Mlb

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By hitting a home run on every American sports lover’s heart, baseball have earned its popularity in the field of sports. Its popularity has put the Major League Baseball (MLB) among the major professional sports list.

The MLB is the highest play level in North America in terms of professional baseball. It is the umbrella organization that operates two professional baseball leagues in North America, namely: the National League and the American League. The MLB was formed through a joint organizational structure established in 1903. The National League and the American League disbanded in the year 2000 as separate legal entities thus, making the MLB a single operating league. As such, the MLB constitutes one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, the others being the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Football League (NFL).

To date, there are about 30 official teams participating in the MLB. Its regular season is from April’s first Monday up to either early September or late October. Right after the regular season, three rounds of playoffs occur to conclude the World Series by late October. Usually, the league has 162 games every season.

Although a lot of baseball aficionados consistently follow every regular game, there is nothing like the excitement during early July when the Major League Baseball All-Star Game takes place. The best of each team from the National League play together as a team in an exhibition game against the best of the American League. Most teams prepare for this exhibition since the said All-Star game is obviously popular among baseball fanatics. Aside from that, the privilege of having a home-field advantage in the World Series is also at stake in the said event.

With regards to game airing, television broadcasts of the MLB are held by contracts with three broadcast partners, namely: FOX Sports (for Saturday baseball and the All-Star Game); ESPN (for Sunday and Monday nights baseball, Baseball Tonight, and the Home Run Derby); and TBS (for the Division Series, League Championship Series during odd-numbered years and American League Championship Series during even-numbered years). These three contract holders hold a blackout right in case other television programs seem to interfere with their market of the said show. This blackout rule is applied to all television stations, but its range doesn’t really reach the radio broadcasts.

The MLB had been undoubtedly popular, but its popularity was not always in a good light. It has also been infamous due to the BALCO steroid scandal. After the said dishonorable issue, the MLB started to put into action more intensive penalties to players (and their teams) that will be proven guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs. With the MLB league participants’ approval, the said move was immediately implemented in 2005. It was clearly stated in the sanctions that immediate suspension will be applied. The intensity of the punishment will depend on the number of offenses. Compared to the previous rule regarding the use of steroids, the new rule is stricter. Whereas a first offense only requires rehabilitation treatment for the anonymous player before, name dropping will now be implemented in addition to the suspension penalty for first-time users.

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