day was the same Hank O'Day. While the winning run was allowed to stand on that occasion, the dispute raised O'Day's awareness of the rule, and directly set up the Merkle controversyTurn of the century baseball attendances were modest by later standards. The average for the 1,110 games in the 1901 season was 3,247.[4] However the first 20 years of the 20th century saw an unprecedented rise in the popularity of baseball. Large stadiums dedicated to the game were built for many of the larger clubs or existing grounds enlarged, including Shibe Park, home of the Philadelphia Athletics, Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, the Polo Grounds in Manhattan, Boston's Fenway Park along with Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park in Chicago. Likewise from the Eastern League to the small developing leagues in the West, and the rising Negro Leagues professional baseball was being played all across the country. Average major league attendances reached a pre World War I peak of 5,836 in 1909, before falling back during the war. Where there weren't professional teams, there were semi-pro teams, traveling teams barnstorming, company clubs and amateur men's leagues. In the days before television, if you wanted to see a game, you had to go to the ballpark.
Contrary to what many of baseball's administrators were willing to acknowledge, gambling was rife in the game. Hal Chase was particularly notorious for throwing games, but played for a decade after gaining this reputation; he even managed to parlay these accusations into a promotion to manager. Even baseball stars as legendary as Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker have been credibly alleged to have fixed game outcomes. When MLB's complacency during this "Golden Age" was eventually exposed, it became known as the Black Sox scandal.
After an excellent regular season (88-52, .629 W%,) the Chicago White Sox were heavy favorites to win the 1919 World Series. Arguably the best team in baseball, The White Sox were had it all: a deep lineup, a killer pitching staff, and a good defense. Even though the National League Champion Cincinnati Reds had a superior regular season record (96-44, .689 W%,) no one, including gamblers and bookmakers, anticipated the Reds having a chance. When the Reds triumphed 5-3, many pundits cried foul.
At the time of the scandal, the White Sox were arguably the most successful franchise in baseball, with excellent gate receipts and record attendance. At the time, most baseball players were not paid especially well and had to work other jobs during the winter to survive. Some elite players on the big-city clubs made very good salaries, but Chicago was a notable exception.
For many years, the White Sox were owned and operated by a tight-fisted tyrant named Charles Comiskey, who paid the lowest player salaries, on average, in the American League. The White Sox players all intensely disliked Comiskey and his penurious ways, but were powerless to do anything, thanks to baseball’s so-called “reserve clause,” that turned most players into decently-to-well paid slaves that had no recourse for the often rough treatment shown them by owners.
By late 1919, Comiskey’s tyrannical reign over the Sox had sown deep bitterness among the players, many of whom could not even support their families comfortably. Players rife with financial difficulties made easy targets for gamblers looking to have games thrown in order to win bets.
In late September of 1919, a little man named Abe Atell, allegedly at the behest of Arnold Rothstein, came to several of the players with a plan to “fix” the games. The players were to be paid between seventy-five hundred and thirty thousand dollars each for their part in the “fix.” Needing money to feed their families, eight of the White Sox players agreed to participate in what became known as the Black Sox Scandal of 1919.
Although the throwing of the World Series had not really been obvious, rumors swirled that some of the players had conspired to purposefully lose the game(s.) As happens, the rumors begat a grand jury investigation into the allegations. Eight players (Harold "Swede" Risberg, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Oscar "Happy" Felch, Eddie Cicotte, George "Buck" Weaver, Fred McMullin, and Claude "Lefty" Williams)were ultimately indicted and tried for conspiracy.
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Here are the baseball's best defensive players by position over the the past 50 years, at least as far as the Rawlings Corporation is concerned
professional Major League Baseball teams are divided into ... The wild card is the team with the best record among the non–division winners in the league
Congratulations to all the winners. Join us next season for another run at the fantasy baseball crown. ... Fantasy Baseball will return in early February
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