Portal:Baseball
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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...)
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John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890s Baltimore Orioles teams, noted for their innovative, aggressive play.
McGraw was born into poverty in Truxton, New York. He found an escape from his hometown and a bad family situation through baseball, beginning a quick rise through the minor leagues that led him to the Orioles at the age of 18. Under the tutelage of manager Ned Hanlon, the Orioles of the 1890s won three National League (NL) pennants; McGraw was one of the stalwarts of the team alongside Wee Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings, and Wilbert Robinson. The Orioles perfected the hit and run play and popularized the Baltimore chop; they also sought to win by intimidating the opposing team and the umpire. (Full article...) -
Image 2The Nashville Sounds Minor League Baseball team was established in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1978, after Larry Schmittou and a group of investors purchased the rights to operate an expansion franchise of the Double-A Southern League. The Sounds played their home games at Herschel Greer Stadium from its opening in 1978 until the end of the 2014 season. In 2015, the Sounds left Greer for First Tennessee Park, now known as First Horizon Park, a new facility located on the site of the historic Sulphur Dell ballpark, home to Nashville's minor league teams from 1885 to 1963.
The Sounds led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance in their inaugural season and continued to draw the Southern League's largest crowds in each of their seven years as members of the league. On the field, the team won six consecutive second-half division titles from 1979 to 1984 and won the Southern League championship twice: in 1979 as the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and again in 1982 as the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. (Full article...) -
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Lee Arthur Smith (born December 4, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight teams. Serving mostly as a relief pitcher during his career, he was a dominant closer, was the first pitcher to reach 400 saves, and held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006, when Trevor Hoffman passed his total of 478. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2019 by the Today's Game Era Committee.
A native of Jamestown in Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, Smith was scouted by Buck O'Neil and was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 1975 MLB draft. Smith was an intimidating figure on the pitcher's mound at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and 265 pounds (120 kg) with a 95-mile-per-hour (150 km/h) fastball. In 1991, he set a National League (NL) record with 47 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals, and was runner-up for the league's Cy Young Award; it was the second of three times Smith led the NL in saves, and he later led the American League (AL) in saves once. When he retired, he held the major league record for career games finished (802) and was third in games pitched (1,022). He holds the Cubs' team record for career saves (180), and held the same record for the Cardinals (160) until 2006. (Full article...) -
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Morgan Gardner Bulkeley (December 26, 1837 – November 6, 1922) was an American politician of the Republican Party, businessman, and insurance executive. In 1876, he served as the first president of baseball's National League and, because of that, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, a choice that remains controversial, since his time as a baseball executive was short.
Bulkeley was born in East Haddam, Connecticut. His father was Judge Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley, a prominent local lawyer and businessman, who became the first president of the Aetna Life Insurance Company. The family moved to Hartford, where Morgan Bulkeley was educated, before he took a job in the city of Brooklyn, New York. He served briefly in the American Civil War, where he saw no combat. When his father died in 1872, he moved back to Hartford and became a bank president and a board member of Aetna, becoming its president in 1879, a post he held the rest of his life. (Full article...) -
Image 5Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout hits a home run on a pitch from New York Mets pitcher Tommy Milone on May 21, 2017.
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 initial 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...) -
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A picture of a Wii Sports disc
Wii Sports is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month. 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 was later released on its own as part of the Nintendo Selects collection of games.
Wii Sports is a collection of five sports simulations 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 or rolling a bowling ball. 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...) -
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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...) -
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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...) -
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Marcus Elmore Baldwin (October 29, 1863 – November 10, 1929), nicknamed "Fido" and "Baldy", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). In 346 career games, he pitched to a 154–165 win–loss record with 295 complete games. Baldwin set the single-season MLB wild pitches record with 83 that still stands today.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baldwin made his professional debut for a Cumberland, Maryland, team in 1883. Though signed by Chicago White Stockings president Albert Spalding to pitch against the St. Louis Browns in the 1886 World Series, Baldwin did not play after the Browns objected. He made his MLB debut for the White Stockings in 1887, when a writer for the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern called him the "swiftest pitcher in the National League" (NL). Released by Chicago player–manager Cap Anson, he signed with the Columbus Solons of the American Association (AA) in 1889, where he led the league in innings pitched (513+2⁄3), losses (34), strikeouts (368), and walks (274). (Full article...) -
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The 1913 squad, the first that went by the name "Yankees"
The history of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball (MLB) team spans more than a century. Frank J. Farrell and William Stephen Devery bought the rights to an American League (AL) club in New York City after the 1902 season. The team, which became known as the Yankees in 1913, rarely contended for the AL championship before the acquisition of outfielder Babe Ruth after the 1919 season. With Ruth in the lineup, the Yankees won their first AL title in 1921, followed by their first World Series championship in 1923. Ruth and first baseman Lou Gehrig were part of the team's Murderers' Row lineup, which led the Yankees to a then-AL record 110 wins and a Series championship in 1927 under Miller Huggins. They repeated as World Series winners in 1928, and their next title came under manager Joe McCarthy in 1932.
