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BASEBALL.
Term Paper ID:23302
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Essay Subject:
Origins & evolution, Abner Doubleday, rules, organization, professionalism, corruption, major leagues, racism, impact of WWII, pitching, hitting & fielding skills.... More...
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25 Pages / 5625 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Origins & evolution, Abner Doubleday, rules, organization, professionalism, corruption, major leagues, racism, impact of WWII, pitching, hitting & fielding skills.
Paper Introduction:
Americans have played baseball nearly since the founding of the nation. The game has survived civil wars and World Wars, labor struggles between owners and players, the civil rights movement and social unrest. Its history is abound with contradictions, a reflection of the changing American culture that the sport has evolved within. It is frequently viewed as a pastoral game, but it is played professionally in the middle of urban America. It is seen as a game among equals, but it has excluded as many Americans as it has included. And it is believed a conservative game, but often helps lead national no=s and values.
This research examines the sport of baseball, from its beginnings to its current status in American life. The first section of this essay will discuss the origins of baseball and
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Teams without many home-run hitters have beenknown to store baseballs in cold, damp parts of their parks to deaden themand to take away the other team's power advantage. "An Era to Remember." Sacramento Bee, 28 August 1994.Boswell, Thomas. The NNL-ECL World Series continued only three more years. Batters received threestrikes before being called out. Overall, the reserve systemimproved the financial condition of the National League. A few batters cheat by "corking" their bats. In 1924, the two leagues arranged for the first black WorldSeries. A young second lieutenant, named Jackie Robinson, wasone of many who stood in the forefront of integrating the United Statesmilitary. Under the 19 3 Agreement, both leagues were obligated to respectthe reserve rights of member clubs. New York: Hastings House, 1973.Echevarria, Roberto. Mills negotiated the National Agreement of 1882 between the NationalLeague, the American Association, and the Northwestern League (a minorleague) . And the Cincinnati Reds pitched 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall for a brutal two-thirds of an inning on June 1 , 1944. Buck O'Neil, first baseman forthe black Kansas City Monarchs, suggested why the black teams did so well:"The major league ballplayers were just trying to make a payday. For example, the left-fielder plays one hitter deep and another shallow based on theirdemonstrated hitting ability. Robert Henderson, forexample, discovered several books and pamphlets published before 1839 whichhave diamond field diagrams with rules and instructions on how to play agame called "Base Ball." Henderson further noted that if Doubleday were theinventor of baseball, Doubleday was not aware of it. Many estimates start at 75 percent. Jimmie Foxx, at age 36, appeared in 89games for the Phillies, hitting .268 and going 1- in nine pitchingappearances with a 1.57 ERA. New York: Macmillan Books, 199 .-----------------------Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns, Baseball: An Illustrated History(New York: Alfred Knopf, 1994), 3.Charles Alexander, Our Game (New York: Holt and Company, 1991),3.Ibid.John Durant, The Story of Baseball in Words and Pictures (NewYork: Hastings House, 1973), 3.Robert Henderson, Ball, Bat and Bishop (New York: MacmillianCompany, 1947), 18 .Ward and Burns, 4.Ibid.Ibid., 6.Harold Seymour, Baseball: The Early Years (New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 199 ), 54.Ibid.Warren Goldstein, Playing for Keeps (Ithaca: CornellUniversity, 1989), 134.Peter Levine, A. The 193 PhiladelphiaPhillies had eight .3 hitters and finished last. And no one could receive payment or compensation for playing in aball club. Thomas Jefferson, for example, once wrote a letter in 1785criticizing the sport, saying that "games played with ball stamp nocharacter on the mind."[ii] Two years later, the faculty at the staunchlyreligious school Presbyterian College of New Jersey (later PrincetonUniversity) adopted a resolution prohibiting "a play at present practicedby the small boys among the students and by the grammar scholars with ballsand sticks in the rear campus."[iii] The students, according to thefaculty, should find ways to entertain themselves that were more dignified. Where a hitter bats in the order can determine the kind of pitches hesees. The longest major-league game in history took 8 hours, 6minutes and lasted 25 innings. And, in one of the biggest rule changes,fielders could no longer throw the ball at runners to get them out; runnershad to be tagged or thrown out at the base.[vii] Hand-in-hand with improvements in the rules of the game, theKnickerbockers wanted to improve the baseball field as well. Racism and Baseball It is the top of the ninth inning, score tied 7-7, Goshen Red Wingsversus Homestead Grays. As the best playersbegan to go into the military, teams scrambled to fill their rosters. Soon, other ball clubs were being organized in andaround New York City and elsewhere. