BASEBALL HISTORY: Facts and Rules

What is Baseball ?

Baseball is a game played with a bat, ball, and gloves between two teams of nine players each on a field with four white bases arranged in a diamond (i.e., a square oriented so that its diagonal line is vertical).

Teams alternate positions as batters (offensive) and gardeners (defense), switching places when three batting team members are “defeated. As batters, players try to hit the ball out of the reach of the field team and complete a Circuit around the bases for a “run. The team that gets the most runs in nine innings (times at bat) wins the game.

Player Positions

Central Positions

Pitcher: The pitcher’s job is to throw the ball at the plate in a way that makes it difficult for the batter to hit. A pitcher must be able to throw fast pitches, but speed is less important than control (the ability to throw hits consistently and not emit too many bases per ball).
Collector: Usually the team leader, since he or she is the only player facing his or her teammates. The catcher handles the pitcher, tracks the balls and strikes (the count), reminds the other players of the number of outs, sets the defense, and backs the 1st base in each game in the box.

Field Players

Infielders should be able to react quickly to a hit ball, and have good eye-hand coordination skills.
First base: The perfect place for a left-handed player who can catch the ball well, even when, as is usually the case in youth baseball, it is thrown over his head, bounced off the ground or off the line.
Second base: Size and height are of little importance. Speed, speed and good filming ability are.
Short Course: This player has more ground to cover than any other player and must be fast, fast, agile and have a strong throwing arm.
Third base: This player must be able to load the ball on buns and in slow runs, and place the ball with bare hands, and be able to move from side to side quickly in the balls hit hard by the line or to his left in the hole between the third and the short.
Gardeners: Gardeners must cover a lot of ground, so speed and speed in reacting to the ball are important.
Right Gardener: You need to be able to think ahead. This player backs up first base on all catches from the catcher and all recessed balls.
Central Gardener: This will be the player with the best combination of speed and throwing distance.
Left Gardener: Of all the positions on the field, this player may have the weakest arm, as he usually does not throw the ball that far.

When Was Baseball Invented ?

You may have heard that a young man named Abner Doubleday invented the game known as baseball in Cooperstown, New York, during the summer of 1839. Doubleday then became a Civil War hero, while baseball became America’s most beloved national pastime.

Who is the Father of Baseball ?

Henry Chadwick was a statistical sportsman and American baseball historian, commonly known or called the “Father of Baseball” for his reports and contributions to the development of the game. He edited the first baseball guide that was sold for the public’s enjoyment.

Attributed the creation of box scores, as well as the creation of the abbreviation “K” designating a strikethrough. He was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Where Was Baseball First Played ?

In the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of non-coded games of bat and ball recognizable as the earliest forms of baseball played in North America.

While there are reports that the New York Knickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846 in Hoboken, New Jersey: “New York Nine “defeated the Knickerbockers, 23-1, in four innings.

Baseball History Summary

Baseball is believed to have originated as a game called “rounders” in England and gained popularity in the United States in the early 20th century. It has gone through many names in the past, including “city ball,” “goal ball,” “round ball,” and just “base,” to name a few.

The first recorded rules were written by Shane Ryley Foster for a team called Knickerbockers, based in Manhattan. Modern baseball has two official leagues, the National League and the American League; but many others emerged over the years to offer competition.

Some Notable Baseball Dates

1845: Cartwright formalizes the rules
1846: The first registered game is played by the Knickerbocker Baseball Club of New York City (including Cartwright) and the New York Baseball Club (the Cartwright team loses).
1857: rules and problems are discussed at the first official convention (25 teams represented)
1858: The National Baseball Players Association is formed and becomes the first amateur baseball league organized in the 1980s.
1869: Cincinnati Red Sox become the first professional team with paid players
1871: National Association becomes first professional baseball league
1875: The National Association is replaced by the National League, which is run by businessmen instead of the players themselves.
1882: A rival league is formed, called the American Association.
1884: the Union Association is formed to allow players more freedom with their contracts, but financial difficulties force this league to close after only one season
1890: The Players League, similar to the Union Association, is formed but again experiences extreme financial difficulties. This league also lasts only one season.
1890: the competition forces the American association to close its doors and the players migrate to the National League.
1903: the first World Series is played

