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I love baseball. It's such a wonderfully pastoral
game. There is no clock . . . . neither team runs out of time. Both competing teams get an equal opportunity,
and the same number of chances to win. Unlike many fast-paced sports, baseball is a thinking person's game. It
is best appreciated in person, and not on television. In most sports, action is concentrated on the ball. In baseball,
strategy is so complex, all over the field, television cannot begin to do it justice. If one enjoys a complex game,
brimming with strategy and guile on every pitch, baseball is THE game. Those that say baseball is boring are either
ignorant of the nuances of the game, or are not suited for an intelligent, strategy-filled sport. As noted previously,
baseball is a thinking person's game. Calling it boring is a specious statement and beneath contempt. In my domain,
baseball rules!
PAGE CONTENTS:
Baseball Trivia
Only Baseball
Origin of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
1927 Version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
"Casey At the Bat"
Baseball Details
A hard, horsehide-covered
ball, which must measure between 9 and 9 1/4 in. in circumference and weigh between 5 and 5 1/4 oz.
In 1849 the Knickerbocker team, from New York City, introduced the first baseball
uniforms.
According to legend, the seventh-inning stretch originated in 1882.
Baseball Trivia
Carl Yastrzemski is the only baseball player to have at least 100 hits in each of his first 20 seasons. At least he had
100 hits every season from 1961 to 1980 when he only earned 83 safeties during the strike-shortened 1981 season(he also had
100 in 1982 and '83, his last two seasons).
In baseball, a "can of corn" refers to a fly ball that is easy to catch. This phrase reportedly came from an old practice
of grocery store clerks, who used to knock unreachable cans off high shelves with a stick and catch them in their work aprons.
The Chicago Cubs are the oldest original franchise in professionalsports, dating back to the
founding of the National League by teampresident Walter A. Hubert in 1876. Nicknamed the "lovable losers" ofthe North Side,
the Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 andhave not played in the fall classic since 1945.
The term "sandlot baseball" originated in San Francisco. The term dates to the 1860s when a
cemetery that stands where the Civic Center is now located was converted into a park. A sand hill was leveled to create a
17-acre park, which became known as the sandlots.
Baseball Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm didn't make it to the major leagues until he was 29. The knuckle-ball-throwing
right hander pitched in 1,070 games but didn't get to Cooperstown because of his bat. On April 23, 1952, he homered
in his first major league at-bat, for the New York Giants, only to never hit another homerun in his 21-year career.
431 at-bats later, he finished with a career batting average of .088, with one homerun and 21 runs batted in.
Source: Los Angeles Times
In the movie, "Field of Dreams", the lead characters attend a game at Fenway Park, where the
name of a baseball player appears on the scoreboard. It was an actual former major leaguer who played one game but never
got an at-bat. The player was Archibald "Moonlight" Graham. He played one game for the New York Giants in 1905,
then quit five days later and , as he did in the movie, became a doctor.
In 1882, Richard Higham of Troy, New York, former manager and NationalLeague baseball player,
was banished from the league for advising gamblers how to bet on baseball games he umpired, thus earning theinfamous distinction
of being the only umpire ever judged guilty ofdishonesty on the field.
In 1845, baseball games were over after one team scored twenty-one runs, according to the 20
Rules drawn up by Alexander Cartwright. Many of his rules remain in the modern game but several of the original have changed.
Babe Ruth was one of only two people (Reggie Jackson being the other) to ever hit three home
runs in a World Series game, and is the only one to do it twice (1926 and 1928).
The first catcher in major league baseball history to win the Rookie of the Year award was Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati
Reds, in 1968.
The 1917 Yankees, with Wally Pipp playing first base, led the American League in homeruns. Pipp hit nine. Third baseman
John Franklin Baker hit six. The Yankees' league-leading total was 27. That same year, the entire Washington team hit four
homeruns. The Senators' power man, Joe Judge, hit two.
