Major league baseball, including teams from the United States and Canada, is divided into the National League and the American League. The major league baseball season lasts from April to October and includes the regular season, the playoffs, and the World Series. The final series in the league playoffs determines which team wins the pennant, or championship, of their league. The two pennant winners meet in the World Series, and the winner of this series becomes the major league world champion. American soldiers brought baseball to Japan, where it is widely played.
Baseball is also popular in Cuba and other Caribbean nations.
A Little History There has been a lot of controversy over where baseball came from. In 1907, a commission decided that the modern game, called baseball, was invented by Abner Doubleday in 1839. Historians, however, disagree about the origin of baseball. Kids today still play some of these forms of the game. Baseball did not receive a standard set of rules until 1845.