Last Updated on September 5, 2023
No. | Fact |
---|---|
1 | Baseball is often referred to as “America’s Pastime.” |
2 | The first recorded baseball game was played in 1846. |
3 | Abner Doubleday is often credited with inventing baseball, although this is disputed. |
4 | A regulation baseball has 108 stitches. |
5 | The New York Yankees have won the most World Series titles, with 27 championships. |
6 | The fastest recorded pitch in MLB history is 105.1 mph, thrown by Aroldis Chapman. |
7 | A baseball can reach speeds of up to 150 mph when hit. |
8 | Babe Ruth, often called “The Great Bambino,” is one of baseball’s greatest legends. |
9 | Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in MLB in 1947. |
10 | Cooperstown, New York, is home to the Baseball Hall of Fame. |
11 | The shortest game in MLB history lasted just 51 minutes. |
12 | “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is a popular baseball song. |
13 | The distance between bases in baseball is 90 feet. |
14 | The first night game in MLB was played in 1935. |
15 | The World Series trophy is known as the Commissioner’s Trophy. |
16 | The Chicago Cubs ended a 108-year championship drought in 2016. |
17 | The “Curse of the Bambino” haunted the Boston Red Sox for 86 years until 2004. |
18 | Baseball gloves were initially considered “unchristian” and not allowed on the field. |
19 | Pitchers in the National League still bat, while in the American League, the designated hitter (DH) is used. |
20 | Hank Aaron held the home run record for over three decades before it was broken by Barry Bonds. |
21 | The San Francisco Giants played in New York before relocating to California. |
22 | Baseballs used in the major leagues are rubbed with a special mud to make them less slippery. |
23 | The fastest triple play in MLB history took just 12 seconds. |
24 | The oldest baseball stadium still in use is Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. |
25 | “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” refers to Bobby Thomson’s famous home run in 1951. |
26 | Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, was the last MLB stadium to install lights for night games. |
27 | Nolan Ryan holds the record for the most career strikeouts in MLB history. |
28 | The All-Star Game determines home-field advantage for the World Series. |
29 | Pitcher Cy Young holds the record for the most career wins with 511. |
30 | Lou Gehrig famously declared himself “The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth” in his farewell speech. |
31 | The “Black Sox Scandal” involved players from the Chicago White Sox intentionally losing the 1919 World Series. |
32 | The term “can of corn” refers to an easy, high-fly ball. |
33 | “The Curse of the Billy Goat” plagued the Chicago Cubs for over 70 years until 2016. |
34 | The “Pine Tar Incident” involved George Brett’s disputed home run in 1983. |
35 | The Montreal Expos, now the Washington Nationals, were the first MLB team located outside the United States. |
36 | The fastest stolen base in MLB history was recorded at 2.4 seconds. |
37 | The Atlanta Braves have won the most consecutive division titles in MLB history, with 14. |
38 | The distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate is 60 feet, 6 inches. |
39 | “The Say Hey Kid,” Willie Mays, is known for his iconic over-the-shoulder catch. |
40 | The New York Mets won their first World Series title in 1969, just seven years after their founding. |