Major League Baseball

By Eric Geier

Major League Baseball is as American as apple pie and Fourth of July fireworks; it is our country’s oldest sport, one that will always be synonymous with the United States of America. Baseball has gone through a lot, especially recently. Great players have come and gone, records have been broken and epic games have been played.

The first professional team, the New York Knickerbockers (the name was later used for their basketball team) was founded in 1845 by Alexander Cartwright. More clubs were founded soon after as baseball began to grow in popularity. In 1871, the first professional baseball league was created, the National League. This league used many of the same rules as they do today, however one rule was changed, the rule that excluded non-whites from playing the game of baseball, which was a rule that was abolished due in large part to one man, Jackie Robinson. In 1901, the American League was founded, sparking an instant rivalry between the two leagues. In 1903, the first World Series was played, pitting the top teams from each league in a head to head series. From 1903 to 1920, baseball was a very low-scoring, some might say boring game. This period was known as “the dead-ball era.”  It was a pitcher’s game where greats like Cy Young ruled the league, striking out player after player. Cy Young baseballs from this time are still hot collectibles. Soon, as players learned new techniques and training methods, sluggers started out-matching pitchers and created more excitement for fans. In 1920, the Negro Leagues were founded, the first being the Negro National League (NNL). Blacks in America were forced to create their own leagues after being shunned by most white men who played baseball. The creation of these leagues eventually led to the de-segregation of the sport.

In the 1920’s, the so-called “dead-ball era” was over thanks to one man, George Herman Ruth, otherwise known as, The Babe. Babe Ruth was a pure power hitter who changed the game forever. He also helped propel the Yankees to the top of the baseball world; they have more championships than any other baseball team ever, with 26 World Series championships. Many Yankees fans get Babe Ruth posters to commemorate him. Many of the greatest players ever have played for the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson are just a few of the great players who have won championships with the Yankees. Because they are so successful, many fans outside of New York have disliked them for the sheer fact that they always win. Still, you can spot Yankees jerseys all over the country. 

In 1994, baseball players went on strike and many people lost interest. Some even thought that baseball could never recover from the strike. However, in 2001, two players helped revitalize the game with one of the most publicized record races ever. This of course, is the well-known homerun duel between Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa, a contest to beat Roger Maris’s record of 61 home runs. This event brought excitement back into the game; it created new fans and brought back old ones. Both Sammy Sosa baseballs and Mark McGwire baseballs from this period are sought after by collectors. At this point the game seemed so pure, so honest.  It was America’s Game again, but that was short lived. Soon after, speculation started to arise amongst fans and reporters about the use of performance enhancing drugs. In 2005, some of the speculations were proved true when Jose Canseco wrote a book claiming steroids and performance enhancers were everywhere in baseball.. When Canseco wrote this book, he started a new era in baseball, “the steroid era.” All of the accusations and questions eventually led to government involvement. The Mitchell Report, released in December 2007, named a number of well-known players linked to steroid use, including Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Now, baseball is trying to fight their new found reputation as a “juiced” league. The investigations are still ongoing and it may be many years before the game is as clean and pure as it was during its glory days.

Did you mean, Cartright, Gerig, DiMagio, Marris, Mariss, MacGuire, Petitte or Pettite