Here is a compilation on some interesting and funny facts on the most favorite sports of USA, baseball.
Baseball, the national game of USA, is also one of the favorite sports all over the world. Baseball is all about team spirit, sportsmanship, winning, fun, etc. But, apart from the basic rules of the game, Sam Demel, Josh Bell, Mike Leake, etc., what do we know about this game? Well, if you wish to know more, here are some interesting facts and trivia about baseball that will be helpful to you.
Baseball Facts
- One of the first question to come to your mind will be who invented baseball. The invention of this game is credited to Alexander Cartwright.
- There is no clear information about when did baseball start. However, the first World Series was played between Boston and Pittsburgh in 1903 in which Boston was the winner.
- The longest baseball game was between the Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers which lasted for eight hours and six minutes.
- New York Yankees hold the record of winning highest number of World Series titles (26).
- Another interesting baseball records is that Mickey Mantle, former Yankees right fielder, holds the record for most career home runs (18) and RBI (40) in World Series history.
- William Cummings invented the curveball and mastered it before any of the pitchers.
- Nolan Ryan holds the record for longest career in baseball history (1966 to 1993)
- Did you know that all baseballs are stitched by hand with two straight needles and up to 108 stitches each?
- Lou Gehrig is considered as the King of grand slam homers for hitting 23 in the entire span of his career.
- Connie Mack, manager of Philadelphia A has 3755 career victories to his credit, which is definitely more than any other manager in the history of baseball.
- In 1876, Levi Meyerle hit the first major league triple in baseball history.
- Cal Ripken, Jr. holds a record for not missing a single game in a whopping 16 years of span.
- In the MLB game, a single baseball is used only once.
- The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, located in Cooperstown, N.Y, was created in the year 1935 to celebrate baseball's centenary or the 100th anniversary.
Funny Facts about Baseball
- Babe Ruth, one of the most famous baseball players, used to place a leaf beneath his cap and change it every two innings.
- The world's largest baseball bat (length: 120 feet long; weight: 68,000 pounds) in history is located in the Louisville Slugger Museum, Kentucky.
- The shortest player in Major League history was Eddie Gaedel (3 feet, 7 inches), whereas the tallest player is Jon Rauch (6 feet, 11 inches) tall.
- Interestingly, the baseball inventor fired the first shot, which was aimed to be against the civil war.
- One of the funny yet interesting baseball rules is that before every game, umpires must rub around 6 dozen balls to get rid of the shine off the balls.
- In the baseball terms, the term 'battery' refers to pitcher and catcher combination; whereas an easy catch by the fielder is known as the 'can of corn'.
- Cal Hubbard, umpire in Major league, is the only umpire to be in football as well as baseball.
- Doc Medich was studying medicine off-season which was put into use when he was able to save a fan's life from heart attack.
These were some of the fascinating facts about baseball that tell us more on the records, origin, and history of baseball. This information will surely help widen your knowledge about your favorite game baseball.
