Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball, or MLB, is the premier professional baseball league in North America and the highest level of the sport globally. The league consists of 30 teams, 29 in the United States and one in Canada, split evenly between the National League and the American League. Each team plays a 162-game regular season from late March through early October, followed by a postseason tournament that culminates in the World Series. The World Series, a best-of-seven championship series between the two league champions, has been played every year since 1903 except for 1904 and 1994. MLB is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the oldest of them, with roots stretching back to the 1870s. The league's history is filled with legendary players like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Hank Aaron, and iconic teams like the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. Baseball has long been called America's national pastime, and MLB remains deeply woven into the cultural fabric of the country. [edit]

The origins of professional baseball date back to 1869, when the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first all-professional team. The modern structure began with the National League in 1876, founded by William Hulbert. The American League, started by Ban Johnson in 1901, challenged the NL's dominance. After a bitter war for players, the two leagues signed the National Agreement in 1903, effectively creating Major League Baseball as a unified entity. That same year, the first modern World Series was played, with the Boston Americans defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The early 20th century saw the rise of the New York Yankees, who won 27 World Series titles, far more than any other franchise. Integration came in 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers, a watershed moment in both sports and civil rights. The 1960s brought expansion, with the league growing from 16 to 24 teams by 1977. The designated hitter rule was adopted by the American League in 1973, adding a strategic difference between the leagues. In 2000, the National and American Leagues were formally merged into a single legal entity under the Commissioner's office. Interleague play, introduced in 1997, became a permanent fixture. The league now operates under Commissioner Rob Manfred, who took over in 2015. [edit]

Baseball has been called America's national pastime since the 1850s, and MLB is its highest expression. The league has mirrored and influenced American social change. Jackie Robinson's integration in 1947 preceded the Civil Rights movement by nearly a decade. The game's pastoral imagery and summer rhythm have inspired countless works of art, from Field of Dreams to The Natural. The World Series has been a cultural touchstone for over a century, with moments like Bill Mazeroski's walk-off homer and Kirk Gibson's limping home run etched into collective memory.

MLB's statistical culture, from batting averages to sabermetrics, has infiltrated everyday language. The league's international reach has grown, with players from over 20 countries. The World Baseball Classic, launched in 2006, has boosted global interest. MLB's revenue topped $10 billion in 2022, making it the third-richest sports league in the world, but its cultural weight remains outsized. The game's pace and traditions, from the seventh-inning stretch to the crack of the bat, continue to define summer in America. [edit]

The 1919 Black Sox Scandal remains the darkest chapter in MLB history. Eight Chicago White Sox players conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. They were banned for life by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, even after being acquitted in court. The scandal led to the creation of the Commissioner's office to restore integrity.

The 1994 players' strike was devastating. A dispute over a salary cap led to a work stoppage that lasted 232 days, forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. The league lost millions of fans and took years to recover attendance.

Performance-enhancing drugs have tainted the sport since the 1980s, but the issue exploded in the late 1990s and 2000s. Players like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Alex Rodriguez were linked to steroids and other substances, leading to congressional hearings, suspensions, and asterisks on records. MLB implemented a testing program in 2004, but the era's legacy remains controversial. [edit]