To date - November 12, 2006 - the baseball Hall of Famer who's received the highest percentage of votes for
induction into the hall was pitcher Tom Seaver in 1992 at 98.82 percent. He is closely trailed by Nolan Ryan at 98.79 percent,
Ty Cobb at 98.23 percent, and George Brett at 98.19 percent.
In the 1860s, when a batter struck out, he was said to have "struck".
Newspaperman Henry Chadwick is credited with inventing baseball's box score, giving each play a letter: S for sacrifice,
E for error, etc. Since S was already taken, Chadwick used the last letter of "struck" instead of the first letter to
abbreviate it.
A deaf center-fielder for the Cincinnati Reds, William Hoy, invented the hand signals for strikes and balls in baseball.
In 1845, baseball games were over after one team scored twenty-one runs, according to the 20 Rules drawn up by Alexander
Cartwright. Many of his rules remain in the modern game but several of the original have changed.
On April 6th, in 1973, Yankee Ron Blomberg became the 1st designated hitter. He
walked.
In one of the most bizarre trades in baseball history, in 1962 the Cleveland
Indians traded catcher Harry Chiti to the New York Mets for a player to be named later. As it turned out, Harry
Chiti was the player to be named later. Thus, Harry Chiti was traded for Harry Chiti (himself).
In another bizarre trade, in 1989, Tim Fortugno, a career minor leaguer
pitcher, was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for twelve dozen baseballs and $2,500.
Joel Youngblood pulled off something no other player had ever done
in the history of baseball. He got a hit for two different major league teams on the same day.
Pitcher
Buck O'Brien went 20-13 for Boston in 1912. After giving up only 2 runs in 8 innings in game 3 of the World Series, he
got off to a bad start in game 6 by giving up 5 runs in the first inning. For this, his teammates beat him up after the
game.
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz once burned his chest in a bizarre fashion. He tried to iron
his shirt while he was wearing it.
Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm
did something in the first game he played that he didn't do again in his entire 21 year career. He hit a home run.
And now for a trio of bizarre baseball bits:
Edd Roush once fell asleep in the outfield during a game.
Ed
Stewart once swung the bat so hard he knocked himself out.
Dan Friend once played left field in a robe.
Why wasn't Ty Cobb's number retired?
Major-league
baseball clubs didn't start putting numbers on uniforms until the 1930s. As a result, Ty Cobb, who broke many batting and
base-stealing records while playing with the Detroit Tigers (1905-1926), didn't have his uniform number retired. This was,
simply,
because Cobb never was issued a number.
How long have kids been collecting baseball cards?
Baseball
cards have been around since 1886. Modern cards, with high-resolution color photographs on the front and player statistics
on the back, date from 1953. The photos are taken in the spring, with and without team caps, just in case the player is traded
to another
team.
Because wool has outstanding elastic recovery, 150 yards of wool yarn
are used in an official baseball.
Pinstripes were added to New York Yankee jerseys in 1912,
and then shelved for two seasons. They were re-introduced in 1915.
The velocity of a pitched baseball is about 8 mph faster as it leaves the pitcher's hand than when it reaches home plate.
The first official baseball hat was made of straw.
Before 1859, baseball umpires were comfortably seated in padded rocking
chairs behind home plate.
Giants baseball catcher Roger Bresnahan introduced shin guards in 1907.
In 1882, Richard Higham of Troy, New York, former manager and National
League baseball player, was banished from the league for advising gamblers how to bet on baseball games he umpired, thus earning
the infamous distinction of being the only umpire ever judged guilty of dishonesty on the field.
In 1897, the Washington
Senators became the first baseball team ever to introduce "Ladies' Day."
In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry said:
"They'll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run." Only a few hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on July
20, 1969, Perry hit the first and only home run of his career.
In 1965, the minimum annual salary for a baseball player
was $6,000, just a thousand dollars more than it had been in 1947.
Only Baseball
With
Hugh Clay Paulk
Q. Who is the only player ever to make an unassisted triple
play in a World Series?
