The History of Baseball

Unlike professional basketball and American football,

interest in baseball has not been sweeping the globe .
Declining participation at the amateur level and
protracted labor problems at the professional level
have thrust “America’s Pastime” into an era of
uncertainty. Despite this current adversity, baseball
will always occupy an important place in American
culture. This column starts a three part look at the
history of baseball.

Most cultures have some sort of stick and ball game, cricket being the most well-known.
While the exact origins of baseball are unknown, most historians agree that it is based
on the English game of rounders. It began to become quote popular in this country in
the early 19th century, and many sources report the growing popularity of a game called
“townball”, “base”, or “baseball”.

Throughout the early part of that century, small towns formed teams, and baseball clubs
were formed in larger cities. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright wanted to formalize a list of
rules by which all team could play. Much of that original code is still in place today.
Although popular legend says that the game was invented by Abner Doubleday,
baseball’s true father was Cartwright.

The first recorded baseball contest took place a year later, in 1846. Cartwright’s
Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club in a game at the Elysian Fields, in
Hoboken, New Jersey. These amateur games became more frequent and more
popular. In 1857, a convention of amateur teams was called to discuss rules and other
issues. Twenty five teams from the northeast sent delegates. The following year, they
formed the National Association of Base Ball Players, the first organized baseball
league. In its first year of operation, the league supported itself by occasionally charging
fans for admission. The future looked very bright.

The early 1860s, however were a time of great turmoil in the United States. In those
years of the Civil War, the number of baseball clubs dropped dramatically. But interest
in baseball was carried to other parts of the country by Union soldiers, and when the
war ended there were more people playing baseball than ever before. The league’s
annual convention in 1868 drew delegates from over 100 clubs.

As the league grew, so did the expenses of playing. Charging admission to games
started to become more common, and teams often had to seek out donations or
sponsors to make trips. In order for teams to get the financial support they needed,
winning became very important. Although the league was supposed to be comprised of
amateurs, many players were secretly paid. Some were given jobs by sponsors, and
some were secretly paid a salary just for playing.
In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings decided to become a completely professional
team. Brothers Harry and George Wright recruited the best players from around the
country, and beat all comers. The Cincinnati team won sixty-five games and lost none.
The idea of paid players quickly caught on.

Some wanted baseball to remain an amateur endeavor, but there was no way they
could compete with the professional teams. The amateur teams began to fade away as
the best players became professionals. In 1871, the National Association became the
first professional baseball league.

Skills to Learn

Throwing-

Throwing is an essential skill in baseball that requires coordination of the whole body.
Each throw needs to be quick and accurate in order to hinder the opposing team from
scoring.

Balance, stability, strong arms and perfect timing is vital in throwing a baseball.
When a player throws a baseball, he needs to efficiently control his body movement
and maintain his center of gravity allowing him to generate strength and move precisely.

With proper training and conditioning, strong arms will allow a player to throw fastballs
past the hitter. Lastly, with continuous practice of throwing, a player can intuitively
perceive when is the perfect time to throw the baseball fast enough for the opponents to
miss.

Hitting-

The main goal of the players who hold the bat is to hit the ball and drive it away, far
away from the fielders. By hitting the baseball hard enough, the fielders will be running
after the baseball giving the hitter ample time to run from the plate to the first base.

Confidence, hand-eye coordination, timing, strong arms and good grip make a good
hitter. Hitting itself is a battle on its own. A hitter is in limbo whether to wait for an easy
pitch or start a hitting spree not to mention, pressured that it will only take three strikes
and he is out.
That is where confidence comes into the picture, if a player is confident with his ability to
hit the ball, he can combine both his mental focus and physical strength to hit the
baseball with accuracy and strength.

Hand-eye coordination enables a player to coordinate what his eyes see to guide his
hands and accomplish his task, to hit the ball. An excellent baseball player works very
hard to perfect his rhythm and timing by continuously practicing his timing drills.

Fielding-

When the opposing team is batting, the fielders support the pitcher in the field. The
fielder is any defensive player whose goal is to protect his base and secure the flying
baseball in his hands and hold it as firmly as possible.

Fielding requires strong arms as baseball requires a player to catch and throw the
baseball all the time. No matter what a fielder’s position is, agility, good rate of motion,
mobility and leaping ability are vital skills needed to perform their tasks.

Adequate practice and exercise will help a baseball player achieve the level of
sharpness he needs. Moving swiftly and jumping high are essential in catching the
baseball thus speed, mobility and leaping ability goes hand in hand as the elements of
strength required are very much alike.

Catching-

The catcher has the most physically and mentally draining task among the players of
baseball. Making split-second-game-changing decisions, the catcher is considered the
coach on the field.A catcher needs to know the game of baseball by heart, the way a
coach needs to know the game.

Catching is also the most physically demanding compared to other positions on the
field. In order to become a quality catcher, a player needs to be agile which can be
achieved by rigorous training; he needs strong arms for catching, mental awareness to
remain focused and knowledge of the game to come up with tactical plays.
Base Running-

One of the vital skills that are often overlooked in a power game like baseball is base
running. Mobility and speed are the crafts that need to be honed for runners not just in
baseball but also in other sports.

Running helps strengthen the muscles and with continuous training, a player can
endure hours of running on the field.

The tactical part of baseball is base running. Fielders are compelled to throw the ball to
another base if the opposing team has skilful base runners that arrive quicker than they
expected.

In order to become an ace in base running, a player needs to practice drills religiously in
order to help them keep their eye on the ball, have great footwork and build stamina.

Eye – Hand Coordination-

Eye-hand or hand-eye coordination is a crucial skill a baseball player needs. During a

game on the field, a batter needs to quickly process visual information in order for him
to measure how he will hit the ball and the amount of force he needs to exert.