The Yankees won the World Series every year from 1936 to 1939 with a team that featured Gehrig and outfielder Joe DiMaggio, who recorded a record hitting streak during New York's 1941 championship season. New York set a major league record by winning five consecutive championships from 1949 to 1953, and appeared in the World Series nine times from 1955 to 1964. Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford were among the players fielded by the Yankees during the era. After the 1964 season, a lack of effective replacements for aging players caused the franchise to decline on the field, and the team became a money-loser for owners CBS while playing in an aging stadium. (Full article...) -
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Kenesaw Mountain Landis (/ˈkɛnɪsɔː ˈmaʊntɪn ˈlændɪs/; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his resolution of the Black Sox Scandal, in which he expelled eight members of the Chicago White Sox from organized baseball for conspiring to lose the 1919 World Series and repeatedly refused their reinstatement requests. His iron rule over baseball in the near quarter-century of his commissionership is generally credited with restoring public confidence in the game.
Landis was born in Millville, Ohio. Raised in Indiana, he became a lawyer, and then personal secretary to Walter Q. Gresham, the new United States Secretary of State, in 1893. He returned to private practice after Gresham died in office. (Full article...) -
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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...) -
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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.
McAleer's rift with Johnson, along with his sudden retirement, damaged his professional reputation, and he received little recognition for his contributions to baseball. Today, he is most often remembered for initiating the customary request that the President of the United States throw out the first ball of the season. (Full article...) -
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Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. Known as "Chappelli", he is considered as one of the greatest captains the game has seen. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born into a cricketing family—his grandfather and brother also captained Australia—Chappell made a hesitant start to international cricket playing as a right-hand middle-order batsman and spin bowler. He found his niche when promoted to bat at number three. Chappell's blunt verbal manner led to a series of confrontations with opposition players and cricket administrators; the issue of sledging first arose during his tenure as captain, and he was a driving force behind the professionalisation of Australian cricket in the 1970s. He was the captain of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
John Arlott called him "a cricketer of effect rather than the graces". An animated presence at the batting crease, he constantly adjusted his equipment and clothing, and restlessly tapped his bat on the ground as the bowler ran in. Basing his game on a sound defence learned during many hours of childhood lessons, Chappell employed the drive and square cut to full effect. He had an idiosyncratic method of playing back and across to a ball of full length and driving wide of mid-on, but his trademark shot was the hook, saying "three bouncers an over should be worth 12 runs to me". A specialist slip fielder, he was the fourth player to take one hundred Test catches. (Full article...) -
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Hershiser pitching for the Dodgers in 1993
During the 1988 Major League Baseball season, pitcher Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers set the MLB record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Over 59 consecutive innings, opposing hitters did not score a run against Hershiser. During the streak, he averted numerous high-risk scoring situations. The streak spanned from the sixth inning of an August 30 game against the Montreal Expos to the 10th inning of a September 28 game against the San Diego Padres. The previous record of 58+2⁄3 innings was set by former Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale in 1968; as the team's radio announcer, Drysdale called Hershiser's streak as he pursued the new record. Pundits have described the streak as among the greatest records in baseball history, with one pundit ranking it among the greatest individual feats in American sports.
