Baseball got its start as a pastime played by gentlemen, who believed in the importance of vigorous exercise. Once it took off in popularity and became a national obsession, everyone joined in -- drunks, flakes, oddballs, eccentrics, gamblers, miscreants -- you know, the people who made the game interesting. Before I ever dug into baseball's … Continue reading Baseball in the genteel 19th Century (dodging mattresses & bullets)