Baseball Rules and Regulations

Baseball has two teams of nine players.
The fielding team positions are made up of a pitcher, a catcher, a first base, a second base, a shortstop, a third base and three gardeners in left field, center field and right field.
The games last 9 innings of which both teams can bat once. If the game is a tie after 9 innings, an additional innings will be added until a winner is found. If the team batting second at the bottom of the ninth inning is already ahead in points, then they do not need to complete their batting innings.
Once a batting order is chosen, it cannot be changed throughout the game. Substitutes are allowed, however, they must bat in the order of the previous player they replaced.
If the batter succeeds in hitting the ball from the pitcher, he must make an effort to at least get to first base. They may then run to as many bases as they wish before being labeled. Each base must be touched with some part of the batter’s body when running past.
A batter gets up to three strikes before leaving. A hit is considered when a batter swings over a ball and loses it. The batter may leave the ball but, if it is within a certain area (called a ‘strike zone’), a strike will also be given. If four balls fail in the strike zone and the batter does not swing his bat, they may walk to first base.
When at base, the batter may run to the next base at any point.
Players may be dismissed for a strike out (referring to a batter who loses the ball three times), force out (when a player cannot reach the base before the defensive player), fly out (when the ball is hit in the air and caught without rebounding), and tag outs (where a defensive player with the ball marks the batter with the ball while running).

Famous Baseball Players in History

Babe Ruth
Jackie Robinson
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Ban Johnson
Rickey Branch
Marvin Miller
Albert Spalding
William Hulbert
Rube Foster
Henry Chadwick

History of Dominican Baseball

The history of baseball in the Dominican Republic dates back to the mid-19th century with the cricket game of the English settlers in the south of the country. In the 1870s, when Cubans fleeing the island due to the Ten Years War (1868-1878), emigrated to the nation bringing with them the game of baseball.

The country’s first professional league was founded in 1890. In the fifty years since the first Dominican debuted in the Major League Baseball in 1956, more than 400 of the nation’s players have played in the league.

The professional history of Dominican baseball began in 1890 with two professional teams: Ozama and Nuevo Club. However, at the turn of the century, baseball in the Dominican Republic was just a minor pastime, partly due to the country’s great political turmoil.

Dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo was president of the republic from 1930 to 1938 (and again from 1942 to 1952). During his first term, he oversaw the modernization of the Dominican Republic and undertook many public works projects, including the construction of baseball stadiums.

In 1937, he merged the two rival teams of Santo Domingo (which had already been renamed “Ciudad Trujillo”), Licey and Escogido into one for the next season.

The modern Liga Dominicana league was founded in 1951 as a summer league and did not move from its winter schedule until the 1955 / 1956 season. In that season, the league played its first night game and joined the National Association.

The Dominican Republic has long been a player on the international baseball scene. The national team medaled in five of the first thirteen World Baseball Cups, including gold in 1948.

The team also reached the semifinals in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. After a poor tournament in 2009, the team completed an undefeated run through the 2013 World Baseball Classic, winning all eight games and defeating Puerto Rico in the final.

History of Baseball in Venezuela

The game of baseball was introduced into the country by Venezuelan students who had studied at U.S. universities. Returning home after finishing their studies, they taught the game to their friends in Caracas in the early 1890s.

In May 1895, brothers Amenodoro, Augusto, Emilio, and Gustavo Franklin established the first organized baseball club, Caracas, BBC. The team had been practicing every Sunday for the past three months on open ground in front of the train station in Quebrada Honda. The field would soon be known as the Caracas Baseball Club Exercise Field.

The game was very popular at the beginning of the century. In 1912, William H. Phelps created a baseball store in Maracaibo and later formed a three-team league in the city consisting of “The Red,” “The Blue,” and “The Black.

The game grew rapidly in Maracaibo and by 1920 there were thirty clubs and ten stadiums in the city; other cities also had clubs like Valencia and Maracay. In 1917, the club “Magallanes” was founded; it is the oldest club currently existing in the nation and is now known as Navegantes del Magallanes.