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1994.Will, George. Blacks won 3 9. Ball, Bat and Bishop. Umpires were finally empowered to call strikes along withouts. It's unique pace provides lots of time for conversation - inthe dugout and in the stands. Estimates vary, but it's safe to assume that between 1 and 2 percent of pitchers cheat, usually by scuffing or cutting the ball. Pitching is often considered foremost in the game.The batter's instinctive fear of the ball is a cornerstone of pitching. "A Passion for Parks." Washington Post, 17 May 1978.Bouton, Jim. Usually, it isabout 1 mph slower than a pitcher's fastball. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.Rader, Benjamin. "Conversation is the lifeblood of baseball,"wrote Boswell.[xxviii] At no other sporting event are you as likely towind up in a conversation with a stranger. The major-league strike zone has shrunk. A crowd of 2,5 watches on a late spring night,June 5, 1944, at Greensboro's War Memorial Stadium. In 186 ,the Brooklyn Excelsiors reportedly paid Jim Creighton under the table,making him the first known professional baseball player. The American League was successful at luring National League players byoffering salary increases and a chance to get away from the "repressive"conditions of the National League. The tricks: changingspeeds, location (inside corner, outside corner, high, low) and the type ofpitches (curve ball, slider, fastball, etc.) Pitching is considered the most important part of baseball. The National League was initially successful at regaining somefinancial stability. The problems which the National League faced during the 189 's leftthe League vulnerable to attack. At that moment, the"baseball as sport" motif accurately describes professional baseball. TheNational League responded by awarding the Kansas City and Minneapolisterritories, both homes to American League teams, to a new minor league.Johnson abandoned Minneapolis, Kansas City and Indianapolis, moving theAmerican League teams into Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.This move showed the American League's intent to become a major league. However, by 1879 the League had lost eight of thoseteams due to financial difficulties. "No sport matches baseball's passion for its past," wrote authorGeorge F. A player who can't hit a curve ball canexpect a steady diet of them. This story has been immortalized by the creation ofthe National Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Six teams--the Cubs, White Sox, Reds, Tigers, Pirates andIndians--trained in Indiana in what was dubbed the Limestone League. Curves are also effective. The Association eliminatedthe distinction between amateur and professional players. Bymid-season 1942, one-quarter of major league players were rookies. New York: Holt and Company, 1991.Associated Press. Baseball. Soden proposed that each owner be allowed to keep five playersoff the market. This guy is dangerous. The saddler suggested a leather coverover four ounces of rubber cuttings. Also, a pitch low and outside is more likely toproduce a batted ball to the right side of the infield than a ball over themiddle of the plate. Baseball provides arecreation which does not last over two hours and a half, which can be gotfor very little cost.,' The drain on talent started almost immediately. And it is believed a conservative game,but often helps lead national no=s and values. Racial segregation in the sport was unofficial --a type of"gentlemen's agreement" among owners and managers that blacks and whitesshould not play together. Chadwick argued that rounders migratedto the United States where it was played in open town fields and becameknown in this nation as "town ball." There is considerable evidencesupporting Chadwick's assertion that baseball at least pre-dates theCooperstown landmark of 1839. The trend toward professionalism culminated in thedissolution of the Association in 1871.[x] During March, 1871, ten professional clubs met in New York andestablished the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players(NAPBBP). The AmericanAssociation used these measures to attract the large population ofAmericans who were alienated by the National League's stolid, Victorianmanners. Players believea corked bat can add up to 5 feet to a hit. Origins of Baseball Baseball is officially recognized as having its origins one summerafternoon in 1839, at Cooperstown, on the shore of Otsego Lake in upper-state New York.[i] This is the official finding of a commission headed byGeneral A.G. Berra replied: "Not much. Theformality of the ball club increased public interest in their weekendgames, with the size of the spectator crowd growing each week. The National League also recognized that the reservesystem was ineffective if there was a league competing for its players. Howimportant? Wrigley donated the steel lightstandards waiting to be installed at Wrigley Field. The National League admitted fifteen teams during its first fouryears of existence. Other improvements in the game involved the composition of theequipment. Evolution to Professionalism and Corruption Popularity, however, had its price. Yet, the exploits ofgreat black players, such as John Henry Lloyd, Spotswood Poles and SmokeyJoe Williams, were little known to the white sports public.[xviii] All this began to change in 19 8. Baseball: An Illustrated History. Boswell was afraid hewas overstaying his visit in the dugout. While the NAPBBP lasted only five years, it changed professionalbaseball by addressing three issues: establishing an official championship,overseeing rule changes, and enforcing player contracts. Cartwright and the rest of the club would drafta set of rules for the game that changed baseball forever.