Today I learned...

... that just a few days ago the Cincinnati Reds played the St. Louis Cardinals in the Civil Rights game. The game is meant to honor the civil rights movement and the African-Americans who have played professional ball. Ironically, the St. Louis Cardinals don't have ANY African-American players or coaches this year. heh.

... that the New York Yankees have won 26 World Series titles, more than any other team. It's no wonder then that Yankees right fielder, Mickey Mantle, holds the record for most home runs (18) and RBI's (40) in World Series history.

... that Cal Ripken, Jr. holds the record for the most consecutive major league games played, 2,632, and he played them all for one team: the Baltimore Orioles. The previous record holder was Lou Gehrig. In front of a sold-out crowd on Sept. 6, 1985, he broke Gehrig's record, playing his 2,131st consecutive game, getting a home run to boot. The game was later named by fans as the "Most Memorable Moment in MLB history".

... that Claude Berry was the first MLB player to wear a protective cup? The year was 1904; the team, Chicago White Sox.

... MLB balls are rubbed down with Lena Blackburne's special rubbing mud. Every Major AND Minor League team uses the same mud, and has for the past 75 years. The exact formula used to make the mud is a well-kept secret. All we know is that comes from somewhere along a tributary of the Delaware River in Burlington County, New Jersey.