The story of Baseball is the story of America. It is an epic overflowing with heroes and hopefuls, scoundrels and screwballs. It is a saga spanning the quest for racial justice, the clash of labor.
Quotes:It is played everywhere. In parks and playgrounds and prison yards. In back alleys and farmers' fields. By small children and old men. Raw amateurs and millionaire professionals. It is a leisurely game that demands blinding speed. The only game in which the defense has the ball.
It follows the seasons, beginning each year with the fond expectancy of springtime, and ending with the hard facts of autumn. It is a haunted game, in which every player is measured against the ghosts of all who have.». The issue with this kind of a documentary is fans will inevitably criticize it for what it leaves out. If you are a Minnesota, Houston, Seattle or Angels fan, you might feel shortchanged if not entirely ignored. If you are a Yankee or a Boston fan, you probably feel the piece is just about perfect.
Burns had to make the inevitable and painful decisions about what to keep and develop and who and what to cut, just like the manager of a baseball team must do at the beginning of every season. There are always players with potential that are regretfully cut from the roster.
Burns only had a finite amount of time to tell his story, and he focused on those incidents that captured the spirit of the larger American experience. Burns decided to create a narrative that is obviously more of an anecdotal history of baseball than a comprehensive history of the entire sport. The amazing aspect of the film is how much he was able to expound upon in 9 parts, which may seem like a lot until you realize the film is trying to cover a 150-year history that encompasses thousands of players and millions of fans. And just about every story is worth the time allotted to it. From the discredited legend of Colonel Abner Doubleday supposedly inventing baseball to the Owner's Collusion and Price-Fixing Scandal of the 1980's, 'Baseball' presents a lengthy narrative that covers the major events and people who populated the sport at the nation-wide level of the American public consciousness, each of which could be a documentary by itself.
A typical baseballA baseball is a used in the. The ball comprises a rubber or cork center wrapped in yarn and covered with white horsehide or cowhide. A regulation baseball is 9– 9 1⁄ 4 inches (229–235 mm) in circumference ( 2 55⁄ 64– 2 15⁄ 16 in. Or 73–75 mm in diameter), with a mass of 5 to 5 1⁄ 4 oz. (142 to 149 g).The leather cover is commonly formed from two peanut-shaped pieces stitched together, typically with red-dyed thread.
That stitching plays a significant role in the trajectory of a thrown baseball due to the drag caused by the interaction between the stitching and the air. Controlling the orientation of the stitches and the speed of the ball's rotation allows a pitcher to affect the behavior of the pitched ball in specific ways. Commonly employed pitches include the, the, the, the, the, the and the. Contents.History In the early, mid-1800s days of, there was a great variety in the size, shape, weight, and manufacturing of baseballs.
Early baseballs were made from a rubber core from old, melted shoes, wrapped in yarn and leather. Fish eyes were also used as cores in some places.
Pitchers usually made their own balls, which were used throughout the game, softening and coming unraveled as the game went on. One of the more popular earlier ball designs was the 'lemon peel ball,' named after its distinct four lines of stitching design.
Lemon peel balls were darker, smaller, and weighed less than other baseballs, prompting them to travel further and bounce higher, causing very high-scoring games.In the mid-1850s, teams in met in attempt to standardize the baseball. They decided to regulate baseballs to weighing from 5 1⁄ 2–6 oz and having a circumference of 8–11 inches. There were still many variations of baseballs since they were completely. Balls with more rubber and a tighter winding went further and faster (known as 'live balls'), and balls with less rubber and a looser winding (known as 'dead balls') did not travel as far or fast. This is generally true for all baseballs. Teams often used this knowledge to their advantage, as players from the team usually manufactured their own baseballs to use in games.There is no agreement on who invented the commonplace figure-8 stitching on baseballs.
Some historians say it was invented by Ellis Drake, a shoemaker's son, to make the cover stronger and more durable. Others say it was invented by Colonel William A.
Cutler and sold to William Harwood in 1858. Harwood built the nation's first baseball factory in, and was the first to popularize and mass-produce baseballs with the figure-8 design.In 1876, the (NL) was created, and standard rules and regulations were put in place., a well-known baseball pitcher who made his own balls, convinced the NL to adopt his ball as the official baseball for the NL. It remained that way for a century.In 1910, the cork-core ball was introduced. They outlasted rubber core baseballs; and for the first few years they were used, balls were hit farther and faster than rubber core balls. It eventually went back to normal.
Pitchers adapted with the use of the spitball, which is now illegal, and an emphasis on changing the ball.In 1920, a couple of important changes were made to baseballs. They began to be made using machine winders and a higher grade of yarn from. Although there was no evidence that these balls impacted the game, rose throughout the 1920s, and players and fans alike believed the new balls helped batters hit the ball farther.In 1925, Milton Reach patented his 'cushion cork' center. It was a cork core surrounded by black rubber, then another layer of red rubber.In 1934, The and came to a compromise and standardized the baseball. They agreed on a cushion cork center; two wrappings of yarn; a special coating; two more wrappings of yarn; and, finally, a horsehide cover.Baseballs have gone through only a few small changes since the compromise.
During World War II, the United States banned the use of rubber for non war-related goods, including for baseballs. So in 1943, instead of using rubber, baseballs were made with rubber-like shells of balata (also used in golf balls), which is obtained from a particular type of tropical tree. Hitting declined significantly that year.The introduction of synthetic rubber in 1944 resulted in baseballs' returning to normal. Offense would return to normal after the change back to the regular ball and return of players from active duty.In 1974, baseballs covers were switched from horsehide to.In 1976, stopped using for manufacturing their baseballs and started using.
