Hello dear friends and baseball enthusiasts! We extend our warmest welcome and we hope you find what you seek in our modest baseball blog. We’ve been wanting to create a space for baseball lovers for a while, and we are happy to have finally achieved our goal, while hoping to also make some friends along the way.
We decided to dedicate our first post to the game we all love and cherish by giving you a little information about the history of baseball and some facts about the industry today. Enjoy reading!
A Very Brief History of Baseball
Despite the common belief, baseball wasn’t invented in the United States, although the states popularised the sport and were responsible for codifying the rules we use today. Baseball, or at least a proto-version of the sport, was first played in Surrey, England in November 1749 and it featured Frederick, Prince of Wales, who apparently loved the game and played it a few more times.
Baseball was developed by modifying a few existing English games, namely rounders, cricket, and the medieval game stoolball. It’s thought that baseball was simply a regional version of rounders (the sport closest to baseball in nature), and that the English immigrants who moved to North America brought their regional game with them.
The first game of baseball in the New World was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada on June 4, 1838. The game immediately caught the attention of everyone and Canada, along with the states, began practicing it on an amateur level with rules varying in different regions until the Knickerbocker Rules of 1845 made baseball a distinctive codified game.
Soon after, in 1860, Canada adopted these rules followed by other countries where the sport was exported. Baseball rules have experienced many amends over the years, with new changes occurring even nowadays (e.g., catchers not allowed block home base anymore, pitchers have a designated batter, etc.).
The first baseball governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), emerged in the 1860’s and it had more than 400 clubs as members, but it was an amateur league. Major League Baseball (MLB) uses the year 1869 as its founding year since that’s when the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional team, was established.
However, the first professional baseball organization, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, was founded in 1871. In 1876, it was replaced by another league, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (later known as the National League or NL), which is considered by some to be the actual founding of the NLB.
Major League Baseball Today
The following decades there were many recognized and semi-recognized professional leagues including the American League, American Association, Federal League, Union Association, and Players’ League. Today, the MLB counts their stats in its official record. Two years ago, in 2020, the MLB also recognized seven leagues of Negro league baseball and added their stats to the count.
Nowadays, Major League Baseball is divided into two leagues – the National League and the American League. Both leagues play under the same rules, although there were some minor differences in the past. Both the American League and National League have 15 teams each. The winners of each league face each other in the World Series every year; the New York Yankees hold the record for most titles with 27.
Baseball is quite a profitable game; in fact, it’s the most profitable one upon comparing the revenues of the MLB with the NBA (National Baseball Association) and NFL (National Football Association). The MLB last recorded revenue of $9.56 billion (2021), while the NBA made $8.76 billion in the same period, and the NFL – $1.8 billion.
Baseball is indeed America’s favourite past time and one of its most valuable exports. This is why we can’t wait to bring you articles detailing the history and practice of this fascinating game that has captured the hearts of so many, including our own.