A Brief History of America’s National Pastime

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An article in the Babe Ruth Central website tells the story which took place in game three of the World Series in Chicago’s Wrigley Field. The New York Yankees were up two games to none on the Chicago Cubs. In the fifth inning, with the score tied four-four, many of the nearly 50,000 fans, and even players in the Chicago dugout, began taunting and heckling the batter. What happened next went down in baseball history as one of the most famous and controversial at-bats. The batter was none other than Babe Ruth, who, with two strikes and two balls, stepped out of the batters box and gestured toward the outfield as if to show where he was going to hit the ball. Ruth hits the next pitch over the wall in center field for a home run. Many people believe that Ruth was simply gesturing at the pitcher. While nobody will ever know for sure, that home run will always be known as “The Called Shot” (The Called). Throughout the years, baseball has seen its fair share of great players while evolving into the sport this country knows and loves today, but not without controversy.
The origin of the game is filled with myths and different stories, making it almost impossible to point to an exact date or person. According to a passage in the 19th Century Baseball website, author Eric Miklich writes that America’s pastime may have originated in Canada. Miklich tells the story of Dr. Adam E. Ford who wrote a letter about a game which had been played in 1838 and was described to have several key differences than baseball. Many people believe that baseball evolved from games played in England- mainly cricket and rounders- while others believe the German game of town ball is where it all started. On October 6, 1845 the first official baseball team, the N...

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.... Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
Miklich, Eric, ed. Baseball History: 19th Century Baseball. N.p., 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Motiff, Jesse. "Willie Mays: The Greatest Ballplayer of All-Time." Bleacher Report. N.p., 11 June 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Pearson, Stephen. "Baseball Origins, Growth and Changes in the Game." The People History. N.p., 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
"SportsCenter Flashback: The Chicago Black Sox banned from baseball." ESPN Classic. N.p., 19 Nov. 2003. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
Stamp, Jimmy. "A Brief History of the Baseball." Smithsonian.com. N.p., 28 June 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
Stamp, Jimmy. "The Invention of the Baseball Mitt." Smithsonian.com. N.p., 16 July 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Stamp, Jimmy. "The Past and Future of the Baseball Bat." Smithsonian.com. N.p., 2 July 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
"Ted WIlliams Stats." Baseball Almanac. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

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