Over the years, Oak Park offered many clubs, sports and after school activities including baseball, ranging from three levels from varsity to JV and C-Gold. OP baseball won conference champions the past two years.
Oak Park C-team Baseball still has many games left of the season and its not too late to catch one of these games.
Baseball wasn’t always what it was today, Let’s look at the past.
Many things in Baseball have changes since it was first created in 1845 by Abner Doubleday and many others who had created a version of the game. Some things that have changed include:
Equipment
Equipment over the years have made a drastic change. When baseball was first created, players would use their barehand or a thin leather with no webbing. In 1900s they created webbing and extra padding making it easier to play in the field. Today, they have many types of gloves with different styles for infielders, pitchers, outfielders, catchers and first- basemen. They also can change the color and measurement of the glove making it easier to play.
Another piece of equipment to change of bats, with bats being only wooden until 1970s. Today, aluminum, and composite bats are available, with different colors and weight. Making it easier for the bat to be able to swing.
They also made new inventions to help with safety of the game. When the game was first getting started the catchers didn’t have much protection but as baseball progressed and developed, they made better ways of protecting the body. Today they use chest protectors, helmets, throat guards, knee savers and shin guards to protect the catcher. They use elbow guards, leg guards, sliding mitts and c-flaps to protect the batter facing fast pitchers.
They also made new technology to help train and improve players, including virtual reality, bat sensors, radars, and slow-motion videos. This helps with improving strength in batting and throwing.
Stadiums
Baseball stadiums have developed over time. When baseball first started, they were small, made of wood, and not being able to seat a lot of fans. Then in the early 1890s changing to steel and concrete with more seating and by 1950s changing to allow more parking and room for fans. In 1960, they started combining sports to save money, but not many people liked the type of stadium. In 1990, they started using bricks, building arches and making it more modern. Today they have party decks, suites, lots of seating, big scoreboards and screens, more options of foods. They also designed areas for kids to play.
Fans
In the beginning of baseball there wasn’t many options to watch baseball, unless you lived or had a way to get to a field. They main way of hearing about baseball was newspaper, scorecards or by word of mouth.
By 1920s, they upgraded to the radio so more people can listen to baseball. By 1950s they started broadcasting on to televisions, but this left the stadiums empty.
Skip ahead to 1990s the games started being available online which brought more fans from across the world. Today baseball can be watched from streaming services, social media, and in person. Baseball has accepted more diversity of fans from over the years.
Rules
When baseball was first created, they played to 21 runs and not by inning, they also had underhand pitching and a rule that if balls were caught on one bounce it was an out.
In the late 1800s, they created a strike zone and started throwing overhand. They also started counting foul balls as strikes and made the infield fly rule to prevent trick plays.
In the 1920s, they banned spitballs and made the baseballs rounder.
In the 1940s they added a designated hitter for the pitcher, and they lowered the mound height. They are most famous thing in baseball that came out of the 1940s was Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.
In 1980, they allowed intentional walks that only kept along until 2017.
In 2010, they invented instant replay and replay reviews on force plays, tags, outs and more. The MLB also started taking more precautions of using substances to improve their skill.
In 2020, they made the game faster by adding a pitch clock, making bigger bases, no shifting so at least two players must stay on each side of second base and limit of pickoff attempts.
Major Leagues
In 1876, The National League was created, then in 1901 the American League was created, and in 1903 the first World Series was played. In 1950 teams started to relocate and expand and new teams were added.
In 1970, they started streaming the major league and the MLB globalizes. In 1990, the MLB added the wild card to help make the playoff more exciting. Today, baseball continues to grow in college, high schools, and all over the world. This continues to happen since MLB invests in youth baseball and marketing around the world.
Players
MLB players have changed drastically since the game started. Players didn’t use to train or practice but as baseball developed players started spending more time training to be the best on the field. Today, players look at their stats and practice their struggles. Players have personal trainers, chefs and coaches to help improve arm speed, accuracy and batting and stance.
Some of the top players that impacted baseball were:
- Babe Ruth (New York Yankees)
- Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers)
- Willie Mays (San Francisco Giants)
- Lou Gehrig (New York Yankees)
Popular players who have made a change in recent baseball include:
- Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels)
- Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals)
Picture of Bobby Witt Jr throwing the ball from may 11.
Photo from KC Royals Website - Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies)
- Aaron Judge (New York Yankees)
Several baseball players from Oak Park High School, have earned college scholarships and commitments in recent years. These achievements highlight the school’s baseball program.
Class of 2022
- Anthony Valadez – Committed to Northwest Missouri State University (NCAA Division II)
- Carter Poole – Committed to Highland Community College
Class of 2023
- Mitch Gratwick- Committed to Oklahoma Wesleyan University (NAIA)
- Caden Beshears – Committed to Kansas City Kansas Community College (NJCAA Division II)
- Burke Sharpsteen – Committed to Maple Woods Community College.
- Austin Dahlberg – Committed to Crowder College (NJCAA Division I)
Baseball has made many little kids dream of their future within the sport, wanting to become the next athlete in the hall of fame. Oak Park baseball has helped create many futures through baseball.
Sources:
“baseball-almanac.com.” MLB Rule Changes, www.baseball-almanac.com/
rulechng.shtml. Accessed 1 May 2025.
“Baseball faithful not big fans of change.” mlb.com, 23 Feb. 2017, www.mlb.com/
news/baseball-fans-resistant-to-change-over-time-c216848662. Accessed 1 May
2025.
“Baseball History , American History and You.” Baseballhall.org,
baseballhall.org/baseball-history-american-history-and-you. Accessed 1 May
2025.
“How baseball has changed since 1908.” mlb.com, 21 Oct. 2016, www.mlb.com/news/baseball-has-changed-drastically-since-1908-c206845956. Accessed 1 May
2025.
“How MLB’s Top 100 position players stack up, from Juan Soto to Shohei Ohtani.”
nytimes.com, 3 Apr. 2025, www.nytimes.com/athletic/6204865/2025/03/20/mlb-position-player-tiers-2025/. Accessed 1 May 2025.
“Same Game , Different Tools.” Baseballhall.org, baseballhall.org/discover/same-game-different-tools. Accessed 1 May 2025.
“Top 100 MLB players of all time: Nos. 25-1.” espn.com, 3 Feb. 2022,
www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/33158613/top-100-mlb-players-all-nos-25-1.
Accessed 1 May 2025.
“Who Invented Baseball?” History.com, 28 Mar. 2025, www.history.com/articles/who-invented-baseball. Accessed 1 May 2025.