A. Bill Wambsganss, Cleveland Indians second baseman. On October 10, 1920, Wambsganss
leaped high to catch a sharp liner with two men on, touched second to put out the lead runner, and then tagged the runner
coming from first. "Funny thing," he said, "I played in the big leagues for 13 years and the only thing anybody seems to remember
is that once I made an unassisted triple play in a World Series. . . . You'd think I was born the day before and died the
day after." Well, no wonder. There have only been 12 unassisted triple plays in the history of major league baseball.
The most recent was by Atlanta Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal on August 10 this year, 2003. He made the rare play the
same way "Wambsy" did. By the way, Bill Wambsganss is remembered for at least one other thing. He is the only major league
player ever to carry the name "Wambsganss."
Q. Who is the only major league player ever to die as a result
of an on-field accident?
A. Plate-crowding star shortstop Ray Chapman, who on August 16, 1920, was beaned by Yankee
pitcher Carl Mays. Mays' "sailer" rose up and in, crashing into Chapman's temple. Nobody wore batting helmets in those days,
yet a newspaper report the next day said that "the crack of the ball could be heard all over the stands." Chapman collapsed,
bleeding from the ear. He died in the hospital 12 hours later--the result of a fractured skull and lacerated brain.
Chapman's team: the Cleveland Indians. His partner in the field: second baseman Bill Wambsganss, who was still publicly despondent
over the death of his friend and partner when he turned his unassisted triple play and helped his team win the World Series.
Q. Who is the only player ever to pinch-hit for .400 hitter
Ted Williams?
A. Carroll Hardy, a career .225 hitter. On September 20, 1960, Williams fouled a pitch off his foot
and couldn't finish his at-bat. Hardy stepped to the plate as his replacement and grounded into a double play. Less than a
week later, he replaced Williams in left field in the Splendid Splinter's last game. "They booed me all the way out and cheered
him all the way in," Hardy later said. In 1961, Ted Williams' left field job went to future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski.
Q. Who is the only Hall of Famer to make his major league
debut at age 42?
A. The legendary Satchel Paige, who until integration, pitched in the Negro Leagues. Many who
saw him pitch in his prime have argued that no one has ever been more dominating. Even Joe DiMaggio, who faced Paige on a
barnstorming tour, called him "the best I've ever faced and the fastest." But major league baseball didn't take advantage
until 1948, when Paige posted a 2.48 earned run average (ERA) with the Cleveland Indians. No matter. Paige titled
his autobiography Maybe I'll Pitch Forever and came pretty close to doing just that. His last major league appearance came
in 1965, at age 59, when he started a game for the American League's Kansas City Athletics against the Boston Red Sox. It
was a publicity stunt, but Paige wasn't thinking that way at all. He allowed no runs and just one hit in three innings, striking
out one. Carl Yastrzemski got the only hit.
Q. Who is the only man in major league history to pitch two
complete-game shutouts in one day?
A. Ed Reulbach. On September 26, 1908, Reulbach helped the Chicago Cubs defeat
the Brooklyn Dodgers twice: 5-0 and 3-0. He allowed just eight hits in the two games. His catcher did his part, using a white-painted
glove to compensate for Reulbach's poor eyesight. Perhaps every pitcher should have such a disability! Reulbach led the National
League in winning percentage three years in a row, going 19-4, 17-4, and 24-7. That's still a record. And only ten pitchers
have ever bettered his career 2.28 ERA.
Q. Who is the only major league pitcher to post a league-leading
ERA in nine seasons?
A. Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove, who did it most every year between 1926 and 1939. Contemporaries
said that Grove's temperament was as mean as his fastball, which carried him through seven straight seasons as the American
League's strikeout king. His career record of 300 wins and 141 loses represents the best winning percentage (.680) of any
pitcher with 300 or more wins. No other pitcher even comes close to Grove's nine ERA titles. Roger Clemens has
led the league six times, while five others have led five times: Pedro Martinez, Sandy Koufax, Walter Johnson, Grover Cleveland
Alexander, and Christy Mathewson. Martinez, who pitches for the Boston Red Sox, led the American League this year, 2003.
Q. Who is the only pitcher ever to start a World Series game
who, if batting, didn't bat ninth?
A. The one and only Babe Ruth, who, while pitching for the Boston Red Sox,
started the fourth game of the 1918 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. He batted sixth in the order. At the plate, he
drove in two runs on a triple in the fourth inning. On the mound, he pitched seven scoreless innings before surrendering two
runs to Chicago in the eighth. He eventually won the game 3-2, and Boston took the Series in six--the last time the Red Sox
have won it all. (Of course, the Cubs haven't won the Series since 1908.) Few remember what an amazing pitcher
Ruth actually was. In 1916, he posted a league-leading 1.75 ERA and went 23-12 with nine shutouts. From 1916 to 1918, he held
Boston's World Series opponents scoreless for 29 2/3 consecutive innings, a record that stood until 1961. Hitting great Ty
Cobb even said that "Babe Ruth probably gave me more trouble than any other left-handed pitcher. He would have been the greatest
left-hander of the generation if he hadn't moved to the outfield." But he did--because his bat was just too valuable
not to be in the lineup every day. He moved to the Yankees, too, when Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth's rights for $125,000
and a $300,000 mortgage on Fenway Park. Frazee said at the time, "No other club could afford to give the amount the Yankees
have paid for him, and I do not mind saying that I think they are taking a gamble." The Yankees won the first of their many
World Series crowns in 1923.
WHERE AND WHEN WAS THE FIRST RECORDED BASEBALL GAME?
On
June 19, 1846, at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, the New York Club beat the Knickerbockers, 23-1. On that date, another
baseball tradition began: The New York Club pitcher, James Whyte Davis, was fined 6 cents for swearing at the umpire.
WHO WON THE FIRST WORLD SERIES?
The Boston Red
Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three (in what was then a best-of-nine series), October 1 to 13, 1903.
Which cities had the original National league
teams?
Baseball's National League was born in 1876. Eight competing baseball teams met in New York City's Grand
Central Hotel. The first president of the new league was Morgan Gardner Bulkeley, who later became a US Senator. The eight
original cities with teams were: Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Louisville and Hartford.
Two of the original teams are now in the American League (Boston and New York) while Louisville and Hartford are now minor-league
baseball towns.
WHY IS THE PITCHER'S MOUND 60 FEET SIX INCHES
FROM THE HOME PLATE?
Until 1893, the pitcher's mound was 50 feet from home plate. Pitchers were having a
relatively easy time tossing fast balls and strikes, and the game was becoming a bore. Thus, officials decided to move the
mound back 10 feet. A diagram showing a distance of 60' 0" was presented to a surveyor, who was supposed to map out new fields.
Unfortunately, the surveyor misread the diagram as showing 60' 6", and designed the new field accordingly. The blueprints
and several new mounds were finished before the error was noticed, so the measurement remained.
HOW LONG UNTIL A BASEBALL UMPIRE
COULD RETIRE?
Never - In the sport's early days, baseball umpires were unpaid volunteers. They were often a spectator
and, sometimes, a player, chosen by the home team with the consent of the rival team’s captain. In 1878, the National
League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, organized two years earlier, mandated that home baseball teams pay umpires $5 per
game.
WHO WAS BASEBALL’S FIRST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR?
Brooklyn
Dodger great Jackie Robinson, was given the award in 1947. Forty years later, it was officially renamed the Jackie Robinson
Award, although it’s still widely called Rookie of the Year.
Who invented today's baseball bat?
Babe
Ruth is credited with the invention of the modern baseball bat. He was the first player to order a bat with a knob on the
end of the handle. Louisville Slugger produced the bat with which he hit 29 home runs in 1919.
Jack Norworth, who wrote the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game",
had never seen a baseball game when he wrote the song in 1908.
John Valentin is the only Major Leaguer in history to record
an unassisted triple play, hit for the cycle, and hit 3 home runs in one game. [Source: Baltimore Orioles Cable HTS Trivia
Question]
HOW MANY WAYS CAN A BATTER REACH FIRST BASE WITHOUT
HITTING THE BALL?*
There are five ways: a walk; being hit by a pitch; a dropped third
strike; a catcher's interference; and when, on ball four or strike three, a pitch "passes the catcher and lodges in the umpire's
mask or paraphernalia" (rule 705[i]).