Overview. Halves of two baseballs; traditional cork-centered (left) and rubber-centeredCushioned wood cores were patented in the late 19th century by sports equipment manufacturer, the company founded by former baseball star. In recent years, various synthetic materials have been used to create baseballs; however, they are generally considered lower quality, stitched with two red thick thread, and are not used in the. Using different types of materials affects the performance of the baseball. Generally a tighter-wound baseball will leave the bat faster, and fly farther. Since the baseballs used today are wound tighter than in previous years, notably the that prevailed through 1920, people often say the ball is '. The height of the seams also affects how well a pitcher can pitch.
Generally, in Little League through college leagues, the seams are markedly higher than balls used in professional leagues.In the early years of the sport, only one ball was typically used in each game, unless it was too damaged to be usable; balls hit into the stands were retrieved by team employees in order to be put back in play, as is still done today in most other sports. Over the course of a game, a typical ball would become discolored due to dirt, and often tobacco juice and other materials applied by players; damage would also occur, causing slight rips and seam bursts.
This would lower the offense during the games giving pitchers an advantage. However, after the 1920 death of batter after being hit in the head by a pitch, perhaps due to his difficulty in seeing the ball during twilight, an effort was made to replace dirty or worn baseballs.In 1909, sports magnate and former player patented the ivory centered 'ivory nut' in Panama and suggested it might be even better in a baseball than cork. However, Philadelphia Athletics president, who had invented and patented the cork centered ball, commented, 'I look for the leagues to adopt an 'ivory nut' baseball just as soon as they adopt a and a studded with steel.' Both leagues adopted Shibe's cork-centered ball in 1910.The official major league ball is made by, which produces the stitched balls in. Attempts to automate the manufacturing process were never entirely successful, leading to the continued use of hand-made balls.
The raw materials are imported from the United States, assembled into baseballs and shipped back.Throughout the 20th Century, Major League Baseball used two technically identical but differently marked balls. The American League had 'Official American League' and the American League's president's signature in blue ink, while National League baseballs had 'Official National League' and the National League president's signature in black ink. According to, in the 1930s, when he was a rookie in the National League, baseball laces were black, intertwined with red; the American League's were blue and red. In 2000, Major League Baseball reorganized its structure to eliminate the position of league presidents, and switched to one ball specification for both leagues. Under the current rules, a major league baseball weighs between 5 and 5 1⁄ 4 ounces (142 and 149 g), and is 9 to 9 1⁄ 4 inches (229–235 mm) in circumference ( 2 7⁄ 8–3 in or 73–76 mm in diameter). There are 108 double stitches on a baseball, or 216 individual stitches.Today, several dozen baseballs are used in a typical professional game, due to scratches, discoloration, and undesirable texture that can occur during the game.
Balls hit out of the park for momentous occasions (record setting, or for personal reasons) are often requested to be returned by the fan who catches it, or donated freely by the fan. Soft (compression) baseballFamous baseballs There are several historic instances of people catching, or attempting to catch, baseballs tied to MLB milestones:. The ball that hit for his 70th home run of the 1998 baseball season, then setting a new record, was sold by a fan to for 3.2 million at auction. Larry Ellison, not to be confused with the software entrepreneur of the same name, famously retrieved both ' 660th and 661st home runs. ' 73rd home run of the 2001 season.
It was the last home run of his historic, record breaking season where he broke 's single season home run record. Ownership of the ball generated controversy and litigation resulted between the two people who claimed to have caught it. The story was made into a documentary,. It was sold in auction to Todd McFarlane for $450,000. Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th home run, beating 's record, caught by a New York Mets fan in 2007. It was later sold at an online auction for more than $750,000 to, a New York fashion designer. 's 3,000th hit, a home run, was caught by a New York Yankees fan who gave the ball back to the Yankees and was rewarded with about $70,000 worth of gifts and memorabilia.
' 61st single-season home run was caught barehanded by a truck driver. The ball was sold at the price of $5,000.Other famous baseballs:. 's in the 1933 sold for over $800,000. It was also signed by him. 's 755th home run ball sold for $650,000 at auction in 1999. The ball was kept in a safety deposit box for 23 years after groundskeeper Richard Arndt was fired from the Milwaukee Brewers for not returning the ball, even though he had attempted to the previous day. A baseball signed by both and (who were married for less than a year) in 1961 during spring training in Florida sold for $191,200 at auction.
The ball that rolled between 's legs (and cost Boston extra innings) during the sold for $418,250 at auction. with a play while attempting to catch a, causing the Chicago Cubs not to get an out in ' during the. The loose ball was snatched up by a Chicago lawyer and sold at an auction in December 2003. Purchased it for $113,824.16 on behalf of 's Restaurant Group.
On February 26, 2004, it was publicly exploded in a procedure designed by Cubs fan and winning special effects expert. In, the remains of the ball were used by the restaurant in a pasta sauce. While no part of the ball itself was in the sauce, the ball was boiled in water, beer, vodka, and herbs and the steam captured, condensed, and added to the final concoction.See also. Retrieved 2014-12-29. Baseball Explained, by Phillip Mahony. McFarland Books, 2014. See 2014-08-13 at the.
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