Baseball Facts

Baseball Facts Infographics

The first-ever mention of the term “baseball” was in John Newbery’s A Little Pretty Pocket-Book.

Dating back to 1744, the children’s book featured a short poem and an illustration portraying the so-called baseball game. Posts marked the bases in the illustration instead of modern-day bags and flat home plates. Aside from being popular in England, the book was also reprinted in North America, specifically in New York in 1762 and in Massachusetts in 1787.

Get the book here!

The “sweet spot” on a baseball bat is an infamous number in baseball.

Apparently, a player has an automatically increased chance of hitting a home run upon hitting the said spot. It sits in the area between 5-7 inches from the barrel end of the bat. When the bat makes a satisfying crack sound and there is less vibration, then it can be said that a player hit the sweet spot.

In some places, baseball often serves as a metaphor for sex.

For one, “first base” refers to mouth-to-mouth kissing. People on the “second base” have established skin-to-skin contact or manual arousal of the genitals. The performance of oral sex or touching of the mouth to the genitals occurs at “third base.” Lastly, “homerun” refers to full sexual intercourse.

A labrum tear is one of the worst shoulder injuries for a baseball pitcher.

It occurs when the cartilage between the upper arm and the shoulder socket tears. While a healing torn labrum usually requires surgery, only a few pitchers still managed to have a successful career afterward. “Pitcher’s elbow” and “rotator cuff injuries” also count among the most severe injuries that a baseball pitcher can experience.

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” serves as the unofficial anthem of American baseball.

American songwriters Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer wrote the song in 1908. Ironically, neither of them has ever been to a baseball game. “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” traditionally plays during the middle of the 7th inning.