All about Baseball

 

Professional pitchers have thrown darts at batters for over 150 years. The National Association of Professional Baseball Players lasted from 1871 to 1875. The National League was formed in 1876, while the Junior Circuit, the American League, was established in 1901. The various Negro Leagues played from 1920 until 1951.

Miraculously, while billions of pitches have been fired toward home plate, only one batter has died after being “beaned” - hit in the head by a pitched ball. Tragically, on August 17, 1920, just 12 hours after being hit in the head by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays of the Yankees, Cleveland's Raymond Chapman died.

There had long been concern about the hitters' safety. In 1905, the first crude headgear was invented. It was described as looking like an “...inflatable boxing glove that wrapped around the hitter's head.”

In 1941, the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first team to require helmets for their batters. In 1956, the National League made helmets mandatory, but several players were “grandfathered' from the new rule.

Major League Baseball officially mandated plastic batting helmets in 1971. Bob Montgomery, a catcher who had been “grandfathered,” was the last Major Leaguer to play without a helmet. As a member of the Boston Red Sox, Montgomery made his last appearance on September 9, 1979. Instead of a helmet, he wore a plastic liner inside his cap.

During the 1934 World Series, a star pitcher, Dizzy Dean, joked that a beaning didn't do him any damage. “The doctors took X-rays of my head, “he said, “and found nothing.”

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he made his debut on April 15, 1947, with the Brooklyn Dodgers. That year, he was named the National League Rookie of the Year. In 1949, he was the League's Most Valuable Player, leading all National League batters with an average of .342. For his career, Robinson stole 200 bases and hit .313.

In 1997, Robinson's number 42 as retired. On April 15th of each season, all managers, coaches, and players wear his number in tribute. In 1962, the great Jackie Robinson was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.

After Robinson began playing, there would be no return to the racist days of old. Two other Black men had previously played in the Major Leagues. Moses Fleetwood Walker played for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884. Evidently, William Edward White was the first Black player, having played one game for the Providence Grays in 1879. Sadly, he had to pretend to be white to get into the game.

Babe Ruth would never have dreamed this, but in 2026, baseball has an automated ball-strike challenge. The data proves that umpires are not blind, as many fans have screamed over the years, but it's proof that the men in blue are not perfect. During the first four days of the season, there were 124 challenges, with 67 of them overturned (54%). Evidently, catchers know the strike zone better than the hitters do. Catchers had 64% of their challenges upheld.

Imagine that a mad scientist has sent you back to the year 1876, but there is no way to get back to the present. Therefore, you might as well buy a straw hat and attend some games from the National League's initial season. Pick a team to follow: Boston Red Stockings, Chicago White Stockings, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Mutual of New York (also called the Green Stockings), Philadelphia Athletics, and the St. Louis Brown Stockings.

My wife noticed that many early teams had nicknames referring to their socks. Looking at my feet, she wanted to know if I was the manager of the Dirty Socks or perhaps the Holy Socks. Then she decided I was the owner of the Stinky Socks. Sadly, she has no reverence for baseball's history!