... thrust "America's Pastime" into an era of uncertainty. Despite this current adversity, baseball will always occupy an important place in American culture. This column starts a three part look at the history of baseball. Most cultures have some sort of stick and ball game, cricket being the most well-known. While the exact origins of baseball are unknown, most historians agree that ... to keep giving the hitters different appearances of the ball. Some go straight down, some fade away, some go in." Faced with such uncertainties, batters, like pitchers, may also use physics to alter their ...

• Word Count: 3179
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The year 2012 was a year unlike any in baseball history. Rising stars such as Mike Trout and Stephen Strasburg burst onto the scene with their MVP-caliber play "drawing early comparisons to legendary ... for the Triple Crown in 45 years. Yet, in this great year of play, baseball experienced something that caused many critics and followers to re-look the history books and become skeptical of the game all together. The 2011 National League MVP, Ryan Braun, was caught using performance-enhancing drugs causing many to question ... the historical records, Gould discovers that the average batting ...

• Word Count: 2635
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate