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Author	Topic: The Arena's Sports Zone: Baseball: It's origins and history and the National League
s65horsey Title: EUC Manager SWC Lil' Sis Forum Feud Winner Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 6/7 8:16pm Subject: The Arena's Sports Zone: Baseball: It's origins and history and the National League - Date Edited: 7/12 2:56pm (2 edits total) Edited By: Rogue...Jedi
	Welcome sports fans! The goal of this thread is to teach each other about sports that we are passionate about. This is something the Arena was created for and we're finally getting to it! the crowd goes wild Each week we will have a different sport to discuss and learn the rules about. The idea is to try to watch a game during the week of the discussion so you can ask questions. We realize this might not be possible, but that is ok! You can learn without that. This thread will update the first post with page numbers (25ppp) that tell you which page the sport discussion starts on in case you need to go back and review something after you get a chance to watch. Also feel free to PM the people who are teaching because they are passionate about their sport and love talking about it! Our first lesson is going to be on Football EURO since that started today. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I currently only have 1 person signed up to talk about this so if there are others please feel free to chime in!) -----signature----- Sexy Sinre's Sey "Excellence, did you forget your 3P0 unit when you left Lit for Comms?" - dp4m "Me give up Cade's chappless butt? Only when they pry it from cold, dead hands. Wait, that didn't sound right. . . . " - John O
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Cobranaconda Title: Ex-FF-UK: South CR Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 6/7 9:24pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	I'll start off with the basics Two teams play each other. The idea is to put the ball into the other team's net, and stop the other team putting it in yours. Each team consists of 11 players, plus a set number of substitutes (varies between competitions). Generally speaking, all competitive matches allow only 3 substitutes. In friendlies you can use more. Substitutes can be used to rest certain players, to take off injured players, or just replace someone who's playing poorly. Once someone's subbed off, they can't come back on. If you've used all 3 subs, and someone gets injured, then tough. You play with 10. Formations are frequently talked about, but I think non-football watchers get confused by them. Some examples of formations: 4-4-2 4-3-3 4-5-1 5-4-1 4-4-1-1 3-5-2 3-4-3 Generally, these refer to the number of players in a certain position. The left-most number refers to defenders, then works up the pitch, with the right-most number being the number of forwards (or strikers). Of course, the number of positions can alter as well as the number in each, so you could end up with a 1-4-1-2-1-1, which wouldn't be a great formation, but would have people playing in every position. Goalies generally aren't noted on these, because they're always there (unless the coach is an idiot). The breakdown of a 1-4-1-2-1-1 would be: 1 Goalie 1 Sweeper 4 Defenders (2 Fullbacks and 2 Centre Backs) 1 Defensive Midfielder 2 Midfielders 1 Attacking Midfielder 1 Striker A more simple formation is the 4-4-2 (probably the most common): 1 Goalie 4 Defenders (2 Centre Backs, 2 Fullbacks) 4 Midfielders (Either a flat four, where they all stay in midfield, or the two on the wings pushing forward, they're called wingers) 2 Strikers I'll go in depth on each role that can be used in different formations: Goalkeeper: You have one of these, plus another one or two on the bench (depending on whether it's club or international). They wear a different colour shirt than the rest of the team, for visibility. Common numbers for the goalkeepers are 1, 13 and 21 (though 1 is most common, after that there's no real set goalie number). The goalkeeper's job is to stop the ball from going into the net. Due to this, they're allowed to catch the ball, and use their hands, but only within the penalty area (large box that goes around the goal. There's also a 6-yard box, which is smaller, but that's just a guide for where goal kicks are taken from). If they handle the ball outside the area they can get red carded (more on that later). You might see them diving all over the place to get the ball. They're generally quite tall, so they can reach all corners of the goal. Sweeper: Not used that much anymore. They basically just sit behind the defence and pick up any balls they miss, and are the last line of defence before the goalie. They're called sweepers because their job tends to consist, mostly, of sweeping the ball off the goal line. Centre Backs: Defenders who play in the middle. There are usually two, but depending on the formation there may be as many as 3 or as few as 1. They make the tackles on strikers to prevent the goals. Fullbacks: Left- or right-backs. They prevent players from making runs up the flanks so that they can't cross the ball in. Sometimes they also push forward, in which case they're also known as Wing-backs. Defensive Midfielder: They can help the