Original Baseball 1St Baseman White Sox Senators Braves Art Shires Photo Vintage

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (807) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176284773287 ORIGINAL BASEBALL 1ST BASEMAN WHITE SOX SENATORS BRAVES ART SHIRES PHOTO VINTAGE. He was right on both counts. He also fielded at a career-best. 991 clip. Blackburne was passing by Shires’ room and heard a commotion, and when he peeked into the room, he found Shires using empty liquor bottles as “indian clubs and shouting for more liquor.”. ART SHIRES VINTAGE ORIGINAL PHOTO FAMED Charles Arthur Shires was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators and Boston Braves.
Art Shires arrived on the major league scene in 1928 with much fanfare, almost all of it of his own making.  The Italy, Texas native nicknamed himself “Art The Great,” once boasted that, next to Babe Ruth, he was the biggest drawing card in the American League, and frequently stopped passersby on the sidewalk to ask them if they were going to that day’s ballgame to watch the outstanding first baseman, referring to himself, of course.  The cocky first sacker also came with a ton of baggage and a hair-trigger temper that hampered his career and landed him in hot water on and off the field. Alcoholism, insubordination, and a serious knee injury limited his time in the Major Leagues to only four years, but had he taken the game more seriously, he most likely would have had a more successful career. He batted .291 over those four seasons, hitting .349, .312, and .302 in his first three seasons before his injury-plagued 1932 season effectively ended his stint in the majors. Shires also dabbled in boxing, going 5-2 with five knockouts during his brief career, and wrestling; ran for a seat on the Texas House of Representatives; and was twice accused of killing a man, including his long-time friend, Hi Erwin, a former minor league player and umpire.     Charles Arthur Shires was born on August 13, 1907 in Italy, Texas to Josh and Sallie Shires. He was the third of nine children, six boys and three girls, and was two years older than his brother Leonard, who also went on to play professional ball, spending nine seasons in the minor leagues before retiring from the game in 1936. As a teenager, Shires played for the Waxahachie High School baseball team with future major leaguers Paul Richards and Jimmy Adair, and then attempted to catch on with the Washington Senators in 1925, trying out as a pitcher and going by the name of Robert Lowe in order to maintain his college eligibility. The Nats passed.  Instead he began his career in 1926 with Waco of the Texas League, and the 18-year-old was impressive, hitting .280 and fielding at a .991 clip.  He was even better in 1927, batting .305 with a .410 slugging percentage, then enjoyed his finest season to date in 1928, batting .317, slugging .478, and committing only five errors in 105 games. He so impressed the Chicago White Sox that they purchased his contract, along with those of Johnny Watwood and George Blackerby, on July 31, 1928.  It didn’t take long for Shires to show the Pale Hose how audacious he could be; only two days after the sale was announced, Shires balked at the purchase price, insisting that Waco had received a better offer from the Cleveland Indians, which would have brought him a “liberal cut.”  In protest, Shires joined a semi-pro team called the Baytown Oilers.  It was merely the beginning of a long list of problems Shires would bring to the teams that employed him. Shires eventually relented and joined the White Sox in mid-August.  On August 20, the Chicago Tribune announced that Shires, “the first basing sensation of the minors,” would make his debut against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Fenway Park.  “Bud Clancy has played every inning of every game and will start on a rest if Shires seems all he’s cracked up to be,” wrote the Trib.  Shires began his major league career with a bang, rapping out four hits against Hall of Famer Red Ruffing, including a triple in his first at-bat, described by sportswriter Edward Burns as a “mighty swat that went to the farthest point of center field.”  He rapped out three more hits and helped the White Sox defeat Boston by a score of 6-4.  So cocky was the 21-year-old that he boasted after the game, “So this is the great American League I’ve heard so much about? I’ll hit .400!” He ended up batting “only” .341 in his short rookie season and so impressed White Sox brass that he was named team captain.  For a franchise still reeling from the Black Sox scandal—the Sox had only two winning seasons since and finished no higher than fifth place in their eight previous campaigns—it was a curious decision, akin to giving Hal Chase the responsibility of stamping out gambling, or putting Babe Ruth in charge of curfew.  It didn’t take long for Shires to prove that he had as much business being the captain of a baseball team as Ty Cobb had of being Pope. In what Shires would later call his “ego racket,” he drew immediate attention to himself.  Two days after the first sacker’s debut, sportswriter Frank Young named Shires a “keen contender for the crown as the tobacco chewing champion,” which was held by Tigers catcher Pinky Hargrave.  “Now there is considerable doubt as to leadership,” wrote Young, “the cud which Shires masters being heavy enough to make him lean slightly toward the left side.”  Umpire Tommy Connolly took the hyperbole a step further and called Shires, “the chewingest player I’ve seen in forty years of baseball.” Shires also had a taste for fine clothing and reportedly owned dozens of suits, hats, spats, tuxedos, and attire for golfing, horse riding, and yachting.  John Kieran wrote about Shires, “He wore his fancy suitings and he sported his glittering canes.  His haberdashery was chosen with infinite taste, rich but not gaudy.  In the evenings he ventured forth in correct evening dress, braving the taunts and insults of his team-mates who had no proper appreciation of the finer things in life.”   Westbrook Pegler called Shires “a sartorial sunburst.”  (Legend has it that when Shires was traded to the Washington Senators in 1930, he reported to the clubhouse wearing a green jacket with pearl buttons, white trousers with green stripes, and a Roman candle necktie.  He immediately accosted Al Schacht and said, “I understand you’re a pretty well-dressed fellow.  Well, when you see me, hide.”  Schacht didn’t take kindly to the insult and, when asked by a reporter if Shires was the best dressed player on the team, Schacht replied, “No, he’s the most dressed”). But Shires’ natty attire couldn’t contain the demons within, and he soon found himself in trouble, first with the law, then with the White Sox.  On December 28, 1928 a 53-year-old Shreveport, Louisiana man named Walter Lawson died from an injury he suffered to his spinal chord at the base of his brain.  The man’s death, though unfortunate, probably wouldn’t have garnered much national attention, except that his injuries came when Shires angrily threw a baseball at a group of disapproving fans during a game between Waco and Shreveport on May 30.  The ball hit Lawson in the head and he died seven months later.  The fact that Lawson was a “Negro” made the incident even more controversial (although one can only imagine the public’s “outrage” in 1928 had the roles been reversed). Lawson’s wife, Ida, sued Shires for $25,411, but only a day after the lawsuit was reported in the papers, Shires was exonerated by a grand jury on March 29, 1929.  The suit was dropped from the court’s docket after an agreed judgment for $500 on January 11, 1930. That was not the last of his troubles, however.  Though he was considered one of baseball’s future stars—one reporter called him “a talented guardian of the front door…destined to lead in the first basing art before the conclusion of another year”—his off-the-field antics were becoming a problem.  A day after being cleared by the grand jury in Lawson’s death, Shires arrived at the team’s spring training hotel long after curfew and so drunk that he walked right past White Sox manager Lena Blackburne without recognizing him, went out into the courtyard and began howling at the moon.  Blackburne immediately stripped Shires of his captaincy and warned that further infractions would result in a long suspension without pay and a $100 fine. White Sox owner Charles Comiskey ordered Shires back to his home in Italy, Texas until he was in playing condition, and the Washington Post dubbed him, “the freshest busher in baseball.”  Shires charged Blackburne with being “incompetent and tyrannical” and the Post partially sided with Shires, placing much of the blame on Comiskey, who had gone through six different managers since the Black Sox scandal.  “It may be that the White Sox have gotten the idea that a manager of their team is never more than a straw boss,” wrote the Post. “Straw boss” or not, Blackburne vowed to “weed out the bad element” on the team; Shires, Ted Blankenship, Sarge Connally, Bill Hunnefield, and Bill Barrett were expected to be playing elsewhere in 1929. Pegler reminded his readers that Comiskey was “mulish, old, crotchety, and ill” and warned that the White Sox owner had the power, as did all baseball magnates, to blacklist players, dooming them to a “state of suspended business animation, bound to a job, but forbidden to work at it.” The recalcitrant first baseman remained on the roster, but was planted firmly on the bench while Bud Clancy played first base and played it well. Shires was used as a pinch hitter a handful of times and made it known to everyone that he wasn’t happy about his new role and that he hadn’t been given a fair chance to show his worth as a ballplayer. Finally on May 15, everything came to a head. The White Sox got off to a .500 start, winning six and losing six by the end of April, but they went into a funk and lost eight of their first nine games in May, putting them at 7-14 on May 11. They won three of their next four, however, and sat in a sixth-place tie with the Senators on May 15, 5 ½ games out of first place. Prior to that day’s game against the Red Sox at Comiskey Park, Shires was admonished by Blackburne for wearing a red felt hat during batting practice; Blackburne felt Shires was trying to “burlesque the game” and wasn’t taking his job seriously. Shires countered with a “number of large words not suited to household purposes” and threatened to run Blackburne out of his job. Blackburne suspended Shires on the spot and fined him $100. Shires left the park, but returned before the end of the game to confront the White Sox manager. Words were exchanged before the two men came to blows, each landing a punch to the other’s face before they were separated. The next day Blackburne declared that he was through with Shires and it was up to Comiskey to decide what to do with the first baseman. The Chicago Tribune felt the best option would be to trade him for a heavy hitter.  Shires insisted he was through with baseball and planned to go back to school to get his law degree. Neither happened. Shires apologized and was reinstated less than two weeks after his fight with Blackburne. He finally made it into the starting lineup on June 4 and went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, but the White Sox lost to the Yankees, 4-2, dropping their record to 16-30.  They were only at the quarter mark of the season but were already 17 ½ games behind the first-place Athletics. Although there was still plenty of time for Chicago to make up ground, their already slim chance of copping the pennant was now non-existent and they’d be lucky to finish north of seventh place. The team’s dismal record didn’t temper Shires’ lofty opinion of himself, however. During a radio interview later that month, he told listeners, “No use of a great hitter like me getting a flock of skimpy singles. You never get your name in the headlines with singles. It’s distance the public wants. From now on I’m aiming for the next county.  I’m going out for home runs. Come on out and razz me; you’ll go away cheering me when I slam them against the bleachers. I sure can hit that ball and I’m not so bad around first base either.”   He was right on both counts. Shires hit .312 and led the team with a .370 on-base percentage, and set career highs in doubles with 20, triples with seven, and home runs with three, and slugged a career-best .433. He also fielded at a career-best .991 clip. Unfortunately he couldn’t keep his temper in check and was suspended again in mid-September after getting into another fight with Blackburne in a Philadelphia hotel room. Blackburne was passing by Shires’ room and heard a commotion, and when he peeked into the room, he found Shires using empty liquor bottles as “indian clubs and shouting for more liquor.”  Blackburne accused Shires of being drunk (again); Shires responded by knocking Blackburne down and bouncing his head off the floor repeatedly.  Shires not only gave Blackburne a pretty good beating, but he turned his ire towards White Sox Traveling Secretary Lou Barbour as well when Barbour tried to intervene. According to reports, Shires almost bit off Barbour’s right index finger during the fracas (other reports claimed that it was Blackburne who accidentally bit Barbour, and one report had Barbour accidentally biting himself). Police took Shires into custody, but incredibly Blackburne and Barbour refused to press charges. As far as Blackburne was concerned, however, Shires was persona non grata. “Shires is out, gone, through, busted forever. And I’m not kidding. He’ll never get back into organized baseball after this.” Shires countered by explaining that he was tired of being spied on by Blackburne and Barbour, who would wire reports of the players’ activities to Comiskey. “They have cooperated to wreck what might have been a fair ball club, and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to thrash the pair of them together when they came gumshoeing into my room tonight.”  Later on he was more succinct: “Barbour and Blackburne walked into my room with their chests sticking out.  Can you imagine those two stool pigeons trying to scare me?  