Major League Baseball is the highest-level professional baseball organization in America, and the oldest professional sports league in the US, dating back to the Civil War. It generates the second-highest revenue among the Big Four US sports organizations and features the longest season in professional sports.
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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.
The Elo rating system—named after inventor Arpad Elo—allows you to compare any team from any season dating back to the 1870s on an absolute scale and finally make an objective argument about the greatest lineup of all time.
“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.
It was the 174th no-hitter in MLB history, but the only one where the pitcher claimed to be high at the time. This animated video uses Ellis’ own comments from a 2008 NPR interview where he described why he took LSD that morning and the difficulty of pitching while tripping.
Each of the league's 30 teams has travel directors facilitating intricate logistics to move players and luggage to the next city, often after a game and the night before another game day. This video breaks down the wild planning required.
“National Pastime” used the statistics of real Major League Baseball players to determine a winner, creating the template for the modern fantasy sports model.
Major League Baseball began experimenting with robotic umpires in 2025's Spring Training season, testing whether or not automating strike zones would lead to a more precise application of the league's rules. Their ultimate plan, however, is still unclear. This resource from a professor and a historian breaks down why the MLB believes automated umps might improve the game, despite bringing flaws of their own.
“Sebring Parlor Base Ball,” a tabletop board game in which players flicked a coin as if they were hitters is believed to be the first game that allowed players to imagine themselves as athletes without actually taking part in physical activities.
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.
The specialty pitch—rarely used by starters—is unexpectedly slow and thrown with an abnormally high arc, often catching batters off-guard. Below is one famous example from 1981: Yankees pitcher Dave LaRoche striking out the Brewers' Gorman Thomas with an eephus that fans called the "La Lob."
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