defence or the midfield (they sit between the two), and generally help pick off lone strikers making runs from deep in the field. Quite effective. Midfielders: These are the main players, really. They set up the goals by passing to the strikers, and also try and hold up play in the middle for a decisive advantage. Most of the boring stuff happens in midfield (where they just pass between each other waiting for the other team to get impatient and leave a player unmarked, so they can pass to them and set up an attack). Wingers: Possibly the most interesting position. Americans are probably most familar with this position, just because of Beckham. Wingers go out wide on the midfield and up, making runs to the end of the pitch, and then crossing the ball in to the penalty area for a striker to knock into the net. Attacking Midfielder: These sit in front of the midfield, and behind the attack. They generally help to feed the ball quickly through the middle to the strikers, and can usually double up as strikers too if needful. Strikers: The ones who score the goals. They can be agile (Maradona, Owen), ridiculously tall in order to win headers from crosses (Crouch, Jancker, Koller), goal-hangers (Gary Lineker) or just superb all-around players (Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo). It depends on the team's style of play which they choose to use. Anyway, that's the positions. Now some rule-based stuff: Offside: The one that confuses all women and non-football-lovers. It basically means that the attacking team's strikers shouldn't be closer to the goal than the defending team's defenders, because it's unfair. It's judged from when a ball is going forward, so if a defender is closer to the goal than the striker when the forward ball is played, but then gets ahead of the defender before the ball reaches him, that's onside. If the striker is closer to the goal than the defender when the forward ball is played, it's offside. Tackles: Teams can tackle. The aim of tackling is the get the ball, thus if you don't get the ball, there can be punishments. Pushing isn't really allowed. If you go in two-footed but get the ball, you'll get away with it. Two-footed from behind, whether you get the ball, is generally dangerous and can result in a red. If you show the studs of your boot, or the studs impact on someone's shinpad, it can go badly. Dissent: If you argue with the ref, you get cautioned. Handball: Don't let your hands or arms touch the ball. The punishments are pretty easy to follow: Yellow Card: Warning, basically. If you pick up too many in the course of a competition, you can get banned for a set number of games. These are usually given for poor tackles, pushing, dissent, handball, etc etc. Red Card: End. Get two yellow cards, and you get a red. A red means you take no further part in the match, and your team is down to 10 men. Can also be awarded without a yellow first, in the case of dangerous play, violent conduct (see: Drogba, Champions League final. Just slapped someone, straight red), goalkeeper handling outside the area, etc. Generally results in a ban as well, plus a hefty fine. Set-pieces are what result from several things. I'll explain under the description: Corner kicks: When a player from the defending team puts the ball behind his own net, it results in a corner kick. It's taken from the corner of the pitch, and teams usually swing it into the box and try and get someone to head it. The box gets quite crowded in these, and so jostling occurs, and people sometimes get booked for pushing in them. Throw-ins: When the ball goes off the side of the pitch, the team that didn't put the ball out gets to throw the ball back into play. Goal Kick: Opposite of a corner. When a player from the attacking team puts the ball behind his opponents net, the goalkeeper places the ball and kicks it up the field. Penalty Kick: lol@England. When a foul occurs inside the penalty area, commited by the defending team, the attacking team get to place the ball on the penalty spot and get a kick straight at goal, with only a keeper between them. Also, you get penalty shootouts if teams draw after 90 minutes + Extra Time. Direct Free Kicks: If a player is tripped or pushed, then you get a direct free kick. This is where the player taking the kick can kick it straight at goal, without needing to hit it to someone else. It's taken from where the foul was committed. Indirect Free Kicks: Most common form of freekick. Done for normal fouls, offsides, passbacks to keeper, etc. Means the player can't shoot straight off. Off course, they get around that nowadays by having two people behind the ball, with one simply nudging the ball forward slightly and the other shooting. I think that's it for the actual game. The competitions: 1 win = 3 points 1 draw = 1 point 1 loss = 0 points If teams are level on points, it's decided by goal difference (number of goals scored vs goals conceded), then by head to head records. Can't think of anything else at the moment. Ask me a question, you may get a better answer -----signature----- Winner of "Most Likely to Get a Life" in the EUC Awards "Zetsubou shita!" "We find that your American beer is a little like making love in a canoe." "Making love in a canoe?" "It's ****ing close to water."
