Curveballs to Flyballs: One Borough’s Impact on Modern Baseball

Before it was the national pastime, baseball was New York’s game. Like Silicon Valley is to technology and Detroit is to cars, Brooklyn was an incubator of innovation in the early days of baseball. Imagine walking through old South Brooklyn (Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill) on a May day in the mid-19th century. I guarantee you would have seen baseball. Although the rules, the business, and how you followed the game might differ even between Carroll and Bergen Streets, the overheard debates of team rivalry, superiority, and prognostication are the everlasting threads connecting the game’s infancy to today. Join this walking tour led by a former professional moneyballer and current baseball fanatic/Brooklyn resident. Bring your peanuts and Cracker Jacks (and water and comfortable shoes), and let’s play ball!