[vi] The Knickerbockers codified the shape of the baseball fieldenvisioned by Doubleday and decreed that the infield must be diamond-shapedrather than square. Wagner named Babe Ruth as the best player in organizedbaseball, and then added: "But in all baseball, it's a colored man namedJohn Henry Lloyd."[xxi] The racial barrier finally was broken in the late 194 s, largely dueto the social impact of World War II. Sinkerball pitchers want soft ground in front of theplate to slow the ball. By the end of the war on V-J Day,Aug. Cubs owner Phillip K. For example, a right-handed hitter will tend to pull (hit to left side) off-speed pitches, soinfielders will adjust. "This ain't a football game," said Weaver. There were other changes under way as well. Like the previous interleague battles, the conflict between theAmerican and National Leagues was characterized by competition for players. Veeck, already developing areputation as a showman (he would later introduce innovations such as theexploding scoreboard), wanted to buy the team, release all its players andstock it with the stars of the Negro Leagues, who were barred from themajors. Playing for Keeps. It was played in 1984 and Chicago beatMilwaukee 7-6. Thrown by a right-handed pitcher, a curveball both sinks and moves away from-a right-handed hitter. When Doubleday died, his obituary in the January 28, 1893 issueof The New York Times made no mention of baseball.[v] Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to assert that the game evolved inthe United States far beyond other games with a stickand-ball in GreatBritain and colonial America. Videotapeis also widely used. New York: World Publishing Company, 197 .Durant, John. Doubleday had becomea prolific writer in the latter years of his life, and he never referred tobaseball. Bill Veeck, who owned the highly successful Class AAA team inMinneapolis, made an offer to buy the Philadelphia Phillies, who finishedlast in 1942 for the fifth straight time. After two years of battling with the American League, the NationalLeague owners did not want to face another unprofitable season. Home teams tailor their fields to take advantage of strengths. If you don't believe it, trynaming an athlete more famous than Babe Ruth. America's firstall-professional club, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was organized in 1869. The split-fingered fastball became popular in the 198 s and suddenly drops when itnears the plate. At no time in baseball history were blacks legally banned from themajors. At one time, it was legal tothrow a spitball, but few pitchers throw spitter or load a ball withvaseline these days. The Association,s purists gradually concededthat professional baseball was a viable idea. And in its own way, baseball kept America-going. Baseball's inherent rhythm, minutes and minutes of passivity eruptinginto seconds of frenzied action, matches an attribute of the Americancharacter. Put everything in baseball together and you are dealing with a majorslice of Americana. Jackson, known as Mr. October for his post-season clutch hitting,went down flailing at three Welch fastballs. Furthermore, no League team could play against ateam which fielded a player reserved to another club. "Lighting the Way: 5 Years Ago Jackie Robinson Shattered the Barrier." Rocky Mountain News, 21 April 1996.Goldsetin, Warren. Each teamcould have only nine players on the field. LackingFoster's organizational skill, the Eastern Colored League folded in theSpring of 1929. "Baseball: I Hear America Swinging." New York Times, 1 April 199 .Etkin, Jack. The game has survived civil wars and World Wars, labor strugglesbetween owners and players, the civil rights movement and social unrest.Its history is abound with contradictions, a reflection of the changingAmerican culture that the sport has evolved within. 14, 1945, almost 5 major league and Negro League players had served. The new ball was a phenomenal successwhich increased the velocity and excitement of the game. Chaired by Mills, other commission members included UnitedStates senators Arthur Gorman of Maryland and Morgan Bulkeley ofConnecticut. Onmany teams, the third, fourth and fifth hitters usually have the mostpower. However, some managers prefer to spread their best hittersthroughout the lineup so there is a threat in every inning. The idea of maintaining segregation of baseball, while thefederal government and the military had matured beyond apartheid, no longerseemed tenable. The field was popularly known as the Elysian Fields.the team rented a field and dressing room on weekends for $75 a year. The center fielder is usually the best outfielder and must be able tocover a lot of ground. It is frequentlyviewed as a pastoral game, but it is played professionally in the middle ofurban America. However, the biggest losers in the interleague competition forplayers were the minor leagues. The issue of racial separatism and the role of baseball in helpingbreak down the barriers of race will be analyzed next. The whiteswon 129 of those games. It is outof the park. The New Thinking Fan's Guide to Baseball. The second hitter should be skilled atadvancing the runner, usually hitting to the right side of the field. Some major-league pitchers disappear into theclubhouse during the game and watch tapes of batters they will face.Players in slumps will study tapes to determine what he is doing wrong. "Coming back after the war, seeingwhat black soldiers did during the war, made Rickey's case much morelegitimate." Negro League baseball also flourished during the war, as fans who hadgood-paying defense-industry jobs flocked to the ballparks to see the likesof Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell and the incomparable Satchel Paige.