These Photos Of Baseball Players From The 1800s Are Very Strange

Courtesy of the New York Public LibraryThough it seems like baseball just ended, we're already back in full swing with spring training and the World Baseball Classic.

The New York Public Library has a treasure trove of really old baseball pictures.

As it turns out, the ones from the 1800s are strangely captivating.

The blog Ptak Science Books first uncovered them, and then io9 picked it up.

We pulled out a mix of action shots, team photos, and portraits with floating baseballs (they're actually dangling from strings) that we simply couldn't stop looking at.

We can't tell exactly what makes them so awesome.

Maybe it's the silly uniforms. Maybe it's the mustaches. Or maybe it's the old-school photography.

But they're great.