During the streak, the Elias Sports Bureau changed its criteria for the official consecutive scoreless innings record for starting pitchers from including fractional innings in which one or two outs had been recorded to counting only complete scoreless innings. Since the streak was active at the end of the 1988 season, it could have spanned two separate seasons. However, Hershiser yielded a run in his first inning of work in the 1989 season against the Cincinnati Reds, thus ending the streak at 59 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. The streak includes only innings pitched in the regular season, excluding eight scoreless innings Hershiser pitched to start Game 1 of the 1988 National League Championship Series on October 4 (unofficially extending his streak to 67 combined innings). Although he completed the ninth inning in each start, the streak's final game lasted 16 innings, of which he pitched only the first 10. Thus, Hershiser did not match Drysdale's record of six consecutive complete game shutouts. Like Drysdale's streak, the penultimate game of Hershiser's streak was a Dodgers–Giants game that featured a controversial umpire's ruling that saved the streak. (Full article...)
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Image 2Jackie 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)
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Image 42013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 (from Baseball)
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Image 6Pesäpallo, 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)
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Image 7By the time of the 1860s Civil War, baseball (bottom) had begun to overtake its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket (top) in popularity within the United States, partially because baseball was much shorter in duration than the form of cricket played at the time. (from Baseball)
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Image 8Cy 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)
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Image 9Pick-off attempt on runner (in red) at first base (from Baseball rules)
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Image 10An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 (from Baseball)
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Image 12Cover of Official Base Ball Rules, 1921 edition, used by the American League and National League (from Baseball rules)
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Image 14A first baseman receives a pickoff throw, as the runner dives back to first base. (from Baseball)
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Image 15A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park (from Baseball)
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Image 16Sadaharu 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)
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Image 17Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game (from Baseball)
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Image 18Alexander Cartwright, father of modern baseball (from History of baseball)
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Image 19A batter follows through after swinging at a pitched ball. (from Baseball rules)
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Image 21Sadaharu 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)
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Image 22The 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)
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Image 23The 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)
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Image 24Diagram 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)
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Image 25Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not uniform numbers) (from Baseball)
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Image 27A 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)
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Image 281906 World Series, infielders playing "in" for the expected bunt and the possible play at the plate with the bases loaded (from Baseball rules)
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Image 29The typical motion of a right-handed pitcher (from Baseball rules)
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Image 30Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 (from Baseball)
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Image 31In 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)
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Image 32Jackie 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)
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Image 33Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the left. (from Baseball)
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Image 34A well-worn baseball (from Baseball)
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Vincent John Velasquez (/vəˈlɑːskɛz/ veh-LAS-kehz; born June 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Born in Montclair, California, Velasquez was a multi-sport athlete at Garey High School in Pomona. After bone spurs in his right elbow kept him from pitching and playing shortstop, he learned how to field left-handed. A growth spurt prior to his senior year of high school caused him to draw interest from the soccer and gridiron football teams, but Velasquez opted to focus on baseball on the advice of a scout for the Chicago White Sox. The Astros selected him in the second round of the 2010 MLB Draft, and Velasquez chose to pitch for them rather than honor his commitment to play college baseball as a shortstop for Cal State Fullerton. He was assigned to the Greeneville Astros in 2010, but underwent Tommy John surgery later that year and did not return to the field until 2012. He had a successful season with the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2013, but struggles during a three-game stretch with the Lancaster JetHawks inspired him to sharpen his curveball. The following year, he helped take the JetHawks to a California League championship title. (Full article...) -
Image 2Bellinger with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018
Cody James Bellinger (born July 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft and debuted with the team in 2017.
The son of MLB player Clay Bellinger, Bellinger helped his team reach the 2007 Little League World Series at the age of 11. He played high school baseball for Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona. Bellinger spent two years in the Rookie Leagues before joining the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2015, where he was a mid- and postseason all-star, and helped the team to a California League championship title. A hip injury delayed his rise through the Dodgers' farm system in 2016, but he was called up to the major leagues in April 2017 to bolster a struggling outfield. (Full article...) -
Image 3Ball at an old-timers' game in 1921
Cornelius "Neal" Ball (April 22, 1881 – October 15, 1957) was an American baseball shortstop who played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Highlanders, Cleveland Naps, and Boston Red Sox from 1907 to 1913. Although his primary position was shortstop, Ball played at second base, third base, and in the outfield as well. He is the first player to turn an unassisted triple play in Major League Baseball history on July 19, 1909.