[xxiii]Paige, who made his major league debut for Veeck's Indians in 1947, mayhave been the world's highest-paid athlete during the war. On June 19, 1846, the New York Knickerbockers played their firstofficial match against another club, the New York Base Ball Club. A third sectionwill discuss the institutional structure of professional baseball,including the labor disputes and controversies over the power of thebaseball commissioner. Nellie Fox, still in the Boy Scouts, went to spring training with thePhiladelphia Athletics in 1944. Classified 4-Fbecause of his flat feet, Paige pitched dozens of games a year andreportedly made close to $4 , a year, a princely sum during times ofrationing and price controls. In 192 , before batting helmets were used, RoyChapman of the Cleveland Indians was killed by a pitch thrown by Carl Maysof the Yankees. In terms of fielding, all teams want strong defense "up the middle" -shortstop, second base and center field. Baseball has suspense but few surprises, as Leonard Koppett put it."All strategic options in baseball involve "when" not "what.""[xxix]Koppett recalls how after St. These days, any pitch abovebelt level is likely to be called a ball. Baseball may be the invention ofseveral sports players through American history, but in order to give thegame a concrete origin, Doubleday will be pinpointed as its inventor andCooperstown its home. Whether or not Abner Doubleday is the true father of this greatAmerican past-time is almost irrelevant. The success of the Red Stockings led to the formation of more professionalclubs and gradually eliminated the influence of the amateur clubs withinthe Association. Despitethe misgivings of Thomas Jefferson, baseball provided a forum forinteraction. Racism was rampant throughout the nation priorto World War II and was reflected in all walks of life. Many players volunteeredfor the military; others were drafted. Way back. In the United States, the National Negro League of black baseballteams was created by Rube Foster in 192 . Unfortunately for the Knickerbockers, they lost their first match23-to-1, but the players consoled themselves afterward with a champagnesupper celebrating the landmark game. Whenprofessional baseball is shut down by differences between players andowners, the "baseball as business" motif occupies the newspaper sportspages with mentions of collective bargaining offers and counteroffers.When a university student takes a course discussing the history of baseballand compares the development of our nation with the development ofprofessional baseball, the student is impressed by the portrayalof baseball as our "national past-time." Endnotes BibliographyAlexander, Charles. Landis responded byordering every team to conduct 1943 spring training north of the Mason-Dixon line. Right-handed hitterstraditionally hit better against left-handed pitchers because: 1) They seethe ball from the delivery a little sooner; 2) They are not as intimidatedby a curve ball or slider, which isn't headed straight at them before itbreaks. Leo Durocher, the 38-year-old manager of the Dodgers, activated himself out of disgust with the playof his infield. Ateam with good bunters will arrange the dirt along the first- and third-base lines so balls stay fair. More and more underage and overage players were popping up onrosters. Spalding and the Rise of Baseball (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), 5 .Benjamin Rader, Baseball (Urbana: University of Illinois,1992), 47.Ibid., 48.Seymour, 313.Ibid., 323.Ward and Burns, 199.Alexander, 151.Ibid., 155.Ward and Burns, 198.Associated Press, "An Era to Remember," Sacramento Bee, August28, 1994, Cl.Ward and Burns, 282-29 .Jack Etkin, "Lighting the Way: 5 Years Ago Jackie RobinsonShattered the Barrier," Rocky Mountain News, April 21, 1996,C22.Roberto Echevarria, "Baseball: I Hear America Swinging," NewYork Times, April 1, 199 , C1 .Ibid., 29 .Thomas Boswell, "A Passion for Parks," Washington Post, May 17,1978, Cl.George Will, Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball (New York:Macmillan Books, 199 ), iii.Boswell, C1.Leonard Koppett, The New Thinking Fan's Guide to Baseball (NewYork: Simon and Schuster, 199 ), 12.Ibid.Jim Bouton, Ball Four: My Life and Hard Times Throwing theKnuckleball (New York: World Publishing Company, 197 ).----------------------- 1 Misbehavior, especially toward theumpires, was subject to financial penalties. In 194 , there had been 4 minorleagues with 314 teams. It is seen as a game among equals, but it has excluded asmany Americans as it has included. It took lobbying efforts by Clark Griffith, owner of theWashington Senators and a Roosevelt confidant, and Robert E. A slider looks more like afastball but breaks across the plate and often slightly down. He diedin the Illinois State Mental Hospital at Kankakee late in 193 .[xix] The void was soon filled by the emergence of a new black league, theAmerican Negro League. Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of Americahad better learn baseball. New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club Beginning in the summer of 1842, a group of men played friendlyrounds of baseball on a semi-regular basis on weekends in Manhattan. In order toprofessionalize the game even further the teams banded together into thesport's first association, the National Association of Base Ball Players.Its goal was to "promote additional interest in baseball playing" and to"regulate various matters necessary to its good government and continuedrespectability."