A seemingly intrinsic part of the game of baseball is the keeping of statistics on the achievements of the players. Started by Henry Chadwick in the 19th century who devised the concept of batting average based on his experience of cricket. Commonly used statistics are explained here:
... was dedicated to his memory in the presence
of the archbishop of Utrecht in St. Michael's Church,
Zwolle, Nov. 11, 1897.
Thomas à Kempis belonged to the school ...