Professional baseball began in Venezuela in 1927, with the founding of the Venezuelan Baseball Federation. The first championship took place in July with four teams, Maracay, Royal Criollos, Santa Marta and San Martín. On July 20, Maracay won a controversial title, as it was awarded by the club’s president, Gomez. In 1930, the Professional Baseball Association as the watchdog for all Venezuelan baseball.

The national team made its first appearance at the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games. Since then, it has won three World Baseball Cups; the 1941, 1944 and 1945 World Baseball Cups, with two second-place finals and four third-place finals.

The team has won the baseball competition in the Pan American Games of the Central American Games once. It has won the Caribbean Series six times since it entered the competition in {subst: sdc | 1970}}, most recently in {{subst: sdc | 2006}}.

History of Baseball in Colombia

Colombia is a South American country that has produced a small but growing number of major leagues. Baseball got there from the 1870s on one account. According to Raul Porto Cabrales, the leading historian of Colombian baseball, it definitely arrived in Cartagena, the city that has produced the greatest Colombian players, in 1897.

The sport took root on the nation’s Caribbean coast in the early 20th century and continued to gain popularity in the first half of the 20th century. The Colombian national team won the 1947 Amateur World Series and won Medals at other events.

Colombia’s first major players included Lou Castro in the 1900s, and Orlando Ramírez and Jackie Gutiérrez in the 1970s and 1980s respectively, though all had short runs at the highest level.

The Colombian Professional Baseball League is the best league in the nation. It has operated intermittently since the late 1940s.

History of Baseball in Nicaragua

The first Nicaraguan league was founded in 1956 after a tour of the country by famous players. On March 3, the first game in the history of the league was played between San Fernando and Boer.

The season was suspended after the September 29 assassination of Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza García. The season resumed in February 1957 and ended with the León Lions winning the championship.

In August 1957, the league affiliated with organized baseball and began playing as a winter league. The 1957 – 1958 season saw Leon win the league championship over Five Stars.

Advancing to the Pan American Series, the team beat Colombia’s Vanytor and Mexico’s Mazatlan Deer to win the tournament. The next two championships increased parity as all four teams placed first or second. The 1960 – 1961 season did not take place for financial reasons.

The 1962 – 1963 season saw Boer win both sides in the playoffs. The Indians won the first half title over Oriental by sweeping away the first two games of the three-game set. In the second half, they were tied with Leon, but won the best of three sets two games to one. Boer finished second in the Inter-American Series in Panama.

In 2004, the league was re-established as the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League, marking the return of the professional ball to Nicaragua after nearly four decades. This new era lasted four seasons before the game was suspended during the winter of 2008-09.

On July 28, 2009, LNBP directors announced that the league would return for the 2009 season. The traditional teams – Boer, Leon and Chinandega – are established. The fourth team will be that of Granada (birthplace of Dennis Martinez).

History of Baseball in Spain

The history of baseball in Europe has varied widely from country to country, such as in Asia or the Americas. Some countries had a presence in baseball at the end of the 19th century, while others had none at the beginning of the 21st century.

The most prominent countries in the history of European baseball are the Netherlands and Italy. The two countries won 28 of the first 30 European championships (through 2011) and the Dutch national team won silver medals in the Intercontinental Cup, while reaching the World Cup medal games a couple of times and even the last four of the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

The Netherlands have produced several major leagues of their own, starting with Win Remmerswaal in 1979, and were joined by Italy, with Alex Liddi in 2011, and Germany, with Donald Lutz. In 2013, he grew up in Europe but was born in the United States.

Other baseball nations of some importance in Europe are Spain (which defeated Puerto Rico with a home team at the 1992 Olympics, but has since become very dependent on Venezuelan players for both its national league and the national team), Great Britain (which won the 1938 Amateur).

In the early part of the 21st century, the European Major League Academy was established so that former major league stars could teach native European prospects. Dozens of Academy graduates have signed with MLB teams; Alex Liddi was the first to make the majors and also the first great Italian footballer of his own crop.

In 2012, Collegiate Baseball League Europe (CBLE) was founded and became the first summer league for wooden bats in Europe.

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