[viii] Additional rules were established by the association. The process involvesdrilling a hole down the barrel and packing the hole with cork beforeresealing the bat with a plug of plastic wood. These 28 players--mostly prosperousindividuals who could afford to practice ball by mid-afternoon--played forhealth and recreation, but also showed a commitment to refining the rulesand strategy of baseball. Will.[xxvii] Many of the original rules have remained unchanged. In some areas ofthe nation, the infield was an odd oblong shape; in other areas, it wassquare with wooden posts substituting for bases. The minorleagues were party to the new Agreement as well, receiving reserve rightsin their players.[xvi] But professional baseball was forever thereafter tobe dominated by the National League and American League. The trick is not to adjust too soon because thatwould tip off the hitter. Finally, the current nature.of the game will bescrutinized, followed by a conclusion of the future of the sport. Nothing is more embarrassing than whathappened to Houston's Billy Hatcher in a 1987 game. Gibson swings and drives to deep center field. The strike zone seems a little wider whena veteran is pitching against a young batter and it seems to shrink when anestablished star hitter is facing a young pitcher. Except in New York,which was deemed too vulnerable to air raids, teams began to play morenight games to accommodate fans who had to work during the day. This realization led to the development ofthe reserve system. A uniform contract for both leagueswas approved. He broke his thumb in two places, the result of a badthrow by shortstop Gene Mauch. On September 29, 1879, the National League owners secretly agreed toadopt an idea introduced by Arthur Soden, the owner of the Boston RedStockings. Apartheid was a fact, if not a legal institution,in the United States. Roosevelt, didn't make any movesat first. Former Baltimore Manager Earl Weaver once continued a conversationwith writer Thomas Boswell after a game had started. Tocombat the American Association threats, National League President AbrahamG. Veeck's one mistake was telling Landis about his idea. It ain't like football. "Pitching is the art ofsystematically confusing batters," wrote Will. The right-fielder usually has the best arm becausehe has to make the throw to third base. The contest rated one paragraph in the next day's newspaper. Following the 1942 season, the government asked baseball to curtailtravel, especially between spring training sites. Unfortunately,the Association did not have the power to control these problems, therebyrendering its attempts to exercise control futile.[ix] The inability of the Association to govern the evils ofprofessionalism underscored a division among member clubs on theprofessionalism issue itself. The labor shortage during the war pressed owners into consideringhiring black players. However, the National League soon discovered thatthings were not as good as they appeared. That is because it is hard to gauge speed when reflexes areoriented to the fastest pitch. The Story of Baseball in Words and Pictures. When a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RedBarons fan is at Lackawanna County Stadium applauding a home run by GeneSchall, the fan is engrossed in the game's details. The game of baseball may have someappearances in common with rounders, but it is by no means the same game.Baseball has a unique field, unique rules and well-developed structures.Baseball is indeed a uniquely American game. G. One school, represented by A.G.Spalding, a fine pitcher in his day and founder of the famous sportinggoods business, argued that baseball is strictly an American sport begun onAmerican soil. Players realize umpires havetendencies and ask only that the calls are consistent. The club failures caused tensions between the financiallysuccessful clubs and the other clubs.[xi] These tensions and club financial instability sparked the creation ofthe National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (National League) in1876. "There were hard times brought on by the radical drop in quality onthe field," said baseball historian Daniel Okrent. G. You can'tmake up no trick plays."[xxx] Pitching, batting and fielding comprise theessence of baseball. The gamewas played on Elysian Fields, and the teams abided by the Knickerbockerrules. At times it is just a game, at other times it is a business,and most importantly, it is always a national past-time. Much to their dismay, Cincinnatilost a majority of the games, an embarrassing defeat that was to berepeated two years later by the Detroit Tigers. Americans have played baseball nearly since the founding of thenation. By 1943, most of the game's brightest lights were shining on thediamonds of military installations. Gambling on theoutcome of the games was inevitable and corrupted the game. Indeed, all of the aforementioned terms are partially accuratedescriptors of professional baseball. Word of theclub spread quickly. Theresulting pitch breaks or drops more sharply. Competing teams lured players tojoin them by using "gifts." Such gifts eventually led to a practice called"revolving." Revolving was a practice where players would enter intoagreements with clubs