15 kickass and interesting facts about baseball
- Baseball gloves have evolved more than any other piece of the sport’s equipment.
- The first pro baseball game ever to be aired on television was on August 26, 1939. It was a doubleheader between Brooklyn and Cincinnati.
- While baseball games today last about 3 hours, the fastest game ever played in major league history lasted just 51 minutes on September 28, 1919. The New York Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 at the Polo Grounds
- The longest game on record was between the Chicago White Sox and the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on May 9, 1984. The game lasted 8 hours 6 minutes and went 25 innings
- The most valuable baseball card ever is the 1909 Honus Wagner T206 baseball card, worth about $2.8 million
- The Hanshin Tigers baseball team of Japan is believed to be cursed by KFC founder Colonel Sanders for throwing his storefront statue into the river by Hanshin fans while celebrating their team’s victory in 1985.
- There are nine ways a batter can reach first base safely in MLB.
- America has only won the World Baseball Cup four times. Cuba has won it 25 times.
- MLB National League (1876) predates the Football League of England (1888) and is the oldest professional sports league that is still in existence.
- Boston Red Sox slugger, Ted Williams (1918-2002) missed almost five full baseball seasons while serving as a fighter pilot in WWII and the Korean War and still managed to hit 521 home runs.
- Baseball bats in the minor and major leagues are made from wood. However, metal bats are used at the college level.
- During the Battle of the Bulge, American soldiers used their knowledge of baseball to determine if others were fellow Americans or if they were German infiltrators in American uniforms.
- Baseball hall of famer, Dave Winfield was arrested in 1983 for killing a seagull during a game.
- During a typical MLB season, approximately 160,000 baseballs are used.
- There is a version of baseball for the blind called “Beep Baseball.” It has its own World Series, Hall of Fame, and 27 teams.
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