baseball player signing baseballs
Young fans hold up baseballs for Royals star George Brett to sign.
Photograph by Ted Spiegel, National Geographic

Take me out to the ball game: 15 unique baseball photos

From a bat factory to Amish Country to the World Series, see our favorite baseball photos from the National Geographic archives.

ByMelody Rowell
October 19, 2018

Though baseball is a global passion and you can find a pickup or professional game from Cuba to Canada to Japan, it’s arguably the most American of sports. And the most nostalgic. It’s “the timeless aspect of the game [that] has helped connect generations for more than two hundred years,” says Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

And another thing ... Baseball is one of those things that is more than the sum of its bat-ball-and-glove parts. Writes sports columnist Mike Barnicle: “It is your life played across nine innings. It comes with hits, runs and errors. It's played by people who are rather isolated on the field ... and when they make a mistake, an error, it’s there for all to see. But they do what you must do every day: Get back in the batter’s box and keep on swinging.”

We went through our archives to retrieve some of the most iconic National Geographic images of this beautiful game. Enjoy!

men working in baseball bat factory
Two men are working in a baseball factory.
Photograph by Edwin L. Wisherd, National Geographic
Filipinos playing baseball
Bystanders watch an Igorot baseball game in progress.
Photograph by Dean C. Worcester, National Geographic
White House from above
An aerial view of the White House, Ellipse, and 16th Street.
Photograph by U.S. Army Air Service
baseball player sliding into a base
A baseball player slides into a base while a catcher leaps at him.
Photograph by Paul Thompson, National Geographic
people playing baseball in snow
Men playing baseball on the frozen Bering Sea.
Photograph by U.S. Coast Guard
Amish girl playing baseball
Amish school children play softball in Holmes County, Ohio, the world's largest Amish community.
Photograph by Bill Luster, National Geographic
man selling hot dogs at baseball game
Man sells hot dogs at night baseball game at Korakuen Sports Center.
Photograph by Winfield Parks, National Geographic
baseball player kissing woman
A minor league baseball player kisses his wife before a game.
Photograph by William Albert Allard, National Geographic
monks playing softball
Monks at Gampo Abbey practice for an annual softball game.
Photography by Steve McCurry, National Geographic
baseball players stretching
A view of Helena Brewers warming up before a game.
Photograph by William Albert Allard, National Geographic
baseball diamond
World Series Little League Stadium during the season's final game.
Photograph by William T. Douthitt, National Geographic
baseball players celebrating
After winning the decisive game of the 1985 Japan Series, the victorious Hanshin Tigers carry their pitcher, an American, off the field. Osaka's Hanshin Tigers defeated Tokyo's Seibu Lions in the series.
Photograph by David Alan Harvey, National Geographic
kayaks in water outside baseball stadium
Kayaks in McCovey Cove for 2010 World Series Game Giants vs. Rangers.
Photograph by James A. Sugar, National Geographic
baseball player holding bat over his head
A baseball player stretches before going up to bat.
Photograph by William Albert Allard, National Geographic
This article was updated October 19, 2018.