I just started swinging.” Shires was suspended for the rest of the season, then did what only Art Shires had the audacity to do; he held out for more money, demanding $25,000 while insisting that he was as big a “drawing card” as anyone in the American League with the exception of Babe Ruth. It was a ridiculous claim for someone who wasn’t even assured a roster spot after spending a good portion of the 1929 season under suspension for routinely pummeling his manager, both physically and verbally. In fact, Comiskey hadn’t even reinstated him to the team yet, and he was so taken aback by Shires’ demands that he began calling him “Art the Peculiar” and the “Peculiar One.” The Old Roman countered with an offer of $7,000, insisting Shires was lucky to be getting even that much. “As a major league ball player Shires didn’t show he was anything out of the ordinary last year,” said Comiskey. “He will have to be a little better than the ordinary player now to overcome his peculiarities. And you must remember the White Sox are trying to employ ball players and are not in the market for any wild men from Borneo.” Shires eventually agreed to terms and signed for $7,500, far less than he was demanding, but slightly more than Comiskey wanted to pay. Though Shires may have been nothing out of the ordinary, he was still one of the better hitters on the team and, despite all his bluster to the contrary, Comiskey appeared to be willing to overlook Shires’ petulance to get his bat in the lineup. But Comiskey was courting disaster by keeping Shires in a White Sox uniform. In the winter of 1929, Shires, buoyed by his pugilistic victories over the much smaller Blackburne, decided to try his hand at boxing. He enjoyed brief success, knocking out “Dangerous Dan” Daly in 21 seconds in front of the biggest fight crowd in the history of White City amusement park in Chicago (Daly was actually Jim Gerry, also identified as Jim Gary, a friend of Blackburne’s from Columbus, Ohio), which earned him a fight against George Trafton, a professional football player who played center for the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, Shires demanded a bout with Cubs center fielder Hack Wilson, who had gained a reputation of his own for decisively settling arguments with his fists. While Wilson was mulling over Shires’ challenge, Trafton beat the “Great One” to a pulp and knocked him down three times in a fight that lasted only five rounds because neither man had the strength to continue (Trafton later said, “I couldn’t get my hands up.  They weighed 100 pounds apiece.”)  The fight was dubbed by one sportswriter as the “Laugh of the Century,” while another scribe called it the “Battle of the Clowns.”  Trafton’s teammate, Bill Fleckenstein, was so offended by sportscaster Pat Flanagan’s description of the debacle that he punched him in the nose.  Soon after, Wilson decided against fighting Shires because the White Sox first sacker had already been beaten and Wilson had nothing to gain by fighting a man with a tainted record. Undaunted, Shires applied for a New York boxing license. But not long into his “career,” he was suspended by the Michigan Boxing Commission after it was learned that his next scheduled opponent, “Battling” Criss, was offered money to “take a dive.”  Only two days later, Gerry admitted that he, too, took a dive after being threatened that he’d be “taken for a ride” if he refused (Shires was alleged to have been suspended in Illinois and New York as well, and one report had him suspended in as many as 32 states). The boxing commission eventually cleared Shires after failing to find any evidence that he or anyone associated with him fixed his fights. But before Shires could step back into the ring, Commissioner Landis kayoed Shires’ boxing career by issuing an ultimatum, “quit the prize ring or quit baseball.” In fact, he issued an edict that impacted all baseball players who considered following in Shires’ footsteps: “Hereafter any person connected with any club in this organization who engages in professional boxing will be regarded by this office as having permanently retired from baseball. The two activities do not mix.” That Comiskey would retain a player accused of fixing fights underscores how desperate he was to restore his team to its former glory.  But he finally tired of Shires’ act and sent him to Washington for southpaw Garland Braxton and catcher Bennie Tate on June 16, 1930.  Shires was batting only .258 with little power, and had reached base at a .298 clip, and the White Sox’s catching situation was in such a shambles that the team would eventually use seven different men behind the plate that season. Shires responded well to the trade and even tried a more humble approach with his new team, although he failed miserably.  “You’re a made man now,” he told Senators skipper Walter Johnson, “and I don’t want this club to stand in awe of me.  Just call me Shires.”  He then explained that his troubles were over because Washington “appreciated his [alcohol] problem.” “Gin is not good for an athlete,” Shires explained.  “Walter Johnson told me so.  Did Lena Blackburne tell me so when I was with the White Sox?  No.  He just told me I couldn’t drink it.  He didn’t appeal to my reason.” Shires was terrific for the Senators, batting .369 and slugging a career-best .464 in 38 games, but despite a 94-60 record, Washington finished in second place, eight games behind Connie Mack’s powerful Athletics.  The Senators had three very good first basemen in Shires, 16-year veteran Joe Judge, and Joe Kuhel, whom the Senators purchased from Kansas City for $65,000.  Judge was coming off one of his best seasons but would turn 37 early in the 1931 season; Shires had just turned 23 and Kuhel was only 24.  Even if Judge stuck around for a couple more seasons, it looked like the first base job would eventually be inherited by either Shires or Kuhel. But reports surfaced that Shires detested sitting on the bench behind Judge and “lost interest” in his work when he wasn’t starting.  There were also rumors that Shires had violated team training rules during the season and wasn’t keeping himself in shape.  Johnson was willing to overlook those things to keep Shires’ bat in the lineup and tried Shires out in the outfield, but according to reports, he “failed to impress” in that capacity.  His days in Washington were numbered. The offseason between 1930 and 1931 proved to be extremely busy for Shires and he appeared to love every minute of it.  He was named to a major league All-Star team that played a series of games against the Negro League’s Chicago American Giants in October 1930, and though the team included future Hall of Famers Harry Heilmann and Charlie Gehringer, the Chicago Tribune gave Art “Whataman” Shires top billing.  The Giants took three of four games from the All-Stars; Shires went 5-for-6 in Saturday’s game, then he and Walter “Steel Arm” Davis “kept the stands in an uproar by their clowning” in Sunday’s 6-1 affair, won by Giants hurler Willie Foster. Shires joined a second All-Star team, featuring A’s stars Lefty Grove and Bing Miller, and headed to Los Angeles to play a series of exhibition games at Wrigley Field.  He was also slated to appear in films that winter and had agreed to get married on camera when a studio producer offered him $1,000 for the right to film the ceremony.  But when the money failed to arrive, Shires married his bride, 18-year-old University of Wisconsin co-ed Elizabeth “Betty” Greenabaum, at the county courthouse instead.  “Now, I’ve got a wife, and I’ll need more money.  Guess I’ll have to be a hold-out next spring,” Shires joked with reporters after the ceremony.  “This is just batting practice,” Shires continued.  “There will have to be a church wedding later, although I’d rather face that great pitcher ‘Lefty’ Groves [sic] than do this over again.” Shires got married on November 10 and his comments about possibly holding out for more money appeared in newspapers the next morning.  A little more than two weeks later, the Senators sold the first baseman to the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association for $10,000.  His comments probably had little to do with his sale to Milwaukee; in fact, he most likely sealed his own fate during the 1930 season when he told Senators owner Clark Griffith that he was “too good a ballplayer to be sitting around on a major league bench.”  Griffith apparently agreed and placed him on waivers.  When every other major league team passed up on the opportunity to claim him, Griffith sent Shires to Milwaukee. “Shires is the best ballplayer I have ever sent back to the minors,” Griffith told reporters after the deal was struck, “and I must confess that, in asking waivers, I simply wanted to find out what clubs were interested in Art so that I might work up a trade of some kind.  As none wanted him, I decided to accept the bid of the Milwaukee club.” Sportswriter Frank Young blamed the demotion on Shires’ “bad boy” reputation and thought the humbling experience would teach Shires a lesson.  “The knowledge that big league clubs do not want ‘bad boys’ on their roster may do him a lot of good, however, and this, together with the fact that he has just taken unto himself a wife, may bring him the sense of responsibility which appears to be all that he needs to make him a success as a diamonder.” Surprisingly, Shires was thrilled with the move, calling it “one of the greatest breaks I ever got.”  “I won’t be any trouble to anybody.  I just want to play baseball and earn my way back to the big show.  I’ll give the town a pennant winner sure.”  Before he was to join the Brewers, though, Shires had plenty to keep him busy—in late November he was signed by Universal Studios to play opposite Kane Richmond in episodes nine and ten of “The Leather Pushers.” While he was in Hollywood, the brash first baseman decided to take on the city’s finest. Clearly intoxicated and cocky as ever, he waltzed into a police station and challenged the officers to throw him out of the building. Instead they tossed him in jail for drunkenness, then tacked on a concealed weapons charge when they found a set of brass knuckles in his pocket.  After his release, he took time to write a letter to Johnson, in which he called his former skipper, “the best manager and greatest fellow I ever played for.”  He admitted that he didn’t behave as he should have while sitting on the Senators’ bench, and that he was going to take Johnson’s advice and “hustle my way back to the big show.” Shires caused a stir with his new team when he failed to show up for spring training in 1931 as scheduled, but it turned out his departure from Chicago was delayed by a snowstorm and he arrived only a few days late.  He promptly displayed the antics for which he was famous by refusing to shave until the Brewers won their first exhibition game.  When they finally defeated Little Rock on March 23, Shires shaved, an event that was covered by the Chicago Tribune.  Clearly it was a slow news day in the Windy City. Shires got off to a hot start with Milwaukee and was batting .443 at the end of May.  By mid-July major league teams began to show interest in him again—the Boston Braves, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies reportedly inquired about his services, prompting Brewers president Louis Nahin to announce that Shires would be going to the highest bidder at the end of the American Association’s season.  When the Chicago Cubs showed interest as well, it was reported that the Brewers were demanding $100,000, but were hoping to get $75,000.  The Cubs were reportedly ready to offer Milwaukee $50,000 and were just waiting for a scouting report to arrive before pulling the trigger. But the next few weeks came and went and Shires was still a Brewer.  The Cubs announced on August 3 that the Brewers’ new asking price of $35,000 and two players was too steep and that they’d “virtually given up the idea” of acquiring Shires.  Another two weeks went by and Shires decided to stump for himself, but not in his typical way.  “We all learn.  I decided to bear down and play ball.  That’s what I’ve been doing and the record speaks for itself.  The sport writers wanted color and I was it.  But I don’t blame them—they’re all fine boys.  But my ambition now is to be the best first baseman in baseball.” In fact, Shires had been so well-behaved during the ‘31 season, that writers began referring to him as “Art The Silent.” Another month came and went and, rumors to the contrary, Shires was still a minor leaguer.  Not only that, but Milwaukee’s price had dropped considerably.  On August 30, it was reported that the Philadelphia A’s had purchased Shires for $20,000 and two players, but both Connie Mack and L.C. McEvoy, president of the St. Louis Browns, who were affiliated with the Brewers, denied a deal had been struck.  That didn’t stop writers from speculating about a move to Philadelphia—one report had A’s first baseman Jimmie Foxx moving to third base to accommodate Shires.  But any deal involving Shires was quashed when the A’s purchased St. Paul’s star first baseman Oscar Roettger on September 10. Roettger was having a fine season, hitting .357 and slugging .516 with 38 doubles, seven triples, and 15 homers.  But Shires’ campaign was better—he led the American Association in batting with a .385 average, hits with 240, and total bases with 334, and slugged .536 with 45 doubles, eight triples, and 11 homers.  At the end of September when no major league team claimed him, Shires expressed disappointment that he might have to spend another season in the minors in 1932, and seemed to recognize that his drinking and past transgressions made him undesirable to most big league clubs. “I admit that I lifted a stein or two on occasion,” he told reporters, “but I was always out there the next day to play or produce.  I thought I was entitled to another shot in the big show, and I was disappointed when no one put in a bid for me…If I’m not drafted, and I don’t expect to be, I’ll come back here [Milwaukee] and play just as hard as I did this year.  I’ll show ‘em.  I’m young, only 24, and I’ll be back up [in the majors] yet.” Shires received a reprieve on October 9 when the Boston Braves acquired him from Milwaukee for $10,000 and catcher Al Bool, who batted only .188 for the Braves in 1931 and boasted a career average of .237 in parts of three seasons.  It was a far cry from the $100,000 and two players the Brewers had originally asked for.  He wasn’t with the Braves long before announcing he’d been signed to a one-year deal worth $11,000, and that he was bent on becoming the “best first baseman in the senior circuit.”  But it looked like Shires was up to his old tricks.  Braves owner, Judge Emil Fuchs, refuted the signing, insisting that none of the team’s contracts had even been mailed out yet.  Sportswriter Shirley Povich found this particularly amusing and wrote, “In signing a contract before he received one, Shires must have performed a miracle.  Perhaps he’s psychic.  Figuratively, he stole first base.” A week later, Albert Keane, sports editor of the Hartford Courant, reported that a deal was in the works that would send Shires to the New York Giants for first baseman Bill Terry, who was in the midst of a contract holdout.  But Terry eventually signed and remained with the Giants (had that deal happened, it would have been a horrible trade for the Giants; Terry enjoyed his best season in 1932 and played four more seasons, batting .340 from 1932-1936 with three 200-hit seasons.) As if his tenure with the Braves hadn’t started off on an odd enough foot, things got even weirder when it was announced that not only would Shires be teammates with Al Spohrer, but that the Braves backstop would be Shires’ roommate.  It was an interesting combination considering Shires scored a TKO against Spohrer in the boxing ring in front of more than 18,000 spectators on January 10, 1930.  After the fight, Shires shouted at the Boston Garden crowd, “I didn’t want Al Spohrer, I wanted ‘Hack’ Wilson!”  Eight days later, Commissioner Landis issued his “baseball or boxing” edict.  Now two years later, the wannabe pugilists were expected to share the same living quarters.  In fact, the two had been friends all along.  Shires agreed to fight Spohrer because the latter was in desperate need of money and could benefit from the purse.  After the fight, Shires sent Spohrer’s ill wife a bushel of flowers, and the friendship between the ballplayers blossomed. Heading into the 1932 season, it appeared the 24-year-old Shires had finally started to mature.  Four days before the Braves were scheduled to open the 1932 season in Brooklyn, the Washington Post wrote, “Art (Whataman) Shires appeared to be quite subdued while with the Braves here yesterday.  He seemed to have his mind on the game rather than on verbally impressing the cash customers with his greatness…The veteran, Rabbit Maranville, seems to be the cut-up on the team, while catcher Pinky Hargrave yesterday chewed a much larger cud of tobacco than did Art.” Both Shires and Spohrer contributed greatly to Boston’s 8-3 victory over the Dodgers on Opening Day, going a combined 5-for-8 with three runs scored.  In fact, Shires helped the Braves jump out to a 5-2 record in their first seven games by going 10-for-27 (.370) with five RBIs and four runs in the season’s first “week.”  But things took a turn for the worse on April 22 when Shires suffered two injuries, the second of which knocked him out of action for almost a month.  In the first inning of a game against Brooklyn, Dodgers outfielder Johnny Frederick smashed a grounder that took a wicked hop and hit Shires in the face, knocking him out and breaking his nose.  Shires, no doubt used to taking shots to the face, stayed in the game.  But in the ninth, he was knocked down for the count and wouldn’t return until May 15.  Joe Stripp laid down a bunt towards third baseman Fritz Knothe, who made a strong throw that beat the runner.  But Shires was in Stripp’s path and the two men collided head-on.  Stripp was down for three or four minutes, but Shires had to be carried off the field and into the clubhouse.  X-Rays later revealed a torn ligament in his left knee. Shires returned to the lineup on May 15 in an 8-3 win over the Cardinals, but he wasn’t the same hitter who’d started strong in April.  Regardless, Braves manager Bill McKechnie was happy to have his first baseman back, and in early June told reporters that the other players “missed his inspiration and the team missed his playing.”  But as June unfolded into July and July into August, McKechnie soured on Shires, who’d batted only .228 since his knee injury, and benched him in favor of Randy Moore.  McKechnie accused Shires of the same things the Senators accused him of—”failure to keep in condition, and a lack of esprit de corps and whole-hearted diligence.” McKechnie then tried to trade Shires to Chattanooga of the Southern Association, but Shires blocked the deal by producing a doctor’s note that claimed he was out of condition, so McKechnie gave him his unconditional release.  When Judge Fuchs learned of the release, he ordered it rescinded, and advised Shires to retire instead, offering to pay him his full salary while covering all medical expenses required to repair his knee.  Shires accepted the offer and underwent surgery on his knee on August 25. With no job, a depleted bank account, and a bum knee, things began to look bleak for Shires.  It would have been easy to feel sorry for him.  In a candid interview with John Kieran, he revealed some information that made him out to be a somewhat sympathetic figure.  “Listen, I kidded others but I never kidded myself,” he told Kieran.  “I’m not the smartest fellow in the world but I know a few things in a small way.  Sure, I lost my job in the American league.  Shucks, that’s only an incident in my career.  I went to Hollywood once and made two movie shorts and got $7,500 for it.  Took $500 of it and spent it and put $7,000 in the bank.  The next day the bank shut up and never has opened since.  From vaudeville, baseball, and fighting in the ring and one thing and another, I had $30,000 in cash at one time.  Lost every nickel of it in a real estate venture…I had just $85 in the world left.” But Shires seemed to take it all in stride.  “Times are tough but it’s a pretty good world at that.  I have no regrets and no complaints.  I’ll just do the best I can and let it go at that.” And despite his brief stay in the National League, Shires made a positive impression on many of the circuit’s umpires. “There isn’t a National League umpire who wouldn’t go through hell and high water for Art Shires,” agreed N.L. umps, “Dolly” Stark, George Barr, and “Ziggy” Sears. They recounted how Shires would threaten to punch a teammate in the nose if he got out of hand with the umpires, and once stood up for arbiter George Magerkurth during an argument with Braves shortstop Rabbit Maranville. “Magerkurth, still on trial as a big league umpire then, has regarded Shires as a prince ever since that day, and Magerkurth’s sentiment is one shared by all of us,” concluded Barr. In private, however, things were very different.  Shires began to physically abuse his wife Betty, punching and slapping her in November.  Not surprisingly, Art announced only two months later, in January 1933, that he and Betty had separated.  He cited his frequent traveling for the rift and insisted that he and his wife were still friends.  Curiously, Betty refused to comment.  But the world according to Shires was often volatile and muddled; two days later he announced that he and Betty had reconciled and the separation was off. Only a week before, Commissioner Landis had reinstated Shires from the voluntarily retired list.  And on the same day that Shires announced he and his wife were back together, McKechnie announced that Shires would be given a second chance with the Braves, but that he’d have to beat out Baxter “Buck” Jordan for the first base job.  Shires had his work cut out for him—the 25-year-old Jordan tore up the International League, batting .357 and slugging .576, then hit .321 and slugged .434 for the Braves.  No one on the Braves hit better, and only Red Worthington and Wally Berger posted higher slugging percentages than the rookie first sacker. But Shires proved worthy of the challenge, at least early on, and impressed Shirley Povich enough in mid-March 1933 for Povich to aver that Shires was “making himself extremely useful once more.”  But when Judge Fuchs offered Shires a reduced salary to serve as Jordan’s backup in early April, Shires refused and left the team to see if he could catch on with a strong minor league or semi-pro club.  With almost anyone else, that might have been the end of the story, but with Shires, it was just the beginning.  A week later he appeared in Braves camp wearing a Braves uniform and working out at first base in place of a mysteriously absent Jordan.  It was speculated that Jordan hadn’t been living up to his promise, but McKechnie insisted that Jordan was just ill and would be fine.  Any questions about Shires’ role with the team were answered three days later when he was sold to Toronto of the International League. In true form, Shires balked at the move, announced that he would “never play minor league ball again,” and began mulling over an offer of $25,000 a year to return to boxing.  He appeared to be serious about the switch and even told German heavyweight Max Schmelling that he’d be ready to fight him within a few months.  Shires received a brief reprieve when Fuchs canceled the deal with Toronto and sold him to the St. Louis Cardinals instead.  But Cardinals manager Gabby Street made it clear from the beginning that Shires was unwanted.  “I’m sure Shires is not coming to the Cardinals.  We don’t need him.  We have two first basemen now.  He’s probably to be sent to some other club.” Sure enough, a week later the Cards sent Shires and three others to Columbus of the American Association for second baseman Burgess Whitehead.  This time Shires accepted the deal, although he insisted the Cardinals had erred just as the Senators had.  “The major leagues will realize once again, just as they did two years ago, that they made a mistake in waiving the great Shires out of the big show.  I am a major league ballplayer and I’ll prove it before I hang up my glove at the end of the season.” Shires did well for Columbus, hitting .313 and slugging .477 in 44 games, but again, he couldn’t keep himself out of trouble.  On May 23 he was ordered by Judge Joseph Cordes to pay his former attorney, William Timlin, the $119.33 he owed him for defending Shires in a breach of contract suit.  Two days later, Shires was involved in a fight with a 32-year-old Louisville, Kentucky man named Jack Deacon, who broke his leg and suffered numerous lacerations when Shires picked him up and threw him down a staircase.  Shires was defending Louisville Colonels second baseman and former high school teammate Jimmy Adair, who started the fracas when he accused a woman of trying to “roll” him for $125.  Deacon took exception to Adair’s accusations; Shires stood up for Adair because he was a “small guy,” and pitched Deacon down the stairs. Shires and Adair were charged with malicious assault and sued for $50,000.  Deacon was charged with the same crime, as well as “conducting a disorderly house.”  Two others were charged with malicious assault, and one was charged with disorderly conduct.  Deacon’s attorney argued that his injuries were so severe that his leg may have to be amputated and that he could possibly die.  The hospital where Deacon was laid up during the hearing claimed Deacon was in no immediate danger of either.  Charges were eventually dismissed against everyone when Deacon decided not to pursue prosecution, but Shires was allegedly forced to pay Deacon’s hospital bills. Shires found himself in the news again on June 15 when American Association president Thomas J. Hickey barred Shires and three other members of the Columbus club from playing for the Red Birds for the rest of the season on the basis that they were being paid more than the maximum allowed by the league.  Columbus exceeded the monthly payroll of $6,500 agreed upon by members of the Association and was fined $500.  They also lost three of their best hitters and one of their better pitchers.  Charlie Wilson was hitting .356 and slugging .575, Gordon Slade was hitting .353 and slugging .540, Shires was hitting .313 and slugging .477, and Jim Lindsey was 7-2 with a 3.69 ERA. The Red Birds sat in first place with a 2 1/2 game lead over Indianapolis at the time of the decision.  The decree had no effect on them, however, as they went on to finish 15 1/2 games ahead of the field en route to a pennant.  In the wake of the Association’s decision, Columbus traded Shires, Wilson, Lindsey, and pitcher Sheriff Blake to Rochester of the International League.  Slade was recalled to the Cardinals. Shires’ troubles were far from over, though.  On August 14, he was charged with signing a false affidavit in connection with his 1933 contract and fined $200.  Slade was also fined $200, while Wilson and Lindsey were assessed $100 penalties.  Apparently the Cardinals had agreed to “remunerations in excess of that designated in their contracts.”  The three men appealed the decision and won; the fines assessed against them were ordered remitted. The move to Rochester proved to be somewhat fortuitous as they also qualified for a pennant before losing to Buffalo in the playoffs.  Shires batted .277 but slugged only .390 for the Red Wings, and was eventually replaced by future Hall of Famer Johnny Mize.  He wouldn’t stay in Rochester long.  On November 16, 1933, Shires was dealt to Toledo for Bill Weeney.  He wouldn’t stay in Toledo long, either—he was sold to Fort Worth of the Texas League prior to the 1934 season.  Not only was he no closer to rejoining the major leagues, but he was getting further away—Fort Worth wasn’t affiliated with a major league team in 1934. Shires spent a full season with Fort Worth and batted .287 with an anemic .377 slugging percentage.  He also made 17 errors at first base, after committing only three in 1933.  With his baseball career flagging, Shires decided it was time to step back into the boxing ring.  “I figure I’m the Texas heavyweight champ now, but I guess I’ll have to go through the formality of winning it.”  In reality, Shires was in desperate need of money and looking for ways to obtain it.  He was matched up against Sid Hunter on January 31, 1935 and was knocked out in the second round when Hunter caught him with a hard right cross to the chin. Less than two weeks later, Shires fought a palooka named Joe Daley and knocked him out in the third round.  It would prove to be Shires’ final professional fight and he finished his career with a 5-2 record and five knockouts.  Then the absurd happened—he was hired to manage the Harrisburg Senators of the New York-Pennsylvania League at a salary of $3,500.  He also played a little first base and batted a career-low .243, although he was nifty in the field, committing only four errors in 59 games.  That was his last and only stint as a manager. Shires was rumored to have been offered the job of piloting the Springfield, Illinois team in the Three-I league in 1936, but the league shut down that year and didn’t reform until 1937.  Instead, he made his living refereeing wrestling matches and playing semi-pro baseball. When asked if he had considered playing ball at the professional level, he admitted that he could no longer afford to live on a minor league baseball salary. “This salary limit in the minor leagues makes it hard for a fellow to get along,” he explained. “I’ve got a family to support and I’m afraid I can’t afford to play baseball in the minors.” But he did express interest in landing a job in the Pacific Coast League, not so much for his own career, but because he wanted to get his young son, three-year-old Charles Jr., a job in the movies.  In the meantime, Shires played semi-pro ball in Chicago for the Mills team, which also featured former major leaguers Hippo Vaughn, Bert Atkinson, and Charlie Uhlir.  Shires played mostly in the outfield and batted over .600 but, according to Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times, the Mills team released “Art The Great” because they didn’t like that he was playing ball during the day and singing in cabarets at night.  Shires then joined Bob Fothergill’s Detroit semi-pro team. In September 1936, some troubling news was made public when Shires’ wife Betty filed for divorce and charged that Art had struck her again.  She cited “cruelty” as her reason for seeking the divorce.  She and Shires had been separated for more than a year.  The divorce was finalized on November 23.  From there, Shires’ life deteriorated even further—he made money refereeing wrestling matches, then became a wrestler himself in 1937, but he was virtually broke.  When he was ordered to pay $5 a week to support his three-year-old son, he argued his own case.  “When a man’s slipping, people want to step on him,” he lamented.  “I’m trying to find work now, but, because of my knee, I can’t play through a full season.  