How much does a baseball slow down in flight?
The velocity of a pitched baseball is about 8 mph faster as it leaves the pitcher's hand than when it reaches home plate.
IN WHAT YEAR DID TEAMS FROM THE TWO MAJOR BASEBALL
LEAGUES FACE EACH OTHER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN REGULAR-SEASON PLAY? WHO WERE THE TEAMS AND WHICH WON?
On June
12, 1997 the Giants beat the Rangers.
WHAT HAPPENS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IF AN OUTFIELDER
CATCHES A FLY BALL WITH HIS HAT INSTEAD OF HIS GLOVE?
The batter gets three bases.
WHAT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER RETIRED IN 1980
AFTER PLAYING IN FIVE DIFFERENT DECADES?
Outfielder Minnie Minoso, who started out with the Cleveland Indians
in 1949, and ended his career as a pinch hitter for the Chicago White Sox.
What Baseball pitcher won more games than anyone
else in Major League history yet never won the coveted 'Cy Young' award?
Answer: Cy Young
As of 1999, seven umpires are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame: Jocko Conlan (1974), Tommy Connolly (1953), Bill
Klem (1953), Billy Evans (1973), Cal Hubbard (1976), Al Barlick (1989), and Bill McGowan (1992).
* A Mighty MitchMan "thanks!" to Tom C for correcting an error that originally claimed there were 6
ways a batter could reach base without hitting the ball. There are 5.
Origin of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
The classic baseball song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" was written in
1908 by Jack Norworth, who according to the old story, was riding a train and saw a sign that said, "Ballgame Today at the
Polo Grounds".
So Norworth came up with the set of now-familiar lyrics and put them
together with music composed by Albert Von Tilzer.
Oddly enough, neither Norworth nor Tilzer had ever been to a baseball
game when the song was written.
In the official 1927 version, there are four verses to the song.
Two are the familiar "Take me out to the ballgame" choruses and the other two about Nelly Kelly's Love of baseball.
Source: Los Angeles Times
On the fiftieth anniversary of his song, Major League Baseball, Inc. presented
Jack Norworth — who attended his first Major League ballgame on June 27, 1940 (Brooklyn Dodgers 5 vs. Chicago Cubs 4)
— with a gold lifetime ball park pass.
Jack Norworth wrote over 2,500 songs, including "Shine On, Harvest Moon",
and several other baseball songs, but none more famous than "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".
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Author: Jack Norworth ©
Composer:
Albert Von Tilzer
Published on: 1908, 1927
Published by: York Music Company |
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Nelly Kelly love baseball games,
Knew the
players, knew all their names,
You could see her there ev'ry day,
Shout "Hurray," when they'd play.
Her boy friend
by the name of Joe
Said, "To Coney Isle, dear, let's go,"
Then Nelly started to fret and pout,
And to him I heard
her shout.
"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out
with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for
the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."
Nelly Kelly was sure some fan,
She would
root just like any man,
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along, good and strong.
When the score was just two to
two,
Nelly Kelly knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song.
"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out
with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for
the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game." |
Used without permission, but with the best of intentions.
"Casey At the Bat" is my favorite sports poem,
and in my opinion, one of the all-time best sports poems ever.
"CASEY AT THE BAT"
By Ernest L. Thayer
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score
stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A
pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung
to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Casey could but get a whack at that—
We'd
put up even money now, with Casey at the bat.
But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the
former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed
but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.
But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And
Blake, the much despisèd, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There
was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.
Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty
yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For
Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There
was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No
stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five
thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance
flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the
air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped—
"That
ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one!" the umpire said.
From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled
roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone
on the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.
With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He
stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But
Casey still ignored it and the umpire said, "Strike two!"
"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud!"
But
one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And
they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.
The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in
hate,
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate;
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And
now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The
band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But
there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.
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