goroyals

The Origin of Baseball
 
A number of theories posit that Abner Doubleday was not the true inventor of baseball, but the evidence weighs heavy against them. The vast majority of historical research points to Doubleday inventing the game in May of 1839 in Cooperstown, New York. Doubleday, soon to depart for West Point, set down the official rules to baseball with his boyhood friends. The group had long played stick and ball games, and the future Union general later said that the rules had served as a going away present.
 
“The games of ball and stick were the predominant pastime of my youth in Cooperstown,” Doubleday recounted, “and, so, that what we had undertook could live on, we set about recording how it was to be played.” 
 

Abner Doubleday
 
The Baseball Rules of 1839 bear many differences to the modern game, but the similarities are evident enough to leave little doubt that this was the genesis of the sport. The emphasis was on gentlemanly conduct initially, but winning was still the source of high honor. Amongst the amateur clubs, talent was widely diffused. That didn’t stop participants from establishing the strategic fundamentals of their infant game. The best clubs of this era were those proficient in defense and baserunning. The difficulties of barehanded fielding and rough hewn diamonds meant that fielders who could overcome the natural bias were tough opponents. Speed on the basepaths exploited defensive miscues and led to big innings. Hitting was not yet the toughest task, since batters could call for a specific location, and the pitcher was usually obliged to cooperate. The best hitters, then, were those who could control the area where their ball was to be hit, and with what force. 
 
Doubleday was not to witness the first game of baseball. Several of his companions went to New York City that summer, and finding the ball game scene there thriving, if unorganized, set about establishing a club to promote their social status. They were confident in their new rules, and formed the Alpha Baseball Club of New York, recruiting several local players to expand their ranks. On Saturday, July 6th, they took a ferry across to New Jersey and Elysian Fields, and there met a picked nine of opponents in the first game of baseball ever played.

Hi there! Like some of the other folks in this forum, I was invited over to double post my OOTP dynasty, The Saga of Baseball.
 
I've been an OOTP'er since Season Ticket Baseball, the retail store version of OOTP 4, hit the shelves way back when. I hope this site will help develop the community for all sports management sims, and hopefully, contribute to improvement in the games themselves.
 
Thanks for having me!

The Origin of Baseball
 
A number of theories posit that Abner Doubleday was not the true inventor of baseball, but the evidence weighs heavy against them. The vast majority of historical research points to Doubleday inventing the game in May of 1839 in Cooperstown, New York. Doubleday, soon to depart for West Point, set down the official rules to baseball with his boyhood friends. The group had long played stick and ball games, and the future Union general later said that the rules had served as a going away present.
 
“The games of ball and stick were the predominant pastime of my youth in Cooperstown,” Doubleday recounted, “and, so, that what we had undertook could live on, we set about recording how it was to be played.” 
 

Abner Doubleday
 
The Baseball Rules of 1839 bear many differences to the modern game, but the similarities are evident enough to leave little doubt that this was the genesis of the sport. The emphasis was on gentlemanly conduct initially, but winning was still the source of high honor. Amongst the amateur clubs, talent was widely diffused. That didn’t stop participants from establishing the strategic fundamentals of their infant game. The best clubs of this era were those proficient in defense and baserunning. The difficulties of barehanded fielding and rough hewn diamonds meant that fielders who could overcome the natural bias were tough opponents. Speed on the basepaths exploited defensive miscues and led to big innings. Hitting was not yet the toughest task, since batters could call for a specific location, and the pitcher was usually obliged to cooperate. The best hitters, then, were those who could control the area where their ball was to be hit, and with what force. 
 
Doubleday was not to witness the first game of baseball. Several of his companions went to New York City that summer, and finding the ball game scene there thriving, if unorganized, set about establishing a club to promote their social status. They were confident in their new rules, and formed the Alpha Baseball Club of New York, recruiting several local players to expand their ranks. On Saturday, July 6th, they took a ferry across to New Jersey and Elysian Fields, and there met a picked nine of opponents in the first game of baseball ever played.