For five nights I’ve slept in a chair, unable to pay for a hotel room.” Though Shires was in the news on a regular basis, newspapers were printing “whatever happened to Art Shires?” stories on an equally regular basis.  He signed with the Springfield Empires, another Chicago-area semi-pro team, and played with Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, who was 50 at the time, and former Reds and White Sox outfielder Evar Swanson.  After the season, he was doing business in Los Angeles when he found himself in trouble again, crashing his car into a telephone pole and suffering a dislocated vertebra. In May 1938, Shires was recruited to play softball for a team of boxers, including Henry Armstrong, against a team of wrestlers that included “Man Mountain” Dean.  Shires belted three home runs in the fighters’ 15-14 victory over the grapplers.  He continued playing softball, but began to fade from view as sportswriters stopped their “whatever happened to…” queries. Before his light dimmed completely, though, an article appeared in the Hartford Courant, linking Shires to Chicago gangster Al Capone, the most notorious mobster in American history.  The article in question detailed a fairly innocuous incident in which Shires was photographed shaking Capone’s hand at Comiskey Park before a White Sox game.  When American League president Will Harridge saw the photo he was apoplectic and warned that players caught fraternizing with fans before a ballgame would be fined. But further investigation shows that the incident may not have been banal after all.  When Commissioner Landis forbade Shires (and others) from boxing while he was still a major leaguer, it wasn’t just because “boxing and baseball don’t mix,” it was also because Landis was aware of rumors that Capone and his men had a hand in the Shires-Trafton bout.  It’s not a stretch to believe Capone’s thugs also fixed the fight against Jim Gerry and offered “Battling” Criss money to take a dive against Shires.  At the time of Landis’ decree, the Black Sox scandal was still less than a decade old; the last thing major league baseball needed was a fresh scandal involving fixed fights and gangsters. After the July 1938 article about Capone, Shires received little press.  In 1941, reporter Harold Ratliff of the Dallas Morning News interviewed scouts Bessie and Roy Largent, who expressed sorrow for Shires. Bessie, the only female major league scout in the country, was especially heartbroken. “What a pity,” she said. “After all these years we can’t help but shed tears when we think of Art and the great opportunity the [White] Sox lost in not having someone who knew how to handle him. He would have been a million-dollar drawing card and a great player but success went to his head.”    Shires was mentioned sporadically in brief snippets of wrestling news, then more or less disappeared from the papers until May 18, 1948 when the Chicago Tribune reported that Shires, who’d operated a shrimp house and bar in Dallas since 1943, was running for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives.  “I’m going to fight the battle of the little man,” the 41-year-old Shires told reporters.  “The little man really gets pushed around in Texas.”  He was confident that he’d get the support he’d need for a victory, “Labor’s going to be for me and so will all the people in sports.  And the sports writers all ought to back me,” he joked, “I’ve furnished them enough copy.”  Apparently no one backed him; he was defeated and went back to his restaurant. He didn’t stay out of the news long, though.  On December 8, 1948 newspapers across the country greeted readers with disturbing news: SHIRES CHARGED WITH MURDER OF HI ERWIN, EX-BALL PLAYER Dallas, Tex., Dec. 7 (AP).—Art Shires, former major league first baseman, was charged with murder today in the death of W.H. (Hi) Erwin, 56, former professional baseball player. Erwin died in a hospital here Saturday.  Officers quoted Shires as saying he had a fight with Erwin October 3.  Shires was questioned last night and released on a $5000 bond in a habeas corpus writ. Shires and Erwin had been friends for 25 years.  Erwin had played for Dallas of the Texas League and umpired in the American and Western Associations.  According to Shires he went to Erwin’s cleaning and pressing shop to give him a steak, but things went horribly wrong.  “He hit me across the face with a telephone receiver and I knocked him down without thinking,” Shires told detectives.  “I had to rough him up a good deal because he grabbed a knife and started whittling on my legs.”  According to the charges, Shires “willfully and with malice forethought killed William Hiram Erwin by beating him with his fists…and stomping him with his…feet.” Erwin’s physician reported that the victim died of internal injuries suffered in a fight.  That’s when police got involved.  But Dr. P.A. Rogers, who treated Erwin after the fight, reported that Erwin died from hypostatic pneumonia and cirrhosis of the liver “with contributing causes being blows to the head, chest and abdomen.”  A hearing revealed that Dr. E.E. Muirhead, who supervised Erwin’s autopsy and conducted microscopic examination of the deceased’s tissue, agreed with Rogers that Erwin died of cirrhosis of the liver and pneumonia.  Both testimonies would eventually work in Shires’ favor. W.L. Sterrett referred a murder charge against Shires to the Dallas County grand jury on December 16.  Though the grand jury found that Shires “did inflict serious bodily injuries” to Erwin, the charge of murder was reduced to aggravated assault on January 31, 1949.  A little more than a year later on February 11, 1950, Shires was charged with simple assault and fined $25.  He had been involved in the deaths of two men in 20 years and got off with slaps on the wrist both times. Curiously, six years later, the White Sox invited Shires to participate in an Old Timers’ game at Yankee Stadium in August 1956; apparently they felt he could still pull a crowd, even in New York.  The White Sox’s roster boasted some fine ballplayers like Red Faber, Ed Walsh, Ray Schalk, Muddy Ruel, Jimmie Dykes, Johnny Mostil, and Bibb Falk.  The Yankees loaded up with some all-time greats—Joe DiMaggio, Lefty Gomez, Bill Dickey, Home Run Baker—and All-Stars like Charlie Keller, Tommy Henrich, and Allie Reynolds, and won the game, 4-1.  Shires spent some time in right field, but failed to record an official at-bat. As the Washington Post put it once upon a time, Shires returned to “obscurity as a sports figure” and wasn’t heard from again until July 13, 1967 when he died from lung cancer at his home in Italy, Texas.  He was 60 years old. Major League Baseball Player. When the first baseman broke in with Chicago White Sox in 1928, he collected three singles and a triple off Boston's Red Ruffing in his debut. At the time, he reportedly had a wardrobe of 50 suits, 100 hats, 40 pairs of spats, a half-dozen tuxedos and attire for golf, riding and yachting. It was after all the Roaring '20s, and he was one of baseball's most colorful characters. He claimed he made more money with his second occupation: boxing. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder had six bouts, including one with George Trafton of the Chicago Bears. In the ring, he appeared in gaudy trunks and a red robe that had Art The Great in bold white letters on the back. When he challenged the Chicago Cubs' Hack Wilson to fight, commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ordered him, "Give up baseball or give up boxing." He stuck with baseball. The left-handed batter had some ability. He hit .341 in 33 games in 1928. He followed that with .312 in 100 games in 1929 with 20 doubles, seven triples, three homers and 41 runs batted in. But he and manager Lena Blackburne didn't see eye to eye, so the White Sox shipped him to Washington on June 16, 1930 for pitcher Garland Braxton and catcher Bennie Tate. He became a backup to Senators star first baseman Joe Judge and was used primarily as a pinch hitter. One day he came through with a game-winning single. The next day he again was sent up as a pinch hitter. In those days, the home plate umpire made the announcements of any substitutions. Shires told him, "Never mind my name. Just tell 'em it's the guy who won the game yesterday." During a trip to New York, it was reported, he attended a musical. As he arrived, the rest of the audience began clapping and cheering. So he bowed to the left and to the right. The only problem was that the applause wasn't for him. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joan Crawford also were making way to their seats. He also played for the Boston Braves in 1932. For his four-year career covering 290 games, he hit .291 with 45 doubles, 12 triples, 11 homers and 119 RBIs. He died of lung cancer. Charles Arthur Shires (August 13, 1906 – July 13, 1967) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators and Boston Braves. In a four-year major league career, Shires played in 290 games, accumulating 287 hits in 986 at bats for a .291 career batting average along with 11 home runs, 119 runs batted in, an on-base percentage of .347, and a .988 fielding percentage. Shires was a colorful personality with a penchant for self-praise, earning himself the nickname "Art The Great".[1][2] Contents 1 Early life 2 MLB career 3 Post-baseball career 4 References 5 External links Early life Art Shires was born on August 13, 1906 to Josh and Sallee Shires. He was one of nine children; his brother, Leonard, played professional baseball for nine seasons.[3] He attended Waxahachie High School and played for the school's baseball team. While still in high school, he first tried out for the Washington Senators, who chose not to sign him, before beginning his professional career in Texas after graduation.[1] Shires began his professional baseball career in 1926 at the age of 19 with the Waco Cubs of the Texas League.[4] In 1928 he had a .387 batting average with 11 home runs in 108 games for Waco and, on July 31, his contract was purchased by the Chicago White Sox. MLB career Shires made his major league debut with the White Sox on August 20, 1928 at the age of 21, delivering four hits in five at-bats off of future Hall of Fame pitcher, Red Ruffing.[5] He replaced Bud Clancy as the starting first baseman and ended the 1928 season with a .341 average in 33 games that year.[6] On December 28, 1928 a 53-year-old man from Shreveport, Louisiana died from head injuries after being hit by a baseball thrown by Shires on May 20, 1928 in a game between Waco and Shreveport.[1] Shires had allegedly thrown the baseball in anger at a group of disapproving Shreveport fans.[1] On March 27, 1929, Shires was sued by the dead man's wife for $25,411.[7] One day after the lawsuit was reported in the papers, Shires was exonerated by a grand jury on March 29, 1929.[1] The suit was dropped after an agreed judgment for $500 on January 11, 1930.[8] White Sox manager Lena Blackburne named Shires to be the team captain before the 1929 season, succeeding third baseman Willie Kamm who asked to step down from the role to concentrate on his hitting.[9][10] Only two weeks later, Blackburne stripped him of his captain's role and sent him home from spring training, due to his being out of shape as well as keeping late hours and breaking training rules.[11] Shires made national news in May 1929 when he gave Blackburne a black eye during a fist fight and was suspended from the team.[12] One week later, a contrite Shires apologized to Blackburne and was reinstated.[13] Shires' troubles with Blackburne had him reduced to a part-time role with an occasional pinch hitting assignment.[14] He eventually regained his role as a starting player when Clancy was injured in late June.[15] On September 14, the two men fought again when Blackburne tried to reprimand Shires for breaking team rules, resulting in Shires' third suspension of the season.[16] Although it was thought that Shires might lose his job over the altercation, it was Blackburne who would lose his job at the end of the season.[17] Shires ended the 1929 season with a .312 batting average along with 3 home runs and 41 runs batted in.[6] In December 1929, Shires tried his hand at boxing, taking 21 seconds to knockout an unknown fighter named Dan Daly.[18] Shires entered the arena wearing a robe with the words "Arthur The Great Shires" printed on back.[18] It was reported on December 14 that Chicago Cubs player Hack Wilson signed a contract to meet Shires in the ring in January.[19] On December 18, Shires' boxing career suffered a setback when he lost a bout to Chicago Bears football player George Trafton.[20] Seeing no benefit in fighting a defeated boxer, Wilson backed out of his proposed bout with Shires.[21] In late December, Shires was suspended by the Michigan State Boxing Commission and the National Boxing Association after his boxing manager was alleged to have offered money to a future Shires opponent to lose a fight on purpose.[22] Soon after that revelation, Dan Daly admitted to the Illinois State Boxing Commission that he too had lost his fight to Shires on purpose.[22] Shires was eventually cleared from any wrongdoing by the boxing commissions after no evidence was found that he had fixed the fights.[1] In January 1930, Shires defeated Boston Braves player Al Spohrer in four rounds by technical knockout at the Boston Garden.[23] There was a move made to have Shires fight Boston Bruins hockey player, Eddie Shore, who was well known for his fighting skills, having set a single-season record for penalty minutes in 1928, however, in the wake of his previous bouts, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ruled that any baseball player engaging in boxing matches could consider himself retired from baseball, thus putting a stop to Shires' fighting career.[24][25] Although Shires was still suspended from the White Sox after his altercation with Blackburne, he had the audacity to demand a contract for $25,000.[1] When White Sox owner Charles Comiskey failed to meet this demand, an angered Shires threatened to quit baseball.[26] Eventually, he relented and signed a contract for $7,500 and rejoined the team.[1][27] Having worn out his welcome with the White Sox, Shires was hitting for a .258 average in June 1930 when he was traded to the Washington Senators.[6][28] After the trade, Shires hit for a .369 average in 38 games for the Senators.[6] The Senators already had two first basemen in Joe Judge and Joe Kuhel and, when reports surfaced that Shires was complaining about being a reserve player and that his work ethic was lacking, Senators owner Clark Griffith sold Shires to the minor league Milwaukee Brewers for a reported $10,000 in November 1930.[1][29] With typical bombast, Shires claimed that he was too good a player to be sitting on a major league bench and predicted that he would hit, "around .350" for Milwaukee.[29] In December 1930, Shires was arrested in Hollywood, California on charges of drunkenness and carrying concealed weapons.[30] The arrest was accompanied by Shires bragging that he had succumbed to movie offers.[30] Shires proceeded to back up his claims with the Brewers in 1931, posting a .384 average with 11 home runs in 157 games, winning the American Association batting championship.[31] His performance earned him a return to the major leagues when the Brewers traded him to the Boston Braves for Al Bool and $10,000 on November 9, 1931.[32] Ironically, Shires' roommate with the Braves was his former boxing foe, Al Spohrer.[33] On April 22, 1932, Shires suffered a torn ligament in a collision with baserunner Joe Stripp.[34] When he returned from the injury, he failed to live up to expectations, producing just a .238 batting average.[6] In August 1932, Shires was fired by Braves manager Bill McKechnie after he objected to plans to be sent back to the minor leagues.[2] Shires eventually returned to the minor leagues and played for the Rochester Red Wings and the Columbus Red Birds in 1933.[4] In 1934, Shires played for the Fort Worth Cats in the Texas League and, in 1935 he served as a player-manager for the Harrisburg Senators in the New York–Pennsylvania League.[4] Post-baseball career Shires announced plans to fight Max Baer for the World Heavyweight Boxing title and returned to the boxing ring in January 1935 but, was out of shape and was knocked out in the second round of a scheduled six round fight against Sid Hunter.[35] Shires was charged with murder following the beating death of a man in December 1948.[36] The two men had fought after drinking together.[37] The charge was later reduced to aggravated assault.[38] A jury later found him guilty of aggravated assault and fined him $25.[37] Shires died on July 13, 1967 at the age of 60.[37]