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s65horsey Title: EUC Manager SWC Lil' Sis Forum Feud Winner Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 6/7 9:52pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	Awesome post! I learned a lot already. Question: Can you explain the time thing for me? Because it isn't like US sports as far as I know and that always confuses me. -----signature----- Sexy Sinre's Sey "Excellence, did you forget your 3P0 unit when you left Lit for Comms?" - dp4m "Me give up Cade's chappless butt? Only when they pry it from cold, dead hands. Wait, that didn't sound right. . . . " - John O
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DarthIntegral Title: Manager -SWC -Arena -Forum Feud Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 6/7 9:55pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	Very good post. I'm still very confused about offsides, though. Can you provide any more clarity on that? -----signature----- halibut gave me 15 respect points I think he's just trying to bribe his way towards victory in Forum Feud Sey's big brother "Faith will bring a way to the impossible"
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Cobranaconda Title: Ex-FF-UK: South CR Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 6/7 9:57pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA) - Date Edited: 6/7 10:00pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Cobranaconda
	Time? 90 minutes is a game. After 45 minutes, there's a 15 minute break, called half-time. At the end of each half, there are stoppages that the ref has noted down (so every time a player's injured, etc, the ref makes a note of it, and adds it on at the end of the half). If you're in a knockout competition, and the scores are level after 90 minutes (and on away goals, if it's over two legs), you go to extra time. This is an extra 30 minutes, broken up into another 2 halves of 15 minutes each with a 5 minute break between. There are various incarnations of extra time. One is Golden Goal, whereupon play automatically stops after a goal is scored, and the team who scored win; and the other is Silver Goal, where if a goal is scored in the first half of extra time, they wait until the end of the first half of extra time, and then declare the team who scored the winner. Neither of these are used much now, and it's just 30 minutes. Inty: Offsides... I guess Wiki helps Explains better and in more depth than I can at 6am -----signature----- Winner of "Most Likely to Get a Life" in the EUC Awards "Zetsubou shita!" "We find that your American beer is a little like making love in a canoe." "Making love in a canoe?" "It's ****ing close to water."
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s65horsey Title: EUC Manager SWC Lil' Sis Forum Feud Winner Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 6/7 10:18pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	So you, as a player, don't actually know when the match is going to end? Or do the teams have people who keep track of that so you have a rough idea of when it is going to end? -----signature----- Sexy Sinre's Sey "Excellence, did you forget your 3P0 unit when you left Lit for Comms?" - dp4m "Me give up Cade's chappless butt? Only when they pry it from cold, dead hands. Wait, that didn't sound right. . . . " - John O
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Cobranaconda Title: Ex-FF-UK: South CR Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 6/7 10:31pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	The players don't know, except that the 4th official (guy who takes care of getting the subs on and off) holds up a board at 45 and 90 minutes with the amount of time added on for stoppages. Though they can run over to the bench and ask, if they want. There's probably a clock on most stadium's score board thingies too. -----signature----- Winner of "Most Likely to Get a Life" in the EUC Awards "Zetsubou shita!" "We find that your American beer is a little like making love in a canoe." "Making love in a canoe?" "It's ****ing close to water."
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darth_nemisis Title: Host: Acolytes of Darkness Forum Feud Winner Registered: May '04	Date Posted: 6/7 10:44pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	Ooh....very good idea. Someone give me a PM whenever Amateur Wrestling comes up! -----signature----- ~Dark Lord - Acolytes of Darkness (SWC)~ My new homepage! http://www.aaronnemisis.com !~!~stormBoards now available~!~! http://stormboards.aaronnemisis.com/
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Boba_Fett_2001 Registered: Dec '00	Date Posted: 6/8 8:13am Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	Are there any rule differences in international play than say The Premiership or any of the other leagues? -----signature----- Everyone is entitled to my opinion. Blue Jays FTW All Hail Cliegg's Blue Leg!
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halibut Title: FF Admin & UK RSA Forum Feud Winner Registered: Aug '00	Date Posted: 6/8 8:23am Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	The added time mentioned above is usually 1-2 minutes at half time and 2-4 minutes at full time. A "rule of thumb" is add 30 seconds for each goal scored and for each substitution made. Any lengthy injuries are also added on. Time is NOT added on when the ball is "out of play" (ie, waiting for a goal kick, corner, thrown in, or free kick). In a 45 minute half, the ball is usually in play for 25-30 minutes. The rules are the same at whatever level you play. The only difference might be to do with substitutes. For the World Cup, each country has a squad of around 20 players. Any of the players not on the pitch can be brought on as a substitute. In club football, only a certain number of players can be named as substitutes (usually 5, of which 1 is undoubtedly a goalkeeper) -----signature----- Baffy-waff! Baffy-waffy-wim-wham! Wim-wham-baffy-waff! Waff-waff, whiffy-waffy-wafta!
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Boba_Fett_2001 Registered: Dec '00	Date Posted: 6/30 4:10pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA) - Date Edited: 6/30 4:11pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Boba_Fett_2001
	So, Euro is done. On to the next sport? -----signature----- Everyone is entitled to my opinion. Blue Jays FTW All Hail Cliegg's Blue Leg!
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s65horsey Title: EUC Manager SWC Lil' Sis Forum Feud Winner Registered: Jun '06	Date Posted: 6/30 4:36pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	Baseball? -----signature----- Sexy Sinre's Sey "Excellence, did you forget your 3P0 unit when you left Lit for Comms?" - dp4m "Me give up Cade's chappless butt? Only when they pry it from cold, dead hands. Wait, that didn't sound right. . . . " - John O
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Rogue...Jedi Title: Arena Manager Registered: Jan '00	Date Posted: 6/30 4:46pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	Baseball does seem to be the logical choice for the next sport. I know RX_Sith wanted baseball, and I think I'm helping him, if he wants it. Do you want to PM him, horsey, or shall I? -----signature----- USA Men's Basketball - Gold once again!
