Fact Check: Is it possible to play baseball in outer space? Exploring how astronauts channel their inner 'All-Star'

Baseball is an earthly sport, like all the rest of them. They originated on earth and are generally only played there. One might never consider playing baseball anywhere else, but astronauts often spend a lot of time off of the planet. Can they play baseball?

Shockingly, the answer is yes. One YouTube video showed astronauts having their own small baseball game in space. It's not exactly like the beloved sport fans adore, but it's the closest thing. For those up in space, that may be all they need.

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Can you play baseball in space?

Average baseball fans wouldn't ever think of playing a sport anywhere else. They don't go anywhere else, so why would it matter? For astronauts who love the game, their options are much slimmer.

Fortunately, footage has surfaced confirming that one can indeed play the epic sport in space. Check it out below:

The change in gravity makes things different. There's no 99-mile per hour fastball from Jacob deGrom in space. The ball can only move so fast with no gravity.

The same applies to any hit. Aaron Judge isn't blasting a 110 mile per hour home run in space. The ball simply cannot travel that far. Nevertheless, the three astronauts above made it work.

Unfortunately, the ball generally travels in a straight line, which makes it very easy to catch. It made it very easy to grab the comebacker that the astronaut above hit.

Obviously, it's the version of baseball that many fans used to play with tiny bats and a rolled up sock as kids. It only uses very few players, and there's no real field. The MLB diamond does not exist in space, and the game as it is exactly played on earth doesn't either.

There are no baseball fields in space

However, it is incredibly impressive that this can even occur. The same could probably be said for other sports if astronauts tried to play them in outer space, but some would certainly be more difficult than others. For baseball, it was clearly fun enough for these astronauts.

Back in 2021, astronauts played a game of baseball in space to commemorate the World Series that the Houston Astros were playing in. Space and baseball are no longer strangers.