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We've been talking about how Jim Creighton broke the game of baseball. In this episode, we pull back the curtain and see exactly how he did something no other player could do.

If you lived in New York in the 1850s, you would have heard of a game catching on that was extremely fast-paced. Blink and you'll miss it. What was this lightning-quick game? Baseball. Hard to believe, but this was the reality at the time. And then, in 1859, in stepped a pitcher who did something that stunned the baseball world. And the game would never be the same.

It's hard to understand how transformative baseball news and box scores would have been for people across the United States in the 1800s. Beyond obvious repercussions, I discuss some hidden outcomes of people thousands of miles from the East Coast learning about baseball and up and coming baseball stars.

Where did we get the fair-foul rule we take for granted today? It wasn't always like this. In fact, at one time, players could smack the ball off home plate and send it immediately out of bounds to great success, until one man, Ross Barnes, performed this task too well, and baseball had to rethink its policies.

With such an emphasis on home runs and flashy play, is there an argument for simply getting bat on the ball and seeing what happens? Is this, in the end, what creates the most tension and excitement for fans?

Comics like Jerry Seinfeld have joked that when we root for baseball teams, we're only really rooting for a uniform, a piece of clothing. Is this true, and if it is, what does it mean?

With strikeouts and pitching performances on the rise, and offensive numbers decreasing, is this the natural evolution of the game, or is something funny going on that will need to be addressed?

With the current epidemic of non-pitchers entering the game to give up hits and home runs in blowouts, what's going to happen moving forward, and how does this phenomenon affect stats and records?

In this episode, I begin to explore the strange and still familiar game of baseball during Jim Creighton's day, and how the restrictions paved the way for his rebellion. Also, beyond the historical story is often the incredible work of the investigative historian, and here we begin to see the amazing work of Tom Gilbert and fellow historians in untangling the mess of the past to bring us some wonderful gems.

There are stories that come along once in a while that send sparks flying inside your brain. That's what happened to me when Tom Gilbert first told me about Jim Creighton, this young ballplayer alluded to in The Simpsons' episode, Homer at the Bat. Once seen, you can't unsee the hidden truths and amazing twists and turns of this story, beginning with the fact that when Jim Creighton died in 1862, he was already a superstar, his impact on baseball was monumental, and yet his death was distorted and changed, until eventually he and his story was erased from history. This is the beginning of an amazing tale.

In this episode, I talk with Gaines Johnson, founder of The World Baseball League, about the progress of the league, what else Gaines has in mind, and the upcoming event at the Field of Dreams. After you listen, if you have questions or curiosity, you can check out theworldbaseballleague.com.

In this episode, I debate with Matt Collins the merits of comparing players from different eras, and we discuss our own experiences with broadcasting and deeper takeaways from Season 4.

In this episode, Matt Collins and I explore the three-part 1919 Black Sox Scandal series from Season 3, to see what fresh questions and insights we can bring to this endlessly fascinating story. And there are many!

In this special “Best Of” edition of Midnight Library of Baseball, host Ben Orlando sits down with producer and collaborator Matt Collins to revisit the episodes listeners chose as their favorites. Together, they explore the hidden stories behind the stories: how certain moments came together, what surprised them in the reporting, and why these forgotten lives and unlikely baseball histories continue to resonate long after the final out. Part retrospective, part conversation, and part late-night wander through the archives, this episode opens the door to the deeper emotional threads connecting the series.

A chance encounter involving the Hall of Fame plaque of Willie Mays leads to an audacious idea: reinvent baseball. In this episode, with the help of Gaines Johnson, I explore the strange and fascinating story behind the World Baseball League, and the possibility that the future of the game may look very different from its past.