Table of Contents
Baseball
2nd Base
In a baseball game, second base is the most often stolen base.1)
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
“Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, the unofficial national anthem of American baseball, is customarily sung in the middle of the seventh inning. Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer, who had never seen a baseball game, wrote it in 1908.2)
Mo'ne Davis
The first girl to triumph in a Little League World Series baseball game was Mo'ne Davis.3)
Effa Louise Manley
A big league baseball game has never included a female player. Effa Louise Manley (1897–1981), an American sports executive, is the first and only woman to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.4)
Baseball Lifespan
A big league baseball has a lifespan of 5-7 pitches. A regular game involves using around 70 balls.5)
Baseball International
Baseball originated in the United States but has now become a global sport. The International Baseball Federation now includes more than 100 nations. Outside of America, Japan boasts the biggest professional baseball league.6)
L.A. Dodgers
The L.A. Dodgers, a baseball team that was first established in Brooklyn, got their name from the legendary talent of the locals at “dodging” the city's trolley streetcar system.7)
First Win
In 1903, the Boston Americans won baseball's inaugural World Series.8)
Revenue
Major League Baseball generated over $9 billion in gross income in 2014, an increase from $8 billion in 2013.9)
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees, with 27 titles, are the baseball club with the most World Series victories.10)
First Use Of Baseball
A Little Pretty Pocket-Book by children's book publisher John Newberry has the earliest recorded use of the word “baseball”.11)
Can Of Corn
An easy fly ball is a “can of corn.” The phrase originated when former grocery store employees would use their aprons to retrieve cans that were dropped from a high shelf.12)
Craig Biggio
The Houston Astros' Craig Biggio (1965–) holds the record (285) for being hit by a pitch the most frequently.13)
Sliding Headfirst
Dr. David A. Peters discovered in 2008 that a head-first slide into a base is quicker than a feet-first slide.14)
Baseball Gloves
More than any other element of the sport's equipment, baseball gloves have undergone development.15)
Oldest Stadium
The Boston Red Sox's home field, Fenway Facility, was opened in 1912, is the oldest baseball park currently in operation.16)
Numbers On The Back
In the 1920s, the New York Yankees were the first baseball team to have numbers on their backs. At first, they were assigned numbers according to the batting order. Babe Ruth was number 3 because he usually batted third.17)
Color Line
Major league baseball teams prohibited African-Americans from attending their games throughout the first half of the 20th century. However, African Americans established “Negro Leagues,” which included some of the century's finest players.18)
Longest Home Run
Mickey Mantle of the Yankees owns the record for the longest home run in history thanks to a 565-foot blast hit at the former Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC, on April 17, 1953. He was hitting right-handed against left-handed pitcher Chuck Stobbs of the Washington Senators since he was a switch-hitter.19)
Fresh Baseball In Mud
Before every game, an umpire is required to touch the fresh baseballs with mud from a creek in Burlington County, New Jersey, to take the shine off of them.20)
Rick Monday Saving The American Flag
On April 25, 1976, during a game at Dodger Stadium, Chicago Cubs outfielder Rick Monday saved an American flag from two guys who were attempting to burn it ablaze. This action made Monday a national hero. He received a standing ovation from the 25,167 spectators, who then started singing “God Bless America”.21)
First Pitch Tradition
William Howard Taft, a former semi-pro baseball player, was the first American president toss the ceremonial first pitch on April 14, 1910. Since then, every American president since Jimmy Carter has thrown out the first pitch on Opening Day.22)
The Star-Spangled Banner
On September 5, 1918, in the midst of the seventh inning of Game 1 of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs at (rented-out) Comiskey Park, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played for the first time during a sporting event.23)
Father And Son
As teammates with the Seattle Mariners in 1990, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father and son to compete in the major leagues. They hit back-to-back home runs on September 14, 1990, setting yet another father-son baseball record.24)
Jackie Mitchell