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases.[2] A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely; this generally occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base before an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing the ball out of the batter's reach. Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called "out" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by getting batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three pitches which result in strikes, while fielders can get the batter out by catching a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by tagging them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base. The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning. A game is usually composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature pace-of-play regulations such as the pitch clock to shorten game time. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of escapism during troubled points in American history such as the American Civil War and the Great Depression, have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as the national sport of the United States, though in modern times is considered less popular than other sports, such as American football. In addition to North America, baseball is considered the most popular sport in parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The MLB champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The World Baseball Classic, organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world. Baseball was played at the Olympic Games from 1992 to 2008, and was reinstated in 2020. Rules and gameplay Further information: Baseball rules and Outline of baseball Diagram of a baseball field Diamond may refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field. The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games. Children often play on smaller fields. 2013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 A baseball game is played between two teams, each usually composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an inning. A game consists of nine innings (seven innings at the high school level and in doubleheaders in college, Minor League Baseball and, since the 2020 season, Major League Baseball; and six innings at the Little League level).[3] One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning. The other team—customarily the home team—bats in the bottom, or second half, of every inning. The goal of the game is to score more points (runs) than the other team. The players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by touching all four bases, in order, set at the corners of the square-shaped baseball diamond. A player bats at home plate and must attempt to safely reach a base before proceeding, counterclockwise, from first base, to second base, third base, and back home to score a run. The team in the field attempts to prevent runs from scoring by recording outs, which remove opposing players from offensive action, until their next turn at bat comes up again. When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played to resolve the contest. Many amateur games, particularly unorganized ones, involve different numbers of players and innings.[4] The game is played on a field whose primary boundaries, the foul lines, extend forward from home plate at 45-degree angles. The 90-degree area within the foul lines is referred to as fair territory; the 270-degree area outside them is foul territory. The part of the field enclosed by the bases and several yards beyond them is the infield; the area farther beyond the infield is the outfield. In the middle of the infield is a raised pitcher's mound, with a rectangular rubber plate (the rubber) at its center. The outer boundary of the outfield is typically demarcated by a raised fence, which may be of any material and height. The fair territory between home plate and the outfield boundary is baseball's field of play, though significant events can take place in foul territory, as well.[5] There are three basic tools of baseball: the ball, the bat, and the glove or mitt: The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches (23 centimeters) in circumference. It has a rubber or cork center, wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide, with red stitching.[6] The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a single, solid piece of wood. Other materials are now commonly used for nonprofessional games. It is a hard round stick, about 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around 34 inches (86 centimeters) long, and not longer than 42 inches (110 centimeters).[7] The glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the specific needs of different fielding positions.[8] Protective helmets are also standard equipment for all batters.[9] At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players of the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound. The pitcher begins the pitching delivery with one foot on the rubber, pushing off it to gain velocity when throwing toward home plate. Another fielding team player, the catcher, squats on the far side of home plate, facing the pitcher. The rest of the fielding team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielders—who set up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines (basepaths) between first, second, and third base—and three outfielders. In the standard arrangement, there is a first baseman positioned several steps to the left of first base, a second baseman to the right of second base, a shortstop to the left of second base, and a third baseman to the right of third base. The basic outfield positions are left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. With the exception of the catcher, all fielders are required to be in fair territory when the pitch is delivered. A neutral umpire sets up behind the catcher.[10] Other umpires will be distributed around the field as well.[11] David Ortiz, the batter, awaiting a pitch, with the catcher and umpire Play starts with a member of the batting team, the batter, standing in either of the two batter's boxes next to home plate, holding a bat.[12] The batter waits for the pitcher to throw a pitch (the ball) toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball[13] with the bat.[12] The catcher catches pitches that the batter does not hit—as a result of either electing not to swing or failing to connect—and returns them to the pitcher. A batter who hits the ball into the field of play must drop the bat and begin running toward first base, at which point the player is referred to as a runner (or, until the play is over, a batter-runner). A batter-runner who reaches first base without being put out is said to be safe and is on base. A batter-runner may choose to remain at first base or attempt to advance to second base or even beyond—however far the player believes can be reached safely. A player who reaches base despite proper play by the fielders has recorded a hit. A player who reaches first base safely on a hit is credited with a single. If a player makes it to second base safely as a direct result of a hit, it is a double; third base, a triple. If the ball is hit in the air within the foul lines over the entire outfield (and outfield fence, if there is one), or if the batter-runner otherwise safely circles all the bases, it is a home run: the batter and any runners on base may all freely circle the bases, each scoring a run. This is the most desirable result for the batter. The ultimate and most desirable result possible for a batter would be to hit a home run while all three bases are occupied or "loaded", thus scoring four runs on a single hit. This is called a grand slam. A player who reaches base due to a fielding mistake is not credited with a hit—instead, the responsible fielder is charged with an error.[12] Any runners already on base may attempt to advance on batted balls that land, or contact the ground, in fair territory, before or after the ball lands. A runner on first base must attempt to advance if a ball lands in play, as only one runner may occupy a base at any given time. If a ball hit into play rolls foul before passing through the infield, it becomes dead and any runners must return to the base they occupied when the play began. If the ball is hit in the air and caught before it lands, the batter has flied out and any runners on base may attempt to advance only if they tag up (contact the base they occupied when the play began, as or after the ball is caught). Runners may also attempt to advance to the next base while the pitcher is in the process of delivering the ball to home plate; a successful effort is a stolen base.[14] A pitch that is not hit into the field of play is called either a strike or a ball. A batter against whom three strikes are recorded strikes out. A batter against whom four balls are recorded is awarded a base on balls or walk, a free advance to first base. (A batter may also freely advance to first base if the batter's body or uniform is struck by a pitch outside the strike zone, provided the batter does not swing and attempts to avoid being hit.)[15] Crucial to determining balls and strikes is the umpire's judgment as to whether a pitch has passed through the strike zone, a conceptual area above home plate extending from the midpoint between the batter's shoulders and belt down to the hollow of the knee.[16] Any pitch which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball, unless the batter either swings and misses at the pitch, or hits the pitch into foul territory; an exception generally occurs if the ball is hit into foul territory when the batter already has two strikes, in which case neither a ball nor a strike is called. A shortstop tries to tag out a runner who is sliding head first, attempting to reach second base. While the team at bat is trying to score runs, the team in the field is attempting to record outs. In addition to the strikeout and flyout, common ways a member of the batting team may be put out include the ground out, force out, and tag out. These occur either when a runner is forced to advance to a base, and a fielder with possession of the ball reaches that base before the runner does, or the runner is touched by the ball, held in a fielder's hand, while not on a base. (The batter-runner is always forced to advance to first base, and any other runners must advance to the next base if a teammate is forced to advance to their base.) It is possible to record two outs in the course of the same play. This is called a double play. Three outs in one play, a triple play, is possible, though rare. Players put out or retired must leave the field, returning to their team's dugout or bench. A runner may be stranded on base when a third out is recorded against another player on the team. Stranded runners do not benefit the team in its next turn at bat as every half-inning begins with the bases empty.[17] An individual player's turn batting or plate appearance is complete when the player reaches base, hits a home run, makes an out, or hits a ball that results in the team's third out, even if it is recorded against a teammate. On rare occasions, a batter may be at the plate when, without the batter's hitting the ball, a third out is recorded against a teammate—for instance, a runner getting caught stealing (tagged out attempting to steal a base). A batter with this sort of incomplete plate appearance starts off the team's next turn batting; any balls or strikes recorded against the batter the previous inning are erased. A runner may circle the bases only once per plate appearance and thus can score at most a single run per batting turn. Once a player has completed a plate appearance, that player may not bat again until the eight other members of the player's team have all taken their turn at bat in the batting order. The batting order is set before the game begins, and may not be altered except for substitutions. Once a player has been removed for a substitute, that player may not reenter the game. Children's games often have more lenient rules, such as Little League rules, which allow players to be substituted back into the same game.[3][18] If the designated hitter (DH) rule is in effect, each team has a tenth player whose sole responsibility is to bat (and run). The DH takes the place of another player—almost invariably the pitcher—in the batting order, but does not field. Thus, even with the DH, each team still has a batting order of nine players and a fielding arrangement of nine players.[19] Personnel See also: Baseball positions Players Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not uniform numbers) See also the categories Baseball players and Lists of baseball players The number of players on a baseball roster, or squad, varies by league and by the level of organized play. A Major League Baseball (MLB) team has a roster of 26 players with specific roles. A typical roster features the following players:[20] Eight position players: the catcher, four infielders, and three outfielders—all of whom play on a regular basis Five starting pitchers who constitute the team's pitching rotation or starting rotation Seven relief pitchers, including one closer, who constitute the team's bullpen (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up) One backup, or substitute, catcher Five backup infielders and backup outfielders, or players who can play multiple positions, known as utility players. Most baseball leagues worldwide have the DH rule, including MLB, Japan's Pacific League, and Caribbean professional leagues, along with major American amateur organizations.