Baseball is known as America's national pastime, but its popularity did not happen overnight. The modern game evolved in the late 1800s in the Midwest, and by the turn of the century, Americans were telling stories about heroic exploits on the baseball diamond. Players from Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth to Andrew McCutchen and Albert Pujols have thrilled fans with dramatic late-inning plays and thrilling World Series winning hits. The constant simplicity of baseball over more than a century is a large part of its appeal. More than 70 million people go to the ballpark every season to watch the game unfold during a leisurely summer afternoon or under the stars on a crisp September evening. Although the game has taken root in places like Japan and Latin America, baseball is still a uniquely American experience. Each book in the Inside the World of Sports series takes you from the very beginning of a sport to a look at its future. Inside these pages, learn more about baseball's greatest moments, iconic athletes, and what the future holds for the game.

Each title in this series contains color photos throughout and back matter including: a chronology, glossary of terms for each sport, an index, and further reading lists for books and internet resources. Key Icons appear throughout the books in this series in an effort to encourage library readers to build knowledge, gain awareness, explore possibilities and expand their viewpoints through our content rich non-fiction books. Key Icons in this series are as follows: Educational Videos are offered throughout the first chapter, through the use of a QR code that when scanned takes the student to an online video showing a greatest moment in sports' history. This gives the readers additional content to supplement the text. Words to Understand are shown at the front of each chapter with definitions. These words are set in boldfaced type in that chapter, so that readers are able to reference back to the definitions--building their vocabulary and enhancing their reading comprehension. Text-Dependent Questions are placed at the end of each chapter. They challenge the reader's comprehension of the chapter they have just read, while sending the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there.

Research Projects are provided at the end of each chapter as well and provide readers with suggestions for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis.