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The Baseball Portal
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.jpg.webp) Mookie Betts hits a pitch by swinging his bat |
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter).
The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning. A game is usually composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature pace-of-play regulations such as the pitch clock to shorten game time.
Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of escapism during troubled points in American history such as the American Civil War and the Great Depression, have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as the national sport of the United States, though in modern times is considered less popular than other sports, such as American football. In addition to North America, baseball is considered the most popular sport in parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. (Full article...)
Featured articles -
Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
Feller in 1996
Robert William Andrew "Bob" Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians between 1936 and 1956. In a career spanning 570 games, Feller pitched 3,827 innings and posted a win–loss record of 266–162, with 279 complete games, 44 shutouts, and a 3.25 earned run average (ERA). His career 2,581 strikeouts were third all-time upon his retirement.
A prodigy who bypassed baseball's minor leagues, Feller made his debut with the Indians at the age of 17. His career was interrupted by four years of military service (1942–1945) as a United States Navy Chief Petty Officer aboard USS Alabama during World War II. Feller became the first pitcher to win 24 games in a season before the age of 21. He threw no-hitters in 1940, 1946, and 1951, and 12 one-hitters, both records at his retirement. He helped the Indians win a World Series title in 1948 and an American League-record 111 wins and the pennant in 1954. Feller led the American League in wins six times and in strikeouts seven times. In 1946 he recorded 348 strikeouts, the most since 1904 and then believed to be a record. (Full article...)
Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 1933), New York Giants (1927), Boston Braves (1928), Chicago Cubs (1929–1932), and St. Louis Browns (1933–1937). He was named the National League (NL)'s Most Valuable Player (MVP) twice, and was a member of one World Series championship team.
Born in Winters, Texas, and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Hornsby played for several semi-professional and minor league teams. In 1915, he began his major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals and remained with the team for 12 seasons. During this period, Hornsby won his first MVP Award and the Cardinals won the 1926 World Series. After that season, he spent one season with the New York Giants and another with the Boston Braves before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. He played with the Cubs for four years and won his second MVP Award before the team released him in 1932. Hornsby re-signed with the Cardinals in 1933, but was released partway through the season, effectively ending his career as a full-time player. He was picked up by the St. Louis Browns and remained there until his final season in 1937, though he made only 67 appearances for them as a player. From 1925 to 1937, Hornsby was intermittently a player-manager. After retiring as a player, he managed the Browns in 1952 and the Cincinnati Reds from 1952 to 1953. (Full article...)
Killebrew in 1962
Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (/ˈkɪlɪbruː/; June 29, 1936 – May 17, 2011), nicknamed "The Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He who spent most of his 22-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Minnesota Twins. A prolific power hitter, Killebrew had the fifth-most home runs in major league history at the time of his retirement. He was second only to Babe Ruth in American League (AL) home runs, and was the AL career leader in home runs by a right-handed batter. Killebrew was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Killebrew was 5-foot-11-inch (180 cm) tall and 213 pounds (97 kg). His compact swing generated tremendous power and made him one of the most feared power hitters of the 1960s, when he hit at least 40 home runs in a season eight times. In total Killebrew led the league six times in home runs and three times in RBIs, and was named to 13 All-Star teams. In 1965, he played in the World Series with the Twins, who lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His finest season was 1969, when he hit 49 home runs, recorded 140 RBIs and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award while helping lead the Twins to the AL West pennant. (Full article...)
James Robert "Loafer" McAleer (July 10, 1864 – April 29, 1931) was an American center fielder, manager, and stockholder in Major League Baseball who assisted in establishing the American League. He spent most of his 13-season playing career with the Cleveland Spiders, and went on to manage the Cleveland Blues, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Senators. Shortly before his retirement, he became a major shareholder in the Boston Red Sox.
His career ended abruptly. During his brief tenure as co-owner of the Red Sox, McAleer quarreled with longtime friend and colleague Ban Johnson, president of the American League. In the wake of this disagreement, he sold off his shares in the Red Sox and broke off his relationship with Major League Baseball. (Full article...)
Studio portrait of William Ponsford, ca. 1925.jpg
William Harold Ponsford MBE (19 October 1900 – 6 April 1991) was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain. Ponsford is the only player to twice break the world record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket; Ponsford and Brian Lara are the only cricketers to twice score 400 runs in an innings. Ponsford holds the Australian record for a partnership in Test cricket, set in 1934 in combination with Don Bradman (451 for 2nd wicket)—the man who broke many of Ponsford's other individual records. In fact, he along with Bradman set the record for the highest partnership ever for any wicket in Test cricket history when playing on away soil (451 runs for the second wicket)
Despite being heavily built, Ponsford was quick on his feet and renowned as one of the finest ever players of spin bowling. His bat, much heavier than the norm and nicknamed "Big Bertha", allowed him to drive powerfully and he possessed a strong cut shot. However, critics questioned his ability against fast bowling, and the hostile short-pitched English bowling in the Bodyline series of 1932–33 was a contributing factor in his early retirement from cricket a year and a half later. Ponsford also represented his state and country in baseball, and credited the sport with improving his cricketing skills. (Full article...)- Wii Sports is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The 1.0 (pre-release) version of the game was released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and the 1.1 version was released in Japan, Australia, Europe, and North America over the following months. It was included as a pack-in game with the console in all territories except Japan, making it the first sports game included with the launch of a Nintendo system since Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy in 1995. The game is available on its own as part of the Nintendo Selects collection of games.
Wii Sports is a collection of five sports simulations, which have been designed to demonstrate the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote. The five sports included are tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing. Players use the Wii Remote to mimic actions performed in real-life sports, such as swinging a tennis racket. The rules for each game are simplified to make them more accessible to new players. The game also features training and fitness modes that monitor players' progress in the sports. (Full article...) 
First Horizon Park at dusk
First Horizon Park, formerly known as First Tennessee Park, is a baseball park in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The home of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds of the International League, it opened on April 17, 2015, and can seat up to 10,000 people. It replaced the Sounds' former home, Herschel Greer Stadium, where the team played from its founding in 1978 through 2014.
The park was built on the site of the former Sulphur Dell, a minor league ballpark in use from 1885 to 1963. It is located between Third and Fifth Avenues on the east and west (home plate, the pitcher's mound, and second base are directly in line with Fourth Avenue to the stadium's north and south) and between Junior Gilliam Way and Harrison Street on the north and south. The Nashville skyline can be seen from the stadium to the south. (Full article...)
Adams circa 1870
Daniel Lucius "Doc" Adams (November 1, 1814 – January 3, 1899) was an American baseball player and executive who is regarded by historians as an important figure in the sport's early years. For most of his career he was a member of the New York Knickerbockers. He first played for the New York Base Ball Club in 1840 and started his Knickerbockers career five years later, continuing to play for the club into his forties and to take part in inter-squad practice games and matches against opposing teams. Researchers have called Adams the creator of the shortstop position, which he used to field short throws from outfielders. In addition to his playing career, Adams manufactured baseballs and oversaw bat production; he also occasionally acted as an umpire.
From 1847 to 1861, the Knickerbockers selected Adams as their president six times, and as a vice president, treasurer, or director in six other years. As president of the club, Adams was an advocate of rule changes in baseball that resulted in nine-man teams and nine-inning games. When the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was formed in 1858, he led the rules and regulations committee of the new organization. In his role, Adams ruled that the fields' bases should be 90 feet (27 m) apart, the modern distance, and supported the elimination of the "bound rule", which allowed for balls caught after one bounce to be recorded as outs. He resigned from his positions with the Knickerbockers and NABBP in 1862. Adams' contributions in creating baseball's rules went largely unrecognized for decades after his 1899 death, but in 1980 a letter about him appeared in The New York Times; by 1993, researcher John Thorn had written about Adams' role. Other historians have given him credit for helping to develop the sport, and Thorn has called Adams "first among the Fathers of Baseball". (Full article...).png.webp)
Lawrence Winchester Wetherby (January 2, 1908 – March 27, 1994) was an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Kentucky. He was the first of only two governors in state history born in Jefferson County, despite the fact that Louisville (the county seat) is the state's most populous city. The second governor born in Jefferson County is the incumbent governor, Andy Beshear.
After graduating from the University of Louisville, Wetherby held several minor offices in the Jefferson County judicial system before being elected lieutenant governor in 1947. He was called Kentucky's first "working" lieutenant governor because Governor Earle C. Clements asked him to carry out duties beyond his constitutional responsibility to preside over the state Senate, such as preparing the state budget and attending the Southern Governors Conference. In 1950, Clements resigned to assume a seat in the U.S. Senate, elevating Wetherby to governor. Wetherby won immediate acclaim by calling a special legislative session to increase funding for education and government benefits from the state's budget surplus. In 1951, he won a four-year full term as governor, during which he continued and expanded many of Clements' programs, including increased road construction and industrial diversification. He endorsed the Supreme Court's 1954 desegregation order in the case of Brown v. Board of Education and appointed a biracial commission to oversee the successful integration of the state's schools. As chairman of the Southern Governors Conference in 1954 and 1955, he encouraged other southern governors to accept and implement desegregation. (Full article...)
Tucker in 1950
Thurman Lowell Tucker (September 26, 1917 – May 7, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. A center fielder, Tucker played in Major League Baseball for nine seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. In 701 career games, Tucker recorded a batting average of .255 and accumulated 24 triples, nine home runs, and 179 runs batted in (RBI).
Because of his resemblance to film comedian Joe E. Brown he was nicknamed "Joe E.". (Full article...)
Formal portrait of Stephen Crane, about March 1896
Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism. He is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation.
The ninth surviving child of Methodist parents, Crane began writing at the age of four and had several articles published by the age of 16. Having little interest in university studies though he was active in a fraternity, he left Syracuse University in 1891 to work as a reporter and writer. Crane's first novel was the 1893 Bowery tale Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, generally considered by critics to be the first work of American literary Naturalism. He won international acclaim in 1895 for his Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage, which he wrote without having any battle experience. (Full article...)- Mookie Betts hits a pitch by swinging his bat
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter).
The principal objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely; this generally occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base before an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing the ball out of the batter's reach. Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called "out" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by getting batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three pitches which result in strikes, while fielders can get the batter out by catching a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by tagging them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base. (Full article...) .jpg.webp)
PNC Park in 2016
PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened during the 2001 MLB season, PNC Park sits along the Allegheny River with a view of the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline. Constructed of steel and limestone, it has a natural grass playing surface and can seat 38,747 people for baseball. It was built just to the east of its predecessor, Three Rivers Stadium, which was demolished in 2001.
Plans to build a new stadium for the Pirates originated in 1991 but did not come to fruition for five years. Funded in conjunction with Acrisure Stadium and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the park was built for $216 million in 24 months, faster than most modern stadiums. Built in the "retro-classic" style modeled after past venues like Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, PNC Park also introduced unique features, such as the use of limestone in the building's facade. The park has a riverside concourse, steel truss work, an extensive out-of-town scoreboard, and local eateries. Several tributes to former Pirate Roberto Clemente are incorporated into the ballpark, and the nearby Sixth Street Bridge was renamed in his honor. In addition to the Pirates' regular-season and postseason home games, PNC Park has hosted other events, including the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and numerous concerts. (Full article...)
Rogers Hornsby tags out Babe Ruth who is caught attempting to steal second base, ending the 1926 World Series.
The 1926 World Series was the championship series of the 1926 Major League Baseball season. The 23rd edition of the Series, it pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees. The Cardinals defeated the Yankees four games to three in the best-of-seven series, which took place from October 2 to 10, 1926, at Yankee Stadium and Sportsman's Park.
This was the first World Series appearance (and first National League pennant win) for the Cardinals, and would be the first of 11 World Series championships in Cardinals history. The Yankees were playing in their fourth World Series in six years after winning their first American League pennant in 1921 and their first world championship in 1923. They would play in another 36 World Series (and win 26 of those) through the end of the 2022 season. (Full article...)
Morris Berg (March 2, 1902 – May 29, 1972) was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball, who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Although he played 15 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely for four American League teams, Berg was never more than an average player and was better known for being "the brainiest guy in baseball." Casey Stengel once described Berg as "the strangest man ever to play baseball".
A graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Law School, Berg spoke several languages and regularly read ten newspapers a day. His reputation as an intellectual was fueled by his successful appearances as a contestant on the radio quiz show Information Please, in which he answered questions about the etymology of words and names from Greek and Latin, historical events in Europe and the Far East, and ongoing international conferences. (Full article...)
General images -
The following are images from various baseball-related articles on Wikipedia.
Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs (from Baseball)
The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million. (from Baseball)
Cy Young—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young. (from Baseball)- Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs (from History of baseball)
David Ortiz, the batter, awaiting a pitch, with the catcher and umpire (from Baseball)
Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 (from Baseball)
Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the left. (from Baseball)
Pesäpallo, a Finnish variation of baseball, was invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s, and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland. (from Baseball)
2013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 (from Baseball)
Diagram of a baseball field Diamond may refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field. The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games. Children often play on smaller fields. (from Baseball)
An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 (from Baseball)
A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park (from Baseball)
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Alexander Cartwright, father of modern baseball (from History of baseball)
A well-worn baseball (from Baseball)
Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs. (from Baseball)
In May 2010, the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay pitched the 20th major league perfect game. That October, he pitched only the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history. (from History of baseball).jpg.webp)
Cover of Official Base Ball Rules, 1921 edition, used by the American League and National League (from Baseball rules)_in_the_Cantigas_de_Santa_Maria.jpg.webp)
A game from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, c. 1280, involving tossing a ball, hitting it with a stick and competing with others to catch it (from History of baseball)- Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs with 868. (from History of baseball)
Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game (from Baseball)
Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not uniform numbers) (from Baseball)
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The NL champion New York Giants baseball team, 1913. Fred Merkle, sixth in line, had committed a baserunning gaffe in a crucial 1908 game that became famous as Merkle's Boner. (from History of baseball)
Good articles -
These are Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
Victor Aldridge (October 25, 1893 – April 17, 1973), nicknamed the "Hoosier Schoolmaster", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants, and was known to be an excellent curveball pitcher. Before his playing career he was a schoolmaster, hence his nickname. His most significant actions as a player occurred during the 1925 World Series, where Aldridge completed and won games two and five, only to have the most disastrous first inning in the seventh game of the World Series ever. After his retirement from baseball, he served as a state senator in the Indiana General Assembly. Aldridge is a member of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame, inducted in 2007. (Full article...)- Norman Clifford Louis O'Neill OAM (19 February 1937 – 3 March 2008) was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-handed batsman known for his back foot strokeplay, O'Neill made his state debut aged 18, before progressing to Test selection aged 21 in late 1958. Early in his career, O'Neill was one of the foremost batsmen in the Australian team, scoring three Test centuries and topping the run-scoring aggregates on a 1959–60 tour of the Indian subcontinent which helped Australia win its last Test and series on Pakistani soil for 39 years, as well as another series in India. His career peaked in 1960–61 when he scored 181 in the Tied Test against the West Indies, and at the end of the series, had a career average of 58.25.
O'Neill's performances on the 1961 tour of England saw him named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Thereafter his form was less formidable, characterised by nervousness and fidgeting at the start of his innings. Persistent knee problems, as well as a controversial media attack on the legality of West Indian bowler Charlie Griffith, saw him dropped from the Australian team after 1965. O'Neill also bowled occasional leg spin and was regarded as one of the finest fielders of his era. He later became a cricket commentator and his son Mark O'Neill also played cricket at state level. (Full article...) 
Clarke playing for the Cleveland Naps
Jay Justin "Nig" Clarke (December 15, 1882 – June 15, 1949) was a Canadian professional baseball player. A catcher, Clarke played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Naps, St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates. In 506 career games, Clarke recorded a batting average of .254 and accumulated 20 triples, six home runs, and 127 runs batted in (RBI).
Born in Canada and raised in Michigan, Clarke began his baseball career in 1902, when he reportedly hit eight home runs in one game while playing for the Corsicana Oil Citys of the Texas League. From there, he spent two more seasons in the minor leagues before the Cleveland Naps signed him to a contract. Aside from a loan to the Detroit Tigers, he played for the Naps for six seasons. Clarke was then traded to the St. Louis Browns, where he played for one season. After several years in the minor leagues, Clarke joined the United States Marine Corps. He returned to the major leagues and played there until 1920, then continued playing for minor league teams until 1927. Clarke then retired from the game, rejoined the Marines, and moved to River Rouge, Michigan, where he lived until his death in 1949. (Full article...)
The 1999 Baltimore Orioles – Cuba national baseball team exhibition series consisted of two exhibition games played between the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Cuba national baseball team on March 28 and May 3, 1999. The first game took place in Havana, while the second was held in Baltimore. This series marked the first time that the Cuba national team had faced a squad composed solely of major league players and the close of the hiatus since 1959 that an MLB team played in Cuba.
In the 1990s, Orioles' owner Peter Angelos lobbied the United States federal government to gain permission to hold this series for three years. Various politicians, including members of the United States House of Representatives, opposed the idea and attempted to block the series. Eventually, Angelos secured the approval in 1999, after a change in United States foreign policy to Cuba under President Bill Clinton, which eased travel restrictions and increased cultural exchange. (Full article...)
George Kaiserling (May 12, 1893 – March 2, 1918) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Born and raised in Steubenville, Ohio, he played in the Federal League in 1914 for the Indianapolis Hoosiers, moving with them to New Jersey in 1915 where they became the Newark Peppers. Kaiserling won 17 games for pennant-winning Indianapolis in 1914 and finished seventh in the Federal League with a 2.24 earned run average (ERA) in 1914. After pitching for a minor league team in 1916, he contracted tuberculosis the following year, dying of the disease at age 24 in 1918. (Full article...)
