Major League Baseball Team History

From the first generation of baseball fans that tore open newspapers to gobble up box scores through the generations who gathered around the radio and then the television, to today's fans who get scores on their cell phones or over the Internet – the question has never changed – "How did my team do today?"

The answer to that question immediately defines quality of life for a baseball fan. The days when the answer is "my team won" just seem brighter and better than other days. Love of a baseball team runs deep and is not diminished by time or distance. Why is that?

Perhaps it is because we take a team to heart at a young age, when players and teams seem like Olympian heroes to be worshipped and admired. We lose that child-like wonderment about everything, but not about our baseball teams.

Or perhaps because the game is played every day for six months, and fortunes of the team become as much a part of our life as those of friends and family. Baseball, like life, is full of difficult day-to-day challenges, with regular disappointments to which we can all relate and occasional bursts of success we can celebrate. What else explains rational people jumping for joy or crying in despair at the fortunes of a group of 25 men they don't know and who don't know them?

Baseball teams are wrapped in the mythic personality of their accomplishments and histories. No matter their recent accomplishments, the Red Sox are the slow-footed gaggle of hulky right handed hitters looking to dent the Green Monster, while the Cardinals are a model of pitching and defense. The Giants are a haven for sluggers and the Mets continually produce quality hurlers. The Cubs are the lovable losers with the grand ballpark and the Dodgers are always playing home-grown talent. And the Yankees – well, they are always the Yankees.

Baseball Almanac pays tribute to the thirty teams of today and their predecessors – all of whom are the torch bearers of the game's history. Their accomplishments can be found here, their championship seasons, and the great performances which define the personality and measure the success of a team.

Each team also has its share of famous firsts, fabulous feats, record setters, and histories that need to be told. Baseball Almanac is dedicated to the preservation of each team's unique history and we hope you enjoy our look at the Major League franchises.