25 Interesting Fun Facts About Baseball Nobody Tells You About

Baseball is hugely an American game as the modern rules were codified in the country. The Knickerbocker club is said to have played a part…

Baseball is hugely an American game as the modern rules were codified in the country. The Knickerbocker club is said to have played a part in this development especially Alexander Cartwright. Earlier accounts link the game to the English’s bat ball and that immigrants carried it to the US prior to the codification of the whole setup.

Again, nothing could be truer about the American spirit than this fact as the nation is commonly referred to as built by immigrants.

Indeed, Baseball has devised tricks that fit it in the culture in ways few sports are. Famously is the ceremonial first pitch which is a throw by someone popular regardless of their talent.

Because of this kind of stuff, the game is famously known as America’s pastime.

25 Fun Facts About Baseball

Fact #1

The first organized Baseball game recorded was played between Knickerbockers and New York nine in June 1846. This is no surprise considering the role of the Knickerbocker’s Baseball club in the general development of Baseball.

This game was therefore as groundbreaking as it was an opportunity to test the rules that would be used moving forward. The game was hosted in New Jersey.

The club would also formulate a professional football team though it lasted up to 1870 unfortunately. Nothing is known very much about their opponents though there is an organization currently named ‘New York nine’ that helps with young athletes’ development.

Fact #2

The 1968 All-Star game was played to the end without a single Run Batted in (RBI). Whether it was a thing of the game being made of great players on either side or it was because the game was being played in-doors for the first time will remain a debate difficult to resolve.

What we know however. Is that when Ron Santos was retired after Hank Aaron walked, the game score stayed at 1–0 until the last inning. National League won but without an RBI.

Willie Mays walked away as the Most Valuable Player that night.

Fact #3

Jimmy Peirsall is certainly one of the players to make more News off the pitch than while playing. Some of his highlights include the day he was captured talking to Ruth Babe’s monument at the Yankees’ stadium, climbing a grandstand roof in expression of discontent over an umpire, as well as showing off for a match whilst wearing a Beatle’s wig.

One of the drams that is hard to forget though is when he hit his 100th career run. While running the bases, Jimmy did so facing backwards. He played for the Mets during the time and for his action, he was given a pink slip.

Fact #4

Chicago Cubs’ World Series title in 2016 was the first in 108 years. You can imagine what it is like by understanding the fact that at the time, all the fans to witness the last victory and the players to bring it home died before the one that followed it arrived.

No wonder more than a million people showed up for the team’s victory parade.

Something seems not to have been alright in the drought years and for the change, team President Theo Epstein is to thank in many ways.

He devised a five year plan to which focused on among other things, building a league of hitters. Indeed, their eventual championship so the players set an over 70% rate of balls in play hit into outs.

Fact #5

The first professional baseball team was founded in 1869 i.e. the Cincinnati Red Stockings and for that, the year is looked at as fundamental for the sport as it is today.

Games can always be played for fun but for organization’s sake, it is important that professionalism is introduced. One of the developments that Cincinnati brought with it for example was payment of players.

The Red Stockings are still in existence up to date. Beginning 1912, the club have been playing at Fenway Park. The stadium has since stood as the oldest baseball pitch in the country. Indeed, when you visit there you will be taken back in time.

Fact #6

With money coming into modern sports in levels we have not witnessed before, it is easy to forget how certain facts appeared to us. Transfers for example, have often big news the magic of it being that you do not acquire that much number of players at ago.

You would always have to hope that the added couple will somehow improve the general performance.

In 1967 however, the Dodgers and the Cubs shocked everyone when they announced that they had traded in their entire squads between each other.

That is right; the entire 25 player for either team! If you were a fan of one team, you could have easily found yourself supporting the other if at all players were more meaningful to you than the club itself.

Fact #7

One of Baseball’s most remarkable accomplishments and to this day revered place is its Hall of Fame located in Cooperstown, New York. The humongous stadium stands in honor of the many greats that graced the sport and the indelible wonders attributed to their names.

The Hall has been here for some good years too having initiated for the first time in 1939. The names recognized there are of which a diverse contribution including managers, players, and umpires.

This is a strong mark about the fact that the game is not about one person or even a group of people.

Fact #8

Cubs’ Jack McCarthy holds the record of the highest number of runners in the same inning. The number is three. That is so ridiculously high that no one can out match him unless the rules of the game are revised.

The circumstances of his outrage were quite not usual either though. His team had just failed to get anyone out so he took it upon himself.

Call his attitude what you will but it is clear that in the years to come his team would miss players like him. No wonder it would soon take them a hundred years before having a go at the World Series.

Fact #9

Too much facts? How about we inquired into some drama?

Well, while talking to the press in the 60s, manager Alvin Dark of San Francisco Giants joked about how someone would have to put a man on the moon first before the teams’ pitcher (Gaylord Perry) could hit a run.

These were still the times when pitchers were expected to hit as one of their role. They were also times when it was being rumored that America might send someone to the moon though most people were quite skeptical about the project.

Believe it or not however, within 12 minutes of Armstrong’s landing on the moon, Perry literally hit the first home run of his career. Recall that he had played first in 1962 and this was 1969!

Fact #10

Talking about pitchers, Cy Young is one of the best to ever play in Major League Baseball (MLB). He joined the sport in 1890 retiring in 1911 having played for five teams and amassing 511 victories between them.

Growing up at his family farm, Young’s rise to stardom is testimony to how far a combination of resilience, a truth to one’s passion, and talent can get a person regardless of their history.

Young is as such one of the names that the Hall of Fame mentions about.

As a manger, Young known to have only worked with one team– Boston Americans.

Fact #11

We have already seen how hitting a home run can be. But there are some that have exceeded all expectations and AI Woods is one of them.

