ABSTRACT

Since its inception, baseball has been a man’s domain. During the late nineteenth century, American society was undergoing tremendous social, political, and economic upheaval. As a result, white, middle-class men were experiencing a crisis of masculinity. Opportunities for women were increasing and nonwhite immigrants were entering into major industrial centers in droves. Workplace autonomy was declining under the burgeoning capitalist system. Many white, middle-class men recognized that their power within the social structure was eroding. According to Michael Kimmel, these powerful social structural shifts resulted in a crisis of gender identity. Fear over whether the traditional white, middle-class version of masculinity would prevail in the face of counterhegemonic forces was rampant. Subsequently, the emergence of the sport of baseball was one attempt to ameliorate this crisis. 1