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Rogue...Jedi Title: Arena Manager Registered: Jan '00	Date Posted: 7/11 10:13am Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Football (FIFA)
	Baseball should be coming fairly soon RX_Sith is doing the NL, and I'll be doing the AL. Alternately, I'll be doing the weird variations section. -----signature----- USA Men's Basketball - Gold once again!
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RX_Sith Title: Monopoly host Forum Feud Winner Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 7/12 10:30am Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Baseball: It's origins and history and the National League - Date Edited: 7/12 10:33am (2 edits total) Edited By: RX_Sith
	I will start my discussion with the league in baseball that has been the longest running league in American sports, the National League. Also, I will discuss Baseball itself; its' origins and history. National League. (from wiki) National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876 to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, it is sometimes called the Senior Circuit in contrast to the "Junior Circuit" of the American League, established as a major league in 1901. The two league champions of 1903 arranged to meet in the World Series and, after the 1904 champions failed to do likewise, the two leagues have arranged to meet in that annual culmination of the American baseball season, failing to do so only in the strike-shortened 1994 season. National League teams have won 42 and lost 61 of the 103 World Series played between these two leagues from 1903 to 2007. The Colorado Rockies are the defending National League champions, winning the NL Pennant in 2007. Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal of baseball is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four markers called bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team (the batting team) take turns hitting while the other team (the fielding team) tries to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the batting team can stop at any of the bases and hope to score on a teammate's hit. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team gets three outs. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an inning; nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. Baseball on the professional, amateur, and youth levels is popular in North America, Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and parts of East Asia and Southeast Asia. The modern version of the game developed in North America, beginning in the eighteenth century. The consensus of historians is that it evolved from earlier bat-and-ball games, such as cricket and rounders, brought to the continent by British and Irish immigrants. By the late nineteenth century, baseball was widely recognized as the national sport of the United States. The game is sometimes referred to as hardball in contrast to the very similar game of softball. In North America, professional Major League Baseball teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL). Each league has three divisions: East, West, and Central. Every year, the champion of Major League Baseball is determined by playoffs culminating in the World Series. Four teams make the playoffs from each league: the three regular season division winners, plus one wild card team. The wild card is the team with the best record among the non–division winners in the league. In the National League, the pitcher is required to bat, per the traditional rules. In the American League, there is a tenth player, a designated hitter, who bats for the pitcher. Each major league team has a "farm system" of minor league teams at various levels. These teams allow younger players to develop as they gain on-field experience against opponents with similar levels of skill. Origins of baseball The distinct evolution of baseball from among the various bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. Oina, a very similar bat-and-ball traditional game played in Romania was mentioned for the first time during the rule of King Vlaicu Voda, in 1364. While there has been general agreement that modern baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, the 2006 book Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game, by David Block, argues against that notion. Several references to "baseball" and "bat-and-ball" have been found in British and American documents of the early eighteenth century.The earliest known description is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery. It contains a wood-cut illustration of boys playing "base-ball," showing a baseball set-up roughly similar to the modern game, and a rhymed description of the sport. The earliest known unambiguous American discussion of "baseball" was published in a 1791 Pittsfield, Massachusetts, town bylaw that prohibited the playing of the game within 80 yards (70 m) of the town's new meeting house. The English novelist Jane Austen made a reference to children playing "base-ball" on a village green in her book Northanger Abbey, which was written between 1798 and 1803 (though not published until 1818). The first full documentation of a baseball game in North America is Dr. Adam Ford's contemporary description of a game that took place in 1838 on June 4 (Militia Muster Day) in Beachville, Ontario, Canada; this report was related in an 1886 edition of Sporting Life magazine in a letter by former St. Marys, Ontario, resident Dr. Matthew Harris. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright of New York City led the codification of an early list of rules (the so-called Knickerbocker Rules), from which today's have evolved. He had also initiated the replacement of the soft ball used in rounders with a smaller hard ball. While there are reports of Cartwright's club, the New York Knickerbockers, playing games in 1845, the game now recognized as the first in U.S. history to be officially recorded took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey, with the "New York Nine" defeating the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings. History of baseball in the United States Semiprofessional baseball started in the United States in the 1860s; in 1869, the first fully professional baseball club, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was formed and went undefeated against a schedule of semipro and amateur teams. By the following decade, American newspapers were referring to baseball as the "National Pastime" or "National Game." The first attempt at forming a "major league" was the National Association, which lasted from 1871 to 1875. The "major league" status of the NA is in dispute among present-day baseball historians, and Major League Baseball does not include the NA among the major leagues. The National League, which still exists, was founded in 1876 in response to the NA's shortcomings. Several other major leagues formed and failed, but the American League, which evolved from the minor Western League (1893) and was established in 1901 as a major league, succeeded. The two leagues were initially rivals that actively fought for the best players, often disregarding one another's contracts and engaging in bitter legal disputes. A modicum of peace was established in 1903, and the World Series was inaugurated that fall, albeit without formal major league sanction or governance. The next year, the National League champion New York Giants did not participate, as their manager, John McGraw, refused to recognize the major league status of the American League and its champion, the Boston Americans who beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series. The following year, Giants' management relented, and actually led the formal establishment of rules that standardized the format of the World Series and made participation compulsory. Compared with the present day, games in the early part of the 20th century were lower scoring and pitchers were more successful. The "inside game", whose nature was to "scratch for runs", was played more violently and aggressively than it is today. Ty Cobb said of his era especially, "Baseball is something like a war!" This period, which has since become known as the "dead-ball era", ended in the 1920s with several rule changes that gave advantages to hitters and the rise of the legendary baseball player Babe Ruth, who showed the world what power hitting could produce, altering the nature of the game. Two of the changes introduced were the construction of additional seating to accommodate the rising popularity of the game, which often had the effect of bringing the outfield fences closer to the infield in the largest parks; and the introduction of strict rules governing the size, shape and construction of the ball which, coupled with superior materials becoming available following World War I, caused the ball to travel farther when hit. The aggregate result of these two changes was to enable batters to hit many more home runs. In 1884, African American Moses Walker (and, briefly, his brother Welday) had played for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the major league American Association. An injury ended Walker's major league career, and by the early 1890s, a "gentlemen's agreement" in the form of the baseball color line effectively barred African-American players from the majors and their affiliated minor leagues, resulting in the formation of several Negro Leagues. There was never any formal segregation rule in baseball, which presented an opportunity for integration for someone bold enough to attempt it. The first crack in the unwritten agreement occurred in 1946, when Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal. Finally, in 1947, the major leagues' color barrier was broken when Robinson debuted with the Dodgers. Larry Doby debuted in the American League the same year. Although the transformation was not instantaneous, baseball has since become fully integrated. Major League baseball finally made it to the West Coast of the United States in 1958, when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants relocated to Los Angeles and San Francisco respectively. The first American League team on the West Coast was the Los Angeles Angels, who were founded as an expansion team in 1961. Pitchers dominated the game in the 1960s and early 1970s. In the early 1970s the designated hitter (DH) rule was proposed. The American League adopted this rule in 1973, though pitchers still bat for themselves in the National League to this day. The DH rule now constitutes the primary difference between the two leagues. Despite the popularity of baseball, and the attendant high salaries relative to those of average Americans, the players have become dissatisfied from time to time, as they believed the owners had too much control and retained an unfair share of the money. Various job actions have occurred throughout the game's history. Players on specific teams occasionally attempted strikes, but usually came back when their jobs were sufficiently threatened. The throwing of the 1919 World Series, the "Black Sox scandal", was in some sense a "strike" or at least a rebellion by the ballplayers against a perceived stingy owner. But the strict rules of baseball contracts tended to keep the players "in line" in general. This began to change in 1966 when former United Steelworkers chief economist (and assistant to the president) Marvin Miller became the Baseball Players Union executive director. The union became much stronger than it had been previously, especially when the reserve clause was effectively nullified in the mid-1970s. Conflicts between owners and the players' union led to major work stoppages in 1972, 1981, and 1994. The 1994 baseball strike led to the cancellation of the World Series, and was not settled until the spring of 1995. During this period, as well, many of the functions — such as player discipline and umpire supervision — and regulations that had been administered separately by the two major leagues' administrations were united under the rubric of Major League Baseball. The number of home runs increased dramatically after the strike. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both surpassed Roger Maris's long-standing single season home run record in 1998. In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron's total of 755. Even though all three sluggers (McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds) have been accused in the steroid-abuse scandal of the mid-2000s, their feats did do a lot at the time to bolster the game's renewed popularity. Currently, baseball makes up around 20 percent of the franchise sports industry. The team with the highest average game attendance is the New York Yankees, with 51,848 spectators. The New York Yankees are closely followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers (46,400) and the New York Mets (42,327). The 30 Major League Baseball teams earned $5.11 billion in revenue in 2006. Early League History in the National League By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak. The N.A. suffered from a lack of strong authority over clubs, unsupervised scheduling, unstable membership, dominance by one team, and an extremely low ($10, $172 adjusted for inflation) entry fee that gave clubs no incentive to abide by league rules when it was not convenient. William Hulbert, a Chicago businessman and officer of the Chicago White Stockings approached several N.A. clubs with the plan for a league with stronger central authority and exclusive territories in larger cities only. Additionally, Hulbert had a problem -- five of his star players were treated from expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a great vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky in January 1876. With Hulbert speaking for the four in New York City on February 2, 1876, the National League was established with eight charter members. * Chicago White Stockings from the N.A. (now the Chicago Cubs) * Philadelphia Athletics from the N.A. (expelled after the 1876 season) * Boston Red Stockings, the dominant team in the N.A. (now the Atlanta Braves) * Hartford Dark Blues from the N.A. (folded after the 1877 season) * Mutual of New York from the N.A. (expelled after the 1876 season) * St. Louis Brown Stockings (Browns) from the N.A. (folded after the 1877 season, having committed to Louisville stars for 1878) * Cincinnati Red Stockings, a new franchise, unrelated to the team by the same name that folded in 1870 (expelled after the 1880 season) * Louisville Grays, a new franchise (folded after the 1877 season when four players were banned for gambling) The National League's formation meant the end of the N.A., as its remaining clubs shut down or reverted to amateur or minor status. The only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies. The new league's authority was tested after the first season. The Athletic and Mutual clubs fell behind in the standings and refused to make western road trips late in the season, preferring to play games against local non-league competition to recoup some of their losses rather than travel extensively. Hulbert reacted to the clubs defiance by expelling them, an act which not only shocked baseball followers (New York and Philadelphia were the two most populous cities in the league) but made it clear to clubs that league schedule commitments, a cornerstone of competition integrity, were not to be ignored. 1877–1962 The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878. Over the next several years, teams joined and left the struggling league, except for the Boston and Chicago members. When all eight participants for 1881 returned for 1882, the first offseason without turnover in membership, the "circuit" was two nearly straight lines between the anchor cities, with Detroit, Buffalo, Troy, and Worcester on the northern route, and Providence and Cleveland constituting its southern. The N.L. encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play that same year of 1882, although direct competition was merely impending, with the A.A. circuit a distant southerly line stretching from St. Louis to Philadelphia. The A.A. offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, and it sold cheaper tickets everywhere (25 cents versus the N.L.'s standard 50 cents, a hefty sum for many in 1882). In 1883 the New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies began league play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city and the Giants now in San Francisco. The National League and American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence, though the series were only exhibition games arranged by the teams involved. The N.L. won most of those encounters, while some ended in ties due to disputes or other issues. After the 1891 season, the A.A. disbanded and merged with the N.L., which became known legally for the next decade as the "National League and American Association". The teams now known as the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers (in Brooklyn) and Pittsburgh Pirates (as well as the now defunct Cleveland Spiders) had already switched from the A.A. to the N.L. prior to 1892. With the merger the N.L. absorbed the team now known as the St. Louis Cardinals, along with three other teams which did not survive into the 20th century. While four teams from the A.A. moved to the N.L. and remain there today, only two original N.L. franchises remain in the league: the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves (then in Boston). The Cubs are the only charter member to play continuously in the same city. The National League became a 12-team circuit with monopoly status for the rest of the decade. The league became embroiled in numerous internal conflicts, not the least of which was a plan supported by some owners (and bitterly opposed by others) to form a "trust," wherein there would be one common ownership of all twelve N.L. teams. The N.L. used its monopoly power to force a $2,400 limit on annual player wages in 1894. Then, the league contracted to eight teams for the 1900 season, eliminating its teams in Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville (which has never had another major league team since), and Washington. This provided an opportunity for competition. Three of those cities received franchises in the new American League in 1901. The A.L. declined to renew its National Agreement membership when it expired, and on January 28, 1901, officially declared itself a second major league. By 1903, the upstart A.L. had located teams in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Only the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates had no A.L. team in their markets. The National League at first refused to recognize the new league, but reality set in as talent and money drained away to the new league. After two years of bitter contention a new version of the National Agreement was signed in 1903. This meant formal acceptance of each league by the other as an equal partner in major league baseball. Major