Jackie Mitchell, a minor league pitcher (1913–1987), gained notoriety in the 1930s by simultaneously retiring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Immediately, Major and Minor League Baseball suspended her.25)
Baseball Movies
The Pride of the Yankees (1942), The Natural (1984), Bill Durham (1988), Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), Moneyball (2011), 42 (2013), A League of Their Own (1992), Fear Strikes Out (1957), and Eight Men Out (1988) are a few well-known baseball-themed motion pictures.26)
Gray Uniforms
To make it simple for supporters to tell the difference between the visiting team and the host club, visiting teams typically wear (at least largely) gray jerseys. The custom began in the late 1800s when traveling teams lacked the time to clean their uniforms and instead wore gray to cover up mud.27)
First Baseball Game On TV
On August 26, 1939, the first professional baseball game to ever telecast on television was broadcast. Brooklyn and Cincinnati played two games.28)
Soaking
A very early baseball regulation called “soaking” permitted a runner who was off base to be out by being hit by a ball.29)
Players In Hall Of Fame
The San Francisco Giants, who have 24 Hall of Famers, are the team with the most players in the Hall of Fame.30)
Jacobs Field Sold Out
For 455 consecutive baseball games between 1995 and 2001, every seat in Jacobs Field was sold out each night. In recognition of their supporters, the Cleveland Indians retired the number 455.31)
Last Ballpark To Install Lights
In 1988, Chicago's Wrigley Field became the final major league baseball stadium to have lights installed. The Cubs played all of their home games during the day since they lacked lighting up to that point.32)
Hot Dogs And Sausages
The most popular food item at ballparks is hot dogs. During the 2014 major league season, baseball fans consumed 5,508,887 sausages and 21,357,316 hot dogs. That many hot dogs would span from Wrigley Field in Chicago to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.33)
Jimmy Pearsall
Jimmy Piersall, a player with the Boston Red Sox, ran the bases backwards to commemorate hitting his 100th home run. He was an eccentric athlete whose struggle with bipolar disease served as the basis for the book and film Fear Strikes Out.34)
Gayle Gardner
Gayle Gardner of NBC became the first female broadcaster of Major League Baseball games for a television network in 1989.35)
Lou Gehrig
The legendary baseball player Lou Gehrig declared in his farewell address that he was “the luckiest man on the face of the world” when he announced his retirement from the game due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It has been said that his address is the “Gettysburg Address of Baseball”.36)
Toni Stone
The first of three women to play in baseball's Negro League throughout its 40-year history was Toni Stone (1921–1996). Her nickname among baseball historians was “the female Jackie Robinson”. She once ranked as the fourth-best hitter in the league in 1953.37)
Dock Ellis And LSD
On June 12, 1970, Pirates starting pitcher Dock Ellis (1945–2008) threw his first and only professional no-hitter. He was also under the influence of LSD at the time.38)
Shortest Game
Baseball games now average over three hours, but the shortest game ever played in the big leagues on September 28, 1919, only lasted 51 minutes. At Polo Grounds, the New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1.39)
Most Innings
On May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves battled to 26 innings, which is the most ever in a Major League Baseball game.40)
Longest Game
On May 9, 1984, the Chicago White Sox and the visiting Milwaukee Brewers played the longest game ever. The game lasted for 25 innings and 8 hours and 6 minutes.41)
Least Amount Of Viewers
The Florida Marlins' game against the Cincinnati Reds in 2011 established the record for the fewest spectators ever at a baseball game. Only 347 spectators showed up because to Hurricane Irene for the game.42)
Most Valuable Baseball Card
The 1909 Honus Wagner T206 baseball card, which is valued over $2.8 million, is the most expensive baseball card ever.43)
Metaphors For Sex
Baseball is frequently used as a metaphor for sex in the United States. “First base” refers to mouth-to-mouth contact, “second base” to skin-to-skin contact or manual stimulation of the genitalia, “third base” to oral sex, or mouth-to-genital contact, and “homerun” to full-on sexual activity.44)
Black Sox Scandal
The Chicago White Sox acquired the name “Black Sox” in 1919 after eight players were charged for purposefully losing the World Series. One of baseball's all-time best hitters, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, was among the eight players who received a lifetime ban from the sport. He was expelled, making him ineligible for the Hall of Fame as well.45)