Plews in 1959
Herbert Eugene Plews (June 14, 1928 – December 12, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He played four years in the majors, from 1956 to 1959 with the Washington Senators and in 1959 for the Boston Red Sox. In the minor leagues he played for Kansas City, Binghamton, Norfolk, and Denver before reaching the majors in 1956, and Toronto, Birmingham, Hawaii, Tacoma, and Arkansas after his major league career ended. During his playing career he served in the military from 1951 to 1952, during the Korean War. Plews batted left-handed and threw right-handed; he was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 160 pounds (73 kg).
Born in East Helena, Montana, Plews would be (at the time of his death) the only player from the Helena area to reach the major leagues. After four years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he signed with the New York Yankees in 1950. Plews's time in the minor leagues was interrupted by his military service, but he had made it to the Denver Bears (the top affiliate of the Yankees' system) by 1955. After the season, though, he was sent to the Senators in a multi-player trade. Plews debuted with Washington in 1956 and started at second base for them over much of the next three years. Mostly a part-time player in 1959, he was traded to the Red Sox in July, appearing in just 13 more games before being sent to the minors. He played six more years of professional baseball before retiring at the end of 1965. After his baseball career, Plews worked in cement plants, first in Montana and then in the Denver area. He died in 2014. (Full article...)
Baker with the Minnesota Twins
Timothy Scott Baker (born September 19, 1981) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He stands 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and weighs 215 pounds (98 kg). He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. He bats and throws right-handed.
Baker grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, and attended Oklahoma State University. He was drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft and reached the major leagues in 2005. In 2006, he made their starting rotation out of Spring training but struggled and was sent to the minor leagues for most of the rest of the season. Beginning 2007 in the minors, he was called up in May and nearly threw a perfect game on August 31. He went 11–4 in 2008 and posted a 3.45 earned run average (ERA). In 2009, Baker logged a career-high 200 innings and started the American League (AL) tiebreaker game against the Detroit Tigers which the Twins won to advance to the postseason. He had a 12–9 record in 2010 but battled injuries towards the end of the year and was left out of the Twins' postseason rotation. Injuries limited Baker in 2011 again, but he was the only Twins' pitcher to post a winning record. He missed 2012 after undergoing Tommy John surgery; this also caused him to miss most of 2013, which he spent with the Chicago Cubs. He began 2014 in the minor leagues but was later added to the Texas Rangers' roster. Baker started eight games for the Rangers but was used mainly as a relief pitcher. In 2015, he signed with the New York Yankees but was released before the season started. Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he started two games for them, the last appearances of his major league career. (Full article...)
John Alfred Marcum (September 9, 1909 – September 10, 1984), nicknamed "Footsie" and "Moose", was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played for seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox. Over seven seasons, he had a 65–63 record and a 4.66 earned run average (ERA).
Growing up in Kentucky, Marcum's professional career started after Bill Neal, the manager of the Louisville Colonels, saw him pitching and signed him to a contract. Marcum entered the major leagues late in the 1933 season with the Athletics, compiling a record of 3–2 in five appearances. He spent the next two years with the Athletics as one of their main starting pitchers, posting records of 14–11 in 1934 and 17–12 in 1935, a season in which he received votes for the American League Most Valuable Player. Before the 1936 season, Marcum was traded to the Red Sox, who were spending a great deal of money in hopes of improving. Marcum spent 1936–1938 with Boston, but he and other acquisitions failed to live up to expectations. After splitting 1939 between the Browns and the White Sox, Marcum pitched in the minor leagues for several more seasons before retiring. Following his baseball career, he returned to Kentucky, tending a 165-acre farm in Eminence. (Full article...)
Wever with the Nashville Sounds in 1982
Stefan Matthew Wever (April 22, 1958 – December 27, 2022) was a German-born American professional baseball pitcher, who played a single Major League Baseball game with the New York Yankees in 1982, recording the loss, a 27.00 earned run average (ERA), and two strikeouts in that game.
Born in West Germany, Wever moved to the United States as a child, where he took up baseball. He played baseball in high school and the University of California, Santa Barbara, which led to him being drafted by the New York Yankees. After four seasons in the minor leagues, Wever made his major league debut on September 17, 1982. In his debut, he suffered a shoulder injury, which he tried to pitch through for two years before having surgery in 1984. He tried to come back from the injury in 1985, but retired. After retiring, he opened a bar in San Francisco, which he continued to run. (Full article...)- Albert Thake (September 21, 1849 – September 1, 1872) was an English professional baseball left fielder for the Brooklyn Atlantics of the National Association. Joining the team in 1872, he played 18 games for them, batting .295 with 14 runs scored, 23 hits, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 0 home runs, 15 runs batted in (RBI), and 2 stolen bases. Thake died on September 1, 1872, when he drowned off the coast of Fort Hamilton while fishing. (Full article...)
Robinson in 2000
Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "the Human Vacuum Cleaner" or "Mr. Hoover", he is generally considered to have been the greatest defensive third baseman in major league history. A 15-time All-Star, he won 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards, setting a record later tied by Jim Kaat and broken by Greg Maddux. His 2,870 career games at third base not only exceeded the closest player by nearly 700 games when he retired, but also remain the most games by any player in major league history at a single position. His 23 seasons spent with a single team set a major league record since matched only by Carl Yastrzemski.
Joining the Orioles less than two years after the franchise relocated from St. Louis, Robinson played a major role in rejuvenating what had been one of the weakest major league clubs. He became the centerpiece of the team as they posted the best record in the major leagues during the decade from 1965 to 1974, capturing four American League (AL) pennants and two World Series titles. He was named the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1964 after posting career highs with a .317 batting average, 28 home runs and 118 runs batted in (RBI), leading the AL in the last category. In 1966 he finished second in the MVP voting behind teammate Frank Robinson after again posting 100 RBI as the Orioles won the pennant, then swept the Los Angeles Dodgers for the team's first Series title. In the 1970 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Robinson drew wide attention with his strong defensive play, time after time robbing Cincinnati players of base hits, and drove in runs in the first four games; his performance won him the World Series MVP Award as Baltimore defeated the Reds in five games. In 1971 he became one of just 12 players to earn over $100,000 annually. Robinson led AL third basemen in fielding percentage eleven times and in assists eight times, both major league records, and in putouts and double plays three times each. He still holds major league records for career putouts (2,697), assists (6,205), total chances (9,165) and double plays (618) at third base, with each total being between 13% and 20% higher than the closest player. His career fielding percentage of .971 was a major league record until 2006, and remains the top AL mark. (Full article...)
Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners by retiring all 27 batters he faced on Saturday, April 21, 2012, as the White Sox defeated the Mariners 4–0. It was the 21st perfect game in Major League Baseball (MLB) history and the third by a member of the White Sox. It was Humber's first career complete game, although he had come close to achieving no-hitters on several occasions at several levels of organized baseball. The game was played in Seattle and broadcast regionally by Fox Sports in the two teams' metropolitan areas.
Humber, a top pitching prospect from a Texas high school, attended Rice University, where he had a successful career. A high draft pick by the New York Mets, he debuted in MLB for the Mets before headlining a group of four prospects traded to the Minnesota Twins for Johan Santana. After two ineffective seasons with the Twins, Humber pitched a season for the Kansas City Royals. Acquired on waivers by the Chicago White Sox in 2011, Humber had his first successful season in an MLB starting rotation. The perfect game, Humber's 30th career start and his 2nd of the 2012 season, totaled 96 pitches. (Full article...)- John Stein "Tacks" Neuer (June 8, 1877 – January 14, 1966) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Highlanders in 1907. In seven career games, he had a 4–2 record, with a 2.17 earned run average (ERA) and 22 strikeouts.
A veteran of the Spanish–American War, Neuer worked as a brakeman before taking up baseball professionally. He played for various minor league teams in 1905 and 1907 before making his debut for the New York Highlanders. With New York, he threw three shutouts in seven games, and was praised by manager Clark Griffith for his pitching ability during that stretch. However, his control deteriorated after that season, and over the next three years he played for various minor league teams. He retired after 1910 and became an umpire. He then worked at Bendix Aviation until his retirement in 1942. (Full article...) _(cropped).jpg.webp)
Runzler with the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day in 2011
Daniel Joseph Runzler (born March 30, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who is the pitching coach for the Low-A San Jose Giants of the San Francisco Giants organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Giants from 2009 to 2012 and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017.
Born in Santa Monica, California, on March 30, 1985, Runzler attended the University of California, Riverside. A pitcher for the Highlanders, he was twice drafted, first by the Seattle Mariners in 2006, then by the Giants in 2007 after moving from the starting rotation to the bullpen. He signed with the Giants and made his MLB debut in 2009, posting a 1.04 earned run average (ERA) in 11 games. During the Giants' 2010 World Series season, he pitched in a career-high 41 games, posting a 3–0 record with an ERA of 3.03, though the second half of his season was interrupted by a fractured patella. In 2011, the Giants experimented with using him as a starting pitcher, but he posted a 6.26 ERA and spent much of the season in the minor leagues. An injured lat muscle cost him the first two months of 2012, and he only pitched in six games for the Giants in the 2012 season, when they won their second World Series during his time with the club. He did not pitch for San Francisco in 2013 and 2014, pitching in the minor leagues until halfway through the 2014 season, when he went to Japan and joined the Orix Buffaloes' secondary affiliate for the rest of the year. (Full article...)
Platforms of the Mets–Willets Point station
The Mets–Willets Point station (formerly Willets Point–Shea Stadium station) is a rapid transit station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway. Located near the Citi Field baseball stadium, it is served by the 7 train at all times and by the express <7> train rush hours in the peak direction or after sporting events. This station is located near Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Willets Point, Queens, on Roosevelt Avenue between 114th and 126th Streets.
The station opened on May 7, 1927, as a local station named Willets Point Boulevard, with two side platforms and three tracks. It was rebuilt into the current layout of three tracks, two side platforms, and a center island platform for the 1939 New York World's Fair. The overpass to Flushing Meadows–Corona Park was rebuilt in the early 1940s. Ahead of the 1964 New York World's Fair, the original wooden platforms were replaced with more durable concrete slabs; shortly afterward, the station was renamed for the nearby Shea Stadium. After Shea Stadium was replaced by Citi Field in 2009, the station was renamed after the New York Mets baseball team, and a ramp was added to the Flushing-bound side platform. A connection to the proposed AirTrain LaGuardia people mover system was announced in 2015, but the people mover was canceled in 2023. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Puerto Rico's Willie Hernández became the highest paid player in Detroit Tigers history after winning Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards and a World Series?
- ... that baseball player Mark Littell developed an anatomically correct athletic cup called the "Nutty Buddy"?
- ... that the 1999 video game Interplay Sports Baseball Edition 2000 used a public-address announcer while its rivals were switching to two commentators as featured on real MLB game broadcasts?
- ... that Cy Block and Ross Horning testified before the United States Congress about how the reserve clause limited their careers in professional baseball?
- ... that baseball player Eric Filia worked as a butler at the Playboy Mansion while he was suspended by the University of California, Los Angeles?
- ... that the 1932 Detroit Wolves won the pennant with an outfielder, first baseman, shortstop, and two pitchers who were all inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
- ... that Kelsie Whitmore was part of the first all-female battery in a professional baseball league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League?
- ... that the 1919 Detroit Stars, a Negro league baseball team, included three players who were later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
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Mike Hampton has won five Silver Slugger Awards, best among all pitchers.
The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball (MLB). These voters consider several offensive categories in selecting the winners, including batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, in addition to "coaches' and managers' general impressions of a player's overall offensive value". Managers and coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. The Silver Slugger was first awarded in 1980 and is given by Hillerich & Bradsby, the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger bats. The award is a bat-shaped trophy, 3 feet (91 cm) tall, engraved with the names of each of the winners from the league and plated with sterling silver.
