The History of Baseball

Unlike professional basketball and American football, interest in baseball has not been sweeping the globe . Declining participation at the amateur level and protracted labor problems at the professional level have thrust "America's Pastime" into an era of uncertainty. Despite this current adversity, baseball will always occupy an important place in American culture. This column starts a three part look at the history of baseball.
Most cultures have some sort of stick and ball game, cricket being the most well-known. While the exact origins of baseball are unknown, most historians agree t…