Important Points In Baseball History

The year was 1860. Semiprofessional baseball found its way into the United States of America. However, it was not until 1869 that a professional baseball league was formed. In this league, the Cincinnati Red Stockings was undefeated against semipro and amateur teams. Since then, baseball has become known around the USA as the national pastime.

The first "major league" in baseball was the National Association. This league lasted from 1871 to 1875. There are still arguments about the "major league" status of the National Association, and it is not counted as a major league by some.

In the early 1890s, there was a "gentleman's agreement" that removed discrimination from the league. This gave way to several African-American leagues. The color barrier of the league was totally broken over fifty years later when African-American Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Baseball has since then become integrated.

Through the years, numerous major leagues were formed but were unsuccessful. But there is one league that succeeded and still exists to date. This is the American League, which came from the Minor Western League in 1893 and evolved into a major league in 1901.

Both the American League and the National League were recognized major league baseball associations and fought for the best players, even engaging in legal quarrels. The fights ended in 1903, when a modicum of peace was established. In the fall of that same year, the World Series was born.

Games of this period in history were lower scoring. The pitchers were more successful than batters, and the nature of the game was more aggressive. The objective of the game was to "scratch for runs" which was the cause of violence. This era was even known as the "dead-ball era," and lasted until the emergence of Babe Ruth.

Another difference in the sport of the time can be illustrated by the The "Black Sox Scandal." In the 1919 World Series, players intentionally attempted to throw the game, but stopped when their jobs were threatened. Nowadays, the strict rules of contracts keep the players in line, and rebellious actions of that nature are unheard of.

In the 1920s, due to some rule changes, batters became successful. The rise of Babe Ruth, who was considered the Michael Jordan of baseball, proved that power hitting could be a key to winning the game. The material of the ball was also changed, allowing it to travel farther when hit and thus, increasing the batter's chances of home runs.

In 1958, Major League Baseball made its way to the West Coast. This happened when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants transferred to Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Los Angeles Angels was founded in 1961 as an expansion team, and was the first to be founded as a West Coast American League team.

During the 60s and 70s, pitchers were dominant against the batters. The designated hitter rule was proposed. This rule was adopted by the American League, but the National League does not abide by this rule. This is what makes the two leagues different from each other.

When former United Steelworkers chief economist Marvin Miller became the Baseball Players Union executive director, things began to change around the league. The union of the owners and players strengthened, especially when the reserve clause was put in effect in the 1970s.

However, some conflicts in the Players Union led to work stoppages in 1972, 1981 and 1994. The 1994 strike caused the cancellation of the World Series which returned during the spring of 1995. During this year, baseball regulations which had been administered by both leagues separately were united under the Major League Baseball banner.

The home runs continued to increase after the 1994 strike. Roger Maris' long standing home run record was broken by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998. And in 2001, Barry Bonds established 73 home runs in a single season, which is currently the record for the most home runs in a season. He also became the MLB's all-time leader for home runs in 2007 which surpassed Hank Aaron's total of 755.

Twenty percent of the franchise sports industry is made up by baseball, with The New York Yankees holding the distinction of being the most popular team. The 30 teams in Major League Baseball earned a total of 5.11 billion dollars in 2006 alone.

Currently, players complain about the unfair share of money they receive. They also claim the owners have too much control. Whatever your feelings are on that matter, I think we can all agree that baseball really has come a long way.

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Comments

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 at 3:18 PM, by Walt Webb
Interesting points and you did your homework.
Walt AKA All Sports on the Web
All Sports on the Web

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