History of Baseball- NPR

We have just returned from Florida and spring baseball and following the Ramapo College team. After months of freezing temperatures, shoveling snow and indoor time having a succession of 80 degree days in Winter Haven was a great experience. Winter Haven is in the middle of the state and and is dominated with fields of citrus and cattle. For years Chain Of Lakes Park in Winter Haven was the spring training home of the Cleveland Indians. Today it is the home of the Russ Matt Central Florida Spring Tournament where hundreds of college teams come south and get their first experiences of the year outdoors. Ramapo is having a great trip with a record of 9-1 with one game remaining. Tim is a senior this year and a pitcher on the team. He has done well on both of his Florida outings. The team's first game in cold New Jersey is March 24.

(pictures to come)

So when I got this link to the NPR Fresh Air program I listened. With its origin often attributed to Abner Doubleday and the first game with organized rules played in 1845 in Coopersburg, NY, this interview describes records of an earlier style baseball game in 1755 that has evolved. John Thorn, historian of baseball for the MLB has written a book, "Baseball in the Garden of Eden" and is interviewed by Dave Davies from NPR. Over time the game has evolved in number of bases, overhand versus underhand pitching, size of field, fair and foul areas, teams, payment and sponsorship and the influence of gambling are covered in this 18 minute interview.