Blog #2-Christian: Baseball and its history

As written in my previous blog, I hoped to really focus on just the Angels baseball team. But, after the research I tried to convey on the academic sources from the J Paul Leonard Library, I could not locate any books or other sort of writing that had to do with Angels MLB. So instead, for this blog I will focus on the history of baseball.

1. On LexisNexis Academic I found a newspaper article called, Jackie Robinson: The baseball legend's legacy after baseball; Jackie Robinson broke barriers in baseball, but his civil-rights campaign continued well after he retired. 
•  Jackie Robinson, for those of you who do not know, is known for breaking the color barrier in major-league baseball in 1947. And also led the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National title. Mr. Robinson retired in 1957, shortly after he worked on the NAACP's "Fight for Freedom," which is a fundraising and advocacy campaign that worked on destroying segregation. The same year, Robinson was the national chairman of a fundraiser at the time and raised $20,000. Robinson went on to to partner with Martin Luther Kind Jr. and fight against discrimination in education. As we can see, Jackie Robinson was not just a baseball player, but had a real passion to change the world. Since Robinson, there have been numerous African-American baseball player in the Baseball Hall of Fame including: Bud Fowler, Moses Fleetwood Walker, Dan McClellan, Sam Jones, and of course Jackie Robinson.  
2. On Google Scholar I found an article called Baseball in America: A History
• Many Americans play the game as a child, rather it is baseball or softball. It is than known at "the national pastime." Baseball, unlike many other sports can be played by average height and weight people. Baseball originated before the American Civil War know as rounders, which was played in sandlots. In 1871, the first professional baseball league was born. Large cities in the eastern United States had their own professional baseball team by the 20th century. They were then divided into two league, the Nation and American. During the regular season, the teams play against their own league. The two top teams in each league play in the World Series. The winner of at least four games out of seven than wins the title for that year. In the 1950s, baseball began to spread its geographical range. Cities in the west either were creating their own teams or teams from the east were moved to the west. 
3. On MLB.com I found a timeline of the Angels history.

• In 1961 the Angels finished their first season with a 70-91 record. They played at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and in 1961 moved to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Finally on April 9, 1966 the Anaheim Angels opened the Angels christened Anaheim Stadium. On July 15, 1973, Nolan Ryan became the fifth pitcher in MLB history to record two no-hitters in a single season. Ryan is still known as one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history. Reggie Jackson became the thirteenth player to reach the exclusive milestone of hitting five hundred home runs. The 1986 season was one of the best in franchise history. In 1998 the Angels opened Edison International Field, which is where until this day is their home. In 2002 the Angels made their first appearance in the World Series against the San Francisco Giants and won in the seventh game, 4-1. In 2009, a promising Nick Adenhart pitched six scoreless innings on April 8 against the A's. Later on that night, Adenhart and two friends were killed in a car accident hit by a drunk driver. In 2012 Mike Trout emerged as one of the best players in baseball. He was the first player in history to score at least 125 huns, steal 45 bases, hit 30 homers, and post .320-plus batting average, making him American League Rookie of the Year. 

Although I wish I could have only talked about the Angels, the history of baseball was important to include for those of you do not know anything about the wonderful sport. The MLB website was defiantly most helpful from my original blog. I was able to answer some of the question that I was curious about.

I hope next blog I will be able to use Google scholar and LA Times to get personal articles.