'Out in left field' is an idiom used to describe an eccentric person, and some researchers believe it likely originated at a minor league baseball park in Massachusetts that had an unusual outfield.

A sophisticated data analysis found that stadiums with roofs or in cities that regularly have sunny skies are the easiest for outfielders to play in.

Fenway Park is the oldest professional baseball stadium in use

The legendary park was built in 1912 and is considered hallowed ground for baseball fans, along with iconic venues like Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Some say baseball's drug problem goes back to the late 1800s

At age 32, pitcher James “Pud” Galvin was feeling tired and decided to take "the Brown-Séquard elixir," which contained a testicular fluid from dogs and guinea pigs, believed to invigorate tired bodies. It might've worked: Galvin pitched a two-hit shutout the next day.

'Take Me Out to the Ballgame,' the song that's now a 7th inning tradition at every MLB game, was inspired by a billboard advertisement.

Before 1920, during the Deadball Era, a single baseball was used throughout a Major League game, leading to a notoriously dirty style of play.

Fantasy sports' roots go back to an 1860s parlor game that simulated real-world baseball.

A history of the rare, chaotic moments when MLB batters charge the pitcher on the mound

They typically occur when a pitcher has slung a pitch a little too close to the batter—though the exact causes vary, from quick tempers to longstanding grudges. No definitive account of these infrequent but highly visible incidents has existed, so sportswriter Jon Bois compiled data on 264 such moments between 1950 and 2025. The resulting 23-minute video explores the rich narratives leading to these charged events.

The first MLB All-Star Game was designed by a sports journalist who believed the spectacle would boost baseball's reputation during the Great Depression.

Ballpark nachos—the messy but delicious combo of liquid cheese, pickled jalapenos, and tortilla chips—were invented for the Texas Rangers.

In the late 1800s, over 10,000 entries of the Oxford English Dictionary were written by a patient in a psychiatric hospital.

'The Star-Spangled Banner' became associated with sports at the 1918 World Series thanks to an impromptu rendition during the 7th inning stretch.

A 1930s card game birthed modern fantasy sports

"National Pastime" used the statistics of real Major League Baseball players to determine a winner, creating the template for the modern fantasy sports model.

Visualize how changes to lineups, driven by modern analytics, could have changed one of MLB's most iconic moments.

In 1970, Pittsburgh Pirates' pitcher Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter—a rare feat that was just the 174th in MLB history—while high on LSD.

In 1975, a Major League Baseball clause that kept players legally tied to their teams after retirement was dismantled, creating the modern concept of free agency.

Henry Chadwick invented the box score in 1859—and wrote off walks as a pitcher's failure

Every MLB baseball needs to be rubbed with a special kind of mud, provided by one New Jersey family.

An eephus is a high-arc pitch usually thrown by position players filling in for pitchers in blowout games.

The word 'jazz' evolved from slang for 'energy' and was used to describe a baseball pitch before it came to mean a genre of music.

Fourteen ways to make baseball cool again

Baseball, while commonly known as America's pastime, gets a bit of a bad rap for being long, slow, and boring. Here are fourteen fun ideas to make the sport more interesting to combat dwindling attendance.

Explore some of the best baseball books, including Michael Lewis' influential 'Moneyball' and Bob Uecker's autobiography 'Catcher in the Wry.'

Sidearm pitchers—who throw the ball at an odd angle, sometimes very close to the ground—are a rarity in modern baseball, which often makes them more difficult for batters to hit.

How fantasy baseball fights the loneliness epidemic

Experts believe the erosion of traditional community organizations has led to a loneliness epidemic. This deep dive explores how fantasy baseball has filled the gap for some men, providing a stand-in social network.

The surprisingly poetic origins of the phrase 'March Madness'

When legendary sportscaster Brent Musberger called the 1982 NCAA basketball tournament "March Madness," the term stuck and helped popularize the annual event. But he wasn't the first to use the phrase. This Time magazine article explores the contributions of Henry V. Porter, who originally used "March madness" in a 1939 article about the Illinois State basketball tournament, and later in a 1942 poem called "Basketball Ides of March."

The MLB's reserve clause gave owners rights to players after their contracts expired

The clause was added to contracts in 1879, allowing owners to hang on to players after the expiration of their contracts, sometimes in perpetuity.

In 1951, a small French town was likely overtaken by the fungus that ultimately led to LSD.

How baseball shaped Black America during Reconstruction

A cornerstone of the budding Black culture following the Civil War was baseball, with several clubs springing up in Black neighborhoods and leaders like Frederick Douglass cheering on the players, including his son, who played for a team in Washington. This detailed history of the early Black leagues unpacks how the game enhanced the upwardly mobile community—and why that fact led to the segregation of what would become Major League Baseball.

Major League Baseball, explained

Major League Baseball is America’s oldest professional sports league. Alongside triumphs, the league has faced scandals, including drug abuse and steroid use, shaping its path over the decades. Today, MLB embraces new rules, international talent, and a growing connection to legalized sports betting.

Outlaw Country was a subgenre that emerged in the 1970s

Outlaw country was a reaction against popular country music produced in Nashville. The name's origin is disputed, but it was firmly established with the 1976 album “Wanted! The Outlaws,” a record featuring songs by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser—artists who bucked industry norms.

The front lawn became an American ideal in the 20th century.

Sabermetrics, the empirical analysis of baseball statistics made famous by 'Moneyball,' redefined how people evaluate baseball players, overturning a century of assumptions about which metrics matter most.

Charlie Parker's 'Ornithology' is one of bebop jazz's defining standards—and a self-referential nod to Parker's nickname, Bird.

The concept of the American front lawn was popularized by a 19th-century book that argued its maintenance was a neighborly obligation.

Cricket used to be America's pastime

Before baseball, American football, basketball, or hockey ever organized in the US, there was one sport which could be found up and down the East Coast: cricket. The second-most popular sport in the world, cricket is mostly ignored by Americans, despite its prevalence in early American history. Learn more about the forgotten role cricket played in the US with this article.

Wisconsin left a deep impression on Frank Lloyd Wright and his work

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright openly adored his home state’s “pastoral” landscapes, red barns, and down-to-earth residents. Wright also referenced the state as a huge inspiration for his design style.

Minor leaguers once unionized for better pay, housing, and medical care

For decades, Minor League baseball players endured overcrowded housing, indifferent medical care, and all-night bus rides for a chance to make it to “The Show.” And they did it for as little as $4,800 a year.

Exactly who coined the term 'swimmer's ear' remains unknown

There is no record of anyone being the first person to call otitis externa by its most commonly known name, swimmer's ear. The earliest known use of the term was in a 1917 news article, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The article in Connecticut's The Day stated that the illness was appearing among swimmers and bathers that summer.

William HH Murray spurred American interest in rustic retreats, characterizing them as necessary respites from the country's oppressive urban centers.

A Bay Area lab was supplying MLB players with steroids

The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, also known as BALCO, began as a modest vitamin shop, but by the 1990s it was at the center of a doping scheme that rocked Major League Baseball and other professional sports.

Modern improv comedy, which eschews scripts and emphasizes listening, was developed by University of Chicago students in the early 1950s.

MLB 2023 rules changes were the most dramatic alterations in decades, drastically speeding up the game.

'It's those who lie outside ordinary experience who have the most to teach us.'

- Author Malcolm Gladwell (1963 - present)

The inventor of fantasy football first experimented with two other sports

In the mid-1950s, Wilfred “Bill” Winkenbach, a part-owner of the Oakland Raiders, concocted two fantasy sports games: one for Major League Baseball and one for the Professional Golfers’ Association. In 1962, he invented fantasy football alongside two writers from the Oakland Tribune.

Some athletes warm up with equipment from other sports

Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani uses a cricket bat; his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws a javelin. Quarterback CJ Stroud shoots free throws. The reasons are partially physical (it's good to exercise different parts of your body) and partially mental (it's nice to take the pressure off with someone else's game).

MLB pitchers were charged with benefiting from sports betting

In November 2025, two pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians were charged with coordinating with sports bettors to enrich themselves and others. In many instances, they shared the kinds of pitches they would throw at specific points in the game. Bettors then placed money on those actions.

100 moments that shaped baseball history

Published in 2018 by baseball historian Jacob Kornhauser, this list examines the defining moments throughout more than a century of play on the field, from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis purportedly throwing a no-hitter while on acid to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.

The origin of the sport's name is disputed

How pickleball got its name has been a point of contention for decades. The McCallums claim the family dog, Pickles, used to snatch the balls as they played and named it for him. Joan Pritchard, though, says Pickles didn’t join the family until after the game was invented.

The 2026 MLB season is the first to allow players to challenge umpires' calls on balls and strikes.

'I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.'

- Baseball legend Babe Ruth (1895-1948)

The story behind one infamous World Series moment

“The Bartman Incident” during Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS forever changed the life of Cubs fan Steve Bartman, who quickly descended into anonymity. This 2005 ESPN story attempts to find answers behind the notorious Bartman.