Baseball is a sport that has been around since roughly the year of 1845. In all that time, it is no surprise that it has a lot of history that many may not be aware of, including the fact that it is a game which was invented based on two other games, rounders and cricket. The first “team” was the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club. Here is a little glimpse of some of the strangest fun facts about baseball, the sport that everyone has dubbed, “America’s favorite pastime”.
While playing for the cubs in 1905, an outfielder by the name of Jack McCarthy managed to t
hrow out three runners, in a single inning, who were trying to score. In the years since, no one else has been able to top him.
The year was 1923, and Clarence Blethen made history as being the only man ever to be injured by biting his own backside. He was a pitcher for the Red Sox and used to put his teeth into his back pocket because he would look meaner without them. However, during the game, he forgot about his teeth and when we went to steal second base, his teeth clamped down on his bottom.
In 1957, the Dodgers and the Cubs switched an entire roster of players between themselves. It made history by being the biggest trade in baseball history.
Gaylord Perry, his San Francisco Giants manager stated quite clearly to a reporter said, “They will put a man on the moon before Perry hits a home run.” It was kind of true. The day was July 20, 1969, the man was Neil Armstrong, and Perry lost by 20 minutes. It was his first home run ever.
Joel Youngblood was the only player to have ever hit a baseball for two different teams, in two different cities, on the same day. It happened in 1982 when immediately after a game with the Cubbies, he discovered he had been traded to the Expos. He flew out and landed in Philadelphia and in the middle of a game and managed to hit a ball during gameplay.
Don Baylor played three consecutive World Series games, for three different teams. In 1986, he joined the Red Sox, in 1987 it was the Twins, and for 1988, he played with the Athletics.