and then break the agreements in order to acceptbetter offers with other clubs. Slow or older infielders want long grassto hold up grounders. Thecommissioner, who was the force behind the "gentlemen's agreement" thatbarred African-Americans from the majors, had the NL take over thefranchise "for the good of the league,, before Veeck's deal could gothrough. The ones that remained, classified unfit for service for one reason oranother or blessed with high draft numbers, kept the game alive during thewar. New York: Macmillan Company, 1947.Koppett, Leonard. They movedfrom the lots of Manhattan to a grassy field across the Hudson River toHoboken, New Jersey. A person might get hooked. The legend, Josh Gibson--the Babe Ruth of the Negro Major Leagues--steps to the plate for the Grays. Bases were set 9 feet apart, adistance determined to be just far enough for a quick field play to throwout a runner. 7, 1941. Anyone batting behind a base-stealing threat is unlikely to get manyslow, breaking pitches because they reduce the chance of throwing therunner out. Baseball Today: "It Ain't Football" Unlike football, baseball is not played with clenched teeth. The attack came from the Western League,a Midwest-based minor league led by Ban Johnson, which was renamed the"American League" in 1899.[xv] After a profitable season in 19 , Johnsondeveloped plans to expand into the East, choosing not to apply for renewedstatus as a "protected" minor league under the National Agreement. most owners of corked bats usethem only in special situations. Town ball was never adiamond square as in today's game. This fact was enough to prompt Spalding in 19 5 to help form theMills Commission to offer a definitive answer as to when and where baseballwas originated. One of the Knickerbocker players, DocAdams, who had been responsible for making all the baseballs for theKnickerbockers and any other organized team, sought the advice of a saddlerto create a heavier, heftier ball. Teams use computers to store information about tendencies. Like their European forebears, children inthe early colonies played stick-and-ball games for decades beforeCooperstown. In the batting order, the first hitter must be adept at getting onbase and be a good base-runner. Graves' testimony was convincing enough for the Mills Commission.Three years later in 19 7, the commission announced that: (1) baseball hadits origins in the United States; and (2) the first scheme for playing thegame was devised by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839.[iv]In short, baseball was "our game." Contemporary baseball historians have cast new doubts on whetherAbner Doubleday is indeed the father of the game. Our Game. The baseball itself proved to be quite inadequate for theburgeoning game. on Jan. This lack ofa screening mechanism, combined with high player salaries, led to severalclub failures. Limited use ofsticky pine tar also is legal. Corking adds to thewhiplash quickness of a swing because the bat is lighter. While the owners failed to integrate baseball duringthe war, the Jim Crow mentality began to change. The number of professional teams and leagues grew to meet increasedspectator demands and led to the formation of the American Association ofBase Ball Clubs (American Association) in 1881. In baseball,business, entertainment and even the military, blacks and whites did notwork or serve together. The ANL took in most of the teams of the EasternColored League and temporarily helped revitalize the National Negro Leagueby offering a solid and sellable counterweight. The Cincinnati Reds traveled toCuba for what they believed was a post-season frolic against the HavanaReds, a team of Hispanics and blacks. Someone batting before a dangerous power hitter can expectbetter pitches because the pitcher does not want to walk him with theslugger coming up. "But there wassufficient entertainment value in the pennant races and at the ballparks.It basically did what FDR wanted it was the social glue in a time of greatunrest." Baseball wasn't sure of its status until more than a month after theattack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. His corked bat broke,his single was disallowed, he was ejected from the game and later suspendedfor 1 days. Established starsget breaks from umpires, just as NBA stars usually get the benefit of thedoubt from basketball officials. Even an Olympic sprinter can't beatout a sharply hit grounder. As the years wore on, the Knickerbockers introduced additionalformalities into the game. Manpower shortages were common. It was obvious to club owners andmanagers that player salaries needed to be reduced significantly if theywanted to remain in business. The vices of professionalismstarted to appear at home plate in 186 . In 1988, these three positionshandled 46 percent of all balls hit into play. "We do this everyday."[xxvi] Everything in baseball is based on tendencies. The Chicago Tribune dubbed the American Association the "BeerBall League."[xiii] The National League considered the American Association to be aserious competitor. After the meeting, a new National Agreement wasconcluded, setting the foundation for Organized Baseball as we experienceit today. Hegave up five runs on two hits and five walks. This research examines the sport of baseball, from its beginnings toits current status in American life. In it, Roosevelt wrote: "I honestly feel that itwould be best for the country to keep baseball going. They began scheduling baseball matches on aregular basis through formal letters. The American League ignored the reserveclause, and the courts were generally reluctant to enforce the reserveclause. The reserve system saved professional baseball.