Baseball is a very unique game to many different countries. It is considered to be the nation’s pastime. Baseball has changed from culture to culture; several different nations have even invented different versions of the game. The rules vary from each country.

“I currently do not play baseball, but I know that it is one of the hardest sports out there to play. When I see people standing at home plate waiting to hit a 90 mph fastball, I truly admire their bravery,” senior Greyson Marks said.

It is said that the game that most resembles baseball began in England. It is known that many English people played a game called “Rounder.” This game was very much the same as baseball. More countries began to play this game in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

“The history of baseball is very interesting, and I would love to know more,” senior Caleb Ferrell said.

Students often wonder when baseball started in the United States. The rules used today were invented by Alexander Joy Cartwright, considered by many to be the “Father of Baseball.”

Cartwright’s contribution does not end setting the rules for baseball but for making the game so much more popular. Cartwright traveled from New York to California during the Gold Rush and told people to play baseball and people did.

“Baseball is my favorite sport to play, and it’s good to know the background and how it started,” sophomore Nicholas Wade said.

The Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first national professional team to make an appearance. In 1876, over 3,000 people watched the Philadelphia Athletics lose to the Boston Red Sox in the first national game ever played.