Historia Del Base

Historia del bisbol
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Historia del bisbol se ha desarrollado principalmente en los Estados Unidos, aunque se ha

extendido en pases y regiones como Australia, Europa, Asia, etc. Si bien el origen exacto del
juego es difcil de determinar, la mayora de los que han hecho estudios de su historia
coinciden en que el baseball evolucion desde una variedad de juegos de caractersticas
similares. Una leyenda popular, actualmente descartada, cuenta que Abner Doubleday, quin
fue oficial del Ejrcito de la Unin durante la Guerra Civil Estadounidense (1861-1865), invent
el bisbol en Cooperstown (Nueva York) en 1839,pero no existe ninguna sustentacin
razonable para esta afirmacin. Dos instituciones importantes de este deporte Saln de la
Fama y Museo Nacional de Bisbol se encuentran ubicados en Cooperstown, estado de New
York, Estados Unidos.
ndice
[ocultar]
1 Principios
o
1.1 Knickerbocker Baseball Club
1.2 El juego de los Campos Eliseos
1.3 La primera asociacin
2 El profesionalismo y orgenes de las Grandes Ligas

o
2.1 La primera liga profesional
2.2 Campeones de la NAPBBP
3 La Liga Nacional
o
3.1 Las series de exhibicin de la Liga Nacional contra la Asociacin Americana
3.2 La Serie Mundial original
3.2.1 Liga Nacional (NL) vs. American Association (AA)

4 Las Grandes Ligas
4.1 La Era de la Pelota Muerta
4.2 Nuevos estadios
El corrector
4.3 El escndalo de los Medias Negras de Chicago
4.4 El juez Landis y el fin de la era de la pelota muerta
5 Historia del bisbol fuera de los Estados Unidos
6 La Copa Del Beisbol Femenina
7 Referencias
Principios[editar]
Mencin al bisbol (BaseBall) en A Little Pretty Pocket-Book de 1744.
Existen evidencias de que se han practicado juegos con un palo y una bola desde los albores
de la civilizacin. Antiguas culturas, enPersia, Egipto y Grecia, practicaron estos juegos como
forma de diversin y como parte de ciertas ceremonias. Juegos de este estilo se extendieron
durante la Edad Media por toda Europa y se popularizaron en varias formas. Juegos similares
fueron introducidos por europeos en sus colonias de Amrica alrededor del siglo XVI.
A pesar de la versin popular del origen del bisbol creada por Doubleday, existen numerosas
referencias a los trminos baseball y bat and ball halladas en documentos del principio
del Siglo XVII.1 En realidad, el origen del bisbol debera ser definido como la evolucin de
dicho deporte, ya que, segn lo que los historiadores del juego han venido encontrando, el
bisbol es una derivacin del Stool Ball practicado en la Edad Media, y a su vez, el Stool
Ball proviene de juegos rituales practicados en el mundo antiguo. La primera referencia al
trmino Base ball se da en 1744, poco menos de cien aos antes de que Abner Doubleday,
supuestamente lo inventara en Cooperstown, Nueva York.
En 1744 surge en Inglatera la primera evidencia impresa del juego Base Ball que fue
publicada en un libro de pasatiempos infantiles. En ese ao y 1796 surgen otras referencias
hacia ese deporte en Europa. En 1796, las primeras reglas del Base Ball se publicaron
en Alemania, lo que da cuenta, que en ese pas, probablemente el juego ya se practicaba.
El juego emigra de Europa a Amrica entre mediados y finales del siglo XVIII llevado por los
colonos ingleses que se establecan en el Nuevo Mundo. La primera referencia de base ball
en Estados Unidos data de abril de 1778, registrada en el diario del soldado George Ewing:
hice ejercicio por la tarde y en los intervalos jugu base.
En 1786, el estudiante de Princeton, John Rhea Smith, menciona en su diario que
Un buen da, jugu 'base ball'(sic) en el campus pero fui batido porque fall catcheando y golpeando la
bola.
Alexander Cartwright
Posteriormente, en 1791, se emite una prohibicin en el pueblo de

Pittsfield Massachusetts para
preservar las ventanas de la nueva Casa de Juntas... ninguna persona, ser permitida de practicar los
juegos llamados Wicket, Cricket, Base Ball, Football, Cat, Fives o cualquier otro juego de pelota, dentro
de una distancia de 80 yardas de la referida Casa de Juntas.
De cualquier forma es a partir de la lista de reglas publicadas por Alexander

Cartwright en 1845, conocidas como las Knickerbocker Rules por ser las aplicadas por el
equipo Knickerbockers, que se estableci y evolucion la forma moderna del juego. 2
Knickerbocker Baseball Club[editar]

El primer club organizado de bisbol fue formado en 1842 por un grupo de jvenes en la
ciudad de Nueva York, encabezado porAlexander Cartwright, que llam a su
club Knickerbocker Base Ball Club. Los Knickerbockers desarrollaron un conjunto de veinte
reglas, publicadas por primera vez en 1845, que se convirtieron en la base del bisbol
moderno. El 19 de junio de 1846, losKnickerbockers jugaron el que est considerado como el
primer partido oficial de bisbol moderno al enfrentarse a otro equipo organizado de bisbol
llamado New York Club, en lo que es ahora Hoboken (Nueva Jersey).
El estilo de juego de los Knickerbockers se extendi rpidamente durante la dcada de 1850,
se fundaron clubes de bisbol por toda la ciudad de Nueva York adoptndose nuevas reglas. A
finales de esa dcada, la popularidad del juego se haba extendido ms all de la ciudad y
empez a conocerse como New York Game (el Juego de Nueva York).
El New York Game se populariz durante la Guerra Civil Estadounidense, cuando los miles de
soldados de la Unin, que venan de la ciudad de Nueva York, lo practicaban en los lugares
por donde viajaban. Al finalizar la guerra en 1865, el juego se haba convertido en la variedad
ms popular de bisbol en todo el pas. Poco despus, el nombre de New York
Game desapareci y se llam simplemente baseball.
El juego de los Campos Eliseos[editar]
Juego de bisbol en los Elysian Fields,Hoboken (Currier & Ives lithograph) 1866.
Desde 1845 los Knickerbockers y otros equipos desde entonces utilizaron un terreno en los
llamados Elysian Fields de Hoboken, el cual sirvi de escenario para los primeros encuentros
organizados del deporte. Debido a la falta de espacios abiertos en Manhattan, ya en la dcada
de 1850 varios equipos de esta zona jugaban regularmente en el campo de los Elysian Fields,
muchos de estos equipos formaban parte de la llamada Asociacin Nacional de Jugadores de
Bisbol (National Association of Base Ball Players). En 1865 se registraba ya una asistencia
de 20000 personas a los Elysian para presenciar un encuentro entre los New York Mutual y el
Atlantic Club de Brooklyn. De esta forma una gran parte de los juegos de los equipos del rea
de New York realizaron juegos en Hoboken hasta la construccin en Manhattan del primer
estadio Polo Grounds, que fue sede de los New York Giants y los New York Metropolitans.
La primera asociacin[editar]
En 1857, diecisis equipos del rea de New York enviaron delegados para la primera revisin
del reglamento Knickerbocker de 1845, estos equipos y otros nueve crearon en 1858 la
National Association of Base Ball Players, si bien no rigieron ni programaron oficialmente
ningn juego hasta su desaparicin en 1870. En 1862, durante la Guerra Civil equipos de la
asociacin realizaron encuentros en un parque cerrado en Brooklyn en el cual se cobraba
entrada. Debido tambin a la guerra y por la participacin de algunos de los jugadores de la
asociacin en la misma, para 1865 el deporte se haba expandido con franquicias en Fort
Leavenworth (Kansas), St. Louis, Louisville, y Chattanooga, Tennessee, y cerca de 90
miembros al norte y este de Washington.
El profesionalismo y orgenes de las Grandes Ligas[editar]
Equipo Champions of America de 1865.
El 23 de junio de 1866 fue fundado el equipo Cincinnati Base Ball Club en dicha ciudad de
Ohio. Al permitir la Asociacin Nacional la participacin (o apertura a la participacin) de
equipos profesionales en la liga, Harry Wright conform al equipo (ahora llamado Cincinnati
Red Stockings por el color de las medias del uniforme) con jugadores a los que se les daba un
salario, desde el 15 de marzo de 1869 hasta el 15 de noviembre de 1869 por primera vez una
plantilla de jugadores de bisbol recibieron compensacin econmica por una temporada de
juegos. Entre 1869 y 1870 los Reds participaron en un elevado nmero de juegos (ms de 70
en 1869) perdiendo solo seis, sin embargo para finales de 1870 la atencin del pblico haba
disminuido considerablemente y el equipo fue desbandado en 1871. Harry Wright y su
hermano George fueron llamados por un empresario de Boston para organizar un equipo
profesional en esa ciudad (los Boston Red Stockings) que formase parte de la nueva liga
profesional en formacin.
La primera liga profesional[editar]

En 1871 se reuni por ltima vez la Asociacin de Jugadores, en la convencin de ese ao se
cont con la presencia de cientos de representantes estatales. Estos decidieron dar fin a la
era de los clubes y separaron a los equipos profesionales y amateurs, fundando los primeros
la National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (Asociacin Nacional de jugadores
profesionales de Bisbol). Esta es considerada la primera liga profesional de bisbol del
mundo y lleg a contar con los siguientes equipos:
Boston Red Stockings (*actualmente Atlanta Braves) (1871-1875)
Chicago White Stockings (*actualmente Chicago Cubs) (1871; 1874-1875)
Cleveland Forest Citys (1871-1872)
Fort Wayne Kekiongas (1871)
New York Mutuals (1871-1875)
Philadelphia Athletics (1871-1875)
Rockford Forest Citys (1871)
Troy Haymakers (1871-1872)
Washington Olympics (1871-1872)
Brooklyn Atlantics (1872-1875)
Brooklyn Eckfords (1872)
Baltimore Canaries (1872-1874)
Middletown Mansfields (1872)
Washington Nationals (1872-1873; 1875) Washington Blue Legs (1873)
Baltimore Marylands (1873)
Philadelphia White Stockings (1873-1875) (llamados en ocasiones los "Pearls" o

"Phillies")
Elizabeth Resolutes (1873)
Hartford Dark Blues (1874-1875)
Philadelphia Centennials (1875)
New Haven Elm Citys (1875)
St. Louis Brown Stockings (1875)
St. Louis Red Stockings (1875)
Keokuk Westerns (1875)
Campeones de la NAPBBP[editar]
1871 Philadelphia Athletics
1872 Boston Red Stockings
En 1875 la asociacin desapareci debido en parte a que algunos de los equipos estaban
ubicados en ciudades pequeas lo que dificultaba el soporte financiero y deportivo de los
clubes, y por otra parte debido al excesivo dominio del equipo de Boston. Eventualmente siete
jugadores de esta primera liga profesional fueron incluidos en el Saln de la Fama del Bisbol:
[Cap Anson]
[Tyga Johan]
[Pud Galvin]
[Jim O'Rourke (beisbolista)|Jim O'Rourke]
[Al Spalding]
[George Wright]
[johan Dajome]
La Liga Nacional[editar]
En 1876, despus de la disolucin por inefectividad de la Asociacin de Jugadores
Profesionales, naci la Liga Nacional (National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs) an
existente, la cual, para evitar algunas de las deficiencias de la liga precedente, se centr en
los clubes ms que en los jugadores. La liga estructur los contratos para que los jugadores
no saltasen indriscriminadamente a otros equipos de un ao a otro por mejoras salariales y
oblig a los equipos a ceirse a un programa de juegos por temporada los cuales deban
atender hasta el final de la misma an si ya hubiese un claro ganador en la liga en lugar de
simplemente dejar de realizar dichos encuentros lo cual era comn en la anterior Asociacin
de Jugadores. Los equipos que inicialmente conformaron la Liga Nacional fueron:
Chicago White Stockings (actualmente Chicago Cubs).
Philadelphia Athletics (expulsados despus de la temporada de 1876).
Boston Red Stockings, (equipo dominante en la Asociacin Profesional, actualmente

los Atlanta Braves).
Hartford Dark Blues (hasta la temporada de 1877)
Mutual of New York (expulsados despus de la temporada de 1876).
St. Louis Brown Stockings (Browns)
Cincinnati Red Stockings, una nueva franquicia, diferente de la que existi hasta 1871.
Louisville Grays, nueva franquicia que existi hasta 1877 cuando 4 de sus jugadores
fueron expulsados del juego por apostar.
La clusula de reserva impuesta a los jugadores, la cual les impeda ir a otro equipo por
mejoras salariales, provoc disgusto y la creacin de diversas ligas paralelas, la ms existosa
de estas fue la Asociacin Americana (American Association) que dur desde 1881 hasta
1891. Durante la existencia de esta liga se disput en varias oportunidades un serie de post
temporada entre los campeones de las misma que fue un preludio a las Series Mundiales.
Baltimore Orioles de la Liga Nacional en 1896.
Las series de exhibicin de la Liga Nacional contra la Asociacin Americana[editar]
1882 Serie de 2 juegos; Chicago White Stockings (Liga Nacional) gan 1, Cincinnati
Reds (American Association) gan 1.
1883 Serie planificadas entre los Boston Beaneaters de la Nacional y los Philadelphia
Athletics de la American Association; Philadelphia cancel la serie luego de perder la
llamada City Series frente a los Phillies.
La Serie Mundial original[editar]

Aunque estas series fueron promocionadas como el "Campeonato de Serie Mundial" ("World's
Championship Series), o World's Series, no son oficialmente reconocidas como parte de la
historia de las Series Mundiales por la organizacin de las Grandes Ligas de Bisbol.3
En general la organizacin de las Grandes Ligas de Bisbol se refiere a los eventos del
bisbol del siglo XIX como un prlogo de las Era Moderna del Bisbol, la cual est definida por
las dos ligas actuales (Nacional y Americana)
Baseball Cyclopedia de Ernest Lanigan (de la dcada de 1920) y Encyclopedia of Baseball de
Turkin y Thompson (varios aos 1951-1960) han listado las series del siglo XIX como iguales
a las presentes. La revista Sporting News igualmente ignor, desde las dcada de 1920, las
series del siglo XIX.
Liga Nacional (NL) vs. American Association (AA)[editar]
1884 Providence Grays (NL) gan 3 de 3 juegos a New York Metropolitans (AA) - el
ganador de 60 juegos Old Hoss Radbourn lanz todos los innings por Providence.
1885 St. Louis Browns (AA) gan 3, Chicago White Stockings (NL), ms un juego
empatado en una serie de siete encuentros.
1886 St. Louis Browns (AA) 4, Chicago White Stockings (NL) 2.
1887 Detroit Wolverines (NL) 10, St. Louis Browns (AA) 5.
1888 New York Giants (NL) 6, St. Louis Browns (AA) 4.
1889 New York Giants (NL) 6, Brooklyn Bridegrooms (AA) 3.
1890 Brooklyn Bridegrooms (NL) 3, Louisville Colonels (AA) 3, 1 empate (por lluvia y
baja asistencia).
1891 Boston Beaneaters (NL), Boston Reds (AA) - la Liga Nacional instruye a los
Beaneaters no jugar la serie debido a la reestructuracin de la liga; subsecuentemente la
American Association declina.
Las Grandes Ligas[editar]

