Getting Started with the Baseball API
Learn how to authenticate, make your first request, and explore baseball data endpoints.
Introduction
The Baseball API provides comprehensive data for baseball leagues worldwide, including MLB, NPB (Japan), KBO (Korea), and more. This guide walks you through authentication, your first API call, and understanding the response structure.
Authentication
All API requests require an API key. You can send it via HTTP header (recommended) or as a query parameter.
HTTP Header Method
Query Parameter Method
Your First Request: Get All Leagues
Start by fetching all available baseball leagues. This gives you league IDs needed for other endpoints.
The response includes league details like name, country, season dates, and importance rating.
Understanding the Response Structure
All API responses follow a consistent structure with a message field and data array.
- message: Status of the request ('Success' or error details)
- data: Array of results (leagues, teams, players, etc.)
- pagination: Present when results are paginated (current_page, per_page, total, last_page)
Core Endpoints Overview
The Baseball API provides these main data categories:
- /baseball/countries - List of countries with baseball leagues
- /baseball/leagues - All available leagues with season info
- /baseball/leagues/{id}/teams - Teams in a specific league
- /baseball/players - Player data with batting, pitching, fielding stats
- /baseball/games - Historical and upcoming games
- /baseball/live - Real-time live game data
- /baseball/odds - Pre-match betting odds
- /baseball/leagues/{id}/standings - Division standings
Pagination
Most list endpoints support pagination. Use itemsPerPage and page query parameters to control results.
Error Handling
Handle these common HTTP status codes in your application:
- 401 Unauthorized - API key missing or invalid
- 403 Forbidden - No active plan or no access to requested data
- 404 Not Found - Resource doesn't exist
- 422 Validation Error - Invalid request parameters
- 429 Too Many Requests - Rate limit exceeded
Next Steps
Now that you understand the basics, explore our tutorials on building live scoreboards, standings trackers, and player statistics dashboards using the Baseball API.