came umpires and innings, terminology used in cricket was also used to describe early baseball games.
             "Organized in 1845 by a band of aspiring gentlemen and baseball enthusiasts, the Knickerboxer version was devised by one of the members, Alexander J. Cartwright. Cartwright prescribed the diamond-shaped infield with bases set at ninety feet apart, a standard which stood the test of time. The pitching distance was set, three-strikes-your-out rule was adopted, a batter could be put out by a fielder catching a batted ball in the air, on the first bounce, or by throwing a fielded ball to the first baseman before the runner arrived. Other innovations included the nine-man team and three outs ending a team's batting in their half of an inning. Thus Cartwright's version of baseball became the basis of the game as presently played"
             ( www.pubdim.net/baseballlibrary/chronology).
             Over the years, there have been many innovations that have been added to the game of baseball, including the nine-inning standard for games, changing the pitching distance, etc. On June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey, the first organized baseball game was played between the New York Nine and the New York Knickerboxers. Baseball was mostly a Northern and Midwestern phenomenon, the excitement of baseball was highest in the New York City area, where in the 1850s, games were being played on " every available green plot within a ten mile circuit of the city" ( www.baseballhistory.com). The popularity of amateur baseball clubs that played between 1845 - 1865, led to the introduction of the first professional baseball club, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. They are called the first professional baseball team because they were the first team to pay their players.
             American baseball's popularity was at a high when the Civil War broke out, the war popularized the game in all areas of the country, as soldiers from both armies pla...