De hecho durante los primeros aos de existencia de la Liga Nacional hubo varias ligas que
en algn momento llegaron a tener la calidad suficiente para denominarse "grandes" sin
embargo lo que hizo de la Nacional una gran liga fue el hecho de, adems de tener un
importante nmero de jugadores de calidad, estar ubicada en las ciudades de mayor aficin y
de la consecuente elevada taquilla que reciban los encuentros. En 1893, Ban Johnson
arremeti contra la Liga Nacional fundando la Liga del Oeste (Western League) prometiendo
mejores jugadores y estadios, en abril de 1894 la nueva liga comenz con juegos
en Detroit (nica ciudad de la liga cuyo equipo no se ha mudado), Grand
Rapids,Indianpolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Sioux City y Toledo. En 1900 la
Western League cambi de nombre a Liga Americana mudando sus franquicias a ciudades
ms grandes y manifestando su intencin de ser una liga mayor. En 1901 las Liga Americana
comenz a operar con una gran cantidad de jugadores emigrados de la Nacional, lo cual
caus una importante polmica, especialmente cuando el reconocido Nap Lajoie, segunda
base de los Philadelphia Phillies y lder en carreras impulsadas de la Liga Nacional en 1896,
pas a la nueva franquicia de la Americana de la misma ciudad, los Philadelphia Athletics,
causando un interdicto de una corte en Pennsylvania que le prohiba jugar en ese estado, al
no aplicar para ningn otro estado de la Unin, Lajoie fue cambiado al equipo de Cleveland
que tom el nombre de Naps.
En 1902 los dueos de equipo de ambas ligas tomaron la decisin de firmar el llamado
Acuerdo Nacional (National Agreement) el cual adems de retomar y reforzar las clusulas de
reserva de los equipo (que hacan de los jugadores virtualmente esclavos de la organizacin
con la que firmaban), y de establecer la moderna Serie Mundial, fortaleci el sistemas de las
dos grandes ligas mayores, dando lugar al nacimiento de la organizacin de las Grandes
Ligas de Bisbol. Sin embargo, las clusulas contractuales de reserva provocaron el
nacimiento tambin de una nueva liga independiente que fue importante y fuerte durante algn
tiempo, llamada, al igual que la primera liga de las historia del bisbol, la Asociacin Nacional
de Jugadores de Bisbol. Eventualmente la fuerza se estas nueva liga independiente decay y
fue absorbida por las ligas mayores en un nuevo sistema de formacin de jugadores
profesionales llamada Ligas Menores.
La Era de la Pelota Muerta[editar]

Se conoce como era de la pelota muerta al perodo de los inicios del bisbol profesional ya
profundamente asentado, cerca de 1900 hasta el ao 1919, cuando tres incidentes
independientes forzaron algunos cambios en los reglamentos, especialmente en lo
concerniente a la pelota con que se jugaba. Estos incidentes fueron, la muerte de Ray
Chapman por un pelotazo recibido de un lanzamiento del pitcher Carl Mays el 6 de
agosto de 1920, el llamado Escndalo de los Medias Negras (Chicago White Sox) de 1919 y el
surgimiento de la figura de Babe Ruth.
Durante la era de la pelota muerta los juegos tendan a tener bajos marcadores ya en 1921
increment en un 40 % el promedio de carreras anotadas y el dominio de los lanzadores era
evidente, con grandes figuras como Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, y Grover
Cleveland Alexander. La misma pelota favoreca la labor de los lanzadores por una razn
econmica, cada bola tena un elevado precio de tres dlares (unos 65 dlares ajustado a la
inflacin de 2005) por lo que los dueos de los equipos no estaban dispuestos a cambiar con
frecuencia la misma y no era inusual que una bola durase todo el juego, al final del cual la bola
poda estar sucia de grama, barro, sudor y tabaco, adems de poder estar deformada por los
sucesivos batazos, las pelotas solo eran reemplazadas si eran bateadas hacia el pblico y no
eran devueltas.
Debido a esto el juego era mayormente en el cuadro interno, donde haba pocos jonrones, y
las jugadas ofensivas comunes eran los hits, los toques de bola y el robo de bases. A pesar de
esto, en esa poca hubo grandes figuras del bate como Honus Wagner, Nap Lajoie, Ty Cobb
quien mantiene el promedio de bateo de por vida ms alto de la historia, Tris
Speaker y Shoeless Joe Jackson, entre otros grandes bateadores de la poca.
Nuevos estadios[editar]
Si bien la asistencia promedio de espectadores de los 1100 juegos de 1901 fue de solo
3247,4 durante la siguiente dcada el bisbol de Grandes Ligas lleg a convertirse en el
deporte ms popular de los Estados Unidos. Grandes estadios fueron construidos
especficamente para albergar a los espectadores aficionados al bisbol, entre ellos el Tiger
Stadium en Detroit, el Shibe Park, hogar de los Philadelphia Athletics, el Ebbets
Field en Brooklyn, el Polo Grounds en Manhattan, el Fenway Park de Boston, y los estadios
deChicago; el Wrigley Field y el Comiskey Park.
El escndalo de los Medias Negras de Chicago[editar]

Artculo principal: Escndalo de los Medias Negras
Si bien comnmente se habl de rumores sobre las apuestas en los juegos de Grandes Ligas
y de arreglos de juegos a tal fin, siendo incluso estrellas como Tris Speaker y Ty Cobb
eventualmente acusados de arreglar juegos en su poca como conductores de sus
respectivos equipos acusaciones que fueron desestimadas posteriormente, nunca se haba
comprobado el alcance de dichos arreglos hasta que se devel el escndalo suscitado por el
arreglo que algunos jugadores del equipo Chicago White Sox, favoritos en la Serie
Mundial de 1919, realizaron para perder la serie contra los Cincinnati Reds a cambio de una
suma de dinero. El dueo del equipo de Chicago, Charles Comiskey, tena un equipo
conformado por algunas de las estrellas de la poca como Shoeless Joe Jackson y Eddie
Cicotte quien haba ganado 29 juegos en la temporada de 1919 y jugadores de consistente
desempeo como Eddie Collins y Chuck Weaver, sin embargo los jugadores de Chicago
tenan el salario promedio ms bajo de la Liga Americana, muchos de los jugadores que
hubiesen podido alcanzar mejoras en sus pagos estaban atados al los Sox por la infame
"clusula de reserva". Entre las versiones que han circulado acerca de las posibles razones
por las cuales los jugadores de Chicago podran haber aceptado el arreglo, se cuenta la
ancdota de los 29 juegos ganados de Cicotte, quin tena un salario de 6000 dlares pero
poda ganar un bono de 10 000 dlares si ganaba 30 juegos o ms, al ganar su juego 29
faltando varios juegos para el final de la temporada, Comiskey dio la orden al manager del
equipo, Kid Gleason, que sentase en el banco a Cicotte para prevenir un trigsimo triunfo y
evitar pagar el bono. De cualquier forma, Chick Gandil, primera base del equipo, fue
contactado, a travs de un amigo, por Arnold Rothstein, conocido apostador y presunto jefe de
la mafia en Chicago, para proponerse que los White Sox perdieran la serie. Finalmente, para
sorpresa de la aficin y los expertos y cronistas deportivos Chicago perdi la Serie Mundial
frente a Cincinnati, lo cual levant sospechas y eventualmente llev a que se develara el
arreglo. El escndalo que despert llev a ocho jugadores del equipo a un juicio, por conspirar
para perder la serie, en el que se develaron muchos de los detalles del arreglo, y si bien
fueron absueltos por el gran jurado, la desconfianza del pblico dio un duro golpe al bisbol
organizado.
El juez Landis y el fin de la era de la pelota muerta [editar]
Babe Ruth vistiendo el uniforme de losYankees en 1920.
El escndalo de los Medias Negras afect la credibilidad del espectculo y para evitar que
esta prdida de confianza afectara la asistencia a los estadios en la venidera temporada, los
propietarios de los equipos de Grandes Ligas llamaron al juez federal Kenesaw Mountain
Landis, figura muy respetada en el pas, para ofrecerle el cargo de primer Comisionado del
bisbol de las Grandes Ligas. Landis dirigi la organizacin de las ligas mayores por 24 aos.
Al da siguiente de la decisin del gran jurado exonerando a los jugadores de Chicago, Landis
actu independientemente en consecuencia prohibiendo a los ocho jugadores presuntamente
implicados en el escndalo de cualquier tipo de participacin de por vida en el bisbol de las
Grandes Ligas, incluso Joe Jackson y Chuck Weaver, de quienes nunca se pudo probar su
participacin.
Para 1920, adems de los cambios en la organizacin llevados por el comisionado, la muerte
de Carl Mays llev a hacer importantes cambios en la pelota, que aument la cantidad de
corcho en su centro causando que la bola saliese con mayor velocidad del bate y se oblig a
su cambio regular ante la ms mnima deformacin, prohibindose las llamada "bolas
ensalivadas" que favorecan la labor de los lanzadores. Estos cambios favorecieron a los
bateadores y comenz una nueva era en el bisbol, con predominio del juego ofensivo sobre
el defensivo o estratgico. Adems del surgimiento de la gran figura del bisbol que dominara
los siguientes aos la escena y se convertira en la primera superestrella del deporte, George
Herman "Babe" Ruth.
Historia del bisbol fuera de los Estados Unidos[editar]

Dada su rpida expansin en los Estados Unidos, el bisbol pronto comenz a jugarse fuera
de ese pas, en 1874 clubes de bisbol de Boston y Philadelphia hicieron una gira por el Reino
Unido, jugando cricket y haciendo demostraciones de bisbol. Ya en 1868 se fund
en Canad el equipo London Tecumsehs en Ontario, en 1875 este equipo derrotaba al tnas,
de Detroit.5
En Cuba, la tradicin del bisbol se remonta a 1878, el 29 de diciembre de ese ao se efectu
el primer juego de lo que llegara a ser la Liga Profesional de Bisbol de Cuba, que
permanecera hasta 1961, en este encuentro participaba, como capitn del equipo Habana
Base Ball Club, Esteban Belln quien haba sido el primer latinoamericano en jugar
profesionalmente en Grandes Ligas (1871-1873), el club de la Habana fue a su vez el primero
de Amrica Latina. Ya en 1889, Wenceslao Glvez escribi el primer libro sobre la "Historia
del Base-Ball en Cuba", que de hecho fue el primer texto documental sobre el bisbol que se
haya escrito.6 La Liga Cubana suspendi sus actividades en1895-96 y 1896-97 debido a los
conflictos de la Guerra de Independencia.
Artculo principal: Bisbol en Cuba
A Puerto Rico lleg el bisbol en 1895, efectundose el primer juego oficial el 2 de junio de
1896, en el que el Club Santurce venci al equipo Almendares.7 Desde entonces ha el deporte
ha permanecido como el favorito de la isla. La liga profesional, de dilatada trayectoria sufri
una interrupcin en 2008 que la apart de la Serie del Caribe.
Artculo principal: Bisbol en Puerto Rico
En otros pases de Amrica el inicio del deporte es un poco ms incierto, en Venezuela

posiblemente lleg de la mano de los tcnicos norteamericanos que llegaron al inicio del boom
petrolero a finales del siglo XIX, ya en 1896 haba clubes de bisbol en Maracaibo y Caracas.
El 26 de octubre de 1917 se fund el equipo profesional Magallanes de Catia que an existe
en la Liga Venezolana de Bisbol Profesional, fundada en 1945. El primer venezolano en jugar
en las Grandes Ligas fue el lanzador Alejandro Carrasquel, que debut el 23 de abril de 1939,
desde entonces cerca de 230 venezolanos han jugado en las mayores, destacndose
el shortstop Luis Aparicio, miembro del Saln de la Fama.
Artculo principal: Bisbol en Venezuela
En Panam se conoce el bisbol desde finales del siglo XIX, sin embargo es con la llegada de
personal norteamericano a las obras del Canal de Panam que el deporte comenz a hacerse
popular. El crecimiento del deporte lleva numerosos jugadores panameos a las Grandes
Ligas, siendo el ms destacado Rod Carew, quien fuese exaltado al Saln de la Fama del
Bisbol en 1991.
Artculo principal: Bisbol de Panama
En Mxico el juego tambin lleg a finales del siglo XIX. Segn la Federacin Mexicana de
Bisbol,8 el primer partido de bisbol jugado en ese pas fue en el puertos deGuaymas en
1877. Sin embargo, el primer equipo organizado en Mxico del que se tenga evidencia es
el Union Base Ball Club formado alrededor de 1869 en la fronteriza ciudad de Matamoros
Tamaulipas que cruzaba el Ro Bravo para enfrentar a los equipos americanos
en Brownsville, Texas. De este equipo sobreviven reportes periodsticos fechados en 1869.9
Artculo principal: Bisbol en Mxico
Es posible que el bisbol en la Repblica Dominicana llegase de manos de marinos cubanos

de paso en el pas. La liga profesional empez en 1890 con dos equipos. El reconocido equipo
de Licey fue fundado en 1907. Durante la ocupacin de la isla por tropas norteamericanas en
los aos 1916-1924 creci la aficin por este deporte.
Artculo principal: Bisbol en la Repblica Dominicana
En Chile se conoce que, en la fecha de la celebracin de la independencia de Estados Unidos,

el 4 de julio del ao 1918, se puede encontrar un antecedente del bisbol enChile; es una foto
en la que aparecen disputando un partido jugadores norteamericanos en Tocopilla, en el da
patrio de Estados Unidos.10
Artculo principal: Bisbol en Chile
En Europa, el deporte ha tenido escaso xito, existiendo en la actualidad ligas profesionales

en Holanda e Italia. En el primero de estos pases existe la liga Honkbal Hoofdklasse,
fundada 1922, si bien existen equipos organizados desde 1911.11 En 1944 se inici el
Campeonato de Espaa de Bisbol que pas a llamarse, en 1986, Liga espaola de bisbol.
El primer ganador fue el RCD Espaol pero histricamente el mejor equipo de Espaa es
el Club de Bisbol Viladecans con 21 ttulos consecutivos desde el ao 1982 hasta el
ao 2002. El ltimo ganador en el ao 2006 repitiendo victoria fueron los Marlins Puerto Cruz.
Es en Asia donde el deporte ha calado a nivel profesional con mayor fuerza fuera de Amrica,
en especial en Japn y la Repblica China. En Japn el deporte fue introducido en 1872 por el
militar estadounidense Horace Wilson, si bien el primer club fue establecido en 1878 por
Hiroshi Hiraoka, un ingeniero japons que haba estudiado en Estados Unidos, el equipo fue el
Shimbashi Athletic Club. En 1920 se estableci la liga de bisbol profesional de Japn
(llamada Puro Yaky , bisbol profesional). El deporte es el segundo ms popular en
Japn (despus del Sumo).
La Copa Del Beisbol Femenina[editar]

La Copa del Mundo de Bisbol Femenino inaugural se celebr en Edmonton, Canad en el
verano de 2004 despus de haber sido programada por la IBAF desde 2002. Antes de este
evento, la sola competicin internacional femenina de bisbol era la Serie Mundial Femenina,
que haba comenzado en 2001. Los organizadores del torneo intentaron expandir el xito de
un partido de exhibicin jugado en mayo de 2000 en Tokio. El juego demonstrativo fue
disputado entre Japn y EE. UU. ante 3000 suporteros. Canad yAustralia expresaron su gran
inters y se unieron a EE.UU. y Japn para la Serie Mundial de 2001 y de 2003, siendo
Canad el pas organizador en 2001 y Australia el anfitrin en 2003. En 2002, la Serie
Mundial se jug en EE. UU. (San Petersburgo, Florida). La Serie Mundial de 2004 tuvo ocho
equipos participantes el nmero ms elevado nunca alcanzado antes habiendo
tambin Corea, India, Hong Kong y Taipei Chino. Despus de 2004, la Serie Mundial de pronto
fue eclipsada por La Copa del Mundo Femenina y se convirti en un evento nacional jugado
en el "Complejo Deportivo Disney Wide World" en Orlando, Florida
El Bisbol femenino se ha jugado en EE. UU. a partir de finales del siglo 19. En 1908, Maude
Nelson fue la primera mujer en lanzar en un partido de bisbol contra hombres. Es opinin
generalizada que fue Nelson la cual inspir el himno popular del bisbol "Take me out to the
ball game". Lizzie Murphy en la dcada de 1920 apareci en juegos de bisbol
demonstrativos, incluyendo el Juego All-Star (tanto en la Liga Americana como en la
Nacional). En 1934, la herona olmpica Babe Didrikson (medallista de oro de 1932en el
lanzamiento de jabalina y de los 80 metros vallas en Los ngeles) lanz en partidos
demonstrativos para los Atlticos de Filadelfia, los Cardenales de San Luis y los Indios de
Cleveland.
Grandes Ligas de Bisbol

Este artculo o seccin necesita referencias que aparezcan en una publicacin acreditada,
como revistas especializadas, monografas, prensa diaria o pginas de Internet fidedignas. Este
aviso fue puesto el 19 de noviembre de 2013.
Puedes aadirlas o avisar al autor principal del artculo en su pgina de discusin
pegando: {{subst:Aviso referencias|Grandes Ligas de Bisbol}} ~~~~
Major League Baseball
Temporada 2015 de las Grandes Ligas de Bisbol
Datos generales
Deporte
Bisbol
Lema
I live for this

(Yo vivo para esto)
Fundacin
1903 (realizacin de la primeraSerie

Mundial)
Equipos participantes 30
Pas
Estados Unidos
Canad
Datos estadsticos
Campen actual
San Francisco Giants
Otros datos
Socio de TV
FOX, ESPN, TBS,

Fox Sports 2 (Latinoamrica)
Sitio web oficial
MLB.com
[editar datos en Wikidata]
La sede de la Major League Baseball en el 245 de Park Avenue,Midtown Manhattan, Nueva York,
EE.UU.1
Las Grandes Ligas (en ingls Major League Baseball o MLB) son las ligas
de bisbol profesional de mayor nivel de los Estados Unidos y posiblemente del mundo.
[cita requerida]
Actualmente la MLB cuenta con 30 equipos repartidos en la Liga Nacionaly la Liga
Americana, fundadas en 1876 y 1901 respectivamente. Los campeones de liga se enfrentan
en la Serie Mundial al mejor de siete partidos.
Originalmente las dos ligas eran personas jurdicas independientes. En 2000 las dos ligas se
fusionaron legalmente en la MLB. Elcomisionado de la MLB es el jefe ejecutivo de la MLB.
ndice
[ocultar]
1 Ligas Mayores actuales

o
1.1 Equipos y calendario de juegos
1.2 Juego de Estrellas
1.3 Post temporada

2 Equipos
2.1 Historia
2.2 Equipos actuales
3 Reglamento
4 Jugadores latinoamericanos en Las Grandes Ligas
5 Contratos televisivos
o
5.1 Historia
5.2 Estados Unidos
5.3 Iberoamrica
6 Referencias
7 Vase tambin
8 Enlaces externos
Ligas Mayores actuales[editar]
La temporada de las Grandes Ligas generalmente se extiende desde abril hasta octubre.
Equipos y calendario de juegos[editar]
Hay en total 30 equipos en las dos ligas: 15 en la Liga Nacional y 15 en la Americana. Cada
una consta de tres divisiones, agrupadas por ubicacin geogrfica y nombradas como "Este",
"Central" y "Oeste".
Una temporada normalmente dura desde abril hasta septiembre. Cada equipo juega 162
partidos de temporada regular. Esta duracin fue establecida en 1961.
Desde 1898 hasta 1960, se jugaban 154 partidos. Originalmente, los juegos eran disputados
entre equipos de la misma liga. En 1997, la direccin del las Grandes Ligas introdujo
los juegos interligas.
Liga Nacional
Comienzo
Partidos
Programacin
1876
70 partidos
10 partidos 7 equipos
1877
60 partidos
1879
84 partidos
1883
98 partidos
1884
112 partidos
1886
126 partidos
1888
140 partidos
1892
154 partidos
1893
132 partidos
1898
154 partidos
1900
140 partidos
1904
154 partidos
1919
140 partidos
1920
154 partidos
1962
162 partidos
1969
162 partidos
18 partidos 5 equipos de su divisin,

12 6 de otra divisin
1993
162 partidos
expansin
programa igual a AL 1979-1993
1994
162 partidos
la Liga se divide en 3 divisiones

programa basado en los territorios de 1993
1997
162 partidos
se introduce en partidos inter-liga

el nmero de partidos y oponentes es variable
1998
162 partidos
expansin
2013
162 partidos
19 partidos 4 equipos de su divisin (76 partidos),

6 o 7 partidos 10 equipos de otra divisin de la liga (66 partidos),
20 partidos inter-liga
Liga Americana
Comienzo
Partidos
Programacin
1901
140 partidos
1904
154 partidos
1919
140 partidos
1920
154 partidos
1961
162 partidos
1969
162 partidos

12 6 de otra divisin
1977
162 partidos
expansin
10 o 11 7 equipos de otra divisin
1979
162 partidos

12 partidos 7 equipos de otra divisin
1994
162 partidos
la Liga se divide en 3 divisiones

programa basado en los territorios de 1993
1997
162 partidos
se introduce en partidos inter-liga

1998
162 partidos
expansin
2013
162 partidos
19 partidos 4 equipos de su divisin (76 partidos),

6 o 7 partidos 10 equipos de otra divisin de la liga (66 partidos),
20 partidos inter-liga
Juego de Estrellas[editar]
Artculo principal: Juego de Estrellas de las Grandes Ligas de Bisbol
Los primeros das de julio marcan la mitad de la temporada, durante la cual se hace una
pausa de tres das y se disputa el Juego de Estrellas. Se disputa entre jugadores de la Liga
Nacional agrupados en un solo conjunto contra jugadores de la Liga Americana dispuestos en
manera similar. La Liga que gane este partido tendr ventaja de localidad para la Serie
Mundial.
Post temporada[editar]
Al concluir la temporada regular, los campeones de las tres divisiones de cada liga, junto con
los dos equipos de mejor rcord entre el resto (llamado wild card o comodn), califican para los
juegos de pos temporada.
La post temporada consta de cuatro rondas:
Wild Card de la Liga Americana y el Wild Card de la Liga Nacional los dos equipos con
mejor rcord entre los que no ganaron la divisin se enfrentan en un partido nico donde
el ganador avanza a las series divisionales donde jugaran en contra del equipo de mejor
porcentaje de victorias entre los campeones de divisin.
Serie Divisional de la Liga Americana y la Serie Divisional de la Liga Nacional, el

vencedor es el que gana 3 partidos en una serie de 5 partidos.
Serie de Campeonato de la Liga Americana y la Serie de Campeonato de la Liga

Nacional, el primero que gane 4 partidos en una serie de 7 partidos es el vencedor.
Serie Mundial, se juegan a ganar 4 de 7 partidos posibles.

World Series Records
Equipo
Nmero
de Series
ganadas
ltima
Serie
ganada
Series
jugadas
New York Yankees (AL)
27
2009
40
St. Louis Cardinals (NL)
11
2011
19
Oakland Athletics (AL)
1989
15
Boston Red Sox (AL)
2013
12
San Francisco Giants (NL)
2014
21
Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
1988
21
Cincinnati Reds (NL)
1990
Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)
1979
Detroit Tigers (AL)
1984
11
Atlanta Braves (NL)
1995
Baltimore Orioles (AL)
1983
Minnesota Twins (AL)
1991
Chicago White Sox (AL)
2005
Chicago Cubs (NL)
1908
10
Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
2008
Cleveland Indians (AL)
1948
New York Mets (NL) *
1986
Toronto Blue Jays (AL) *
1993
Miami Marlins (NL) *
2003
Kansas City Royals (AL) *
1985
Arizona Diamondbacks (NL) *
2001
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (AL) *
2002
San Diego Padres (NL) *
Texas Rangers (AL) *
Milwaukee Brewers (AL a NL, 1998) *
1 [AL]
Houston Astros (NL a AL, 2013) *
1 [NL]
Colorado Rockies (NL) *
Tampa Bay Rays (AL) *
Seattle Mariners (AL) *
Washington Nationals (NL) *
AL=Liga Americana (62 victorias)

NL=Liga Nacional (46 victorias)
* se uni a las Ligas Mayores despus de 1960

(9 victorias en 19 World Series de 48 desde 1960)
El total incluye el rcord del equipo en la ciudad anterior o bajo otro nombre.
Todava no ha jugado la World Series.
Ms detalles en World Series y Anexo:Series_Mundiales

Fuente: MLB.com
Equipos[editar]
Historia[editar]
La Liga Nacional se fund en 1876 y tuvo numerosos cambios de equipos en sus primeros
aos. Desde 1900 hasta 1952 cont con ocho equipos en Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati,
Filadelfia, Nueva York (Brooklyn Dodgers y New York Giants), Pittsburgh y St. Louis.
La Liga Americana se fund en 1901 con ocho equipos en Baltimore, Boston, Chicago,
Cleveland, Detroit, Filadelfia, Milwaukee y Washington. En 1902 los Milwaukee Brewers se
convirtieron en los St. Louis Browns. En tanto, los Baltimore Orioles se convirtieron en 1903 en
los New York Highlanders, luego New York Yankees en 1913. As, la liga tuvo equipos en
Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Filadelfia, Nueva York, St. Louis y Washington desde
1903 hasta 1953.
Luego de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, las Grandes Ligas comenzaron a expandirse hacia el
sur y el oeste. En 1953 los Boston Braves se mudaron a Milwaukee. En 1954, los St. Louis
Browns se convirtieron en los Baltimore Orioles, y en 1955 los Philadelphia Athletics se
convirtieron en los Kansas City Athletics. En 1958 los Brooklyn Dodgers y los New York Giants
se mudaron a Los ngeles y San Francisco respectivamente. En 1961, los Washington
Senators se convirtieron en los Minnesota Twins, a la vez que se agregaron dos equipos a la
Liga Americana: los Los Angeles Angels y los Washington Senators. En 1962 se incorporaron
a la Liga Nacional los New York Mets y los Houston Colts, luego Houston Astros.
Los Milwaukee Braves se mudaron a Atlanta en 1966. En 1968 los Kansas City Athletics se
mudaron a Oakland. En 1969 se agregaron dos equipos ms a la Liga Nacional en Montreal y
San Diego, as como dos a la Liga Americana en Kansas City y Seattle; estos ltimos se
convirtieron el ao siguiente en los Milwaukee Brewers.
Los Washington Senators se mudaron a Dallas-Fort Worth en 1972 para convertirse en los
Texas Rangers. En 1977 se incorporaron los Toronto Blue Jays y los Seattle Mariners. En
1998, los Milwaukee Brewers se mudaron de la Liga Nacional a la Liga Americana
En 1993, a la Liga Nacional se sumaron equipos en Denver y Miami. En 1998 se incorporaron
equipos en Phoenix a la Liga Nacional y Tampa Bay a la Liga Americana. Tambin en 1998,
los Milwaukee Brewers se mudaron de la Liga Americana a la Liga Nacional. En 2005 los
Montreal Expos se convirtieron en los Washington Nationals.
Equipos actuales[editar]
Liga Americana
Divisi
n
Equipo
Fundaci
n
Ciudad/rea
Este
Estadio
Inauguraci
n
Capacida
d
1992
48.876
Baltimor
e Orioles
19011
Baltimore, Maryland
Oriole
Park at
Camden
Yards
Boston
Red Sox
1901
Boston, Massachusetts
Fenway
Park
1912
39.928
New York
19012
Bronx, Nueva York
Yankee
2009
52.235
Yankees
Central
Oeste
(Nueva York)
Stadium
Tampa
Bay Rays
1998
San
Petersburgo, Florida
(Tampa)
Tropicana
Field
1990
38.437
Toronto
Blue Jays
1977
Toronto, Ontario, Cana

d
Rogers
Centre
1989
50.516
Chicago
White
Sox
1901
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.
Cellular
Field
1991
40.615
Clevelan
d Indians
1901
Cleveland, Ohio
Progressiv
e Field
1994
43.345
Detroit
Tigers
1901
Detroit, Mchigan
Comerica
Park
2000
41.070
Kansas
City
Royals
1969
Kansas City, Misuri
Kauffman
Stadium
1973
40.793
Minnesot
a Twins
19013
Minneapolis, Minnesot
a
Target
Field
2010
40.000
Houston
Astros
19624
Houston, Texas
Minute
Maid Park
2000
40.950
1961
Anaheim, California
Angel
Stadium
of
Anaheim
1966
45.050
19015
Oakland, California
1966
34.077
Los
Angeles
Angels of
Anaheim
Oakland
Athletics
O.co
Coliseum
Seattle
Mariners
Texas
Rangers
1977
1961
Seattle, Washington
Safeco
Field
1999
47.116
Arlington, Texas
Rangers
Ballpark
in
Arlington
1994
49.115
Milwaukee Brewers en 1901; St. Louis Browns de 1902-1953.

