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Baseball Writers Get in the Game

Baseball is the most written about and analyzed sport in history of America. The game lends itself to all kinds of statistics and record keeping. It is a true sportswriter’s dream. It didn’t take long for the early reporters to begin writing about baseball, even about games between members of the same club. Henry Chadwick, a New York journalist, became the first prominent baseball writer. Chadwick made the box score, the batting average and the ERA (earned run average) part of baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.

The First League

1858 was a big year for the young game of baseball. In that year the first organized league was formed. The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) formed and agreed to play under the Knickerbocker Rules. That was also the year that another major factor entered the game– money. Enterprising baseball organizers set up a series of games between all-star players from Brooklyn and New York. More than 5,000 fans paid to watch the games. Now it was evident that baseball could be a moneymaking venture.

Though the NABBP prohibited players from receiving salaries, clubs found a way around these rules. The first official baseball salaries were paid in to players on the Rockford, Illinois, club in 1867. The Cincinnati Red Stockings (now the Red Sox) became the first semi-pro team when they hired “ringers” to help avenge a loss to the Washington Nationals. The Red Stockings went on a 57-game barnstorming tour. They won 56 of those games and tied one. The Red Stockings were also the first team to have a labor dispute. When players demanded higher salaries, club directors disbanded the team.

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Major League Baseball MVPs


Year	National League	American League
1931	Frankie Frisch, St. Louis	Lefty Grove, Philadelphia
1932	Chuck Klein, Philadelphia	Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia
1933	Carl Hubbell, New York	Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia
1934	Dizzy Dean, St. Louis	Mickey Cochrane, Detroit
1935	Gabby Hartnett, Chicago	Hank Greenberg, Detroit
1936	Carl Hubbell, New York	Lou Gehrig, New York
1937	Joe Medwick, St. Louis	Charlie Gehringer, Detroit
1938	Ernie Lombardi, Cincinnati	Jimmie Foxx, Boston
1939	Bucky Walters Cincinnati	Joe DiMaggio, New York
1940	Frank McCormick, Cincinnati	Hank Greenberg, Detroit
1941	Dolph Camilli, Brooklyn	Joe DiMaggio, New York
1942	Mort Cooper, St. Louis	Joe Gordon, New York
1943	Stan Musial, St. Louis	Spud Chandler, New York
1944	Marty Marion, St. Louis	Hal Newhouser, Detroit
1945	Phil Cavarretta, Chicago	Hal Newhouser, Detroit
1946	Stan Musial, St. Louis	Ted Williams, Boston
1947	Bob Elliot, Boston	Joe DiMaggio, New York
1948	Stan Musial, St. Louis	Lou Boudreau, Cleveland
1949	Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn	Ted Williams, Boston
1950	Jim Konstanty, Philadelphia	Phil Rizzuto, New York
1951	Roy Campanella Brooklyn	Yogi Berra, New York
1952	Hank Sauer, Chicago	Bobby Shantz, Philadelphia
1953	Ray Campanella, Brooklyn	Al Rosen, Cleveland
1954	Willie Mays, New York	Yogi Berra, New York
1955	Roy Campanella, Brooklyn	Yogi Berra, New York
1956	Don Newcombe, Brooklyn	Mickey Mantle, New York
1957	Hank Aaron, Milwaukee	Mickey Mantle, New York
1958	Ernie Banks, Chicago	Jackie Jensen, Boston
1959	Ernie Banks, Chicago	Nellie Fox, Chicago
1960	Dick Groat, Pittsburgh	Roger Maris, New York
1961	Frank Robinson, Cincinnati	Roger Maris, New York
1962	Maury Wills, Los Angeles	Mickey Mantle, New York
1963	Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles	Elston Howard, New York
1964	Ken Boyer, St. Louis	Brooks Robinson, Baltimore
1965	Willie Mays, San Francisco	Zoilo Versalles, Minnesota
1966	Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh	Frank Robinson, Baltimore
1967	Orlando Cepeda, St. Louis	Carl Yastrzemski, Boston
1968	Bob Gibson, St. Louis	Denny McLain, Detroit
1969	Willie McCovey, San Francisco	Harmon Killebrew, Minnesota
1970	Johnny Bench, Cincinnati	Boog Powell, Baltimore
1971	Joe Torre, St. Louis	Vida Blue, Oakland
1972	Johnny Bench, Cincinnati	Richie Allen, Chicago
1973	Pete Rose, Cincinnati	Reggie Jackson, Oakland
1974	Steve Garvey Los Angeles	Jeff Burroughs, Texas
1975	Joe Morgan, Cincinnati	Fred Lynn, Boston
1976	Joe Morgan, Cincinnati	Thurman Munson, New York
1977	George Foster, Cincinnati	Rod Carew, Minnesota
1978	Dave Parker, Pittsburgh	Jim Rice, Boston
1979	Keith Hernandez, St. Louis	Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Don Baylor, California
1980	Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia	George Brett, Kansas City
1981	Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia	Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee
1982	Dale Murphy, Atlanta	Robin Yount, Milwaukee
1983	Dale Murphy, Atlanta	Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore
1984	Ryne Sandberg, Chicago	Willie Hernandez, Detroit
1985	Willie McGee, St. Louis	Don Mattingly, New York
1986	Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia	Roger Clemens, Boston
1987	Andre Dawson, Chicago	George Bell, Toronto
1988	Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles	Jose Canseco, Oakland
1989	Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco	Robin Yount, Milwaukee
1990	Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh	Rickey Henderson, Oakland
1991	Terry Pendleton, Atlanta	Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore
1992	Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh	Dennis Eckersley, Oakland
1993	Barry Bonds, San Francisco	Frank Thomas, Chicago
1994	Jeff Bagwell, Houston	Frank Thomas, Chicago
1995	Barry Larkin, Cincinnati	Mo Vaughn, Boston
1996	Ken Caminiti, San Diego	Juan Gonzalez, Texas
1997	Larry Walker, Colorado	Ken Griffey, Jr., Seattle
1998	Sammy Sosa, Chicago	Juan Gonzalez, Texas
1999	Chipper Jones, Atlanta	Ivan Rodriguez, Texas
2000	Jeff Kent, San Francisco	Jason Giambi, Oakland
2001	Barry Bonds, San Francisco	Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle
2002	Barry Bonds, San Francisco	Miguel Tejada, Oakland
2003	Barry Bonds, San Francisco	Alex Rodriguez, Texas
2004	Barry Bonds, San Francisco	Vladimir Guerrero, Anaheim
2005	Albert Pujols, St Louis	Alex Rodriguez, New York