He did so as a rookie playing for the Blue Jays in 1977. As if his personal show was not enough, Wood’s two-home home run was not only a personal first but that of his team too having been the case that the Jays had been debuting in MLB during the same game.

It would be the first time and the only one thus far, that a player would hit a home run debut for himself and the team in the same game.

The Blue Jays went on to win the match.

Fact #12

Many baseball fans will know many things about Babe Ruth including his nicknames among them the Bambino, the Sultan of Swat etc.

Yet few of them know about an initially seeming small fact that changed his career into the legend it has become. Ruth actually started off as a pitcher before switching into a hitter.

Babe is now credited with up to 2,214 Runs batted in, 488 strikeouts, and a batting average of .342 among other records.

He played for three teams across his career especially establishing himself while with the New York Yankees a fact for which many sculptures stand in his honor.

Fact #13

Some people go in the records books thanks to their extraordinary talent though not everyone is as lucky. What is not always immediately clear though is how luck comes in other ways too. And certainly Ken Ash is a man that benefited from this fact.

In 1930, he entered a game against Cubs as a Reds pitcher with two on and no outs. Seeming as though everyone had been waiting on him, the Cubs delivered a triple play as soon as Ken Ash delivered a pitch. During the game’s bottom inning, Ash would be pinch-hit for and the rally staged thereafter saw the reads win 6–5.

Fact #14

Jackie Robinson was the first black person to play in MLB. He had first played in the Negro leagues before joining Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He stayed with the club for nine more years thanks to his exuberance.

His achievements included MLB Rookie of the Year (1947), and membership to the All-Century team. He is a Hall of famer too.

You must not forget that this was the time before the 60s Civil Rights Movement. The levels of racial inequality existing at the time meant that a black person had to prove themselves twice as much. Nonetheless, thanks to Jakie’s trailblazing example, MLB has significantly changed for the better.

Fact #15

The biggest baseball park in MLB is Dodger stadium. As you will know from the name, it is home to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is located in down town Los Angeles to be specific in the neighborhood of Elysian Park. Its size is sheer sitting a humongous 56,000 fans at full capacity.

Dodger is also quite old having officially opened over sixty years ago. It is said to have cost approximately $23 million to construct. So yeah, a lot went in there.

It is also said that before the stadium was elected there were ridges surrounding the area and that they had to be cut and several quantities of earth moved in order to level the ground.

Fact #16

This is another fact that you should find mind boggling. The two Garbank brothers, Mike and Bob posted the same average as catchers in 1944 (i.e. .261). This was the case even when they had played in a radically different number of games. Mike had appeared in 80 games for the Yankees while his brother had only played in 18. Garbank was an Athletics player.

Now, if you thought that was all about it prepare yourself for yet some more. The Garbanks actually threw out 39 % each of would-be beststealers throughout the time in which they played. And, believe it or not, they played the same total number of games.

Fact #17

You probably know no one to win a World Series most valuable player title whilst playing in a team that actually lost. And you would be right in so doing. Only one player has done it in the history of MLB; Bobby Richardson.

He played with the Yankees at the time (1960) the team which everyone expected to win having turned around a bad start to the league title race into an eventual win.

In the World Series, everything was going by the playbook until Pirate’s Bill Mazeroski changed everything. Even in defeat though, Bobby had done much already to be ignored.

Fact #18

Something that you have seen but might not have paid attention to is the ball used in the game. If you are good at your stuff, you might guess at least one or two of what makes it up but I bet you would not tell why they are used later on their very specific.

The ball is composed of cork, yarn, lather, and stitches. You will be surprised to learn that the number of stiches is standard. 108; no less, no more not even by one.

The stitches are what keeps the leather covering on the outside intact. On the inside, the cork occupies the center and yarn the rest of it.

Fact #19

You will know already that a baseball game has nine innings with each one of them divided into two halves. Though of course, nothing is ever finished until you get the 27th out and in rare instance more than that. Well, the longest game had to get to the thirty-three innings before everything could get over.

It was played between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings in 1981. This was in the Triple-A international league and the game went over for up to 8 hours and 25 minutes!

Red Sox won in the end. Other known long games are one between Brooklyn Robinson and Boston Braves played in 1920 (26 innings) and another between Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers played in 1984 (25 innings).

Fact #20

Arlodis Chapman holds the record of hurling the fastest pitch on record. Its speed was indeed nothing like we have seen before i.e. 105 mile per hour. The thing about Chapman though, is that his hand works a magic that no one else seems to figure.

When the player left Cuba in 2010, his throws easily occupied all the 50 slots available in a season for several years.

Chapman’s prowess is recognized by the Guiness World Record and has earned him nicknames “The Cuban missile” and “The Cuban flame thrower”. His career spans across five clubs in MLB. He is a winner of the World Cup too.

Fact #21

New York Yankees is by far the most successful team in MLB boasting of 27 titles. Yankees was founded in 1903 though their name then was New York Highlanders at the time until its change in 1913.

Their legendary has earned them several nicknames overtime including The Bronx Bombers, The Pinstripers, and of course The Evil Empire. You can be sure more are coming.

The team has had to change stadiums at least five times with their station being Yankee Stadium (II) as of the moment.

To truly appreciate how big Yankees is, you need to compare their title to those of the rivaling teams; Cardinals with 11 and both Red Sox and Athletics with 9.

Others

1. Don Baylor played in three consecutive World Series.

2. Clarence Blenthen hurt himself with false teeth that he carried in his pockets in 1923.

3. At 3ft 7, Eddie Gaedel is the shortest MLB player ever. He made one plate appearance.

4. Bill Voiselle wore shut a high number on his jersey for the last four years of his career i.e. 96 even when he was not a minor. This is because it was representative of his home town (South Carolina).