Baltimore Orioles de 1901-1902, New York Highlanders de 1903-1912.
3
Washington Senators de 1901-1960.
4
En la Liga Nacional 1962-2012.
5
En Philadelphia de 1901-1954; Kansas City de 1955-1967.
6
Washington Senators de 1961-1971.
2
Liga Nacional
Divisi
n
Este
Equipo
Fundaci
n
Ciudad/rea
Estadio
Inauguraci
n
Capa
d
Atlanta
Braves
18761
Atlanta, Georgia
Turner
Field
1997
50.
Miami
Marlins
1993
Miami
Gardens, Florida
(Miami)
Marlins
Park
2012
36.
New York
Mets
1962
Flushing, Nueva
York
(Nueva York)
Citi
Field
2009
41.
Philadelphia
Phillies
1883
Filadelfia, Pensilvan
ia
Citizens
Bank
Park
2004
43.
Washington
Nationals
19692
Washington D.C.
National
s Park
2008
41.
1876
Chicago, Illinois
Wrigley
1914
41.
Central Chicago
Oeste
Cubs
Field
Cincinnati
Reds
1882
Cincinnati, Ohio
Great
America
n Ball
Park
Milwaukee
Brewers
19693
Pittsburgh
Pirates
2003
42.
Milwaukee, Wiscons Miller

in
Park
2001
41.
1882
Pittsburgh, Pensilva
nia
PNC
Park
2001
38.
St. Louis
Cardinals
1882
San Luis, Misuri
Busch
Stadium
2006
43.
Arizona
Diamondbac
ks
1998
Phoenix, Arizona
Chase
Field
1998
49.
Colorado
Rockies
1993
Denver, Colorado
Coors
Field
1995
50.
Los Angeles
Dodgers
18904
Los
ngeles, California
Dodger
Stadium
1962
56.
San Diego
Padres
1969
San
Diego, California
Petco
Park
2004
42.
San
Francisco
Giants
18835
San
AT&T
Francisco, California Park
2000
41.
En Boston de 1876-1952; Milwaukee 1953-1965.

Expos de Montreal de 1969-2004.
3
Seattle Pilots en 1969, en la Liga Americana 1969 - 1998.
4
En Brooklyn de 1890-1957.
5
En Nueva York de 1883-1957.
2
Reglamento[editar]
La Liga Americana se distingue de la Liga
Nacional en que se usa la regla del bateador
designado. En juegos de la Liga Nacional el
lanzador suele ser el noveno bateador. Durante
el juego de la Serie Mundial, el empleo de esta
distincin depende del lugar en donde el partido
es jugado. Por ejemplo, si el partido es jugado
en Yankee Stadium, las reglas de la Liga
Americana toman efecto porque el equipo que
juega en dicho estadio es de esta liga.
En el Juego de las Estrellas se utilizar siempre
el bateador designado, la diferencia radica en la
forma de eleccin del bateador designado.
Jugadores latinoamericanos en
Las Grandes Ligas[editar]
Este artculo o seccin tiene una red

regional, centrado en Lationamrica
Por favor, edtalo para globalizarlo. Mient
Pese a que algunos jugadores de origen hispano

militaron en ligas profesionales en los Estados
Unidos previo a 1900, se considera que el primer
jugador latinoamericano en las Grandes Ligas
fue el colombiano Luis Castro, quien jug en
1902 para los Philadelphia Athletics, y su
nacionalidad ha sido corroborada por pruebas
presentadas por el investigador Leonte
Landino de la Society for American Baseball
Research (SABR). Desde entonces el nmero de
latinoamericanos ha continuado creciendo
constantemente. En dcadas recientes ha habido
un aumento significativo en la importacin de los
jugadores del bisbol de ligas importantes de los
pases latinoamericanos, especialmente de
lugares como Repblica Dominicana, Puerto
Rico, Mxico, Colombia y Venezuela. En el ao
2000, 169 de los 1.200 jugadores (el 14%) en las
Grandes Ligas fueron deLatinoamrica.
Existen varias razones para esto, cabe destacar
la admisin de Jackie Robinson en
los Dodgers en 1947, siendo el primer afroamericano en jugar en Grandes Ligas. Esta
decisin permiti que los jugadores latinos
negros jugaran bisbol en las Grandes Ligas, si
bien ha habido latinos en ambas organizaciones
desde comienzos del siglo XX. Desde comienzos
de los aos 1960 ha habido varias expansiones
de equipos (de diecisis a treinta, que es el

nmero con que contaban las Grandes Ligas
para 2007), lo que signific que los buscatalentos
y los dueos necesitaran buscar ms opciones
para completar sus plantillas. Los jugadores
latinoamericanos resultaban menos costosos que
los de Estados Unidos y aportaron talento y
variedad al juego.
Desde ese tiempo han sido muchos los
jugadores de bisbol excepcionales de pases
latinoamericanos en las Grandes Ligas.
La fecha de debut de
jugadores latinoamericanos pioneros por pas es
la siguiente:
Johan Santana lanzando.
Pas
Jugador
Cuba
Esteban Belln
1871
Colombia
Luis Castro
1902
Mxico
Baldomero "Mel"
Almada
8 de septiem
Venezuela
Alejandro Carrasquel
23 de abril
Puerto Rico
Hiram Bithorn
15 de abril
Panam
Humberto Robinson
20 de abril
Repblica Dominicana
Ozzie Virgil
1956
Nicaragua
Dennis Martnez
14 de septi
Otros jugadores de origen latinoamericano que

se han destacado incluyen a Roberto
Clemente de Puerto Rico (el primer latino en
elSaln de la Fama del Bisbol), Juan
Marichal llamado el Dandy Dominicano y tambin
el el Saln de la Fama, quin jug para los San
Francisco Giants por trece aos y tuvo seis
temporadas en las que gan veinte o ms
juegos), Osvaldo Virgil (primer dominicano en las
Grandes Ligas, en 1956); el mexicano Beto vila,
primer latinoamericano en ganar un ttulo de
bateo; Luis Aparicio (campocorto venezolano,
miembro del Saln de la Fama), el
panameo Rod Carew, de Panam, otro latino
miembro del Saln de la Fama y quien mantiene
uno de los ms altos promedios de bateo de por
vida en la historia de las mayores, ms de 3.000
hits y nico latino con siete ttulos de bateo. El
cubanoOrestes Mioso, de los Chicago White
Sox, ha sido el nico en la historia de las
Grandes Ligas en haber participado como
jugador en 5 dcadas distintas (su primer juego
fue el19 de abril de 1949 y el ltimo el 5 de
octubre de 1980). Otro cubano miembro del
Saln de la Fama, Tony Prez, fue durante aos
figura relevante de los Cincinnati Reds. Otro
latino destacado es el pitcher
mexicano Fernando Valenzuela, novato del ao,
premio Cy Young y ganador de juego de Serie
Mundial en 1981. Cabe citar otro destacado, el
paracortos colombiano Edgar Rentera, campen
de la Serie Mundial en 1997 con los Florida
Marlins y en 2010 con los Gigantes de San
Francisco, elegido el jugador ms valioso de esta
ltima serie mundial.
Otros de los jugadores latinoamericanos ms
notables son: Omar Vizquel, de Venezuela quin
juega para los Toronto Blue Jays, ha ganado
11 Guantes de Oro, tambin ha bateado ms de
2.500 hits en su carrera, y en 2008 super la
marca de ms juegos de por vida (2.583) en la
posicin de campocorto que mantena su
compatriota Luis Aparicio; David Ortiz (jugador

de los Boston Red Sox) de Santo Domingo,
Repblica Dominicana y quien ayud su equipo a
la Serie Mundial en 2004); y Sammy Sosa (quin
ha bateado ms de 600 jonrones).
Albert Pujols bateando.
El dominicano Albert Pujols es considerado como

uno de los mejores bateadores entre los
latinoamericanos activos, es el ms productivo
de todos los jugadores latinos que debutaron en
la dcada de 2000. Entre los jugadores activos
es lder en AVG, OBP y OPS. En el 2001 fue el
novato del ao de la Liga Nacional, en el 2005 y
2008 fue elegido MVP en la misma liga, y en
2006 ganador del Guante de Oro en la primera
base.
Johan Santana, venezolano dos veces ganador
del premio Cy Young (2004 y 2006), es el
latinoamericano ms ganador en los ltimos
aos, liderando departamentos como ganados,
ponches y efectividad, fue en el 2006 el lder de
la Triple Corona.
Miguel Cabrera, tambin venezolano, que juega
en la Major League Baseball (MLB) con el equipo
de los Detroit Tigers. Logr la hazaa de la Triple
Corona en las Grandes Ligas en la temporada
2012 y gan el premio MVP (jugador ms
valioso, por sus siglas en ingls) otorgado por la
asociacin de cronistas del bisbol de Grandes
Ligas. Debut en la MLB con los Florida Marlins
el 20 de junio de 2003. El da de su debut, bate
un jonrn al pitcher Al Levine para ganar el juego
dejando a su rival en el terreno, una hazaa
lograda anteriormente slo por Billy Parker, en
1971; y Josh Bard, en el 2003.
El venezolano Oswaldo "Ozzie" Guilln, primer

manager (estratega) no estadounidense que
llega a una Serie Mundial y la gana.
El panameo Mariano Rivera que tiene el rcord
del pitcher con ms salvados en las Grandes
Ligas con 652 en 19 temporadas (Las 19
temporadas con Los Yankees de Nueva York).
Jugadores dominicanos en las Grandes Ligas
En las Grandes Ligas han debutado ms de 500
jugadores nacidos en Repblica Dominicana
(desde que Osvaldo Virgil lo hiciera en 1956).
Repblica Dominicana es el pas ms productor
de prospectos para los equipos profesionales de
las Grandes Ligas fuera de territorio
estadounidense. Entre las ms grandes estrellas
salidas de Repblica Dominicana estn:
Juan Marichal (Saln de la Fama Cooperstown)
Pedro Martnez (3,154 strikeouts)(Saln de

la Fama - Cooperstown)
Sammy Sosa (609 home runs)
Manny Ramrez (555 home runs)
Alex Rodrguez (684 home runs)
Albert Pujols (3 home runs en un mismo

partido de Serie Mundial)
David Ortiz (500 home runs)
Contratos televisivos[editar]
Historia[editar]
La MLB comenz a emitirse en televisin en
Estados Unidos a fines de la dcada de 1940, y
las cadenas alternaron transmisiones hasta la
dcada de 1960. En 1966 NBC se convirti en la
cadena oficial de la MLB. En 1976 NBC pas a
compartir transmisiones con ABC. Desde 1990
hasta 1993, CBS tuvo los derechos exclusivos de
televisin terrestre.
En 1994 se cre The Baseball Network, una
alianza entre la MLB, ABC y NBC, pero se
produjo una huelga de jugadores y se abandon
luego de la temporada 1995. Desde 1996 hasta
2000, NBC y Fox compartieron los derechos. En

2001, Fox se convirti en la nica cadena de
aire.
En cuanto a canales de pago, USA Network
emiti partidos desde 1979 hasta
1983. ESPN comenz a transmitir partidos en
1990. En 2007 se uni TBS y en 2009 se cre un
canal propio, MLB Network. Adems, algunas
cadenas han emitido partidos en sus canales de
cable, en particular FX desde 1997 hasta 2001,
y Fox Sports 1 a partir de 2014.
Por otra parte, cada equipo negocia los derechos
de transmisin en su regin. Originalmente
solan ser canales de aire, mientras que
actualmente se tratan prncipalmente de canales
pagos.
Estados Unidos[editar]
Actualmente, Fox tiene los derechos exclusivos
de la MLB de televisin terrestre. Un partido los
sbados por la tarde, el Juego de Estrellas, la
serie de campeonato de la liga americana en
2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 y la de la nacional en
2008, 2010, 2012 y en exclusiva la Serie
Mundial. Para la audiencia latina, el canal de
cable Fox Sports en Espaoltransmite un partido
de los sbados, la misma serie de campeonato
que la seal en ingls y la Serie Mundial.
ESPN tambin tiene contrato hasta 2013 para
transmitir partidos el da inaugural y durante la
temporada regular los domingos, lunes, martes,
mircoles y viernes por la noche. Cuando
empieza la pretemporada de la NFL, el partido
de los lunes se cambia a los viernes. ESPN
Deportes, para la audiencia en espaol,
transmite el partido del domingo con grficos en
pantalla y comentaristas en espaol,
compartiendo su transmisin con ESPN
Latinoamrica.
TBS transmite todos los partidos de las series
divisionales, la serie de campeonato de la liga
americana en 2008, 2010, 2012 y la de la
nacional en 2007, 2009, 2011 y 2013; en el caso
de la serie divisional, si algn partido inicia
mientras otro todava no acaba, el partido nuevo
se empieza a transmitir a travs de TNT. TBS
tambin tiene los derechos de los juegos de
desempate para entrar a playoffs. A partir de
2008 transmitirn un juego de domingo por la
tarde, el da de la independencia, el da del
trabajo y el Memorial Day. Muchos fanticos
quedaron digustados por la baja calidad de la

transmisin y algunos comentaristas en este
primer ao de contrato.
Los partidos de ESPN son bloqueados en el
mercado donde se est jugando y en su lugar se
transmite la seal del canal ESPNews; los
partidos de sbado a travs de Fox varan
dependiendo de la localidad por la misma razn.
En cuanto a transmisiones locales, actualmente
14 equipos emiten por Fox Sports Networks,
cinco por Comcast SportsNet y cuatro por Root
Sports. En tanto, los New York Yankees emiten
por YES Network; los New York Mets por
SportsNet New York; Los Angeles Dodgers por
Time Warner Cable SportsNet; Baltimore y
Washington por Mid-Atlantic Sports Network;
Boston por New England Sports Network; y
Toronto por Sportsnet.
Iberoamrica[editar]
La empresa ESPN transmite partidos en sus dos
seales principales:
En ESPN Latinoamrica, seal dirigida a todo el
continente, retransmiten desde su canal en
ingls el Sunday Night Baseball (Domingo de
Grandes Ligas) y el Home Run Derby; adems
transmiten tambin el Juego de Estrellas,
algunos partidos de serie divisional, la serie de
campeonato que transmita TBS en los Estados
Unidos y la Serie Mundial.
En ESPN Dos para la regin Mxico-CaribeVenezuela, retransmiten los partidos de lunes y
mircoles en la noche que son transmitidos por
su seal en ingls, y los martes y viernes
obtienen la seal de la televisora local de algn
equipo. Cabe destacar que al iniciar la
temporada de la NFL (ftbol americano
profesional), el Domingo de Grandes Ligas es
movido a esta seal. Tambin transmiten algunos
juegos de series divisionales.
Por su parte, Fox Sports cono norte para la
regin Mxico-Caribe-Venezuela, transmite
partidos los viernes tomando la seal local de
algn equipo, y los sbados por la tarde tomando
una de las seales de la cadena FOX de Estados
Unidos. Tambin transmiten el Juego de
Estrellas, algunos partidos de serie divisional, la
serie de campeonato que transmita FOX en los
Estados Unidos y la Serie Mundial.
En varios pases latinoamericanos, las

televisoras locales tambin transmiten las
Grandes Ligas como lo es Meridiano TV en
Venezuela, que transmite 8 juegos por semana.
En Panam los juegos son transmitidos
por TVMax. En Colombia la seal de RCN HD
2 en TDT Televisin Digital Terrestre emite dos
partidos por semana (Viernes 6:30 P.M. y
Sabados al medio da).
En Espaa, Canal+ tiene los derechos para la
retransmisin ntegra de toda la temporada,
incluyendo un partido diario, y la postemporada,
cubriendo todos los partidos de las series de
campeonato y, por supuesto, todos los de
la Serie Mundial.
En Repblica Dominicana CDN 37 Y CDN
SPORTMAX transmiten semanalmente cinco
partidos de la Costa Este y cuatro de la Costa
Oeste, adems de la retranmision de las series
de campeonato y Serie Mundial, en vivo desde el
terreno.
Referencias[editar]
1.
Volver arriba Major League Baseball New

York, NY United States. Copyright 2012,
Hoover's Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Consultado el 11 de mayo de 2012.
Vase tambin[editar]
Portal:Bisbol. Contenido relacionado

con Bisbol.
Portal:Deporte en los Estados Unidos.

Contenido relacionado con Deporte en los
Estados Unidos.
Club de los 500 jonrones
Premio MVP
Premio Novato del Ao
Premio Cy Young
Juego de Estrellas de las Grandes Ligas de

Bisbol
Jugadores con 2000 hits
Lderes en jonrones
Serie Mundial de Bisbol de 2004
Serie Mundial de Bisbol de 2005
Ligas Menores de Bisbol
Take Me Out to the Ball Game (cancin)
Baseball
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the sport. For the ball used in the sport, see Baseball (ball). For other
uses, see Baseball (disambiguation).
"Base ball" redirects here. For old time baseball, see vintage base ball.
Baseball
A baseball game at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA

Highestgoverning body
World Baseball Softball Confederation
First played
Mid-18th century or
prior, Englandor Flanders, Europe (early
form)
Characteristics
Team members
Type
Bat-and-ball
Equipment
Baseball
Baseball bat
Baseball glove
Bases
Presence
Olympic
Demonstrated in 1912, 1936, 1952, 1956,

1964, 1984, and 1988 Summer Olympics
In Summer Olympic program, 19922008
Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take
turns batting and fielding.
The offense attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with
a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first,
second, third, and home plate. A run is scored when a player advances around the bases and
returns to home plate.
Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which
tries to prevent runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the batting team
who reaches a base safely can later attempt to advance to subsequent bases during
teammates' turns batting, such as on a hit or by other means. The teams switch between
batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for both
teams, beginning with the visiting team, constitutes an inning. A game comprises nine innings,
and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Baseball is the only
major team sport in America with no game clock, although almost all games end in the ninth
inning.
Evolving from older bat-and-ball games, an early form of baseball was being played in England
by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the
modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as
the national sport of the United States. Baseball is now popular in North America and parts
ofCentral and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia.
In the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are
divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions:
East, West, and Central. The major league champion is determined byplayoffs that culminate
in the World Series. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central
League andPacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
o
1.1 Origins of baseball
1.2 History of baseball in the United States
1.2.1 The game turns professional
1.2.2 Rise of Ruth and racial integration
1.2.3 Attendance records and the age of steroids

1.3 Baseball around the world
2 Rules and gameplay
3 Personnel
o
3.1 Player rosters
3.2 Other personnel
4 Strategy and tactics

o
4.1 Pitching and fielding tactics
4.2 Batting and baserunning tactics
5 Distinctive elements
o
5.1 No clock to kill
5.2 Individual focus
5.3 Uniqueness of each baseball park
6 Statistics
o
6.1 Sabermetrics
7 Popularity and cultural impact
7.1 Baseball in popular culture
8 See also
9 References
10 Sources
11 Further reading
12 External links
History
Origins of baseball
Main article: Origins of baseball
Part of the Baseball series on
History of baseball
Origins of baseball
Early years
First league
Knickerbocker Rules
Massachusetts rules
Alexander Cartwright
Doubleday myth
First pro team
First pro league
Close relations:
Stoolball
Rounders
Old Cat
Town ball
Softball
History of baseball in:
Worldwide
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Greece
Ireland
Japan
South Korea
Mexico
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Palau
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Spain
United States
United Kingdom
Venezuela
MLB season-by-season
The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision.
A French manuscript from 1344 contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly la
soule, with similarities to baseball.[1] Other old French games such as thque, la balle au bton,
and la balle empoisonne also appear to be related.[2] Consensus once held that today's
baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular in Great
Britain and Ireland. Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game (2005),
by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England; recently uncovered historical
evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually
regional variants of each other, and that the game's most direct antecedents are the English
games of stoolball and "tut-ball".[3] It has long been believed that cricket also descended from
such games, though evidence uncovered in early 2009 suggests that cricket may have been
imported to England from Flanders.[4]
The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty PocketBook, by John Newbery. It contains a rhymed description of "base-ball" and a woodcut that
shows a field set-up somewhat similar to the modern gamethough in a triangular rather than
diamond configuration, and with posts instead of ground-level bases. [5] David Block discovered
that the first recorded game of "Bass-Ball" took place in 1749 inSurrey, and featured the Prince
of Wales as a player.[6] William Bray, an English lawyer, recorded a game of baseball
on Easter Monday 1755 inGuildford, Surrey.[7] This early form of the game was apparently
brought to North America by English immigrants. Rounders was also brought to the continent
by both British and Irish immigrants. The first known American reference to baseball appears in
a 1791 Pittsfield, Massachusetts, town bylaw prohibiting the playing of the game near the
town's new meeting house.[8] By 1796, a version of the game was well-known enough to earn a
mention in a German scholar's book on popular pastimes. As described by Johann Gutsmuths,
"englische Base-ball" involved a contest between two teams, in which "the batter has three
attempts to hit the ball while at the home plate." Only one out was required to retire a side. [9]
Alexander Cartwright, father of modern baseball
By the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games
recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America. These games
were often referred to locally as "town ball", though other names such as "round-ball" and
"base-ball" were also used.[10] Among the earliest examples to receive a detailed description
albeit five decades after the fact, in a letter from an attendee to Sporting Life magazinetook
place in Beachville, Ontario, in 1838. There were many similarities to modern baseball, and
some crucial differences: five bases (orbyes); first bye just 18 feet (5.5 m) from the home bye;
batter out if a hit ball was caught after the first bounce. [11] Theonce widely accepted
story that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839 has been
conclusively debunked by sports historians.[12]
In 1845, Alexander Cartwright, a member of New York City's Knickerbocker Club, led the
codification of the so-calledKnickerbocker Rules.[13] The practice, common to bat-and-ball
games of the day, of "soaking" or "plugging"effecting aputout by hitting a runner with a
thrown ballwas barred. The rules thus facilitated the use of a smaller, harder ball than had
been common. Several other rules also brought the Knickerbockers' game close to the modern
one, though a ball caught on the first bounce was, again, an out and only underhand pitching
was allowed.[14] While there are reports that theNew York Knickerbockers played games in
1845, the contest now recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history
took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey: the "New York Nine" defeated the
Knickerbockers, 231, in four innings.[15] With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of
modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century.[16]
History of baseball in the United States

Main article: History of baseball in the United States
The game turns professional
In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the New York metropolitan area.[17] By 1856, local
journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game". [18] A year later,
sixteen area clubs formed the sport's first governing body, the National Association of Base
Ball Players. In 1858 inCorona, Queens New York, at the Fashion Race Course, the first
games of baseball to charge admission took place. The games, which took place between the
all stars of Brooklyn, including players from the Brooklyn Atlantics, Excelsior of Brooklyn,
Putnams and Eckford of Brooklyn, and the All Stars of New York (Manhattan), including players
from the New York Knickerbockers, Gothams (predecessors of the San Francisco Giants),
Eagles and Empire, are commonly believed to be the first all-star baseball games. [19][20][21] In
1863, the organization disallowed putouts made by catching afair ball on the first bounce. Four
years later, it barred participation by African Americans.[22] The game's commercial potential
was developing: in 1869 the first fully professional baseball club, the Cincinnati Red Stockings,
was formed and went undefeated against a schedule of semipro and amateur teams. [23] The
first professional league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, lasted
from 1871 to 1875; scholars dispute its status as a major league.[24]
The more formally structured National League was founded in 1876. As the oldest surviving
major league, the National League is sometimes referred to as the "senior circuit". [25]Several
other major leagues formed and failed. In 1884, African American Moses Walker (and, briefly,
his brother Welday) played in one of these, the American Association.[26]An injury ended
Walker's major league career, and by the early 1890s, a gentlemen's agreement in the form of
the baseball color line effectively barred black players from the white-owned professional
leagues, major and minor.[27] Professional Negro leagues formed, but quickly folded. Several
independent African American teams succeeded asbarnstormers.[28] Also in 1884, overhand
pitching was legalized.[29] In 1887, softball, under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor,
was invented as a winter version of the parent game. [30] Virtually all of the modern baseball
rules were in place by 1893; the last major changecounting foul balls as strikeswas
instituted in 1901.[29] The National League's first successful counterpart, the American League,
which evolved from the minor Western League, was established that year.[31] The two leagues,
each with eight teams, were rivals that fought for the best players, often disregarding each
other's contracts and engaging in bitter legal disputes.[32]
The New York Giants baseball team, 1913. Fred Merkle, sixth in line, committed a baserunning gaffe in a
crucial 1908 game that became famous as Merkle's Boner.
A modicum of peace was eventually established, leading to the National Agreement of 1903.
The pact formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the
National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the
country's minor professional leagues.[33] The World Series, pitting the two major league
champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall, albeit without express major league
sanction: The Boston Americans of the American League defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates of the
National League.[34] The next year, the series was not held, as the National League
champion New York Giants, under manager John McGraw, refused to recognize the major
league status of the American League and its champion. [35] In 1905, the Giants were National
League champions again and team management relented, leading to the establishment of the
World Series as the major leagues' annual championship event.[36]
As professional baseball became increasingly profitable, players frequently raised grievances
against owners over issues of control and equitable income distribution. During the major
leagues' early decades, players on various teams occasionally attempted strikes, which
routinely failed when their jobs were sufficiently threatened. In general, the strict rules of
baseball contracts and the reserve clause, which bound players to their teams even when their
contracts had ended, tended to keep the players in check.[37] Motivated by dislike for particularly
stingy owner Charles Comiskey and gamblers' payoffs, real and promised, members of
the Chicago White Sox conspired tothrow the 1919 World Series. The Black Sox Scandal led
to the formation of a new National Commission of baseball that drew the two major leagues
closer together.[38] The firstmajor league baseball commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis,
was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the Negro National League; the first
significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of the 1920s, it was joined by
the Eastern Colored League.[39]
Rise of Ruth and racial integration
Babe Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the New York Yankees
Compared with the present, professional baseball in the early 20th century was lower-scoring
and pitchers, the likes of Walter Johnson andChristy Mathewson, were more dominant. The
"inside game", which demanded that players "scratch for runs", was played much more
aggressively than it is today: the brilliant and often violent Ty Cobb epitomized this style.[40] The
so-called dead-ball era ended in the early 1920s with several changes in rule and
circumstance that were advantageous to hitters. Strict new regulations governing the ball's
size, shape and composition along with a new rule officially banning the spitball, along with
other pitches that depended on the ball being treated or roughed-up with foreign substances
after the death of Ray Chapman who was hit by a pitch in August 1920, coupled with superior
materials available after World War I, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit. The
construction of additional seating to accommodate the rising popularity of the game often had
the effect of bringing the outfield fences closer in, making home runs more common.[41] The rise
of the legendary player Babe Ruth, the first great power hitter of the new era, helped
permanently alter the nature of the game. The club with which Ruth set most of his slugging
records, the New York Yankees, built a reputation as the majors' premier team.[42] In the late
1920s and early 1930s, St. Louis Cardinalsgeneral manager Branch Rickey invested in
several minor league clubs and developed the first modern "farm system".[43] A new Negro
National League was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the Negro American
League. The first elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame took place in 1936. In 1939 Little
League Baseball was founded in Pennsylvania. By the late 1940s, it was the organizing body
for children's baseball leagues across the United States.
Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era'sKansas City Royals, abarnstorming squad associated with
theNegro American League's Kansas City Monarchs
With America's entry into World War II, many professional players had left to serve in the
armed forces. A large number of minor league teams disbanded as a result and the major
league game seemed under threat as well. Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley led the
formation of a new professional league with women players to help keep the game in the public
eye the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League existed from 1943 to 1954.[44] The
inaugural College World Series was held in 1947, and the Babe Ruth League youth program
was founded. This program soon became another important organizing body for children's
baseball. The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled
professional ball occurred the previous year: Jackie Robinson was signed by the National
League's Brooklyn Dodgerswhere Branch Rickey had become general managerand began
playing for their minor league team in Montreal.[45] In 1947, Robinson broke the major leagues'
color barrier when he debuted with the Dodgers. Larry Doby debuted with the American
League's Cleveland Indians the same year.[46] Latin American players, largely overlooked
before, also started entering the majors in greater numbers. In 1951, two Chicago White Sox,
Venezuelan-born Chico Carrasqueland black Cuban-born Minnie Mioso, became the first
Hispanic All-Stars.[47][48]
Facing competition as varied as television and football, baseball attendance at all levels
declined. While the majors rebounded by the mid-1950s, the minor leagues were gutted and
hundreds of semipro and amateur teams dissolved.[49][50] Integration proceeded slowly: by 1953,
only six of the 16 major league teams had a black player on the roster.[47] That year, the Major
League Baseball Players Association was founded. It was the first professional baseball union
to survive more than briefly, but it remained largely ineffective for years.[51] No major league
team had been located west of St. Louis until 1958, when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York
Giants relocated to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively.[52] The majors' final all-white
bastion, the Boston Red Sox, added a black player in 1959.[47] With the integration of the majors
drying up the available pool of players, the last Negro league folded the following year.[53] In
1961, the American League reached the West Coast with the Los Angeles Angels expansion
team, and the major league season was extended from 154 games to 162. This coincidentally
helped Roger Maris break Babe Ruth's long-standing single-season home run record, one of
the most celebrated marks in baseball.[54] Along with the Angels, three other new franchises
were launched during 196162. With this, the first major league expansion in 60 years, each
league now had ten teams.
Attendance records and the age of steroids
The players' union became bolder under the leadership of former United Steelworkers chief
economist and negotiator Marvin Miller, who was elected executive director in 1966.[55] On the
playing field, major league pitchers were becoming increasingly dominant again. After the 1968
season, in an effort to restore balance, the strike zone was reduced and the height of
the pitcher's mound was lowered from 15 to 10 inches. In 1969, both the National and
American leagues added two more expansion teams, the leagues were reorganized into two
divisions each, and a post-season playoff system leading to the World Series was instituted.
Also that same year, Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals made the first serious legal
challenge to the reserve clause. The major leagues' first general players' strike took place in
1972.[56] In another effort to add more offense to the game, the American League adopted
the designated hitter rule the following year.[57] In 1975, the union's powerand players'
salariesbegan to increase greatly when the reserve clause was effectively struck down,
leading to the free agency system.[58] In 1977, two more expansion teams joined the American
League. Significant work stoppages occurred again in 1981 and 1994, the latter forcing the
cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. [59] Attendance had been growing
steadily since the mid-1970s and in 1994, before the stoppage, the majors were setting their
all-time record for per-game attendance.[50][60]
In May 2010, the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay pitched the 20th major league perfect game. That
October, he pitched only the secondno-hitter in MLB postseason history.
The addition of two more expansion teams after the 1993 season had facilitated another
restructuring of the major leagues, this time into three divisions each. Offensive production
the number of home runs in particularhad surged that year, and again in the abbreviated
1994 season.[61] After play resumed in 1995, this trend continued and non-division-winning wild
card teams became a permanent fixture of the post-season. Regular-season interleague
play was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was
set.[62] The next year, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both surpassed Maris's decades-old
single season home run record and two more expansion franchises were added. In 2000, the
National and American leagues were dissolved as legal entities. While their identities were
maintained for scheduling purposes (and the designated hitter distinction), the regulations and
other functionssuch as player discipline and umpire supervisionthey had administered
separately were consolidated under the rubric of Major League Baseball(MLB).[63]
In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. There
had long been suspicions that the dramatic increase in power hitting was fueled in large part
by the abuse of illegal steroids (as well as by the dilution of pitching talent due to expansion),
but the issue only began attracting significant media attention in 2002 and there was no
penalty for the use of performance-enhancing drugs before 2004.[64] In 2007, Bonds became
MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron, as total major league and minor
league attendance both reached all-time highs.[65][66] Even though McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds
as well as many other players, including storied pitcher Roger Clemenshave been implicated
in the steroid abuse scandal, their feats and those of other sluggers had become the major
leagues' defining attraction.[67] In contrast to the professional game's resurgence in popularity
after the 1994 interruption, Little League enrollment was in decline: after peaking in 1996, it
dropped 1 percent a year over the following decade.[68] With more rigorous testing and penalties
for performance-enhancing drug use a possible factor, the balance between bat and ball
swung markedly in 2010, which became known as the "Year of the Pitcher". [69] Runs per game
fell to their lowest level in 18 years, and the strikeout rate was higher than it had been in half a
century.[70]
Before the start of the 2012 season, MLB altered its rules to double the number of wild card
teams admitted into the playoffs to two per league.[71] The playoff expansion resulted in the
addition of annual one-game playoffs between the wild card teams in each league.[72]
Baseball around the world

Main article: History of baseball outside the United States
See also: Baseball in Cuba, Baseball in Japan and Baseball in the United Kingdom
Baseball, widely known as America's pastime, is well established in several other countries as
well. The history of baseball in Canada has remained closely linked with that of the sport in the
United States. As early as 1877, a professional league, the International Association, featured
teams from both countries.[73] While baseball is widely played in Canada and many minor
league teams have been based in the country, the American major leagues did not include a
Canadian club until 1969, when the Montreal Expos joined the National League as an
expansion team. In 1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League. The
Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992 and 1993, the first and still the only club from outside
the United States to do so. After the 2004 season, Major League Baseball relocated the Expos
to Washington, D.C., where the team is now known as the Nationals.
Sadaharu Oh managing theJapan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for
the Central League's Yomiuri Giants(195980), Oh set the professional world record for home runs.
In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico
at Parque Los Berros in Xalapa, Veracruz. A few days after the Battle of Cerro Gordo, they
used the "wooden leg captured (by the Fourth Illinois regiment) from General Santa Anna".
[74]
The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in
1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition and whose national team has been one
of the world's strongest since international play began in the late 1930s (all organized baseball
in the country has officially been amateur since the Cuban Revolution). The Dominican
Republic held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912.[75] Professional baseball
tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including
the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto
Rico (1938).[76] The Japanese major leaguesthe Central League and Pacific Leaguehave
long been considered the highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States.
[77]
Japan has a professional minor league system as well, though it is much smaller than the
American versioneach team has only one farm club in contrast to MLB teams' four or five. [78]
After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American nations, most
prominently Venezuela (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955).[79] Since the early 1970s,
the annual Caribbean Series has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin
American winter leagues: the Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific
League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, and Venezuelan Professional Baseball
League. In Asia, South Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990), and China (2003) all have professional
leagues.[80]
Many European countries have professional leagues as well, the most successful, other than
the Dutch league, being the Italian leaguefounded in 1948.[81] Compared to those in Asia and
Latin America, the various European leagues and the one in Australia historically have had no
more than niche appeal. In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the Olympic Games.
The Israel Baseball League, launched in 2007, folded after one season.[82] The Confdration
Europene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes a
number of competitions between clubs from different countries, as well as national squads.
Other competitions between national teams, such as the Baseball World Cup and the Olympic
baseball tournament, were administered by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from
its formation in 1938 until its 2013 merger with the International Softball Federation to create
the current joint governing body for both sports, the World Baseball Softball
Confederation (WBSC). By 2009, the IBAF had 117 member countries.[83] Women's baseball is
played on an organized amateur basis in many of the countries where it is a leading men's
sport. Since 2004, the IBAF and now WBSC have sanctioned the Women's Baseball World
Cup, featuring national teams.
After being admitted to the Olympics as a medal sport beginning with the 1992 Games,
baseball was dropped from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games at the 2005 International
Olympic Committee meeting. It remained part of the 2008 Games. The elimination of baseball,
along with softball, from the 2012 Olympic program enabled the IOC to consider adding two
different sports, but none received the votes required for inclusion. [84] While the sport's lack of a
following in much of the world was a factor, more important was Major League Baseball's
reluctance to have a break during the Games to allow its players to participate, as the National
Hockey League now does during the Winter Olympic Games. Such a break is more difficult for
MLB to accommodate because it would force the playoffs deeper into cold weather.[85] Seeking
reinstatement for the 2016 Summer Olympics, the IBAF proposed an abbreviated competition
designed to facilitate the participation of top players, but the effort failed. [86] Major League
Baseball initiated the World Baseball Classic, scheduled to precede the major league season,
partly as a replacement, high-profile international tournament. The inaugural Classic, held in

March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature a significant number
of MLB participants.[87][88] The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after its 2011 edition in
favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic.[89]
Rules and gameplay

Main article: Baseball rules
A game is played between two teams, each comprising nine players, that take turns playing
offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding). A pair of turns, one at
bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an inning. A game consists of nine innings
(seven innings at the high school level and in doubleheaders in college and minor leagues).
One teamcustomarily the visiting teambats in the top, or first half, of every inning. The
other teamcustomarily the home teambats in the bottom, or second half, of every inning.
The goal of the game is to score more points (runs) than the other team. The players on the
team at bat attempt to score runs by circling or completing a tour of the four bases set at the
corners of the square-shaped baseball diamond. A player bats at home plate and must
proceed counterclockwise to first base, second base, third base, and back home in order to
score a run. The team in the field attempts both to prevent runs from scoring and to
record outs, which remove opposing players from offensive action until their turn in their
team's batting order comes up again. When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for
the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played
to resolve the contest. Many amateur games, particularly unorganized ones, involve different
numbers of players and innings.[90]
Diagram of a baseball field (the term diamond may be used to refer to the square area defined by the
four bases or to the entire playing field). The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style
games. Children often play on smaller fields.
The game is played on a field whose primary boundaries, the foul lines, extend forward from
home plate at 45-degree angles. The 90-degree area within the foul lines is referred to as fair
territory; the 270-degree area outside them is foul territory. The part of the field enclosed by the
bases and several yards beyond them is the infield; the area farther beyond the infield is
the outfield. In the middle of the infield is a raised pitcher's mound, with a rectangular rubber
plate (the rubber) at its center. The outer boundary of the outfield is typically demarcated by a
raised fence, which may be of any material and height (many amateur games are played on
unfenced fields). Fair territory between home plate and the outfield boundary is baseball's field
of play, though significant events can take place in foul territory, as well. [91]
There are three basic tools of baseball: the ball, the bat, and the glove or mitt:
The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches (23 centimeters) in
circumference. It has a rubber or cork center, wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide,
with red stitching.[92]
The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a single, solid piece of wood. Other
materials are now commonly used for nonprofessional games. It is a hard round stick,
about 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower
handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around 34 inches (86
centimeters) long, and not longer than 42 inches (106 centimeters).[93]
The glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the
fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the
specific needs of different fielding positions.[94]
Protective helmets are also standard equipment for all batters.[95]

At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players on the fielding team arrange themselves
around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound. The pitcher begins
the pitching delivery with one foot on the rubber, pushing off it to gain velocity when throwing
toward home plate. Another player, the catcher, squats on the far side of home plate, facing the
pitcher. The rest of the team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielderswho set
up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines between first, second, and third base
and three outfielders. In the standard arrangement, there is a first baseman positioned
several steps to the left of first base, a second baseman to the right of second base,
a shortstop to the left of second base, and a third baseman to the right of third base. The basic
outfield positions are left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. A neutral umpire sets up
behind the catcher.[96] Other umpires will be distributed around the field as well, though the
number will vary depending on the level of play, amateur or children's games may only have an
umpire behind the plate, while as many as six umpires can be used for important Major League
Baseball games.
Awaiting a pitch: batter, catcher, and umpire
Play starts with a batter standing at home plate, holding a bat.[97] The batter waits for the pitcher
to throw a pitch (the ball) toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball[98] with the bat.[97] The
catcher catches pitches that the batter does not hitas a result of either electing not to swing
or failing to connectand returns them to the pitcher. A batter who hits the ball into the field of
play must drop the bat and begin running toward first base, at which point the player is referred
to as a runner (or, until the play is over, a batter-runner). A batter-runner who reaches first base
without being put out (see below) is said to be safe and is now on base. A batter-runner may
choose to remain at first base or attempt to advance to second base or even beyond
however far the player believes can be reached safely. A player who reaches base despite
proper play by the fielders has recorded a hit. A player who reaches first base safely on a hit is
credited with a single. If a player makes it to second base safely as a direct result of a hit, it is
a double; third base, a triple. If the ball is hit in the air within the foul lines over the entire
outfield (and outfield fence, if there is one), it is a home run: the batter and any runners on
base may all freely circle the bases, each scoring a run. This is the most desirable result for the
batter. A player who reaches base due to a fielding mistake is not credited with a hitinstead,
the responsible fielder is charged with an error.[97]
Any runners already on base may attempt to advance on batted balls that land, or contact the
ground, in fair territory, before or after the ball lands. A runner on first base mustattempt to
advance if a ball lands in play. If a ball hit into play rolls foul before passing through the infield,
it becomes dead and any runners must return to the base they were at when the play began. If
the ball is hit in the air and caught before it lands, the batter has flied out and any runners on
base may attempt to advance only if they tag up or touch the base they were at when the play
began, as or after the ball is caught. Runners may also attempt to advance to the next base
while the pitcher is in the process of delivering the ball to home platea successful effort is
a stolen base.[99]
A pitch that is not hit into the field of play is called either a strike or a ball. A batter against
whom three strikes are recorded strikes out. A batter against whom four balls are recorded is
awarded a base on balls or walk, a free advance to first base. (A batter may also freely
advance to first base if the batter's body or uniform is struck by a pitch outside the strike zone,
provided the batter does not swing and attempts to avoid being hit.) [100] Crucial to determining
balls and strikes is the umpire's judgment as to whether a pitch has passed through the strike
zone, a conceptual area above home plate extending from the midpoint between the batter's
shoulders and belt down to the hollow of the knee.[101]
A strike is called when one of the following happens:
The batter lets a well-pitched ball (one within the strike zone) go through to the catcher.
The batter swings at any ball (even one outside the strike zone) and misses, or foul
tips it directly into the catcher's hands.
The batter hits a foul ballone that either initially lands in foul territory or initially lands
within the diamond but moves into foul territory before passing first or third base. If there
are already two strikes on the batter, a foul ball is not counted as a third strike; thus, a foul
ball cannot result in the immediate strikeout of the batter. (There is an exception to this
exception: a two-strike foul bunt is recorded as a third strike.)
A ball is called when the pitcher throws a pitch that is outside the strike zone, provided the
batter has not swung at it.[101][102]
A shortstop tries to tag out a runner who is sliding headfirst, attempting to reach second base.
While the team at bat is trying to score runs, the team in the field is attempting to record outs.
Among the various ways a member of the batting team may be put out, five are most common:
The strikeout: as described above, recorded against a batter who makes three strikes
before putting the ball into play or being awarded a free advance to first base (see
also uncaught third strike).
The flyout: as described above, recorded against a batter who hits a ball in the air that
is caught by a fielder, whether in fair territory or foul territory, before it lands, whether or not
the batter has run.
The ground out: recorded against a batter (in this case, batter-runner) who hits a ball
that lands in fair territory which, before the batter-runner can reach first base, is retrieved
by a fielder who touches first base while holding the ball or relays it to another fielder who
touches first base while holding the ball.
The force out: recorded against a runner who is required to attempt to advanceeither
because the runner is on first base and a batted ball lands in fair territory, or because the
runner immediately behind on the basepath is thus required to attempt to advancebut
fails to reach the next base before a fielder touches the base while holding the ball. The
ground out is technically a special case of the force out.
The tag out: recorded against a runner who is touched by a fielder with the ball or a
glove holding the ball, while the runner is not touching a base.
It is possible to record two outs in the course of the same playa double play. Even three
a triple playis possible, though this is very rare. Players put out or retired must leave the
field, returning to their team's dugout or bench. A runner may be stranded on base when a third
out is recorded against another player on the team. Stranded runners do not benefit the team
in its next turn at batevery half-inning begins with the bases empty of runners. [103]
An individual player's turn batting or plate appearance is complete when the player reaches
base, hits a home run, makes an out, or hits a ball that results in the team's third out, even if it
is recorded against a teammate. On rare occasions, a batter may be at the plate when, without
the batter's hitting the ball, a third out is recorded against a teammatefor instance, a runner
getting caught stealing (tagged out attempting to steal a base). A batter with this sort of
incomplete plate appearance starts off the team's next turn batting; any balls or strikes
recorded against the batter the previous inning are erased. A runner may circle the bases only
once per plate appearance and thus can score at most a single run per batting turn. Once a
player has completed a plate appearance, that player may not bat again until the eight other
members of the player's team have all taken their turn at bat. The batting order is set before
the game begins, and may not be altered except for substitutions. Once a player has been
removed for a substitute, that player may not reenter the game. Children's games often have
more liberal substitution rules.[104]
If the designated hitter (DH) rule is in effect, each team has a tenth player whose sole
responsibility is to bat (and run). The DH takes the place of another playeralmost invariably
the pitcherin the batting order, but does not field. Thus, even with the DH, each team still has
a batting order of nine players and a fielding arrangement of nine players. [105]
Personnel
Player rosters
Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not
uniform numbers).
Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different levels of organized play.
Major League Baseball teams maintain 25-player active rosters. A typical 25-man roster in a
league without the DH rule, such as MLB's National League, features: [106]
eight position playerscatcher, four infielders, three outfielderswho play on a regular

