Baseball, as the kids like to say, is as American as apple pie. There's one small difference, though.
We don't commemorate pies with ginormous statues. (Yet.)
Two British researchers spent 18 months locating each one and creating the first-ever database. The result? More than 200 statues across 35 states.
It's apparently a somewhat new practice, as only 10 percent of the statues are from before 1990.
The most popular state for statuary statements? That'd be Missouri, thanks to the Cardinals, Royals, and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
Some states only have a single statue. This one of Mel Ott is the only one you'll find in Louisiana.
Alabama's got one, in honor of college coach Eddie Stanky.
There's even one in Delaware, where this statue of legendary Negro League third baseman Judy Johnson was erected in 1995.
The oldest statue dates back to c. 1885, when St. Louis Browns owner Christian Von Der Ahe was honored with one.
You won't find this 1934 statue of Babe Ruth out and about. It disappeared from the Baltimore Museum of Art and is presumed stolen.
Jackie Robinson is the most popular subject, with seven statues bearing his likeness. This one, erected at UCLA in 1985, was the first.
More than 160 specific people are honored with baseball-related statues, and not of all them are famous. This one is for Texas Rangers fan Shannon Stone, who died in 2010, and his young son.
And some are anonymous. This one erected in 1891 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is in honor of "our national game."
The database has all the statues plotted out on a map, and indicates where new statues are planned. (Those are the yellow flags.)
Pro tip: 70 percent of them are located near MLB or minor league stadiums, so if you need to be reminded of all that once was good, and could be again, just find the nearest game.
