Baseball – The American Sport

Baseball has been around for quite some time now. It was initially practiced just for fun. The history of baseball began in the early 1700′s but the first actual baseball games were recorded in 1800′s. Baseball still needed some more time before it became a professional sport because in those early times baseball was a much too informal game. Baseball had then become a profession but even so it was only recognized in New York.

The spreading of baseball outside of New York’s boundaries only happened after the end of the civil war. Even after baseball had spread throughout the entire country there were still problems because many African American’s who wanted to play it were forbidden to do so.

This would chance once the National Association of Baseball Players was formed but not for a long time. After African American’s were allowed to play this sport they were banned again after a few years by the same Association that helped them in the first place.

This didn’t make African American’s back down so they got mobilized and formed their own teams which were referred to as the “Negro League” or all black teams. Because of the racism they were facing many very talented African American players couldn’t move on to the National League for many years to come.

In those times baseball was still not a very organized game and in many cases baseball teams had to play by different regulations depending on the place they were playing. Baseball as it is played today had undergone many changes throughout history. One example is the rule that allowed players to hit the ball anywhere and run for the bases which is no longer valid and was replaced with the rules of “fair ball” and “foul ball”. Changes were only made until 1845 when the final set of rules was approved and it is still being used today.

Another important moment in baseball history was the appearance of the first professional baseball team in the late 1860′s which was known as the Cincinnati Red Stockings. This moment was followed by other teams and this lead to the forming of the Major Leagues.

One very interesting thing about baseball is the tradition tight to first game of the season which is that it is always the President of the United States the one who throws the first pitch of the season and the one who opens it. This tradition is quite old now since it first started after the appearance of the first major leagues. Among presidents who opened the baseball seasons one of the most memorable was President Harry Truman who was able to throw the baseball with both left and right hands.

The fame of baseball was continuously growing and nowadays it became a quite sophisticated and gigantic spectacle. Another interesting thing about baseball is that many baseball players have become very famous even if they had no notable results in this sport. Lots of books have been written and many movies made about big players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig or Hank Aaron who was proven to be the one who in fact broke Babe Ruth’s record.

Baseball’s evolution was possible also with the help of African American’s who had very good results in their games. Now everyone can enjoy the fun of baseball and recognize all the merit that goes to all the teams and players that contributed to the spread of baseball.