Playing for Keeps is a book that starts off in the late 1850s where baseball was a club-based fraternal sport thriving in the cultures of respectable artisans, clerks, shopkeepers, and middle-class sportsmen. However, two decades later, baseball turned into an entertainment business that is run by owners and managers. This book tells the story of how baseball changed from a mere outdoor activity to a spectator sport due to its increasing popularity and crowds of people that became infatuated with the sport. It tells about the sociological and economic development of the game as well as its origins and controversies. At first, the men who played early baseball considered themselves members of “the baseball fraternity”. However, these baseball organizations were not entirely focused on playing baseball. The objective of the organization is to improve, foster, and preserve the American game of baseball as well as advance the interests of its members, whether it be …show more content…
Despite having other social activities, they did not play baseball halfheartedly. The members were aware that baseball depended on practicing and cooperation on the ball field. By the mid 1860’s, baseball became competitive instead of a game played for pastime or fun. As a result of that, baseball became considered labor instead of a leisure recreation. Players had more difficulty playing and perfecting their skills, and they no longer played purely for fun or victory but for money.
After the Civil War, baseball activity increased enormously to the point where numerous clubs were created and baseball was played within multiple cities and other regions. The huge expansion of the game gave baseball commentators and promoters reasons for pride because baseball was now known as a national game. But with expansion came conflicts. As