League Baseball narrowly averted radical reorganization in November, 1920. Dissatisfied with American League President and National Commission head Ban Johnson, NL owners dissolved the league on November 8 during heated talks on MLB reorganization in the wake of the Black Sox Scandal. Simultaneously, three AL teams also hostile to Johnson (New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox) withdrew from the AL and the 11 teams formed a new NL; the 12th team would be whichever of the remaining five AL teams loyal to Johnson first chose to join; if none did so an expansion team would have been placed in Detroit, by far the largest one-team city at that time. Four days later, on November 12, both sides met (without Johnson), agreed to restore the two leagues and replace the ineffective National Commission with a one-man Commissioner in the person of Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. The National League circuit did not change until 1953 when the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee; in 1966 the club moved on to Atlanta. In 1958 the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, bringing major league baseball to the West Coast of the U.S. for the first time. The Expansion Era The N.L. remained an eight-team league for over 60 years. In 1962, facing competition from the Continental League and confronted by the unilateral expansion of the American League in 1960, it added the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s. The "Colts" would be renamed the Houston Astros three years later. In 1969, the league added the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals), becoming a 12-team league for the first time since 1899. In 1993 the league expanded to 14 teams, adding the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins. In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the league's fifteenth franchise, and the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League to the National, to make the National League the 16-team league it is today. As a result of expansion to 12 teams in 1969, the National League, which for the first 93 years of its existence competed equally in a single grouping, was reorganized into two divisions of six teams (East and West, although geographically it was more like North and South), with the division champions meeting in the National League Championship Series (an additional round of postseason competition) for the right to advance to the World Series. Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three geographical divisions (East and West, currently each with five teams, and Central, currently with six teams; from 1994-97 the West and Central each had one team less). A third postseason round was added at the same time: the three division champions plus a wild card team (the team with the best record among those finishing in second place) now advance to the preliminary National League Division Series. However, due to a player's strike, the postseason was not actually held in 1994. Often characterized as being a more "traditional" or "pure" league, the National League has never adopted the designated hitter rule as did the American League in 1973. In theory, this means the role of the manager is greater in the National League than in the American, because the N.L. manager must take offense into account when making pitching substitutions and vice versa. Overall, there are fewer home runs and runs scored in the National League than in the American due to the presence of the pitcher in the N.L. batting order. For the first 96 years of its coexistence with the American League, National League teams faced their A.L. counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, however, interleague games have been played during the regular ("championship") season, and count in the standings. Through the 2007 season, the Dodgers have won the most National League pennants (21, plus one A.A. pennant), followed closely by the Giants (20) and Cardinals (17, plus 4 A.A. pennants). Representing the National League against the American, the Cardinals have won the most World Series (10) followed by the Dodgers (6), Pirates (5), and Giants (5). St. Louis also holds the distinction of being the only A.A. club to defeat an N.L. club in the 19th century version of the World Series. Teams Charter franchises (1876) The eight charter teams were the following: * Athletic of Philadelphia from National Association, expelled after 1876 season * Boston Red Stockings (some say Red Caps) from National Association (now the Atlanta Braves) * Chicago White Stockings from National Association (now the Chicago Cubs) * Cincinnati Red Stockings new franchise, expelled after 1880 season * Hartford Dark Blues (later the Brooklyn Hartfords) from National Association, folded after 1877 season * Louisville Grays new franchise, folded after 1877 season * Mutual of New York from National Association, expelled after 1876 season * St. Louis Brown Stockings from National Association, folded after 1877 season Other franchises, 1878–1891 Joined in 1878 * Indianapolis Blues, folded after 1878 * Milwaukee Grays, folded after 1878 * Providence Grays, folded after 1885 Joined in 1879 * Buffalo Bisons, folded after 1885 * Cleveland Blues, folded after 1884 * Syracuse Stars, folded after 1879 * Troy Trojans, folded after 1882 Joined in 1880 * Worcester Worcesters, folded after 1882 Joined in 1881 * Detroit Wolverines, folded after 1888 Joined in 1883 * New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants) * Philadelphia Phillies Joined in 1885 * St. Louis Maroons, joined from U.A., folded after 1886 Joined in 1886 * Kansas City Cowboys, folded after 1886 * Washington Nationals, folded after 1889 Joined in 1887 * Indianapolis Hoosiers, folded after 1889 * Pittsburgh Pirates, joined from A.A. Joined in 1889 * Cleveland Spiders, joined from A.A., folded after 1899 Joined in 1890 * Cincinnati Reds, joined from A.A. * Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Dodgers), joined from A.A. Post-AA merger, 1892–1899 In 1892, the National League absorbed the American Association, bringing in four teams from the A.A., in addition to the four teams that had switched leagues in the preceding half-decade. From 1892 through 1899, the twelve teams in what, for a time, was termed the "National League and American Association" were the following: * Baltimore Orioles joined from A.A. in 1892, contracted after 1899 * Boston Beaneaters (now the Atlanta Braves), N.L. charter member, originated in N.A. * Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Dodgers), joined from A.A. in 1890 * Chicago White Stockings or Colts (now the Chicago Cubs), N.L. charter member, originated in N.A. * Cincinnati Reds, joined from A.A. in 1890 * Cleveland Spiders, joined from A.A. in 1889, contracted after 1899 * Louisville Colonels, joined from A.A. in 1892, contracted after 1899 * New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants), enfranchised 1883 * Philadelphia Phillies, enfranchised 1883 * Pittsburgh Pirates, joined from A.A. in 1887 * St. Louis Browns (now the St. Louis Cardinals), joined from A.A. in 1892 * Washington Senators, joined from A.A. in 1892, contracted after 1899 Classic Eight After the 1899 season, the league underwent its largest contraction since 1877, dropping four clubs: the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels, and Washington Senators. This left the "classic eight" teams of the National League. All eight teams still exist today, and they would stay in place for over 50 years: * Boston Beaneaters (eventually to become known as the Atlanta Braves) * Brooklyn Superbas (eventually to become known as the Los Angeles Dodgers) * Chicago Orphans (eventually to become known as the Chicago Cubs) * Cincinnati Reds * New York Giants (eventually to become known as the San Francisco Giants) * Philadelphia Phillies * Pittsburgh Pirates * St. Louis Perfectos (eventually to become known as the St. Louis Cardinals) Contraction, expansion, and relocation, 1953–present * 1953: Boston Braves move to Milwaukee * 1958: New York Giants move to San Francisco and Brooklyn Dodgers move to Los Angeles. * 1962: Houston Colt .45s (renamed Astros in 1965) and New York Mets enfranchised * 1966: Milwaukee Braves move to Atlanta * 1969: Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres enfranchised * 1993: Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies enfranchised * 1998: Arizona Diamondbacks enfranchised * 1998: Milwaukee Brewers transfer from the American League to the National League * 2005: Montreal Expos moved by MLB to Washington, renamed the Washington Nationals Current teams National League East * Atlanta Braves enfranchised 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings (or Red Caps) in National Association, and with connections to the original independent; joined National League as charter member (1876), moved to Milwaukee (1953) and to Atlanta (1966). Oldest professional sports franchise in North America (dating to 1869 in Cincinnati). Prior to the 1994 realignment, the Braves competed in the West division. * Florida Marlins enfranchised 1993 * New York Mets enfranchised 1962 * Philadelphia Phillies enfranchised 1883 as the Quakers and adopted the Phillies name officially in 1884. From 1943 through 1948, the Phillies un-officially changed their name to the "Philadelphia Blue Jays". While their jerseys however retained the name "Phillies", they wore a blue jay patch on their sleeve. The Phillies have the longest, continuous name in American professional sports history. * Washington Nationals enfranchised 1969 as the Montreal Expos, moved to Washington (2005) National League Central * Chicago Cubs enfranchised 1871 in National Association, and has been continuously active since 1874. It joined National League as charter member (1876). The club has played in its current city longer than any other American professional sports franchise. * Cincinnati Reds enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League (1890) * Houston Astros enfranchised 1962 as the Houston Colt .45s, changed name to Astros (1965) * Milwaukee Brewers enfranchised 1969 as the Seattle Pilots in American League, moved to Milwaukee (1970), joined National League (1998) * Pittsburgh Pirates enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League (1887) * St. Louis Cardinals enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League (1892) National League West * Arizona Diamondbacks enfranchised 1998 * Colorado Rockies enfranchised 1993 * Los Angeles Dodgers enfranchised 1884 as the Brooklyn Atlantics in American Association, soon acquired nickname "Dodgers" (from "trolley dodgers"), joined National League (1890), moved to Los Angeles (1958) * San Diego Padres enfranchised 1969 * San Francisco Giants enfranchised 1883 as the New York Gothams, nearly half of its original players were members of the recently disbanded Troy Trojans, moved to San Francisco (1958) National League presidents, 1876–1999 * Morgan G. Bulkeley 1876 * William A. Hulbert 1877–1882 * Arthur H. Soden 1882 * Abraham G. Mills 1883–1884 * Nicholas E. Young 1885–1902 * Harry Clay Pulliam 1903–1909 * John A. Heydler 1909 * Thomas J. Lynch 1910–1913 * John K. Tener 1913–1918 * John A. Heydler 1918–1934 * Ford C. Frick 1934–1951 * Warren C. Giles 1951–1969 * Charles S. "Chub" Feeney 1970–1986 * A. Bartlett Giamatti 1986–1989 * William D. White 1989–1994 * Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. 1994–1999 Office eliminated in 1999, although Bill Giles, son of former N.L. President Warren C. Giles, currently holds the title of honorary National League president. That is the end of my discussion of the beginning of baseball, its' origins and history, and the National League. Upcoming next will be discussion of the American League and then the World Series. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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rechedelphar Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 7/13 4:43pm Subject: RE: The Arena's Sports Zone: Baseball: It's origins and history and the National League
	Rogue...Jedi posted: Baseball should be coming fairly soon RX_Sith is doing the NL, and I'll be doing the AL. Alternately, I'll be doing the weird variations section. I should have mentioned this earlier but I think tennis would have been the better choice for now with wimbledon just ending and the US open series and US open coming up -----signature----- Hey never have you seen in your lifetime, A more defined Southern poster with a swag like mine. West Bromwich Albion Baggies 2-1 loss to Everton, next: vs Bolton Clemson starts ACC champioship season 8/30 vs Alabama
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