A visual guide to identifying baseball's pitches, from common pitches like 'fastball' and the 'change up' to specialty types, like 'cutter' and 'slurve.'

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.

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.

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.

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.

Every baseball used by the MLB only lasts about 7 pitches before it's discarded.

Statcast, MLB's sophisticated real-time data analytics system, runs machine learning models in the 23-second gap between every pitch.

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.

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

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

The evolution of the baseball bat

Torpedo bats may be the latest, most powerful kind of baseball bat, but the instrument's history is long. This Smithsonian resource traces the bat's evolution from handmade objects forged by the players to mass-produced marvels of physics designed by companies like Louisville Slugger. Along the way, you'll see some interesting takes on the form, including bats referred to as "mushrooms" and "bananas."

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

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

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

Decoding sports-betting language

The world of sports gambling is filled with insider lingo: What's a "spread"? How about a "moneyline" or a "parlay"? This resource breaks down the jargon, helping you navigate the industry or, at least, giving you the keys to talk about it.

How Shohei Ohtani made baseball fun again

To rise to the level of Major League Baseball in recent decades, a player needs to become a specialist in at least one of the sport's many skills: hitting, pitching, throwing, running, fielding. For decades, this specialization has made a so-called...

Pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis

In this video, That Pickleball Guy walks you through the serve and two-bounce rules, what is “the kitchen,” and teaches five ways to win a rally.

How is the climate like baseball?

A two-minute video taking a lighthearted look at an unexpected analogy, explaining why some people call carbon dioxide (and the other greenhouse gases) the steroids of the climate system.

A fast explainer on every Winter Olympic sport

Slalom, luge, skimo: The 16 sports at the Winter Olympics aren't the most familiar to everyday audiences. They can be divided into three categories: track, indoor, and outdoor. This video breaks down each sport's rules and quirks and the variations of its events in less than eight minutes.

Inside MLB's robo-umping experiment

Human umpires call roughly 94% of pitches right overall, but performance reduces on borderline pitches in high-leverage moments, the calls that shape game outcomes most. A professor and historian analyze early experiments with the full "robot ump" system that helped shape MLB's decision to implement a compromise "challenge" system.

Understanding the distinctions between coffee types

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed looking at a coffee shop menu, you're not alone. Here's a breakdown between common coffee styles. Click through the link to see similar guides to espresso and cold drinks.

Check out a list of the top 100 players in baseball history, from Barry Larkin to Babe Ruth.

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.

The quarterback cadence is a unique quirk to the game of football

Only the offense knows when the ball will be snapped, giving the team with the ball the advantage. Common combinations of colors and numbers (like "blue 42") were codes for plays early in the sport, but are now used arbitrarily.

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.

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

Understanding the basics of football

While American football may be entertaining, for fans who never played the game it can be confusing. Why do teams choose to run, pass, line up in certain defenses, run people in motion, call audibles at the line—or do any of the many other things that happen on the field?

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.

"Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is 80 percent of being a successful hitter. The other 20 percent is just execution."

- Baseball star Hank Aaron (1934-2021)

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).

A guide to the unspoken rules of British pubs

Pubs are more ingrained in British culture than in other parts of the world. This guide from CNN walks tourists through a taxonomy of the pub's many types, outlines proper etiquette, and sets realistic expectations. (Beware: Your beer might be warm.)

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

Breaking down the jargon and strategy of horse betting

Placing bets on horse racing isn't the same as a football or basketball game. You can pick a winner (win), who will come in second (place), and even third (show). And all the bets placed on a race are pooled together and divided among the winners. This Top Ten Picks video teaches the mechanics behind each bet, and shares insider tips that can lead to more informed betting choices.

A guide to the romance genre's major tropes

This guide breaks down romance's most prominent tropes, or narrative patterns, used by romance writers and adored by their fans. After you learn about "friends to lovers," "marriage of convenience," and "forced proximity," you'll start to see your favorite romance reads in an entirely new light.

A guide to the most popular yoga styles

Not every yoga class is the same. Many follow particular styles, which dictate the poses, format, and general intention behind the session. This guide breaks down 11 of the most popular yoga styles, including vinyasa (sometimes considered the most athletic) and Bikram (which takes place in a sauna-like environment).

Wrestling terms you need to know

Wrestling may be scripted, but it’s built on its own vocabulary. From "babyfaces" and "heels" to "kayfabe" and "finishers," this explainer breaks down the key terms that shape what fans see in the ring—and what’s really going on behind the scenes.

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.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.