“Let's play ball!” Since the 1860's baseball has been known as America 's “national pastime.” And it's no surprise, with teams ranging from the major leagues to Little League to town leagues, everyone's playing baseball.
Americans began playing baseball on informal teams as early as the 1800's. In 1845 Alexander Joy Cartwright of New York invented the modern baseball field. Cartwright and the members of his New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, devised the first rules and regulations for the modern game of baseball. The game is based on the English game of rounders.
The first recorded game was in 1846 when Cartwright's Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club. In 1858, the National Association of Base Ball Players, the first organized baseball league was formed. In 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first openly salaried team and are thus considered the first professional team.
The World Series began in 1903 after a simple question was asked, “Who's better the National League or the American League?” The owners of the Pittsburgh 's NL club and Boston 's AL club agreed to play a series of games to decide true superiority. Today the tradition continues with the top two teams playing the best of seven games to decide the best team in the nation.
You need not make it to the big leagues to enjoy playing baseball though. As soon as a child can hold a bat they can enjoy hitting the ball off a tee. And as one gets older there is the opportunity to play on Little League teams and then on high school teams. Gaining in popularity are town leagues with friends and co-workers coming together to battle the opposing team. Baseball can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. To make the most of the game be sure to warm-up with a light jog and stretch both the arms and legs. Baseball is an enjoyable way of getting physical activity and builds strength in both the arms and legs. A 137-pound person can burn approximately 228 calories playing an hour long baseball game.