basis
five starting pitchers who constitute the team's pitching rotation or starting rotation
six relief pitchers, including one specialist closer, who constitute the
team's bullpen (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up)
one backup, or substitute, catcher
two backup infielders
two backup outfielders
one specialist pinch hitter, or a second backup catcher, or a seventh reliever
Other personnel
Relief pitchers warming up, overseen by a bullpen coach. Amanager will often have both a right-handed
and a left-handed reliever warm up to maximize strategic options.
The manager, or head coach of a team, oversees the team's major strategic decisions, such as
establishing the starting rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each game, and
making substitutions during gamesin particular, bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are
typically assisted by two or more coaches; they may have specialized responsibilities, such as
working with players on hitting, fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning. At most levels of
organized play, two coaches are stationed on the field when the team is at bat: the first base
coach and third base coach, occupying designated coaches' boxes just outside the foul lines,
assist in the direction of baserunners when the ball is in play, and relay tactical signals from the
manager to batters and runners during pauses in play.[107] In contrast to many other team
sports, baseball managers and coaches generally wear their team's uniforms; coaches must
be in uniform in order to be allowed on the playing field during a game. [108]
Any baseball game involves one or more umpires, who make rulings on the outcome of each
play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike
zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires may be stationed near the other bases,
thus making it easier to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In Major
League Baseball, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In the playoffs,
six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul lines. [109]
Strategy and tactics
Matthew Dipasupil Summer 2014 Baseball Video
Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a
fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against lefthanded pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more
successful against right-handed pitchers.[110] A manager with several left-handed batters in the
regular lineup who knows the team will be facing a left-handed starting pitcher may respond by
starting one or more of the right-handed backups on the team's roster. During the late innings
of a game, as relief pitchers and pinch hitters are brought in, the opposing managers will often
go back and forth trying to create favorable matchups with their substitutions: the manager of
the fielding team trying to arrange same-handed pitcher-batter matchups, the manager of the
batting team trying to arrange opposite-handed matchups. With a team that has the lead in the
late innings, a manager may remove a starting position playerespecially one whose turn at
bat is not likely to come up againfor a more skillful fielder.[111]
Pitching and fielding tactics
A first baseman receives a pickoffthrow, as the runner dives back to first base.
The tactical decision that precedes almost every play in a baseball game involves pitch
selection. By gripping and then releasing the baseball in a certain manner, and by throwing it at
a certain speed, pitchers can cause the baseball to break to either side, or downward, as it
approaches the batter.[112] Among the resulting wide variety of pitches that may be thrown, the
four basic types are the fastball, thechangeup (or off-speed pitch), and two breaking balls
the curveball and the slider.[113] Pitchers have different repertoires of pitches they are skillful at
throwing. Conventionally, before each pitch, the catcher signals the pitcher what type of pitch to
throw, as well as its general vertical and/or horizontal location. [114] If there is disagreement on
the selection, the pitcher may shake off the sign and the catcher will call for a different pitch.
With a runner on base and taking a lead, the pitcher may attempt a pickoff, a quick throw to a
fielder covering the base to keep the runner's lead in check or, optimally, effect a tag out.
Pickoff attempts, however, are subject to rules that severely restrict the pitcher's movements
before and during the pickoff attempt. Violation of any one of these rules could result in the
umpire calling a balkagainst the pitcher, with the result being runners on base, if any, advance
one base with impunity.[112] If an attempted stolen base is anticipated, the catcher may call for
a pitchout, a ball thrown deliberately off the plate, allowing the catcher to catch it while standing
and throw quickly to a base.[115] Facing a batter with a strong tendency to hit to one side of the
field, the fielding team may employ a shift, with most or all of the fielders moving to the left or
right of their usual positions. With a runner on third base, the infielders may play in, moving
closer to home plate to improve the odds of throwing out the runner on aground ball, though a
sharply hit grounder is more likely to carry through a drawn-in infield. [116]
Batting and baserunning tactics
A batter squares to bunt, moving his hands up the barrel of the bat to increase his control and deaden
the ball on impact.
Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first base, including the
fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of second base. The hit and run is sometimes
employed with a skillful contact hitter: the runner takes off with the pitch drawing the shortstop
or second baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the batter to poke the
ball through.[117] The sacrifice bunt calls for the batter to focus on making contact with the ball so
that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance intoscoring
position even at the expense of the batter being thrown out at firsta batter who succeeds is
credited with a sacrifice. (A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt
to bunt for a hit.) A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that
runner home, is known as a squeeze play.[118] With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a
batter may instead concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be deep enough
to allow the runner to tag up and scorea successful batter in this case gets credit for
a sacrifice fly.[116] The manager will sometimes signal a batter who is ahead in the count (i.e.,
has more balls than strikes) to take, or not swing at, the next pitch.[119]
Distinctive elements
Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the
countries where it has a following, including but not limited to American and Canadian
football, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer. All of these sports use a clock; in all of them, play
is less individual and more collective; and in none of them is the variation between playing
fields nearly as substantial or important. The comparison between cricket and
baseball demonstrates that many of baseball's distinctive elements are shared in various ways
with its cousin sports.
No clock to kill
A well-worn baseball
In clock-limited sports, games often end with a team that holds the lead killing the clock rather
than competing aggressively against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock; a
team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time. At
almost any turn in any baseball game, the most advantageous strategy is some form of
aggressive strategy.[120] In contrast, again, the clock comes into play even in the case of multiday Test and first-class cricket: the possibility of a draw often encourages a team that is batting
last and well behind to bat defensively, giving up any faint chance at a win to avoid a loss.
[121]
Baseball offers no such reward for conservative batting.
While nine innings has been the standard since the beginning of professional baseball, the
duration of the average major league game has increased steadily through the years. At the
turn of the 20th century, games typically took an hour and a half to play. In the 1920s, they
averaged just less than two hours, which eventually ballooned to 2:38 in 1960. [122] By 1997, the
average American League game lasted 2:57 (National League games were about 10 minutes
shorterpitchers at the plate making for quicker outs than designated hitters). [123] In 2004,
Major League Baseball declared that its goal was an average game of merely 2:45. [122] By 2014,
though, the average MLB game took over three hours to complete.[124] The lengthening of
games is attributed to longer breaks between half-innings for television commercials, increased
offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play with pitchers taking more time
between each delivery, and batters stepping out of the box more frequently.[122][123] Other leagues
have experienced similar issues. In 2008, Nippon Professional Baseball took steps aimed at
shortening games by 12 minutes from the preceding decade's average of 3:18. [125]
Individual focus
Although baseball is a team sport, individual players are often placed under scrutiny and
pressure. In 1915, a baseball instructional manual pointed out that every single pitch, of which
there are often more than two hundred in a game, involves an individual, one-on-one contest:
"the pitcher and the batter in a battle of wits".[126] Contrasting the game with both football and
basketball, scholar Michael Mandelbaum argues that "baseball is the one closest in
evolutionary descent to the older individual sports". [127] Pitcher, batter, and fielder all act
essentially independent of each other. While coaching staffs can signal pitcher or batter to
pursue certain tactics, the execution of the play itself is a series of solitary acts. If the batter hits
a line drive, the outfielder is solely responsible for deciding to try to catch it or play it on the
bounce and for succeeding or failing. The statistical precision of baseball is both facilitated by
this isolation and reinforces it. As described by Mandelbaum,
It is impossible to isolate and objectively assess the contribution each [football] team member
makes to the outcome of the play ... [E]very basketball player is interacting with all of his
teammates all the time. In baseball, by contrast, every player is more or less on his own ...
Baseball is therefore a realm of complete transparency and total responsibility. A baseball
player lives in a glass house, and in a stark moral universe ... Everything that every player
does is accounted for and everything accounted for is either good or bad, right or wrong. [128]
Cricket is more similar to baseball than many other team sports in this regard: while the
individual focus in cricket is mitigated by the importance of the batting partnership and the
practicalities of tandem running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy
the wicket for an hour or much more. There is no statistical equivalent in cricket for the fielding
error and thus less emphasis on personal responsibility in this area of play.[129]
Uniqueness of each baseball park

Main article: Baseball park
Unlike those of most sports, baseball playing fields can vary significantly in size and shape.
While the dimensions of the infield are specifically regulated, the only constraint on outfield
size and shape for professional teams following the rules of Major League and Minor League
Baseball is that fields built or remodeled since June 1, 1958, must have a minimum distance of
325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 feet (122 m) to
center.[130] Major league teams often skirt even this rule. For example, at Minute Maid Park,
which became the home of the Houston Astros in 2000, the Crawford Boxes in left field are
only 315 feet (96 m) from home plate.[131] There are no rules at all that address the height of
fences or other structures at the edge of the outfield. The most famously idiosyncratic outfield
boundary is the left-field wall at Boston'sFenway Park, in use since 1912: the Green Monster is
310 feet (94 m) from home plate down the line and 37 feet (11 m) tall.[132]
Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the
left.
Similarly, there are no regulations at all concerning the dimensions of foul territory. Thus a foul
fly ball may be entirely out of play in a park with little space between the foul lines and the
stands, but a foulout in a park with more expansive foul ground.[133] A fence in foul territory that
is close to the outfield line will tend to direct balls that strike it back toward the fielders, while
one that is farther away may actually prompt more collisions, as outfielders run full speed to
field balls deep in the corner. These variations can make the difference between a double and
a triple or inside-the-park home run.[134] The surface of the field is also unregulated. While the
image to the left shows a traditional field surfacing arrangement (and the one used by virtually
all MLB teams with naturally surfaced fields), teams are free to decide what areas will be
grassed or bare.[135] Some fieldsincluding several in MLBuse an artificial surface, such
as AstroTurf. Surface variations can have a significant effect on how ground balls behave and
are fielded as well as on baserunning. Similarly, the presence of a roof (seven major league
teams play in stadiums with permanent or retractable roofs) can greatly affect how fly balls are
played.[136] While football and soccer players deal with similar variations of field surface and
stadium covering, the size and shape of their fields are much more standardized. The area outof-bounds on a football or soccer field does not affect play the way foul territory in baseball
does, so variations in that regard are largely insignificant.[137]
These physical variations create a distinctive set of playing conditions at each ballpark. Other
local factors, such as altitude and climate, can also significantly affect play. A given stadium
may acquire a reputation as a pitcher's park or a hitter's park, if one or the other discipline
notably benefits from its unique mix of elements. The most exceptional park in this regard
is Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. Its high altitude5,282 feet (1,610 m) above
sea levelis responsible for giving it the strongest hitter's park effect in the major leagues.
[138]
Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is known for its fickle disposition: a hitter's park
when the strong winds off Lake Michigan are blowing out, it becomes more of a pitcher's park
when they are blowing in.[139] The absence of a standardized field affects not only how particular
games play out, but the nature of team rosters and players' statistical records. For example,
hitting a fly ball 330 feet (100 m) into right field might result in an easy catch on the warning
track at one park, and a home run at another. A team that plays in a park with a relatively short
right field, such as the New York Yankees, will tend to stock its roster with left-handed pull
hitters, who can best exploit it. On the individual level, a player who spends most of his career
with a team that plays in a hitter's park will gain an advantage in batting statistics over time
even more so if his talents are especially suited to the park.[140]
Statistics
Main article: Baseball statistics
Organized baseball lends itself to statistics to a greater degree than many other sports. Each
play is discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes. In the late 19th
century, a former cricket player, English-born Henry Chadwick of Brooklyn, New York, was
responsible for the "development of the box score, tabular standings, the annual baseball
guide, the batting average, and most of the common statistics and tables used to describe
baseball."[141] The statistical record is so central to the game's "historical essence" that
Chadwick came to be known as Father Baseball.[141] In the 1920s, American newspapers began
devoting more and more attention to baseball statistics, initiating what journalist and
historian Alan Schwarz describes as a "tectonic shift in sports, as intrigue that once focused
mostly on teams began to go to individual players and their statistics lines." [142]
The Official Baseball Rules administered by Major League Baseball require the official
scorer to categorize each baseball play unambiguously. The rules provide detailed criteria to
promote consistency. The score report is the official basis for both the box score of the game
and the relevant statistical records.[143] General managers, managers, andbaseball scouts use
statistics to evaluate players and make strategic decisions.
Rickey Hendersonthe major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen basesstealing third base in a
1988 game.
Certain traditional statistics are familiar to most baseball fans. The basic batting statistics
include:[144]
At bats: plate appearances, excluding walks and hit by pitcheswhere the batter's
ability is not fully testedand sacrifices and sacrifice flieswhere the batter intentionally
makes an out in order to advance one or more baserunners
Hits: times reached base because of a batted, fair ball without fielding error or fielder's
choice
Runs: times circling the bases and reaching home safely

Runs batted in (RBIs): number of runners who scored due to a batter's action (including
the batter, in the case of a home run), except when batter grounded into double play or
reached on an error
Home runs: hits on which the batter successfully touched all four bases, without the
contribution of a fielding error
Batting average: hits divided by at batsthe traditional measure of batting ability
The basic baserunning statistics include:[145]
Stolen bases: times advancing to the next base entirely due to the runner's own efforts,
generally while the pitcher is preparing to deliver or delivering the ball
Caught stealing: times tagged out while attempting to steal a base
Cy Youngthe holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as
lossesin 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young.
The basic pitching statistics include:[146]
Wins: credited to pitcher on winning team who last pitched before the team took a lead
that it never relinquished (a starting pitcher must pitch at least five innings to qualify for a
win)
Losses: charged to pitcher on losing team who was pitching when the opposing team
took a lead that it never relinquished
Saves: games where the pitcher enters a game led by the pitcher's team, finishes the
game without surrendering the lead, is not the winning pitcher, and either (a) the lead was
three runs or less when the pitcher entered the game; (b) the potential tying run was on
base, at bat, or on deck; or (c) the pitcher pitched three or more innings
Innings pitched: outs recorded while pitching divided by three
Strikeouts: times pitching three strikes to a batter
Winning percentage: wins divided by decisions (wins plus losses)
Earned run average (ERA): runs allowed, excluding those resulting from fielding errors,
per nine innings pitched
The basic fielding statistics include:[147]
Putouts: times the fielder catches a fly ball, tags or forces out a runner, or otherwise
directly effects an out
Assists: times a putout by another fielder was recorded following the fielder touching
the ball
Errors: times the fielder fails to make a play that should have been made with common
effort, and the batting team benefits as a result
Total chances: putouts plus assists plus errors
Fielding average: successful chances (putouts plus assists) divided by total chances
Among the many other statistics that are kept are those collectively known as situational
statistics. For example, statistics can indicate which specific pitchers a certain batter performs
best against. If a given situation statistically favors a certain batter, the manager of the fielding
team may be more likely to change pitchers or have the pitcherintentionally walk the batter in
order to face one who is less likely to succeed.[148]
Sabermetrics
Sabermetrics refers to the field of baseball statistical study and the development of new
statistics and analytical tools. The term is also used to refer directly to new statistics
themselves. The term was coined around 1980 by one of the field's leading proponents, Bill
James, and derives from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).[149]
The growing popularity of sabermetrics since the early 1980s has brought more attention to
two batting statistics that sabermetricians argue are much better gauges of a batter's skill than
batting average:[150]
On-base percentage measures a batter's ability to get on base. It is calculated by

taking the sum of the batter's successes in getting on base (hits plus walks plus hit by
pitches) and dividing that by the batter's total plate appearances (at bats plus walks plus hit
by pitches plus sacrifice flies), except for sacrifice bunts.[151]
Slugging percentage measures a batter's ability to hit for power. It is calculated by

