World Baseball History
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Re: World Baseball History
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Feb 27, 2005 6:31 PM
| HT Fan
]
- If the British had played baseball in the 1870s, you'd see everybody in Europe, South America, and Africa playing baseball now.
Well of course that's a whole lot of garbage. Today cricket is basically limited to former British colonies, which of course excludes continental Europe and most of South America. If Frenchmen and Germans and Brazilians don't play cricket today, why would they have taken up baseball instead?
And not all former British colonies play soccer either. Take Australia and New Zealand for instance. In both of these countries soccer is a minor sport. Rugby (or in most Australian states, Aussie Rules) is king in the winter months. So if soccer didn't take off in that part of the world, it's a stretch to say that if the English had played baseball, it would have, ipso facto, become a world sport.
Well of course that's a whole lot of garbage. Today cricket is basically limited to former British colonies, which of course excludes continental Europe and most of South America. If Frenchmen and Germans and Brazilians don't play cricket today, why would they have taken up baseball instead?
And not all former British colonies play soccer either. Take Australia and New Zealand for instance. In both of these countries soccer is a minor sport. Rugby (or in most Australian states, Aussie Rules) is king in the winter months. So if soccer didn't take off in that part of the world, it's a stretch to say that if the English had played baseball, it would have, ipso facto, become a world sport.
Re: World Baseball History
[ Author: Guest: John Brooks | Posted: Feb 27, 2005 10:34 PM
]
- If the British had played baseball in the 1870s, you'd see everybody in Europe, South America, and Africa playing baseball now.
There would be little influence on the colonies just because a person in England had played baseball. Remember baseball was invented in 1828, it was very different from what it is today. Pitches were underhanded and the distances between bases were very short. Alexlander Cartwright introduced the first baseball team to the United States in 1848. The first of today's baseball we know was in 1876 with the establishment of the National League.
Also, remember there is a professional winter league in Venezuela, not to mention professional leagues in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, and numerous other countries.
There would be little influence on the colonies just because a person in England had played baseball. Remember baseball was invented in 1828, it was very different from what it is today. Pitches were underhanded and the distances between bases were very short. Alexlander Cartwright introduced the first baseball team to the United States in 1848. The first of today's baseball we know was in 1876 with the establishment of the National League.
Also, remember there is a professional winter league in Venezuela, not to mention professional leagues in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, and numerous other countries.
Re: World Baseball History
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Feb 28, 2005 8:50 AM
| HT Fan
]
- Also, remember there is a professional winter league in Venezuela, not to mention professional leagues in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, and numerous other countries.
But of course baseball is a very minor sport in Australia. I don't believe there's a professional league in existence at the moment. The largest attendance recorded for a "pro" baseball game in Australia is something like 4,000 - and that's only because they'd given away 3,000 free tickets.
But of course baseball is a very minor sport in Australia. I don't believe there's a professional league in existence at the moment. The largest attendance recorded for a "pro" baseball game in Australia is something like 4,000 - and that's only because they'd given away 3,000 free tickets.
Re: World Baseball History
[ Author: Guest: John Brooks | Posted: Feb 28, 2005 10:36 AM
]
- I don't believe there's a professional league in existence at the moment.
The International Baseball League was a professional league in Australia. The International Baseball League [Austrailian Baseball History] replaced the ABL in Australia. Though it does look like there is no professional league in Australia at the moment, my mistake.
The International Baseball League was a professional league in Australia. The International Baseball League [Austrailian Baseball History] replaced the ABL in Australia. Though it does look like there is no professional league in Australia at the moment, my mistake.
Re: World Baseball History
[ Author: Guest: CF | Posted: Jun 8, 2005 10:36 PM
]
Cricket is played in Europe, there are cricket pitches in France, Portugal, Spain, and Holland amongst others, and the game is also played in Ireland.
Holland also features regularly in the World Cup with other non-Test playing nations such as Kenya and the U.A.E.
Cricket's worldwide popularity far outweighs that of baseball, no more so than in the Indian sub-continent in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Holland also features regularly in the World Cup with other non-Test playing nations such as Kenya and the U.A.E.
Cricket's worldwide popularity far outweighs that of baseball, no more so than in the Indian sub-continent in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
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The article is a review of a soon-to-be published book "National Pastime: How Americans play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer." It also mentions another book "Games and Empires."
Hope that this is of interest/use.
Regards,
Simon A. Timms