[xii] As intended,the rule reduced club operating expenses by reducing the cost of playersalaries. Together, theparties allied under the National Agreement (or Tripartite Agreement) werereferred to as "Organized Baseball."[xiv] The reserve system caused somedissatisfaction among Organized Baseball's players, which in turn led tothe formation of the first union of professional baseball players, theNational Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players (Brotherhood) .Formed in 1885, the Brotherhood was organized as a fraternal group topromote the individual and collective interests of its members and topromote the interests of the game. New York: Oxford University Press, 199 .Ward, Geoffrey, and Burns, Ken. The fastest pitches travel 95 to 1 mph. The first section of this essay willdiscuss the origins of baseball and its evolution into a professionalsport. what a sensational game, climaxing in a game-winning monstroushomer by one of the greatest ballplayers ever. The pitcher vs. Pitchers were to throw underhand, keeping the elbow and wriststraight, and the pitching balk was outlawed. the game of sticks-and-balls had entered a new era of disciplineand semi-professionalism. Baseball's rich history remains alive. Veek's early attempt to integrate baseball was not anaberration.[xxii] "The war had a lot to do with (Dodgers president) Branch Rickeysigning Jackie Robinson (the majors, first black player), who had been anofficer during the war," Okrent said. A knuckle ball is a slow, meandering pitch sounpredictable that even the pitcher doesn't know what it will do. It's agame of controlled skill, and for the most part, controlled emotion.Baseball players have a term - "gamer" - for a player who is neither tootense nor too relaxed. Teams quickly got into the war effort. The final obstacle to racial barriers fell on November 25,1944, when baseball commissioner Kenesaw Landis died at the age of 77.Landis had salvaged baseball from corruption, but he was an avid racist whoimposed his ignorance on American baseball.[xxiv] With Landis out of thepicture, Jackie Robinson finally tore down the wall of racism on April 9,1947, when he was officially signed onto the Brooklyn Dodgers rostrum.[xxv] The sport of baseball had now become a truly American sport. This leaves us with the question: What is professional baseball? He once hit 75home runs in one season, six in one game. Baseball underwent almost as manychanges as the world itself during World War II. A"hanging curve" is one that doesn't break. By 1943, there were nine leagues with 62 teams.The Cardinals took out a classified ad in The Sporting News looking forplayers. As a result, separate leagues were organized--usually by white owners--for black baseball players. One of the most effectivepitches is the changeup (a slow, arching ball) when mixed with thefastball. Baseball helped sell millionsof dollars of War Bonds, helped collect tons of items, ranging from scrapiron to kitchen fat. The shape of the infield varied in early town ball. Brotherhood President John MontgomeryWard spoke out against the one-sided nature of the club/player bargainingprocess and criticized the reserve system. Some baseball lovers consider Alexander Cartwright's 1846 decision to layout the first field with bases 9 feet apart as almost divinely inspiredbecause the distance is so perfect. Hannegan,chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a sports buff, toconvince the president that baseball should continue. Baseball: The Early Years. In addition, the reserve system aided the League's competitivebalance by preventing the financially successful teams from contractingwith a large number of talented players. Louis beat the Yankees in Game One of the1964 World Series, a writer asked Manager Yogi Berra what his team wasgoing to do. OnSeptember 23, 1845, one of the players, Alexander Cartwright, decided toformally establish the group into a club, called the "New YorkKnickerbocker Base Ball Club," named after the volunteer fire station towhich most of the players.belonged. A three-person National Commission was created to govern thegame, consisting of the two league presidents and a chairperson. Issues such as gambling and gatereceipts revealed differences between the owners. Some say only boxing produces a more dramatic one-on-one showdown.One of the most memorable duels came in the 1978 World Series when Dodgerrookie pitcher Bob Welch struck out New York's power-hitting ReggieJackson. Opposing Spalding was a school represented by HenryChadwick, baseball's first professional writer and the inventor of the boxscore. Hitters feast on hanging curvesbecause they are slower than fastballs and easy to hit. Money became an even bigger factor inbaseball once people became willing to pay admission to games. He once commented, "You spend a good piece of yourlife gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the otherway around all the time."