Baseball loves numbers. 20 strikeouts. 3,000 hits. 500 homers.

If you follow the sport, then the meaning behind significant numbers is easy to deduce, except for nine (9). Why is a standard baseball game, sans extra innings, nine innings in length?

The ceremonial first pitch before all Major League Baseball games is an iconic tradition where a distinguished guest throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities. This guest can be anyone from a celebrity, to a hero, or even the President of the United States. They take their place at the front of a pitcher's mound and try their best to throw a strike.

While it is everyone’s dream to throw a perfect strike in front of a huge crowd, that doesn’t always happen. So, here at JustBats, we’ve created this list of the worst first pitches ever.

"You wanna have a catch?"

"There's no crying in baseball!"

"How can you not get romantic about baseball?"

The marriage between cinema and baseball has long been a happy one. Baseball is filled with pageantry, romance, history, emotion, and scenery, so it makes sense that Hollywood would want to capture all of this on film. There have been some strikeouts as far as baseball movies go, but, wow, have there been some grand slams too. That's why JustBats.com has conducted unofficial polls to produce the list of 10 best baseball movies of all-time.

Has your son or daughter just learned how to walk, but can already throw a round object across the room? How do you cultivate that talent? When should your child start playing baseball or softball?

For some perspective, All-Star pitcher CC Sabathia started playing baseball at four years old. Softball phenom Jennie Finch didn't play organized softball until she was eight. Mark Teixeira had his first glove when he was just one. And JD Drew, a former first round draft pick, started playing baseball at 13. Not only do results vary, but the answer to the question What age should my child start playing baseball?  varies even more.

According to a recent Harris Poll, football is considered the most popular sport in America. Meanwhile, baseball's popularity has steadily lost ground to football nearly every year. JustBats is biased toward baseball and softball, so the trend of football surpassing America's pastime as a favorite sport is disappointing.

Baseball, the sport some believe is only relevant to grandparents, is better than football. Here are nine reasons why:

Nicknames in baseball are, basically, mandatory for players. They bring about a certain type of camaraderie and personality to the game that allows fans to relate to their favorite player and connect with them on a personal level. These nicknames may either embody a player and his game or be completely off base and outlandish. Either way, baseball nicknames are awesome, right? After going through the ultimate list of baseball nicknames, JustBats narrowed it down to our favorites.

Tired of wearing corporate tee shirts of your favorite MLB team? Tell us about it. Admittedly, baseball is slow to change. But just like the on-field game has embraced different statistical models, the off-field baseball game has also embraced change over the past decade.

Enter Routine.

BAT FLIP, noun, an exaggerated throwing of your bat after a clutch hit or homerun.

With the emergence of social media and more animated personalities in baseball, bat flips have become more prevalent, more controversial, and more popular.

From big leaguers to little leaguers, players check this first when they get to the ballfield and throw their bat bag into the dugout. That's right, the lineup card for that day's game. And, although every spot in the lineup is important, a player's spot in the lineup is important, right? Which spot in the lineup is the best? Early in the lineup or late? Leading off an inning or having the potential of runners on base?

JustBats breaks down all nine spots in the lineup.

With the Major League Baseball (MLB) season over, it's time to bid farewell to some of our favorite players. Each year, some of the game's top players decide to hang up their cleats and move on to their life after baseball. JustBats has compiled a list of some of our favorite players who retired from baseball and will be sorely missed on opening night of the 2017 season.