Introduction: Over the past three centuries, researchers have searched for the origins of baseball without much success. The mystery behind the creation of baseball is still unknown today, but historians have found clues dating back centuries. Baseball is said to have evolved from "a number of early folk games of the British Isles" along with other bat and ball games, mainly cricket and rounders. These early games resembled cricket, where a batter defended a target with a bat while trying to score runs. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayBackground: In 1801, an English writer named Joseph Strutt claimed that baseball originated from an 11th century game called stool. Stool was a combination of modern cricket and baseball, where a ball is thrown and the batter must hit the ball to score runs while protecting a stool. In the early 18th century, "a game called baseball developed in England", although it is not certain whether it was comparable to modern baseball. During this period, however, modern forms of baseball became popular. In 1845, a man named Alexander Cartwright published the first written rules of baseball for his "baseball club called the Knickerbockers" in Manhattan, New York. The 20 rules Cartwright developed were known as the "Knickerbocker Rules", which were revised over the years. As baseball continued to develop, debate arose over whether baseball originated in the "English game of rounders" or from an American one. In 1905, the British Henry Chadwick and Albert Spalding had a disagreement and decided to form a panel with Abraham G. Mills at its head. Mills, a former president of the National League, concluded that a deceased man he had known, Abner Doubleday, invented baseball in Cooperstown, New York (1839). This conclusion was reached "almost exclusively on the testimony of Abner Grave, 71," who claimed to have seen Doubleday draw a baseball field on dirt. Abner Doubleday was a general in the Union Army during the Civil War and had almost nothing to do with baseball. However, the "Mills Commission" had exaggerated Graves' meeting with Doubleday, leading many people to believe that Abner Doubleday was the inventor of baseball. Although many historians today have debunked this myth, Doubleday was honored for many years, even building the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Thesis Statement: Although the origins of baseball remain a mystery to this day, baseball historians such as David Block believe that baseball was an "evolutionary game that emerged without a single father." As previously noted, Cartwright of the Knickerbockers laid the foundation for modern baseball in 1845. In 1857, a New York organization called the National Association of Baseball Players or NABBP used Cartwright's rules and distributed them. Topic Sentence: The Civil War also spread baseball widely by uniting troops from across the country. NABBP quickly became a competitive sport and in 1869 the first fully professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was established. They remained unstoppable, which created conflicts between the amateur teams and the up-and-coming professional teams. This resulted in the creation of the National Association of Professional Baseball Players (NA). Topic Sentence: However, without structural leadership, the NA failed and was replaced by the National League (NL), financed and governed by businessmen such asWilliam Hulbert. The NL had only six of the major professional teams at the time, and the application of penalties to players who could not follow the rules made it the largest and most important baseball league at the time. Many other leagues have emerged but have failed to achieve the major status of the NL. Topic Sentence: In 1894, the Cincinnati Reds helped finance a minor league known as the Western League. The Western League renamed itself the American League (AL) and in 1901 declared itself a major league rivaling the NL. The two leagues accepted each other and held the first World Series together. Although they remained separate organizations, they remained respectful of each other and played World Series and All-Star games together. Both leagues continued to grow and gain more teams and in 1969 the League Championship Series was added between the Division Series and the World Series to combat the addition of additional teams. Topic sentence: In 1973, the American League added a new rule. called the designated hitter rule, which allowed a 10th player to hit for pitchers. Evidence and Citations: This has caused much controversy, as proponents claim it allowed pitchers to not worry about hitting, while others claimed it broke with the game's traditions and removed players' versatility. The National League had not adopted the rule and only allowed it in home games against American League teams. Topic sentence: In 1997, interleague games between the two Major League teams were played during the regular season and are still played today. It also caused a lot of controversy, as many people viewed the All-Star Games and World Series as a prime time to see American League teams and National League teams play together. Although baseball was very successful in the United States, it was played internationally in many countries around the world. One of the most famous countries for playing baseball is Cuba, where they still dominate on the international stage today. Cuba had Latin America's first baseball league and baseball was "...part of the Cuban national identity." Although professional baseball was abolished in 1959 in Cuba, the amateur leagues were still strong, allowing them to dominate the Baseball World Cup, winning 25 times. Other international leagues in countries like South Korea, Venezuela and Colombia have all shown the widespread interest in baseball on a global scale and the competition it brings. Concluding Paragraph: The origins of baseball and the true inventor remain to be discovered, as researchers continue to search for clues. Over the past three centuries, baseball has become an international sport that continues to evolve from what it once was. It remains one of America's favorite pastimes and a way to personally benefit from being active and having fun.References1. “BR bullpen.” BR Bullpen, May 14, 2016.2. “BR bullpen.” BR Bullpen, June 20, 2015.3. David_Block. Miklich, E. “Evolution of Baseball Rules in the 19th Century.” History of baseball: 19th century baseball: the rules..4. Miklich, E. “The Abner Doubleday Myth.” History of Baseball: 19th Century Baseball: The Game: The Doubleday Myth: Who Invented Baseball?.5. Worthington, Daryl. “The Doubleday Myth Launched by the Abraham Mills Commission.” New historian, December 29, 2016.6. “American League.” American League - New World Encyclopedia, March 11, 2016.7. American_League..