- In 1963, major league baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry remarked, “They’ll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run.” On July 20, 1969, an hour after Neil Armstrong set foot on the surface of the moon, Perry hit is first, and only, home run while playing for the San Francisco Giants.
- The average lifespan of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
- Initially baseball players wore numbers based on the batting order. Babe Ruth was number 3 because he always hit third.
…..He wore a cabbage leaf under his cap to keep his head cool.
…..He changed it every two innings. In 1920, he out-homered every American League team. - In addition to being the first to break the color barrier in baseball, Jackie Robinson was also the first African-American vice president of a major American corporation — he served as vice president of personnel for Chock Full O’ Nuts coffee from 1957–1964.
- All major league baseball umpires must wear black underwear while on the job in case their pants split.
- Many major league baseball players, including Moises Alou, Jorge Posada, and Kerry Wood, have admitted they urinate on their own hands during baseball season to “toughen” their grip.
- Johnny Bench could hold seven baseballs in one hand.
- During World War II, the U.S. military designed a grenade to be the size and weight of a baseball, since “any young American man should be able to properly throw it.”
- Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year-old female pitcher for the AA Chattanooga Lookouts, once played the New York Yankees in an exhibition game and struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession.
- Bank robber John Dillinger was once a professional second baseman, although he never made it to the major leagues. He played shortstop and 2nd base for the Martinsville Athletics in 1924. Sentenced to prison for his first robbery, he played for the Indiana State Reformatory ball club.
- Bobby Richardson won the World Series MVP in 1960 after hitting .367 with 12 RBIs — he played for the losing team.