Baseball, as American as apple pie, really is “the New York game.” While its precursors come from many places – from Jamestown to Prague – the rules of American baseball and the modern ways of enjoying it were born from the urban experience and, in particular, the 19th-century New York region.
The sport (in the form that we know it today) developed in the early 1800s, played in Manhattan’s many open lots or New Jersey public parklands and soon organized into regular teams and eventually leagues. The way that New Yorkers played baseball was soon the way most Americans played by the late 19th century.
But it wasn’t until the invention of regular ball fields – catering to paying customers – that baseball became truly an urban recreational experience. And that too was revolutionized in New York.
Just in time for spring and the new Major League baseball season, Tom and Greg are joined by the acclaimed Kevin Baker, author of The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City to discuss the early history of the sport and its unique connections to New York City.
This show is truly the ultimate origin story of New York baseball, featuring tales of the city’s oldest and most legendary sports teams – the Yankees, the Dodgers, and the Giants. AND the New York Metropolitans – a different team than today’s Mets located in Queens.
Where was baseball played? Kevin shares the secrets of New York baseball’s earliest venues – from the many Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan to Ebbets Field in Brooklyn
This is a true five-borough origin story! With stops at Hilltop Park (Manhattan), Yankee Stadium (Bronx), Fashion Race Course (Queens), Washington Park (Brooklyn), and St. George Cricket Grounds (Staten Island) among many other sites.
FEATURING the surprising link between baseball and Boss Tweed and his notorious political machine Tammany Hall
PLUS How did segregation distort the game and where did Black ballplayers play the sport? What was baseball like before Jackie Robinson?
LISTEN NOW: THE NEW YORK GAME
FURTHER LISTENING
FURTHER READING
Brooklyn baseball: the Superbas and the worst batter ever
Hilltop Park: home base for NYC’s premier baseball team
Meet the Mets! The Metropolitans, that is, an early NY baseball team
Union Grounds: Baseball history in Williamsburg
The Wise Guy of Baseball: Getting To Know Leo ‘The Lip’ Durocher
100 years ago today, the Yankees played their first game at Yankee Stadium