taking the batter's total bases (one per each single, two per double, three per triple, and
four per home run) and dividing that by the batter's at bats.[152]
Some of the new statistics devised by sabermetricians have gained wide use:
On-base plus slugging (OPS) measures a batter's overall ability. It is calculated by

adding the batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. [153]
Walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) measures a pitcher's ability at preventing
hitters from reaching base. It is calculated exactly as its name suggests. [154]
Popularity and cultural impact
Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921
An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002.
Writing in 1919, philosopher Morris Raphael Cohen described baseball as America's national
religion.[155] In the words of sports columnist Jayson Stark, baseball has long been "a unique
paragon of American culture"a status he sees as devastated by the steroid abuse scandal.
[156]
Baseball has an important place in other national cultures as well: Scholar Peter Bjarkman
describes "how deeply the sport is ingrained in the history and culture of a nation such as
Cuba, [and] how thoroughly it was radically reshaped and nativized in Japan." [157] Since the
early 1980s, the Dominican Republic, in particular the city of San Pedro de Macors, has been
the major leagues' primary source of foreign talent.[158] Hall-of-Famer Roberto
Clemente remains one of the greatest national heroes in Puerto Rico's history.[159] While
baseball has long been the island's primary athletic pastime, its once well-attended
professional winter league has declined in popularity since 1990, when young Puerto Rican
players began to be included in the major leagues' annual first-year player draft. [160] In the
Western Hemisphere, baseball is also one of the leading sports in Canada, Colombia, Mexico,
the Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela. In Asia, it is among the most
popular sports in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
The major league game in the United States was originally targeted toward a middle-class,
white-collar audience: relative to other spectator pastimes, the National League's set ticket
price of 50 cents in 1876 was high, while the location of playing fields outside the inner city and
the workweek daytime scheduling of games were also obstacles to a blue-collar audience. [161] A
century later, the situation was very different. With the rise in popularity of other team sports
with much higher average ticket pricesfootball, basketball, and hockeyprofessional
baseball had become among the most blue-collar-oriented of leading American spectator
sports.[162]
In the late 1900s and early 2000s, baseball's position compared to football in the United States
moved in contradictory directions. In 2008, Major League Baseball set a revenue record of
$6.5 billion, matching the NFL's revenue for the first time in decades.[163] A new MLB revenue
record of $6.6 billion was set in 2009.[164] On the other hand, the percentage of American sports
fans polled who named baseball as their favorite sport was 16%, compared to pro football at
31%. In 1985, the respective figures were pro football 24%, baseball 23%. [165] Because there
are so many more major league baseball games played, there is no comparison in overall
attendance. In 2008, total attendance at major league games was the second-highest in
history: 78.6 million, 0.7% off the record set the previous year.[65] The following year, amid the
U.S. recession, attendance fell by 6.6% to 73.4 million.[164] Attendance at games held under
the Minor League Baseball umbrella also set a record in 2007, with 42.8 million;[66] this figure
does not include attendance at games of the several independent minor leagues.
Opening Day of 1961 Baseball Season. President John F. Kennedy throws out first ball.
In Japan, where baseball is inarguably the leading spectator team sport, combined revenue for
the twelve teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the body that oversees both the
Central and Pacific leagues, was estimated at $1 billion in 2007. Total NPB attendance for the
year was approximately 20 million. While in the preceding two decades, MLB attendance grew
by 50 percent and revenue nearly tripled, the comparable NPB figures were stagnant. There
are concerns that MLB's growing interest in acquiring star Japanese players will hurt the game
in their home country.[78] In Cuba, where baseball is by every reckoning the national sport,[166]the
national team overshadows the city and provincial teams that play in the top-level domestic
leagues.[167] Revenue figures are not released for the country's amateur system. Similarly,
according to one official pronouncement, the sport's governing authority "has never taken into
account attendance ... because its greatest interest has always been the development of
athletes".[168]
As of 2007, Little League Baseball oversees more than 7,000 children's baseball leagues with
more than 2.2 million participants2.1 million in the United States and 123,000 in other
countries.[169] Babe Ruth League teams have over 1 million participants.[170]According to the
president of the International Baseball Federation, between 300,000 and 500,000 women and
girls play baseball around the world, including Little League and the introductory game of Tee
Ball.[171]
A varsity baseball team is an established part of physical education departments at most high
schools and colleges in the United States. In 2008, nearly half a million high schoolers and
over 35,000 collegians played on their schools' baseball teams.[169] The number of Americans
participating in baseball has declined since the late 1980s, falling well behind the number of
soccer participants.[172] By early in the 20th century, intercollegiate baseball was Japan's leading
sport. Today, high school baseball in particular is immensely popular there.[173] The final rounds
of the two annual tournamentsthe National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in
the spring, and the even more important National High School Baseball Championship in the
summerare broadcast around the country. The tournaments are known, respectively, as
Spring Koshien and Summer Koshien after the 55,000-capacity stadium where they are
played.[174] In Cuba, baseball is a mandatory part of the state system of physical education,
which begins at age six. Talented children as young as seven are sent to special district
schools for more intensive trainingthe first step on a ladder whose acme is the national
baseball team.[167]
Baseball in popular culture
The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of
thePittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million.[175]
Baseball has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the United States and elsewhere.
Dozens of English-language idioms have been derived from baseball; in particular, the game is
the source of a number of widely used sexual euphemisms.[176] The first networked radio
broadcasts in North America were of the 1922 World Series: famed sportswriter Grantland
Rice announced play-by-play from New York City's Polo Grounds on WJZNewark, New
Jersey, which was connected by wire to WGYSchenectady, New York, andWBZSpringfield,
Massachusetts.[177] The baseball cap has become a ubiquitous fashion item not only in the
United States and Japan, but also in countries where the sport itself is not particularly popular,
such as the United Kingdom.[178]
Baseball has inspired many works of art and entertainment. One of the first major
examples, Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat", appeared in 1888. A wry description of
the failure of a star player in what would now be called a "clutch situation", the poem became
the source of vaudeville and other staged performances, audio recordings, film adaptations,
and an opera, as well as a host of sequels and parodies in various media. There have been
many baseball movies, including the Academy Awardwinning The Pride of the Yankees(1942)
and the Oscar nominees The Natural (1984) and Field of Dreams (1989). The American Film
Institute's selection of the ten best sports movies includes The Pride of the Yankees at number
3 and Bull Durham (1988) at number 5.[179] Baseball has provided thematic material for hits on
both stagethe AdlerRoss musical Damn Yankeesand recordGeorge J. Gaskin's "Slide,
Kelly, Slide", Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", and John Fogerty's "Centerfield".[180] The
baseball-founded comedic sketch "Who's on First", popularized byAbbott and Costello in 1938,
quickly became famous. Six decades later, Time named it the best comedy routine of the 20th
century.[181]Baseball is also featured in various video games including MLB: The Show, Wii
Sports, Kinect Sports: Season 2 and Mario Baseball.
Literary works connected to the game include the short fiction of Ring Lardner and novels such
as Bernard Malamud's The Natural (the source for the movie), Robert Coover's The Universal
Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., and W. P. Kinsella's Shoeless Joe (the
source for Field of Dreams). Baseball's literary canon also includes the beat reportage
of Damon Runyon; the columns of Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Dick Young, and Peter
Gammons; and the essays of Roger Angell. Among the celebrated nonfiction books in the field
are Lawrence S. Ritter's The Glory of Their Times, Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer,
and Michael Lewis's Moneyball. The 1970 publication of major league pitcher Jim Bouton's tellall chronicle Ball Four is considered a turning point in the reporting of professional sports.[182]
Baseball has also inspired the creation of new cultural forms. Baseball cards were introduced
in the late 19th century as trade cards. A typical example would feature an image of a baseball
player on one side and advertising for a business on the other. In the early 1900s they were
produced widely as promotional items by tobacco and confectionery companies. The 1930s
saw the popularization of the modern style of baseball card, with a player photograph
accompanied on the rear by statistics and biographical data. Baseball cardsmany of which
are now prized collectiblesare the source of the much broader trading card industry, involving
similar products for different sports and non-sports-related fields.[183]
Modern fantasy sports began in 1980 with the invention of Rotisserie League Baseball by New
York writer Daniel Okrent and several friends. Participants in a Rotisserie league draft notional
teams from the list of active Major League Baseball players and play out an entire imaginary
season with game outcomes based on the players' latest real-world statistics. Rotisserie-style
play quickly became a phenomenon. Now known more generically as fantasy baseball, it has
inspired similar games based on an array of different sports.[184] The field boomed with
increasing Internet access and new fantasy sportsrelated websites. By 2008, 29.9 million
people in the United States and Canada were playing fantasy sports, spending $800 million on
the hobby.[185] The burgeoning popularity of fantasy baseball is also credited with the increasing
attention paid to sabermetricsfirst among fans, only later among baseball professionals. [186]
See also
A New York Yankees batter and aBoston Red Sox catcher

Baseball portal
Baseball awards
Baseball clothing and equipment
List of organized baseball leagues
List of Major League Baseball single-game records

Outline of baseball
Related sports
Brnnboll (Scandinavian bat-and-ball game)
British baseball
Lapta (game) (Russian bat-and-ball game)
Oin (Romanian bat-and-ball game)
Pespallo ("Finnish baseball")
Softball
Stickball
Stoop ball
Wiffleball
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Further reading
Bradbury, J.C. The Baseball Economist: The Real Game Exposed (Dutton,
2007). ISBN 0-525-94993-3
Dickson, Paul. The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3d ed. (W. W. Norton, 2009). ISBN 0393-06681-9
Elias, Robert (2010) The Empire Strikes Out: How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy
and Promoted the American Way Abroad. New York: The New Press. ISBN 978-1-59558195-2
Elliott, Bob. The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way (Sport Classic,
2005). ISBN 1-894963-40-7
Euchner, Charles. The Last Nine Innings: Inside the Real Game Fans Never
See (Sourcebooks, 2007). ISBN 1-4022-0579-1
Fitts, Robert K. Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the

Game (Southern Illinois University Press, 2005). ISBN 0-8093-2629-9
Gutkind, Lee. The Best Seat in Baseball, But You Have to Stand: The Game as
Umpires See It (Southern Illinois University Press, 1999). ISBN 978-0-8093-2195-7
Gillette, Gary, and Pete Palmer (eds.). The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia, 5th ed.
(Sterling, 2008). ISBN 1-4027-6051-5
James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, rev. ed. (Simon and
Schuster, 2003). ISBN 0-7432-2722-0
James, Bill. The Bill James Handbook 2009 (ACTA, 2008). ISBN 0-87946-367-8
Mahony, Phillip, Baseball Explained (McFarland Books, 2014) ISBN 978-0-7864-79641.
Peterson, Robert. Only the Ball was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and
All-Black Professional Teams (Oxford University Press, 1992 [1970]). ISBN 0-19-507637-0
Posnanski, Joe (2007) The Soul of Baseball New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06085403-4
Reaves, Joseph A. Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia (Bison, 2004). ISBN
0-8032-3943-2
Ritter, Lawrence S. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball
Told by the Men Who Played It, enlarged ed. (Harper, 1992). ISBN 0-688-11273-0
Tango, Tom, Mitchel G. Lichtman, and Andrew E. Dolphin, The Book: Playing the
Percentages in Baseball (Potomac, 2007). ISBN 1-59797-129-4
Sexton, John (2013) Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game New York:
Gotham Books. ISBN 978-1-59240-754-5.
Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. Baseball: An Illustrated History (Alfred A. Knopf,
1996). ISBN 0-679-40459-7
Online
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Football?". Washington Post. Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on 23 April
2009. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
Carlin, George. "Baseball and Football". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
Gmelch, George (September 2000). "Baseball Magic". McGraw HillDushkin. Archived

from the original on 2007-04-21. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
Lamster, Mark (April 10, 2005). "Baseball Before We Knew It: What's the French for
'Juiced'? (book review)". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
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Historia del bisbol

Este artculo o seccin necesita una revisin de ortografa y gramtica.

Historia del bisbol se ha desarrollado principalmente en los Estados Unidos, aunque se ha

1.1 Knickerbocker Baseball Club

1.2 El juego de los Campos Eliseos

1.3 La primera asociacin

2 El profesionalismo y orgenes de las Grandes Ligas

2.1 La primera liga profesional

2.2 Campeones de la NAPBBP

3.1 Las series de exhibicin de la Liga Nacional contra la Asociacin Americana

3.2 La Serie Mundial original

3.2.1 Liga Nacional (NL) vs. American Association (AA)

4.1 La Era de la Pelota Muerta

4.2 Nuevos estadios

4.3 El escndalo de los Medias Negras de Chicago

4.4 El juez Landis y el fin de la era de la pelota muerta

5 Historia del bisbol fuera de los Estados Unidos

6 La Copa Del Beisbol Femenina

Mencin al bisbol (BaseBall) en A Little Pretty Pocket-Book de 1744.

Posteriormente, en 1791, se emite una prohibicin en el pueblo de

De cualquier forma es a partir de la lista de reglas publicadas por Alexander

Knickerbocker Baseball Club[editar]

El juego de los Campos Eliseos[editar]

El profesionalismo y orgenes de las Grandes Ligas[editar]

Equipo Champions of America de 1865.

La primera liga profesional[editar]

Boston Red Stockings (*actualmente Atlanta Braves) (1871-1875)

Chicago White Stockings (*actualmente Chicago Cubs) (1871; 1874-1875)

Cleveland Forest Citys (1871-1872)

Fort Wayne Kekiongas (1871)

New York Mutuals (1871-1875)

Philadelphia Athletics (1871-1875)

Rockford Forest Citys (1871)

Troy Haymakers (1871-1872)

Washington Olympics (1871-1872)

Brooklyn Atlantics (1872-1875)

Brooklyn Eckfords (1872)

Baltimore Canaries (1872-1874)

Middletown Mansfields (1872)

Washington Nationals (1872-1873; 1875) Washington Blue Legs (1873)

Baltimore Marylands (1873)

Philadelphia White Stockings (1873-1875) (llamados en ocasiones los "Pearls" o

Elizabeth Resolutes (1873)

Hartford Dark Blues (1874-1875)

Philadelphia Centennials (1875)

New Haven Elm Citys (1875)

St. Louis Brown Stockings (1875)

St. Louis Red Stockings (1875)

Keokuk Westerns (1875)

1871 Philadelphia Athletics

1872 Boston Red Stockings

1873 Boston Red Stockings

1874 Boston Red Stockings

1875 Boston Red Stockings

[Jim O'Rourke (beisbolista)|Jim O'Rourke]

Chicago White Stockings (actualmente Chicago Cubs).

Philadelphia Athletics (expulsados despus de la temporada de 1876).

Boston Red Stockings, (equipo dominante en la Asociacin Profesional, actualmente

Hartford Dark Blues (hasta la temporada de 1877)

Mutual of New York (expulsados despus de la temporada de 1876).

St. Louis Brown Stockings (Browns)

Baltimore Orioles de la Liga Nacional en 1896.

Las series de exhibicin de la Liga Nacional contra la Asociacin Americana[editar]

La Serie Mundial original[editar]