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The first official game of baseball was played in Hoboken, New Jersey on June 19, 1846. Alexander Cartwright, along with his club mates from the New York Knickerbockers, created the first codified set of rules for baseball. The ""Knickerbocker Rules"" differentiated from other sets of rules at that time in that they ruled a player must get a base runner out by a tag or a force, rather than having the option of striking the base runner with the baseball for an out.
Baseball originated from earlier European games, but baseball as we know it today was first developed in the United States and has long been considered an important part of American culture. Major League Baseball (MLB) is the top level of competition for professional players and is divided up into the American League and the National League. MLB players compete every year for a championship in the World Series, where the winner of the American League faces off against the winner of the National League in a best-of-seven series of games.
The rise of other sports, such as football, has led to a decline in baseball's popularity.Major League Baseball today revolves around the National League and the American League. Each team plays 162 games in the regular season, followed by a postseason that culminates in the seven-game World Series, when the champions from each league face each other for the title of national champion. There are also other events, such as pre-season games and the All-Star Game, featuring the best players from each league.
Under the current system, there are also several minor leagues for baseball players, including Triple-A (AAA), Double-A (AA) and Single-A. Minor league teams are affiliated with major league teams, and if a certain player is good enough, you can watch him rise through the team's ranks from the club's Single-A affiliate all the way to the MLB team. The AAA is split into the International League and the Pacific Coast League. The champions of these two leagues square off every year in a single game for the AAA Baseball National Championship. The AA is divided into the Eastern League, the Southern League and the Texas League. These leagues determine their own champions through a playoff system.