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Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

October Magic

Spanish Translation

By Jeremy Caplan

New York Yankees Pitcher Andy Pettitte won game two of the World Series.

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It's October, and to sports fans that means just one thing: Baseball fever is at its peak! As the New York Yankees and Florida Marlins battle it out in this year's World Series, fans and historians are celebrating a big milestone in baseball's rich history. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the World Series.

The first professional baseball game was played in 1871. But the World Series wasn't born until the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates challenged the Boston Americans (who later became the Boston Red Sox) to a championship match. Both teams had won first place in the two major leagues that existed in 1903.

This year's World Series is a special one. Baseball fans who were treated to exciting league championship games hope that the World Series is equally explosive. "What I love about the World Series is that every year there's a new hero," said former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, who ran the major leagues from 1984 to 1989. "Being in it is the ultimate honor for a player," he told TFK.

Ivan Rodriguez of the Florida Marlins helped his team win game one of the series.

Unlike the 1903 World Series, these games are being watched around the world. Baseball fans from Latin America to Japan are tuning in. Many of the best players in the majors were born outside the United States. The Marlins' Miguel Cabrera is from Venezuela, for example, and the Yankees' Hideki Matsui is from Japan.

OLD-TIMERS' DAYS

Baseball hasn't changed all that much in 100 years. The pitcher's mound is still 60 feet 6 inches from home plate. The bases are still separated by 90 feet. And a home run is still a glorious sight. But the equipment looks a bit different. Today, fielders' gloves are more than a foot long. Old-time baseball gloves resembled small mittens! Bats are still made of wood, but now they are shorter, lighter and thinner.

For fans, it's a whole new ball game. Some tickets for this year's World Series are going for more than $1,000. In 1903, tickets cost as little as 50 cents. There weren't any television or radio broadcasts. The next day's newspapers let fans know who won.

Back then, men watching the game wore jackets, ties and top hats. Women wore long skirts. But fancy clothes didn't mean fans were well behaved. Before game 3 in Boston, thousands of excited spectators ran onto the field, delaying the start of the game. One boy stole second base and ran off with it! A Pittsburgh player offered his hat as a replacement. But a policeman ran down the troublemaker and recovered the base.

Fans have always been a big part of baseball. "They are the glue that holds a team together," said Gabriel Schechter, of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Whether the Marlins or the Yankees win this year, one thing is certain. It will be a historic victory both for fans and for Major League Baseball.

Read the TFK Interview with Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig

Read the TFK interview with baseball's former commissioner, Peter Ueberroth

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