Fielders can avoid the mistake of being caught off-balance. A base runner needs to
focus on the baseball while running. Eye-hand coordination is a motor skill that can be
improved by practicing vision-based exercises regularly which will improve a player’s
alertness, concentration and focus.

In conclusion, the skills needed to become an excellent baseball player are the results
of combining physical agility and mental focus. An excellent baseball player needs
to be strong mentally and physically, work hard and exert consistent effort in order to
achieve his career goal.

Baseball is a stressful game and too much stress can sometimes result in poor
performance. With positive self-talk and visualization, a player can make use of that
stress to encourage himself and reflect on which skills need focus and further training.
Working hard teaches a player to learn discipline and build his character. As long as a
baseball player is passionate with what he does, he will be successful.An excellent
baseball player has to have the heart to passionately love the game, the agility to
endure the physical pain it may cause, the consistency to perfect his skills and the
determination to succeed.

Facilities and Equipment

Bases-

The three bases and home plate make up a diamond, with 90 feet between each of the
bases. From Home to Second Base is 127' 3 3/8". The distance between the pitcher's
rubber and home plate in baseball is 60 feet, 6 inches. The home plate is 17 inches
wide.

Pitcher Mound-

The Pitchers Mound is 60' 6" in front of the home plate, in the line between home plate
and second base.

Outfield-

The original rules of baseball did not specify the minimum size of the outfield.
Consequently, there are outfields of very differing sizes. Most professional ball parks in
the USA were built to the confines that the city offered them. For example here are
some field sizes:

o Boston's Fenway: 310 feet in Left - 420 feet in Center - 302 feet in Right

o Detroit's Comerica Park: 345 feet in Left - 420 feet in Center - 330 feet in Right

o Chicago's Wrigley Field: 355 feet in Left - 400 feet in Center - 353 feet in Right

o Houston's Minute Maid Park: 315 feet in Left - 435 feet in Center - 326 feet in
Right
Baseball Bat-
You can't really play baseball without a bat! While there is a ton of fun to be had by just
getting your glove on and playing catch with a friend, the game itself involves hitting and
that means a bat.
There are many different kinds of bats and, like gloves, there are models for youth and
adult. Youth bats have smaller barrels and are a lot lighter. Adult bats are heavier and
have bigger barrels. It's easier to hit the ball more solidly with a bigger barrel, so my
advice is to get a bat that's as big as you can handle. By handle I mean hold and swing
comfortably, and it doesn't feel like a log in your hands.
There are aluminum and other types of metal bats and there are wood bats. Most
leagues lower than professional baseball use metal bats. There are some nice
advantages to metal; they hit the ball a little better and they don't break!

Baseballs-
Most baseballs are made of a rubberized core, wrapped with yarn (very densely), and
covered with full grain leather. There are differences to this with some balls, and some
balls are covered with plastic to make them better for use in wet weather.
Baseballs are very hard, and weigh 5.25 ounces. They're perfectly round and designed
to throw.

Batting Helmet-
If you're going to be playing in a game, or stepping in to try to hit live pitching, you'll
need a helmet. Helmets are made of strong plastic material and have padding on the
inside for safety and comfort.

Catchers Gear-
If you want to be a catcher, you'll need protective gear. Catcher's gear consists of leg
guards, chest pad, and a helmet. The gear comes in all the different sizes that you'll
need and is made by many different companies.
Catchers get hit by plenty of baseballs over the course of a baseball game. Hitters foul
balls off, pitchers throw them in the dirt which in turn bounce into the catcher, and all of
them hurt! Without catchers gear, don't even think about getting back there to catch
pitches behind a hitter.

Protective Cup-
This is not the most fun thing to buy, or wear, in baseball but it is very important if your a
male. Baseball shorts have a pocket in the front to put a protective cup in.
These are particularly important if the player is on the infield where he will get a lot of
ground balls, but every player should really wear them. It only takes one time without
one of these and you'll be regretting it for a long time!

Baseball Hat-
From keeping the sun out of your eyes to looking cool with the latest teams logo, a
baseball hat is a must for a game. Every baseball player wears a hat, and they come in
adjustable or custom sizes.

Baseball Cleats-
You've got to wear cleats if you're going to be running around on grass and dirt for a
baseball game. Youth players wear cleats made of rubber, which don't grip the ground
as well but are safer. Once players are in middle school and beyond, they wear metal
cleats which provide much better traction.
Cleats come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and almost anything is allowed unless a
coach requires that a whole team wears the same cleats. You can buy cleats based on
your regular shoe size, although they feel quite a bit different so I recommend trying
them on before you order them.

Baseball Pants-
To truly look the part of a baseball player, you need baseball pants! Young players wear
pants of various colors, some gray, some black, and most wear white. Old guys wear
white and gray pants and some have pinstripes on them as well.
You can choose between two different styles of pants, up or down. The pants that are
designed to be worn up have elastic at the bottom of them so you can pull them up and
show your high socks in your team color. Most players today wear open bottom pants
that are designed to be worn down to your ankles.

Batting Gloves-
You'll need some batting gloves if you're going to be spending a lot of time swinging the
bat. The bat will give you blisters on your hands, and vibration from the ball hitting the
wrong spot on the bat will rattle your hands like crazy. Batting gloves will cure both of
these things and will help you grip the bat better too!

Baseball Glove-
One of the first things you'll need is a baseball glove. There a ton of baseball gloves out
there from numerous companies. They come in a wide variety of materials, sizes,
colors, designs, and uses. A catcher uses a mitt, which is typically much larger than a
traditional baseball glove, and designed to catch blazing fastballs from pitchers.
 PROJECT IN MAPEH

Submitted By: Rolendez A. Terrado

Grade & Section: VIII-Faith

Submitted To: Mrs. Lyn T. Palabrica