[21] The Central League in Japan does not have the rule and high-level minor league clubs connected to National League teams are not required to field a DH.[22] In leagues that apply the designated hitter rule, a typical team has nine offensive regulars (including the DH), five starting pitchers,[23] seven or eight relievers, a backup catcher, and two or three other reserve players.[24][25] Managers and coaches The manager, or head coach, oversees the team's major strategic decisions, such as establishing the starting rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each game, and making substitutions during games—in particular, bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are typically assisted by two or more coaches; they may have specialized responsibilities, such as working with players on hitting, fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning. At most levels of organized play, two coaches are stationed on the field when the team is at bat: the first base coach and third base coach, who occupy designated coaches' boxes, just outside the foul lines. These coaches assist in the direction of baserunners, when the ball is in play, and relay tactical signals from the manager to batters and runners, during pauses in play.[26] In contrast to many other team sports, baseball managers and coaches generally wear their team's uniforms; coaches must be in uniform to be allowed on the field to confer with players during a game.[27] Umpires Any baseball game involves one or more umpires, who make rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires may be stationed near the other bases, thus making it easier to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In MLB, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In the playoffs, six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul lines.[28] Strategy See also: Baseball positioning Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.[29] A manager with several left-handed batters in the regular lineup, who knows the team will be facing a left-handed starting pitcher, may respond by starting one or more of the right-handed backups on the team's roster. During the late innings of a game, as relief pitchers and pinch hitters are brought in, the opposing managers will often go back and forth trying to create favorable matchups with their substitutions. The manager of the fielding team trying to arrange same-handed pitcher-batter matchups and the manager of the batting team trying to arrange opposite-handed matchups. With a team that has the lead in the late innings, a manager may remove a starting position player—especially one whose turn at bat is not likely to come up again—for a more skillful fielder (known as a defensive substitution).[30] Tactics Pitching and fielding A first baseman receives a pickoff throw, as the runner dives back to first base. See also: Pitch (baseball) The tactical decision that precedes almost every play in a baseball game involves pitch selection.[31] By gripping and then releasing the baseball in a certain manner, and by throwing it at a certain speed, pitchers can cause the baseball to break to either side, or downward, as it approaches the batter, thus creating differing pitches that can be selected.[32] Among the resulting wide variety of pitches that may be thrown, the four basic types are the fastball, the changeup (or off-speed pitch), and two breaking balls—the curveball and the slider.[33] Pitchers have different repertoires of pitches they are skillful at throwing. Conventionally, before each pitch, the catcher signals the pitcher what type of pitch to throw, as well as its general vertical and/or horizontal location.[34] If there is disagreement on the selection, the pitcher may shake off the sign and the catcher will call for a different pitch. With a runner on base and taking a lead, the pitcher may attempt a pickoff, a quick throw to a fielder covering the base to keep the runner's lead in check or, optimally, effect a tag out.[35] Pickoff attempts, however, are subject to rules that severely restrict the pitcher's movements before and during the pickoff attempt. Violation of any one of these rules could result in the umpire calling a balk against the pitcher, which permits any runners on base to advance one base with impunity.[36] If an attempted stolen base is anticipated, the catcher may call for a pitchout, a ball thrown deliberately off the plate, allowing the catcher to catch it while standing and throw quickly to a base.[37] Facing a batter with a strong tendency to hit to one side of the field, the fielding team may employ a shift, with most or all of the fielders moving to the left or right of their usual positions. With a runner on third base, the infielders may play in, moving closer to home plate to improve the odds of throwing out the runner on a ground ball, though a sharply hit grounder is more likely to carry through a drawn-in infield.[38] Batting and baserunning Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first base, including the fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of second base. The hit and run is sometimes employed, with a skillful contact hitter, the runner takes off with the pitch, drawing the shortstop or second baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the batter to poke the ball through.[39] The sacrifice bunt, calls for the batter to focus on making soft contact with the ball, so that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance into scoring position as the batter is thrown out at first. A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt to bunt for a hit. A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a squeeze play.[40] With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a batter may instead concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score—a successful batter, in this case, gets credit for a sacrifice fly.[38] In order to increase the chance of advancing a batter to first base via a walk, the manager will sometimes signal a batter who is ahead in the count (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to take, or not swing at, the next pitch. The batter's potential reward of reaching base (via a walk) exceeds the disadvantage if the next pitch is a strike.[41] History Main article: History of baseball Further information: Origins of baseball The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular among children in Great Britain and Ireland.[42][43][44] American baseball historian David Block suggests that the game originated in England; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of each other, and that the game's most direct antecedents are the English games of stoolball and "tut-ball".[42] The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery.[45] Block discovered that the first recorded game of "Bass-Ball" took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player.[46] This early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants.[47] By the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America.[48] The first officially recorded baseball game in North America was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada, on June 4, 1838.[49] In 1845, Alexander Cartwright, a member of New York City's Knickerbocker Club, led the codification of the so-called Knickerbocker Rules,[50] which in turn were based on rules developed in 1837 by William R. Wheaton of the Gotham Club.[51] While there are reports that the New York Knickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey: the "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings.[52] With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century.[53] By the time of the Civil War, baseball had begun to overtake its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket in popularity within the United States, due in part to baseball being of a much shorter duration than the form of cricket played at the time, as well as the fact that troops during the Civil War did not need a specialized playing surface to play baseball, as they would have required for cricket.[54][55] In the United States Further information: Baseball in the United States and History of baseball in the United States Establishment of professional leagues In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the New York metropolitan area,[56] and by 1856, local journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game".[57] A year later, the sport's first governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players, was formed. In 1867, it barred participation by African Americans.[58] The more formally structured National League was founded in 1876.[59] Professional Negro leagues formed, but quickly folded.[60] In 1887, softball, under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor, was invented as a winter version of the parent game.[61] The National League's first successful counterpart, the American League, which evolved from the minor Western League, was established in 1893, and virtually all of the modern baseball rules were in place by then.[62][63] The National Agreement of 1903 formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the country's minor professional leagues.[64] The World Series, pitting the two major league champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall.[65] The Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series led to the formation of the office of the Commissioner of Baseball.[66] The first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the Negro National League; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of the 1920s, it was joined by the Eastern Colored League.[67] Rise of Ruth and racial integration Compared with the present, professional baseball in the early 20th century was lower-scoring, and pitchers were more dominant.[68] The so-called dead-ball era ended in the early 1920s with several changes in rule and circumstance that were advantageous to hitters. Strict new regulations governed the ball's size, shape and composition, along with a new rule officially banning the spitball and other pitches that depended on the ball being treated or roughed-up with foreign substances, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit.[69] The rise of the legendary player Babe Ruth, the first great power hitter of the new era, helped permanently alter the nature of the game.[70] In the late 1920s and early 1930s, St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey invested in several minor league clubs and developed the first modern farm system.[71] A new Negro National League was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the Negro American League. The first elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame took place in 1936. In 1939, Little League Baseball was founded in Pennsylvania.[72] Robinson posing in the uniform cap of the Kansas City Royals, a California Winter League barnstorming team, November 1945 (photo by Maurice Terrell) Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs A large number of minor league teams disbanded when World War II led to a player shortage. Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley led the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to help keep the game in the public eye.[73] The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled professional ball occurred in 1945: Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal.[74] In 1947, Robinson broke the major leagues' color barrier when he debuted with the Dodgers.[75] Latin-American players, largely overlooked before, also started entering the majors in greater numbers. In 1951, two Chicago White Sox, Venezuelan-born Chico Carrasquel and black Cuban-born Minnie Miñoso, became the first Hispanic All-Stars.[76][77] Integration proceeded slowly: by 1953, only six of the 16 major league teams had a black player on the roster.[76] Attendance records and the age of steroids In 1975, the union's power—and players' salaries—began to increase greatly when the reserve clause was effectively struck down, leading to the free agency system.[78] Significant work stoppages occurred in 1981 and 1994, the latter forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years.[79] Attendance had been growing steadily since the mid-1970s and in 1994, before the stoppage, the majors were setting their all-time record for per-game attendance.[80][81] After play resumed in 1995, non-division-winning wild card teams became a permanent fixture of the post-season. Regular-season interleague play was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was set.[82] In 2000, the National and American Leagues were dissolved as legal entities. While their identities were maintained for scheduling purposes (and the designated hitter distinction), the regulations and other functions—such as player discipline and umpire supervision—they had administered separately were consolidated under the rubric of MLB.[83] In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. There had long been suspicions that the dramatic increase in power hitting was fueled in large part by the abuse of illegal steroids (as well as by the dilution of pitching talent due to expansion), but the issue only began attracting significant media attention in 2002 and there was no penalty for the use of performance-enhancing drugs before 2004.[84] In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron, as total major league and minor league attendance both reached all-time highs.[85][86] Around the world With the historic popular moniker as "America's national pastime", baseball is well established in several other countries as well. As early as 1877, a professional league, the International Association, featured teams from both Canada and the United States.[87] While baseball is widely played in Canada and many minor league teams have been based in the country,[88][89] the American major leagues did not include a Canadian club until 1969, when the Montreal Expos joined the National League as an expansion team. In 1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League.[90] Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs. In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico at Parque Los Berros in Xalapa, Veracruz.[91] The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition. The Dominican Republic held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912.[92] Professional baseball tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto Rico (1938).[93] The Japanese major leagues have long been considered the highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States.[94] Pesäpallo, a Finnish variation of baseball, was invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s,[95] and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland. After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American countries, most prominently Venezuela (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955).[96] Since the early 1970s, the annual Caribbean Series has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin American winter leagues: the Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In Asia, South Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990) and China (2003) all have professional leagues.[97] The English football club, Aston Villa, were the first British baseball champions winning the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain.[98][99] The 2020 National Champions were the London Mets. Other European countries have seen professional leagues; the most successful, other than the Dutch league, is the Italian league, founded in 1948.[100] In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the Olympic Games.[101] The Confédération Européene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes a number of competitions between clubs from different countries. Other competitions between national teams, such as the Baseball World Cup and the Olympic baseball tournament, were administered by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from its formation in 1938 until its 2013 merger with the International Softball Federation to create the current joint governing body for both sports, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).[102] Women's baseball is played on an organized amateur basis in numerous countries.[103] After being admitted to the Olympics as a medal sport beginning with the 1992 Games, baseball was dropped from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games at the 2005 International Olympic Committee meeting. It remained part of the 2008 Games.[104] While the sport's lack of a following in much of the world was a factor,[105] more important was MLB's reluctance to allow its players to participate during the major league season.[106] MLB initiated the World Baseball Classic, scheduled to precede its season, partly as a replacement, high-profile international tournament. The inaugural Classic, held in March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature a significant number of MLB participants.[107][108] The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after its 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic.[109] Distinctive elements Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following. All of these sports use a clock,[110] play is less individual,[111] and the variation between playing fields is not as substantial or important.[112] The comparison between cricket and baseball demonstrates that many of baseball's distinctive elements are shared in various ways with its cousin sports.[113] No clock to kill A well-worn baseball In clock-limited sports, games often end with a team that holds the lead killing the clock rather than competing aggressively against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock, thus a team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time. At almost any turn in any baseball game, the most advantageous strategy is some form of aggressive strategy.[114] Whereas, in the case of multi-day Test and first-class cricket, the possibility of a draw (which occurs because of the restrictions on time, which like in baseball, originally did not exist[115]) often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind, to bat defensively and run out the clock, giving up any faint chance at a win, to avoid an overall loss.[116] While nine innings has been the standard since the beginning of professional baseball, the duration of the average major league game has increased steadily through the years. At the turn of the 20th century, games typically took an hour and a half to play. In the 1920s, they averaged just less than two hours, which eventually ballooned to 2:38 in 1960.[117] By 1997, the average American League game lasted 2:57 (National League games were about 10 minutes shorter—pitchers at the plate making for quicker outs than designated hitters).[118] In 2004, Major League Baseball declared that its goal was an average game of 2:45.[117] By 2014, though, the average MLB game took over three hours to complete.[119] The lengthening of games is attributed to longer breaks between half-innings for television commercials, increased offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play, with pitchers taking more time between each delivery, and batters stepping out of the box more frequently.[117][118] Other leagues have experienced similar issues. In 2008, Nippon Professional Baseball took steps aimed at shortening games by 12 minutes from the preceding decade's average of 3:18.[120] In 2016, the average nine-inning playoff game in Major League baseball was 3 hours and 35 minutes. This was up 10 minutes from 2015 and 21 minutes from 2014.[121] In response to the lengthening of the game, MLB decided from the 2023 season onward to institute a pitch clock rule to penalize batters and pitchers who take too much time between pitches.[122] Individual focus Babe Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the New York Yankees Although baseball is a team sport, individual players are often placed under scrutiny and pressure. While rewarding, it has sometimes been described as "ruthless" due to the pressure on the individual player.[123] In 1915, a baseball instructional manual pointed out that every single pitch, of which there are often more than two hundred in a game, involves an individual, one-on-one contest: "the pitcher and the batter in a battle of wits".[124] Pitcher, batter, and fielder all act essentially independent of each other. While coaching staffs can signal pitcher or batter to pursue certain tactics, the execution of the play itself is a series of solitary acts. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder is solely responsible for deciding to try to catch it or play it on the bounce and for succeeding or failing. The statistical precision of baseball is both facilitated by this isolation and reinforces it. Cricket is more similar to baseball than many other team sports in this regard: while the individual focus in cricket is mitigated by the importance of the batting partnership and the practicalities of tandem running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy the wicket for an hour or much more.[125] There is no statistical equivalent in cricket for the fielding error and thus less emphasis on personal responsibility in this area of play.[126] Uniqueness of parks Further information: Ballpark Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the left. Unlike those of most sports, baseball playing fields can vary significantly in size and shape. While the dimensions of the infield are specifically regulated, the only constraint on outfield size and shape for professional teams, following the rules of MLB and Minor League Baseball, is that fields built or remodeled since June 1, 1958, must have a minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 feet (122 m) to center.[127] Major league teams often skirt even this rule. For example, at Minute Maid Park, which became the home of the Houston Astros in 2000, the Crawford Boxes in left field are only 315 feet (96 m) from home plate.[128] There are no rules at all that address the height of fences or other structures at the edge of the outfield. The most famously idiosyncratic outfield boundary is the left-field wall at Boston's Fenway Park, in use since 1912: the Green Monster is 310 feet (94 m) from home plate down the line and 37 feet (11 m) tall.[129] Similarly, there are no regulations at all concerning the dimensions of foul territory. Thus a foul fly ball may be entirely out of play in a park with little space between the foul lines and the stands, but a foulout in a park with more expansive foul ground.[130] A fence in foul territory that is close to the outfield line will tend to direct balls that strike it back toward the fielders, while one that is farther away may actually prompt more collisions, as outfielders run full speed to field balls deep in the corner. These variations can make the difference between a double and a triple or inside-the-park home run.[131] The surface of the field is also unregulated. While the adjacent image shows a traditional field surfacing arrangement (and the one used by virtually all MLB teams with naturally surfaced fields), teams are free to decide what areas will be grassed or bare.[132] Some fields—including several in MLB—use artificial turf. Surface variations can have a significant effect on how ground balls behave and are fielded as well as on baserunning. Similarly, the presence of a roof (seven major league teams play in stadiums with permanent or retractable roofs) can greatly affect how fly balls are played.[133] While football and soccer players deal with similar variations of field surface and stadium covering, the size and shape of their fields are much more standardized. The area out-of-bounds on a football or soccer field does not affect play the way foul territory in baseball does, so variations in that regard are largely insignificant.[134] A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park These physical variations create a distinctive set of playing conditions at each ballpark. Other local factors, such as altitude and climate, can also significantly affect play. A given stadium may acquire a reputation as a pitcher's park or a hitter's park, if one or the other discipline notably benefits from its unique mix of elements. The most exceptional park in this regard is Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. Its high altitude—5,282 feet (1,610 m) above sea level—is partly responsible for giving it the strongest hitter's park effect in the major leagues due to the low air pressure.[135] Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is known for its fickle disposition: a pitcher's park when the strong winds off Lake Michigan are blowing in, it becomes more of a hitter's park when they are blowing out.[136] The absence of a standardized field affects not only how particular games play out, but the nature of team rosters and players' statistical records. For example, hitting a fly ball 330 feet (100 m) into right field might result in an easy catch on the warning track at one park, and a home run at another. A team that plays in a park with a relatively short right field, such as the New York Yankees, will tend to stock its roster with left-handed pull hitters, who can best exploit it. On the individual level, a player who spends most of his career with a team that plays in a hitter's park will gain an advantage in batting statistics over time—even more so if his talents are especially suited to the park.[137] Statistics Further information: Baseball statistics Organized baseball lends itself to statistics to a greater degree than many other sports. Each play is discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes. In the late 19th century, a former cricket player, English-born Henry Chadwick of Brooklyn, was responsible for the "development of the box score, tabular standings, the annual baseball guide, the batting average, and most of the common statistics and tables used to describe baseball."[138] The statistical record is so central to the game's "historical essence" that Chadwick came to be known as Father Baseball.[138] In the 1920s, American newspapers began devoting more and more attention to baseball statistics, initiating what journalist and historian Alan Schwarz describes as a "tectonic shift in sports, as intrigue that once focused mostly on teams began to go to individual players and their statistics lines."[139] The Official Baseball Rules administered by MLB require the official scorer to categorize each baseball play unambiguously. The rules provide detailed criteria to promote consistency. The score report is the official basis for both the box score of the game and the relevant statistical records.[140] General managers, managers, and baseball scouts use statistics to evaluate players and make strategic decisions. Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game Certain traditional statistics are familiar to most baseball fans. The basic batting statistics include:[141] At bats: plate appearances, excluding walks and hit by pitches—where the batter's ability is not fully tested—and sacrifices and sacrifice flies—where the batter intentionally makes an out in order to advance one or more baserunners Hits: times a base is reached safely, because of a batted, fair ball without a fielding error or fielder's choice Runs: times circling the bases and reaching home safely Runs batted in (RBIs): number of runners who scored due to a batter's action (including the batter, in the case of a home run), except when batter grounded into double play or reached on an error Home runs: hits on which the batter successfully touched all four bases, without the contribution of a fielding error Batting average: hits divided by at bats—the traditional measure of batting ability The basic baserunning statistics include:[142] Stolen bases: times advancing to the next base entirely due to the runner's own efforts, generally while the pitcher is preparing to deliver or delivering the ball Caught stealing: times tagged out while attempting to steal a base Cy Young—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young. The basic pitching statistics include:[143] Wins: credited to pitcher on winning team who last pitched before the team took a lead that it never relinquished (a starting pitcher must pitch at least five innings to qualify for a win) Losses: charged to pitcher on losing team who was pitching when the opposing team took a lead that it never relinquished Saves: games where the pitcher enters a game led by the pitcher's team, finishes the game without surrendering the lead, is not the winning pitcher, and either (a) the lead was three runs or less when the pitcher entered the game; (b) the potential tying run was on base, at bat, or on deck; or (c) the pitcher pitched three or more innings Innings pitched: outs recorded while pitching divided by three (partial innings are conventionally recorded as, e.g., "5.2" or "7.1", the last digit actually representing thirds, not tenths, of an inning) Strikeouts: times pitching three strikes to a batter Winning percentage: wins divided by decisions (wins plus losses) Earned run average (ERA): runs allowed, excluding those resulting from fielding errors, per nine innings pitched The basic fielding statistics include:[144] Putouts: times the fielder catches a fly ball, tags or forces out a runner, or otherwise directly effects an out Assists: times a putout by another fielder was recorded following the fielder touching the ball Errors: times the fielder fails to make a play that should have been made with common effort, and the batting team benefits as a result Total chances: putouts plus assists plus errors Fielding average: successful chances (putouts plus assists) divided by total chances Among the many other statistics that are kept are those collectively known as situational statistics. For example, statistics can indicate which specific pitchers a certain batter performs best against. If a given situation statistically favors a certain batter, the manager of the fielding team may be more likely to change pitchers or have the pitcher intentionally walk the batter in order to face one who is less likely to succeed.