Finally, it’s time for baseball. I don’t know about where you live, but it’s still pretty cold where I live. But despite that, it’s great to know that the season is finally beginning!

So, to get in the proper mood, here are some fun facts about baseball, from factretriever.com:

  • The unofficial anthem of American baseball, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” is traditionally sung during the middle of the 7th inning. It was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer, both of whom had never been to a baseball game.
  • The life span of a major league baseball is 5–7 pitches. During a typical game, approximately 70 balls are used.
  • During the average major league baseball game, 50 foul balls are hit into the crowd.
  • Baseball’s L.A. Dodgers, originally founded in Brooklyn, are named after the legendary skill that that local residents showed at “dodging” the city’s trolley streetcar system.
  • The oldest baseball park still in use is Fenway Park, the home field of the Boston Red Sox, which debuted in 1912.
  • The New York Yankees were the first baseball team to wear numbers on their backs, in the 1920s. They initially wore numbers based on the batting order. Babe Ruth always hit third, so he was number 3.
  • “The Star-Spangled Banner” was performed for the first time at a sporting event on September 5, 1918, in the middle of the 7th inning of Game 1 of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs.
  • The first pro baseball game ever to be aired on television was on August 26, 1939. It was a doubleheader between Brooklyn and Cincinnati.
  • Famous baseball movies include The Bad News Bears (1976), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), The Natural (1984), Bill Durham (1988), Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), Moneyball (2011), 42 (2013), A League of Their Own (1992), Fear Strikes Out (1957), and Eight Men Out (1988).
  • Visiting teams wear (at least mostly) gray uniforms so fans can easily distinguish between the visiting team and the home team. The tradition dates back to the late 1800s when travelling teams did not have time to launder their uniforms and, consequently, wore gray to hide the dirt.
  • When baseball great Lou Gehrig retired from the game due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), he said in his farewell speech that he was “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” His speech has been called the “Gettysburg Address of Baseball.”

Are you a baseball fan? If so, let me know your favorite team. And while you’re at it, tell us about a fun baseball-related experience that you or a friend or family member has had.

Thanks, and have a great day!