Facts about Baseball

1. 08

   During the 1919 World Series, eight Chicago White Sox players conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose games, resulting in lifetime bans from baseball in 1920.

   BaseballMay 14sharehistoryscandalsports
2. 07

   A standard baseball weighs between 5 and 5.25 ounces and measures 2.86 to 2.94 inches in diameter according to Major League Baseball official specifications.

   BaseballMay 14sharemeasurementrulesequipment
3. 06

   Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941 remains baseball's longest consecutive-game streak and has never been approached since.

   BaseballMay 14sharerecordhistoryachievement
4. 05

   Cy Young won 511 career games between 1890 and 1911, a record that still stands as baseball's most unbreakable mark.

   BaseballMay 14sharerecordhistorypitcher
5. 04

   On October 1, 1961, Roger Maris hit his 61st home run of the season, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record that had stood for 34 years.

   BaseballMay 14sharerecordbaseballhistory
6. 03

   Ted Williams finished his 1941 season with a batting average of .406, remaining the last player to surpass the .400 mark in Major League Baseball.

   BaseballMay 14sharehistorystatisticsachievement
7. 02

   The fastest recorded baseball pitch reached 105.1 miles per hour, thrown by Aroldis Chapman on September 24, 2010.

   BaseballMay 14sharespeedrecordmeasurement
8. 01

   In 1974, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's all-time home run record with his 715th career home run on April 8.

   BaseballMay 14sharerecordhistorymeasurement