(See the book"Heroes of the Hall: Baseball's Greatest Players by Ron Smith at Amazon.com)

Professional Baseball Becomes Firmly Established

Numerous baseball leagues came and went for 13 years. In 1871, nine teams formed the National Association of Professional Baseball Players. The nine teams were from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Rockford, Troy, New York and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Brooklyn joined the league in 1872. These teams paid just $10 to join the league. Problems including teams folding, domination by the Boston team, players moving between teams and even signing with more than one team, and gambling plagued the league and it folded after five seasons.

Out of the problematic NAPBP (Are you keeping all of these initials straight?), came the beginnings of the National League. William Hulbert talked to other financial backers about starting a professional league run by owners, not players. In early 1876, while the NAPBP was technically still in operation, Hulbert called a meeting with representatives from seven other teams. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (no more initials, just the plain old National League) played its inaugural season in the summer of 1876.

The National League brought stability and respectability to baseball. Other rival leagues formed but only one would last—the Western League, which in 1901 became the American League.

The Rivalry Begins

When the Western League started it had teams in midwestern cities that had no National League clubs. In 1900, however, the new league started invading National League cities. Charles Comiskey moved his club from Minnesota to Chicago. Moves followed into Cleveland, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

Needless to say, there was no love lost between to the two leagues. In 1903, the leagues did sit down and create the concept of their respective champions meeting in the World Series. The Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League met the Boston Pilgrims of the American League in the first World Series. Boston won the eight-game series 5-3. The next year, the National League champion New York Giants refused to play Boston. Since 1905, the World Series has been played every year except 1994 when it was cancelled by a players’ strike.

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