[145] Sabermetrics Sabermetrics refers to the field of baseball statistical study and the development of new statistics and analytical tools. The term is also used to refer directly to new statistics themselves. The term was coined around 1980 by one of the field's leading proponents, Bill James, and derives from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).[146] The growing popularity of sabermetrics since the early 1980s has brought more attention to two batting statistics that sabermetricians argue are much better gauges of a batter's skill than batting average:[147] On-base percentage (OBP) measures a batter's ability to get on base. It is calculated by taking the sum of the batter's successes in getting on base (hits plus walks plus hit by pitches) and dividing that by the batter's total plate appearances (at bats plus walks plus hit by pitches plus sacrifice flies), except for sacrifice bunts.[148] Slugging percentage (SLG) measures a batter's ability to hit for power. It is calculated by taking the batter's total bases (one per each single, two per double, three per triple, and four per home run) and dividing that by the batter's at bats.[149] Some of the new statistics devised by sabermetricians have gained wide use: On-base plus slugging (OPS) measures a batter's overall ability. It is calculated by adding the batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.[150] Walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) measures a pitcher's ability at preventing hitters from reaching base. It is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits a pitcher surrendered, then dividing by the number of innings pitched.[151] Wins Above Replacement (WAR) measures number of additional wins his team has achieved above the number of expected team wins if that player were substituted with a replacement-level player.[152] Popularity and cultural impact Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 Writing in 1919, philosopher Morris Raphael Cohen described baseball as the national religion of the US.[153] In the words of sports columnist Jayson Stark, baseball has long been "a unique paragon of American culture"—a status he sees as devastated by the steroid abuse scandal.[154] Baseball has an important place in other national cultures as well: Scholar Peter Bjarkman describes "how deeply the sport is ingrained in the history and culture of a nation such as Cuba, [and] how thoroughly it was radically reshaped and nativized in Japan."[155] In the United States The major league game in the United States was originally targeted toward a middle-class, white-collar audience: relative to other spectator pastimes, the National League's set ticket price of 50 cents in 1876 was high, while the location of playing fields outside the inner city and the workweek daytime scheduling of games were also obstacles to a blue-collar audience.[156] A century later, the situation was very different. With the rise in popularity of other team sports with much higher average ticket prices—football, basketball, and hockey—professional baseball had become among the most blue-collar-oriented of leading American spectator sports.[157] The Tampere Tigers celebrating the 2017 title in Turku, Finland Overall, baseball has a large following in the United States; a 2006 poll found that nearly half of Americans are fans.[158] In the late 1900s and early 2000s, baseball's position compared to football in the United States moved in contradictory directions. In 2008, MLB set a revenue record of $6.5 billion, matching the NFL's revenue for the first time in decades.[159] A new MLB revenue record of more than $10 billion was set in 2017.[160] On the other hand, the percentage of American sports fans polled who named baseball as their favorite sport was 9%, compared to pro football at 37%.[161] In 1985, the respective figures were pro football 24%, baseball 23%.[162] Because there are so many more major league games played, there is no comparison in overall attendance.[163] In 2008, total attendance at major league games was the second-highest in history: 78.6 million, 0.7% off the record set the previous year.[85] The following year, amid the U.S. recession, attendance fell by 6.6% to 73.4 million.[164] Eight years later, it dropped under 73 million.[165] Attendance at games held under the Minor League Baseball umbrella set a record in 2008, with 43.3 million.[166] While MLB games have not drawn the same national TV viewership as football games, MLB games are dominant in teams' local markets and regularly lead all programs in primetime in their markets during the summer.[167] Caribbean Since the early 1980s, the Dominican Republic, in particular the city of San Pedro de Macorís, has been the major leagues' primary source of foreign talent.[168] In 2017, 83 of the 868 players on MLB Opening Day rosters (and disabled lists) were from the country. Among other Caribbean countries and territories, a combined 97 MLB players were born in Venezuela, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.[169] Hall-of-Famer Roberto Clemente remains one of the greatest national heroes in Puerto Rico's history.[170] While baseball has long been the island's primary athletic pastime, its once well-attended professional winter league has declined in popularity since 1990, when young Puerto Rican players began to be included in the major leagues' annual first-year player draft.[171] In Cuba, where baseball is by every reckoning the national sport,[172] the national team overshadows the city and provincial teams that play in the top-level domestic leagues.[173] Asia An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 In Asia, baseball is among the most popular sports in Japan and South Korea.[174] In Japan, where baseball is inarguably the leading spectator team sport, combined revenue for the twelve teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the body that oversees both the Central and Pacific Leagues, was estimated at $1 billion in 2007. Total NPB attendance for the year was approximately 20 million. While in the preceding two decades, MLB attendance grew by 50 percent and revenue nearly tripled, the comparable NPB figures were stagnant. There are concerns that MLB's growing interest in acquiring star Japanese players will hurt the game in their home country.[175] Revenue figures are not released for the country's amateur system. Similarly, according to one official pronouncement, the sport's governing authority "has never taken into account attendance ... because its greatest interest has always been the development of athletes".[176] In Taiwan, baseball is one of the most widely spectated sports, with the origins dating back to Japanese rule.[177] Among children As of 2018, Little League Baseball oversees leagues with close to 2.4 million participants in over 80 countries.[178] The number of players has fallen since the 1990s, when 3 million children took part in Little League Baseball annually.[179] Babe Ruth League teams have over 1 million participants.[180] According to the president of the International Baseball Federation, between 300,000 and 500,000 women and girls play baseball around the world, including Little League and the introductory game of Tee Ball.[181] A varsity baseball team is an established part of physical education departments at most high schools and colleges in the United States.[182] In 2015, nearly half a million high schoolers and over 34,000 collegians played on their schools' baseball teams.[183] By early in the 20th century, intercollegiate baseball was Japan's leading sport. Today, high school baseball in particular is immensely popular there.[184] The final rounds of the two annual tournaments—the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring, and the even more important National High School Baseball Championship in the summer—are broadcast around the country. The tournaments are known, respectively, as Spring Koshien and Summer Koshien after the 55,000-capacity stadium where they are played.[185] In Cuba, baseball is a mandatory part of the state system of physical education, which begins at age six. Talented children as young as seven are sent to special district schools for more intensive training—the first step on a ladder whose acme is the national baseball team.[173] In popular culture The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million.[186] Baseball has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the United States and elsewhere. Dozens of English-language idioms have been derived from baseball; in particular, the game is the source of a number of widely used sexual euphemisms.[187] The first networked radio broadcasts in North America were of the 1922 World Series: famed sportswriter Grantland Rice announced play-by-play from New York City's Polo Grounds on WJZ–Newark, New Jersey, which was connected by wire to WGY–Schenectady, New York, and WBZ–Springfield, Massachusetts.[188] The baseball cap has become a ubiquitous fashion item not only in the United States and Japan, but also in countries where the sport itself is not particularly popular, such as the United Kingdom.[189] Baseball has inspired many works of art and entertainment. One of the first major examples, Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat", appeared in 1888. A wry description of the failure of a star player in what would now be called a "clutch situation", the poem became the source of vaudeville and other staged performances, audio recordings, film adaptations, and an opera, as well as a host of sequels and parodies in various media. There have been many baseball movies, including the Academy Award–winning The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and the Oscar nominees The Natural (1984) and Field of Dreams (1989). The American Film Institute's selection of the ten best sports movies includes The Pride of the Yankees at number 3 and Bull Durham (1988) at number 5.[190] Baseball has provided thematic material for hits on both stage—the Adler–Ross musical Damn Yankees—and record—George J. Gaskin's "Slide, Kelly, Slide", Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", and John Fogerty's "Centerfield".[191] The baseball-inspired comedic sketch "Who's on First?", popularized by Abbott and Costello in 1938, quickly became famous. Six decades later, Time named it the best comedy routine of the 20th century.[192] Literary works connected to the game include the short fiction of Ring Lardner and novels such as Bernard Malamud's The Natural (the source for the movie), Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., John Grisham's Calico Joe and W. P. Kinsella's Shoeless Joe (the source for Field of Dreams). Baseball's literary canon also includes the beat reportage of Damon Runyon; the columns of Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Dick Young, and Peter Gammons; and the essays of Roger Angell. Among the celebrated nonfiction books in the field are Lawrence S. Ritter's The Glory of Their Times, Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer, and Michael Lewis's Moneyball. The 1970 publication of major league pitcher Jim Bouton's tell-all chronicle Ball Four is considered a turning point in the reporting of professional sports.[193] Baseball has also inspired the creation of new cultural forms. Baseball cards were introduced in the late 19th century as trade cards. A typical example featured an image of a baseball player on one side and advertising for a business on the other. In the early 1900s they were produced widely as promotional items by tobacco and confectionery companies. The 1930s saw the popularization of the modern style of baseball card, with a player photograph accompanied on the rear by statistics and biographical data. Baseball cards—many of which are now prized collectibles—are the source of the much broader trading card industry, involving similar products for different sports and non-sports-related fields.[194] Modern fantasy sports began in 1980 with the invention of Rotisserie League Baseball by New York writer Daniel Okrent and several friends. Participants in a Rotisserie league draft notional teams from the list of active MLB players and play out an entire imaginary season with game outcomes based on the players' latest real-world statistics. Rotisserie-style play quickly became a phenomenon. Now known more generically as fantasy baseball, it has inspired similar games based on an array of different sports.[195] The field boomed with increasing Internet access and new fantasy sports-related websites. By 2008, 29.9 million people in the United States and Canada were playing fantasy sports, spending $800 million on the hobby.[196] The burgeoning popularity of fantasy baseball is also credited with the increasing attention paid to sabermetrics—first among fans, only later among baseball professionals.[197] Derivative games Main article: Variations of baseball Informal variations of baseball have popped up over time, with games like corkball reflecting local traditions and allowing the game to be played in diverse environments.[198] Two variations of baseball, softball and Baseball5, are internationally governed alongside baseball by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.[199] British baseball Main article: British baseball American professional baseball teams toured Britain in 1874 and 1889, and had a great effect on similar sports in Britain. In Wales and Merseyside, a strong community game had already developed with skills and plays more in keeping with the American game and the Welsh began to informally adopt the name "baseball" (Pêl Fas), to reflect the American style. By the 1890s, calls were made to follow the success of other working class sports (like Rugby in Wales and Soccer in Merseyside) and adopt a distinct set of rules and bureaucracy.[200] During the 1892 season rules for the game of "baseball" were agreed and the game was officially codified.[201] Finnish baseball Main article: Pesäpallo Finnish baseball, known as pesäpallo, is a combination of traditional ball-batting team games and North American baseball, invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s.[202] The basic idea of pesäpallo is similar to that of baseball: the offense tries to score by hitting the ball successfully and running through the bases, while the defense tries to put the batter and runners out. One of the most important differences between pesäpallo and baseball is that the ball is pitched vertically, which makes hitting the ball, as well as controlling the power and direction of the hit, much easier. This gives the offensive game more variety, speed, and tactical aspects compared to baseball.[202] See also icon Baseball portal Baseball awards Baseball clothing and equipment List of baseball films List of organized baseball leagues Women in baseball Related sports Brännboll (Scandinavian bat-and-ball game) Comparison of baseball and cricket Lapta (game) (Russian bat-and-ball game) Oină (Romanian bat-and-ball game) Snow baseball (with similar rules played in India during winters) Stickball Stoop ball Vitilla Wiffle ball
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