Only National League pitchers receive a Silver Slugger Award; lineups in the American League include the designated hitter, who replaces the pitcher in the batting order, so the designated hitter receives the award instead. However, in the 2020 season, the universal DH was used, and as a result, no National League pitcher was awarded the Silver Slugger Award. Mike Hampton has won the most Silver Sluggers as a pitcher, earning five consecutive awards with four different teams from 1999 to 2003. Tom Glavine is a four-time winner (1991, 1995–1996, 1998) with the Atlanta Braves. Rick Rhoden (1984–1986), Don Robinson (1982, 1989–1990), and Carlos Zambrano (2006, 2008–2009) each own three Silver Sluggers. Two-time winners include the inaugural winner, Bob Forsch (1980, 1987), Fernando Valenzuela (1981, 1983), who won the Cy Young Award, the Rookie of the Year Award, and the Silver Slugger in his first full major league season, and Madison Bumgarner (2014–2015). (Full article...).jpg.webp)
The 1971 Cy Young Award won by Ferguson Jenkins, on display in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955. The award was originally given to the single best pitcher in the major leagues, but in 1967, after the retirement of Frick, the award was given to one pitcher in each league.
Each league's award is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, with one representative from each team. As of the 2010 season, each voter places a vote for first, second, third, fourth, and fifth place among the pitchers of each league. The formula used to calculate the final scores is a weighted sum of the votes.[A] The pitcher with the highest score in each league wins the award. If two pitchers receive the same number of votes, the award is shared. From 1970 to 2009, writers voted for three pitchers, with the formula of five points for a first-place vote, three for a second-place vote and one for a third-place vote. Before 1970, writers only voted for the best pitcher and used a formula of one point per vote. (Full article...)_-_Houston_Astros_-_1976.jpg.webp)
Bill Virdon is the all-time winningest manager in Astro history; he won 544 games while leading the Astros to their first postseason berth in 1980 and two division titles.
The Houston Astros are a professional baseball franchise based in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the American League (AL) West in Major League Baseball (MLB). The team joined MLB in 1962 as an expansion team named the Houston Colt .45s and changed their name to the Houston Astros in 1965. The team won their first NL Championship in 2005. Having first played in Colt Stadium (1962–1964), and later in The Astrodome, now known as the Reliant Astrodome (1965–1999), the Astros have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, which was first named The Ballpark at Union Station, since 2000. The franchise is owned by Jim Crane. The current manager is Dusty Baker.
There have been 23 managers for the Astros franchise. The team's first manager was Harry Craft, who managed for three seasons. Bill Virdon is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games managed (1066) and the most regular-season game wins (544). A. J. Hinch holds the record for most all-time playoff games managed (50) while he and Baker each have 28 postseason wins (most in team history), with Baker leading in playoff winning percentage (.586). Salty Parker is the Astros' all-time leader for the highest regular-season winning percentage, as he has only managed one game, which he won. Of the managers who have managed a minimum of 162 games (one season), Baker has the highest regular-season winning percentage with .594. Leo Durocher is the only Astros manager to have been elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Durocher and Baker each achieved their 2,000th managerial win with the Astros. Garner, Hinch, and Baker are the only managers to have won league pennants with the franchise, Garner winning one in the National League in 2005, Hinch winning two in the American League in 2017 and 2019, and Baker winning two in 2021 and 2022. Larry Dierker is the only Astros manager to have had his uniform number retired by the Astros, with his uniform number 49 retired by the Astros in 2002. Dierker is also the sixth manager in MLB history to win a division championship in his first season for the Astros in 1997. Lanier and Dierker are the only managers to have won a Manager of the Year Award with the Astros, winning it in 1986 and 1998 respectively. Grady Hatton, Lanier, Dierker, and Cooper have spent their entire managing careers with the Astros. (Full article...)
Frank Thomas (1989) was a two-time American League Most Valuable Player, and was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 2014.
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the American League Central division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the White Sox have selected 66 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.
Of the 66 players picked in the first round by the Chicago White Sox, 32 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 20 of them were right-handed, while 12 were left-handed. Twelve outfielders, eight catchers, five shortstops, five third basemen, and four first basemen were also taken. The team has never drafted a player at second base. Fourteen of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, and Florida follows with eight players. The White Sox have also drafted six players from their home state of Illinois. (Full article...).jpg.webp)
Iván Rodríguez has won 13 Gold Gloves, the most among catchers.
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), as voted by the managers and coaches in each league. Managers are not permitted to vote for their own players. Eighteen Gold Gloves are awarded each year (with the exception of 1957, 1985, 2007 and 2018), one at each of the nine positions in each league. In 1957, the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position. The award was created from a glove made from gold lamé-tanned leather and affixed to a walnut base. Initially, only one Gold Glove per position was awarded to the top fielder at each position in the entire league; however, separate awards were given for the National and American Leagues beginning in 1958.
Iván Rodríguez has won the most Gold Gloves at catcher, with 13; all were won with the Texas Rangers or the Detroit Tigers (both American League teams), though Rodríguez has played in both leagues. Johnny Bench, who spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds, leads National Leaguers in wins, and is second overall with 10 Gold Gloves. Yadier Molina is third overall and second in the NL all time with nine. Bob Boone, who is a member of one of four family pairs to win Gold Glove Awards, won seven between both leagues during his career. Jim Sundberg has won six Gold Gloves, with Bill Freehan and Salvador Pérez winning five. There have been four 4-time winners at catcher: Del Crandall, Mike Matheny, Charles Johnson, and Tony Peña. Hall of Famers who have won as catchers include Bench, Rodriguez, Carlton Fisk, and Gary Carter.[d] The other family pair to win Gold Gloves as catchers are brothers Bengie and Yadier Molina, who have won eleven awards between them . (Full article...)
Don Larsen threw the only perfect game ever in MLB postseason play.
The New York Yankees are a Major League Baseball franchise based in the New York City borough of The Bronx. Also known in their early years as the "Baltimore Orioles" (1901–02) and the "New York Highlanders" (1903–1912), the Yankees have had eleven pitchers throw twelve no-hitters in franchise history. A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "...when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a no-hit game, a batter may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher's interference". No-hitters of less than nine complete innings were previously recognized by the league as official; however, several rule alterations in 1991 changed the rule to its current form. Three perfect games, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been pitched in Yankees history. As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game." This feat was achieved by Don Larsen in 1956, David Wells in 1998, and David Cone in 1999. Wells later claimed he was a "little hung-over" while throwing his perfect game.
George Mogridge threw the first no-hitter in Yankees history, beating their rival Boston Red Sox 2–1, their only no-hitter in which the opposition scored. Their most recent no-hitter was Corey Kluber's no-hitter against the Texas Rangers during the 2021 season on May 19th. It was the first no-hitter thrown by a Yankee since David Cone’s perfect game in 1999. The Yankees' first perfect game was also thrown by a right-handed pitcher, Don Larsen, and came in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Larsen's perfect game was the only no-hitter in MLB postseason play until Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a no-hitter in Game 1 of the 2010 National League Division Series. Coincidentally, Cone's perfect game came on "Yogi Berra Day" at Yankee Stadium. Berra had caught Larsen's perfect game and both he and Larsen were in the stands for the game. Of the eleven no-hitters pitched by Yankees players, three each have been won by the scores 4–0 and 2–0, more common than any other result. The largest margin of victory in a Yankees no-hitter was 13 runs, in a 13–0 win by Monte Pearson. (Full article...)
An AT&T Park sign depicting the anticipation of #714
Barry Bonds hit numerous milestone home runs during his 22 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. Bonds ranks among the greatest baseball players of all time and was for much of his career considered a five-tool player. Bonds' ascension towards the top of experts' lists of greatest players was propelled by highly productive years in which he set many records. By 1998, he was considered among the 50 greatest players of all time by The Sporting News, and after winning the National League's Most Valuable Player Award four consecutive times from 2001–2004, he jumped into the top 10 in the 2005 list. He now holds numerous Major League Baseball records for home runs, bases on balls, intentional bases on balls, slugging percentage and on-base percentage, as well as a record seven MVP awards.
In baseball, the home run is one of the most popular aspects of the game. Thus, the career record for home runs is among the most important and respected records in baseball. The road to this record has been closely followed and each additional home run Bonds hits extends the current record further. On August 7, 2007, Barry Bonds became the major leagues' career home run champion by hitting his 756th career home run, which surpassed Hank Aaron's total. (Full article...)
Justin Verlander (2004) is the only first-round pick of the Detroit Tigers to win the Rookie of the Year award.
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Detroit, Michigan. They play in the American League Central division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Tigers have selected 65 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur clubs to its franchises. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.
Of the 65 players picked in the first round by Detroit, 32 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 25 of these were right-handed, while five were left-handed. Twelve outfielders were selected, while five shortstops, five catchers, four third basemen, three first basemen, and two second baseman were taken as well. One additional player, Lance Parrish (1974), was drafted as an infielder but ultimately spent the majority of his Major League career at catcher. Thirteen of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, followed by Texas with ten players. The Tigers have also drafted five players from their home state of Michigan. (Full article...)
Ken Griffey Jr., the 1987 first overall draft pick
The first-year player draft, also known as the Rule 4 Draft, is the primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. Unlike most professional sports, MLB does not permit the trading of draft picks, so the draft order is solely determined by the previous season's standings; the team that possesses the worst record receives the first pick. If two teams have identical records, the team with the worse record in the previous season will receive the higher pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded "compensatory" picks. The first draft took place in 1965; it was introduced to prevent richer teams from negotiating wealthier contracts with top-level prospects and therefore, monopolizing the player market. Originally, three drafts were held each year. The first draft took place in June and involved high-school graduates and college seniors who had just finished their seasons. The second draft took place in January for high school and college players who had graduated in December. The third draft took place in August and was for players who participated in American amateur summer leagues. The August draft was eliminated after two years, and the January draft lasted until 1986.
In 1965, Rick Monday became MLB's first draft pick after being selected by the Kansas City Athletics. Jackson Holliday is the most recent first overall pick; he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2022. Overall, 23 of the 50 picks before 2015 have participated in the All-Star Game, and four (Bob Horner, Darryl Strawberry, Bryce Harper, and Carlos Correa) have won the Rookie of the Year Award. Twenty-five of the fifty picks before 2015 have been drafted from high schools, one has been drafted out of the Independent American Association, and the others were drafted from universities. To date, Arizona State University and Vanderbilt University are the only schools from which multiple number-one overall draft picks have been chosen. No first overall pick was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame until 2016, when Ken Griffey Jr. was inducted with a record 99.3 percent of votes cast. Griffey has since been joined by two other top picks: Chipper Jones, inducted in 2018; and Harold Baines, elected in December 2018 and inducted in July 2019. (Full article...)
1891 Athletics manager Bill Sharsig
The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional baseball team that existed for two seasons from 1890 to 1891. Known alternatively as the Philadelphia Quakers, and sometimes informally as "Buffinton's Beauties", they played their first season in the newly created Players' League (PL) of 1890, and were managed by Jim Fogarty and Charlie Buffinton. After the demise of the PL following the 1890 season, the team joined the American Association (AA) for the 1891 season, and were managed by Bill Sharsig and George Wood. For each season, the franchise used Forepaugh Park as their home field.
Despite the existence of established major league representation in Philadelphia, the Phillies of the National League (NL) and the Athletics of the AA, the new PL franchise was able to sign veteran players, including Buffinton, Billy Shindle, George Wood, and Ben Sanders. The Quakers finished the season with a 68–63 win–loss record, with one tie, placing them fifth among the eight PL teams. (Full article...)
Randy Johnson, the Opening Day starter from 1999 to 2004
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the National League West division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The Diamondbacks have used 10 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 21 seasons. The 10 starters have a combined Opening Day record of eight wins, seven losses (8–7), and six no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.
Randy Johnson holds the Diamondbacks' record for most Opening Day starts with six, and has an Opening Day record of 3–2. Brandon Webb started four Opening Days, and Ian Kennedy has been the Opening Day starter thrice. Andy Benes, Javier Vázquez, Dan Haren, and Wade Miley have started one Opening Day each. Kennedy has the best winning percentage as the Opening Day starting pitcher with a record of 2–0. Benes, Vázquez, and Miley are tied for the worst Opening Day record, at 0–1. Webb is Arizona's only pitcher with multiple no-decisions on Opening Day (three), and Johnson is the only pitcher to have won three or more opening games. (Full article...)
In baseball, a run batted in (RBI) is awarded to a batter for each runner who scores as a result of the batter's action, including a hit, fielder's choice, sacrifice fly, sacrifice bunt, catcher's interference, or a walk or hit by pitch with the bases loaded. A batter is also awarded an RBI for scoring himself upon hitting a home run. Sixteen players have batted in at least 10 runs in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) game to date, the most recent being Mark Reynolds of the Washington Nationals on July 6, 2018. No player has accomplished the feat more than once in his career and no player has ever recorded more than 12 RBIs in a game. Wilbert Robinson was the first player to record at least 10 RBIs in a single game, driving in 11 runs for the Baltimore Orioles against the St. Louis Browns on June 10, 1892.
, every team that has had a player achieve the milestone has won the game in which it occurred. These games have resulted in other single-game MLB records being set due to the prodigious offensive performance. Robinson, for example, also amassed seven hits in that same game, setting a new major league record that has since been tied by only one other player. Mark Whiten hit four home runs to complement his 12 RBIs for the St. Louis Cardinals on September 7, 1993, tying the single-game records in both categories. By attaining both milestones, he became one of only two players to hit four home runs and drive in 10 or more runs in the same game, with Scooter Gennett being the other. Tony Lazzeri, Rudy York, and Nomar Garciaparra hit two grand slams during their 10 RBI game, equaling the record for most grand slams in one game. Norm Zauchin has the fewest career RBIs among players who have 10 RBIs in one game with 159, while Alex Rodriguez, with 2,086, drove in more runs than any other player in this group and hit the third most in major league history. (Full article...)
The 1980 Sounds set a team-best 97–46 (.678) record playing as the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees in the Southern League.
The Nashville Sounds Minor League Baseball team has played in Nashville, Tennessee, for 45 years since being established in 1978. As of the completion of the 2022 season, the club has played 6,272 regular-season games and compiled a win–loss record of 3,237–3,035 (.516). They have appeared in the postseason on 16 occasions in which they have a record of 49–44 (.527) in 93 games. Combining all 6,365 regular-season and postseason games, Nashville has an all-time record of 3,286–3,079 (.516).
Created as an expansion team of the Double-A Southern League (SL) in 1978, the Sounds played in this league through 1984. At the Double-A classification, Nashville was affiliated with Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds (1978–1979) and New York Yankees (1980–1984). The Sounds moved up to Triple-A in 1985 as members of the American Association (AA) before joining the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in 1998. They were placed in the Triple-A East (AAAE) in 2021, but this became the International League (IL) in 2022. At this level, they have been affiliates of the Detroit Tigers (1985–1986), Cincinnati Reds (1987–1992), Chicago White Sox (1993–1997), Pittsburgh Pirates (1998–2004), Milwaukee Brewers (2005–2014), Oakland Athletics (2015–2018), and Texas Rangers (2019–2020). The Sounds reaffiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021. (Full article...)
Tom Seaver made eleven Opening Day starts for the Mets.
The New York Mets are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Flushing, Queens, in New York City. They play in the National League East division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The New York Mets have used 27 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 59 seasons. The 27 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 29 wins, 13 losses (29–13) and 17 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.
Tom Seaver holds the Mets' record for most Opening Day starts with 11, and has an Opening Day record of 6–0. He also has the most starts in Shea Stadium, the Mets' home ballpark from 1964 through 2008. Seaver and Dwight Gooden hold the Mets' record for most Opening Day wins with six each. Al Jackson and Roger Craig share the worst winning percentage as the Opening Day starting pitcher with a record of 0–2. (Full article...)- The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in New York City, New York in the borough of The Bronx. The New York Yankees are members of the American League (AL) East Division in Major League Baseball (MLB). The Yankees have won the World Series 27 times, more than any other MLB team. In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager. The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field. Since starting to play as the Baltimore Orioles (no relationship to the current Baltimore Orioles team) in 1901, the team has employed 35 managers. The current manager is Aaron Boone, the current general manager is Brian Cashman and the current owner is Hal Steinbrenner, the son of George Steinbrenner, who first bought the Yankees in 1973.
The franchise's first manager was Hall of Famer John McGraw, who managed the team for one year and part of a second before becoming manager of the New York Giants. In 1903, the team moved from Baltimore to New York, where it was initially known as the New York Highlanders. Its first manager in New York was Clark Griffith, who managed the team from 1903 to 1908. Miller Huggins was the next manager to manage the team for more than three seasons. Huggins took over the managerial duties in 1918 and led the Yankees to six American League championships and three World Series titles until his death in 1929. Huggins won 1,067 regular season games with the Yankees, which ranks fourth all-time among Yankee managers. (Full article...)
More did you know
- ... that Icehouse Wilson, a member of "Oakland's first World Champion Baseball team," had a career batting average of .000 in Major League Baseball?
- ... that Chick Lathers quit Major League Baseball in 1913 to become a car salesman for Ford Motor Company?
- ... that in 2008, Cole Hamels became the fifth player in Major League Baseball history to win the World Series MVP Award and the League Championship Series MVP Award in the same season?
- ... that journeyman Paul Bako has played for 11 Major League Baseball teams in his 12-year career, and was formerly Greg Maddux's personal catcher?
- ... that the mustache that Frenchy Bordagaray grew in 1936 is likely to have been the only mustache worn in Major League Baseball between 1914 and 1972?
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George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), also popularly known as "Babe", "The Bambino", and "The Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935. Ruth originally broke into the Major Leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he converted to Right Field and subsequently became one of the league's most prolific hitters. Ruth was a mainstay in the Yankees' lineup that won 7 pennants and 4 World Series titles during his tenure with the team. After a short stint with the Boston Braves in 1935, Ruth retired. In 1936, Ruth became one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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