[xxxi] Conclusion The family of baseball has continued to grow. New York: Simon and Schuster, 199 .Levine, Peter. The "reservation" of a player meant that no League teamcould use his services. from its disputableorigins at Cooperstown, New York, to the integration of Americans, baseballhas both reflected and encouraged the evolution of our country. The dispute arose in the early 19 s as two different schools ofthought debate the origins of baseball. It was light-weight, making it difficult to throw anydistance longer than 2 feet. And the winning wasdetermined no longer by the first team to score 21 runs but by whicheverteam had more runs at the end of nine innings. By 1857, 16 baseball clubs existed in the New York area. Since the ballcould now travel further distances, the need for relays was reduced, andthe position of the shortstop moved infield. President FranklinRoosevelt issued Executive Order 88 2, making racial discrimination illegalin federal hiring. The shortest nine-inning game was 51 minutes in 1919 whenthe New York Giants beat Philadelphia 6-1. Graves wrote that when he was a Cooperstown schoolboy in1839, he saw Abner Doubleday, a neighborhood boy, sketch a diamond in thedirt with a stick and organized the other schoolboys to play a new game,which he called "baseball." Spalding reportedly created a diamond-shapedfield because runners could maintain momentum when rounding the bases, asopposed to the stop-and-go running in a square field. Mills that had been appointed to settle the controversy ofbaseball's origins. The commission relied heavily on the written testimony ofAbner Graves. Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball. A. TedWilliams, who knew a thing or two about hitting, once described hitting asthe most difficult athletic task on the planet. In the end, the NationalNegro League, however, could not survive the Great Depression.Nevertheless, black leagues continued to come and go throughout the 193 sand 194 s, keeping baseball alive for black players. batter duel is one of the best confrontations insport. By that time, the National Negro League was also havingdifficulty because Foster had suffered from a nervous breakdown. The 1988 Los AngelesDodgers won the World Series without a .3 hitter. Although not widely recognized by the white press, the black teamsand black players had no trouble rivaling their white counterparts in skilland in record. A team with good base stealers wants hard,firm footing on the base paths. The black league fared so wellthat three years later a second league--the Eastern Colored League--wasorganized. In contrast to theNational League, the American Association authorized members to play onSundays (where permitted by law), set an admission price of twenty-fivecents per game (as opposed to the National League admission price of fiftycents per game), and allowed beer to be sold at its games. Americanand National League officials met in Cincinnati on January 9, 19 3 andsettled their differences. But wewere trying to prove to the world that we were as good or better."[xx]Honus Wagner was a little more pointed when asked to name the best playerin baseball. The series was so popular that it was extendedto nine games to accommodate fans from all over the islands. Itis difficult to answer this question without using a value-laden termwhich, in effect, tells us more about the speaker than about the subject.Professional baseball may be described as a "sport," our "nationalpastime," or a "business." Use of these descriptors reveals the speaker'sjudgment as to the relative importance of professional baseball to Americansociety. By 19 , black baseball developed as a worldof its own, with numerous clubs forming, disbanding and reforming. One person who did was ex-Seattle Pilotpitcher Jim Bouton. Chadwick argued that he had seen the game played in Great Britain,where it was called "rounders"--a game still played by children in Britainin which a ball is pitched, hit, the bat is dropped, and the player runs toa base to avoid being tagged out. Priorto 192 , blacks had organized their own clubs and operated independently.Teams such as the Brooklyn Royal Giants, the Leland Giants and ChicagoAmerican Giants gained notoriety in the black press. Spalding and the Rise of Baseball. Proper positioning (knowing where to play hitters) is essential.Past performance dictates how hitters are played, but so does the kind ofpitch being thrown and where it is being aimed. Most batters wear special gloves for a good grip. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1989.Henderson, Robert. Commissioner Kenesaw MountainLandis, who disliked President Franklin D. Over the decades, black baseball teams played professionalwhite teams at least 438 times in off-season exhibition games. The first and third bases were made exactly 42 pacesapart. Weaver told him to relax. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992.Seymour, Harold. Baseball is the one major team sport playedwithout a clock. 15, 1942, Roosevelt sent Landis what has been dubbed the"Green Light" letter. Unfortunately,the NAPBBP had no screening mechanism to forecast or assess a club'sfinancial position during the membership application process. Ball Four: My Life and Hard Times Throwing the Knuckleball. Batting, of course, is also a critical component in baseball. Suchwas the obscurity in which Gibson and other black baseball playersperformed during the 193 s and 194 s.[xvii] The Grays and the Redwingsbelonged to the Negro Major Leagues, which flourished back when blackplayers were barred from the major leagues. AsSandy Koufax said, "Pitching is the art of instilling fear by making a manflinch." The ball can kill. The Agreement included the adoption of the reserve rule, allowingeach member club to reserve a maximum of eleven players. The Service World Series, played thatyear in Honolulu, drew thousands of fans to see players such as JoeDiMaggio and Pee Wee Reese.
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