Ball played minor league baseball for the Montgomery Senators of the Southern League until 1907, when he signed for the New York Highlanders. After spending less than three seasons with the organization, Ball was sold to the Cleveland Naps, where he spent the next two seasons. In the middle of the 1912 season, his contract was then purchased by the Boston Red Sox, with whom he played his last game on June 30, 1913. He died on October 15, 1957, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. (Full article...) -
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Michael Augustine Torrez (born August 28, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher. In an 18-season career, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1967–1971), Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Baltimore Orioles (1975), Oakland Athletics (1976–1977, 1984), New York Yankees (1977), Boston Red Sox (1978–1982), and New York Mets (1983–1984). As a member of the Yankees, he won two games of the 1977 World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers. He batted and threw right-handed.
A native of Topeka, Kansas, Torrez was signed by the Cardinals in 1964. He made his MLB debut with them in 1967 and became a full-time major leaguer in 1969, winning nine of his final 10 starts that year. He had a 10–4 record in 1969 but an 8–10 record in 1970 before getting traded to the Expos during the 1971 season. After pitching one game for Montreal that year, Torrez spent the next three seasons with the ballclub, winning 16 games in 1972 and 15 games in 1974. Traded to the Orioles for 1975, he won 20 games for the only time in his career, posting a .690 winning percentage. The Orioles sent him to Oakland for 1976 as part of the Reggie Jackson trade; Torrez won 16 games for Oakland in 1976 before getting traded to the Yankees in April 1977. He reached the playoffs for the only time in his career that year, winning two World Series games as the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in six games. (Full article...) -
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Kyle Rodney Kendrick (born August 26, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Kendrick was born in Houston, Texas but attended high school in Mount Vernon, Washington. While growing up, he was greatly influenced by his father, from whom he developed his composure when pitching. Upon graduation, Kendrick turned down a scholarship to play college football, instead signing a contract to begin his pro baseball career with the Phillies. After a slow ascent through Minor League Baseball (MiLB), he made his MLB debut in 2007, and was a member of the starting rotation of the 2008 World Series Championship team. (Full article...) -
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Daniel Thomas Meyer (born August 3, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player whose career spanned 17 seasons, 12 of which were played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1974–76), the Seattle Mariners (1977–81), and the Oakland Athletics (1982–85). Meyer primarily played first base, but also played left field, third base, and right field. He batted left-handed while throwing right-handed. During his playing career, Meyer was listed at 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).
After attending the University of Arizona and Santa Ana College, Meyer was drafted by the Detroit Tigers during the 1972 Major League Baseball draft. He began his career in the minor leagues with the Bristol Tigers. Meyer made his major league debut in 1974. Over his career in the majors, Meyer compiled a .253 batting average with 411 runs scored, 944 hits, 153 doubles, 31 triples, 86 home runs, and 459 runs batted in (RBIs) in 1,118 games played. (Full article...) -
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Dennis Lawrence "Dan" McGann (July 15, 1871 – December 13, 1910) was an American professional baseball first baseman and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1896 to 1910, and won the World Series in 1905 with the New York Giants.
After beginning his professional career in minor league baseball in 1895, McGann played in MLB for the Boston Beaneaters (1896), Baltimore Orioles (1898), Brooklyn Superbas (1899), Washington Senators (1899), and St. Louis Cardinals (1900–1901) of the National League (NL) before jumping to the rival American League to play for the Baltimore Orioles in 1902. He returned to the NL, playing for the New York Giants (1902–1907) and Boston Doves (1908). In 1909–10, he played for the Milwaukee Brewers in the American Association. (Full article...) -
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Michael Patrick Barrett (born October 22, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player and current catching coordinator for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as a catcher and started his professional career with the Montreal Expos at age 18. Barrett spent three years playing in Minor League Baseball as a shortstop and catcher. He played with the Honolulu Sharks, West Palm Beach Expos, and Delmarva Shorebirds, and was elected to two Minor League All-Star games. Barrett made his MLB debut in 1998 as a third baseman, but was shortly outrighted to the minor leagues to play with the Harrisburg Senators for a season.
Upon Barrett's return to MLB in 1999, he ranked among the top offensive rookies in various statistical categories. Barrett failed to stay healthy during the 2003 season, which prompted the Expos to trade him to the Oakland Athletics, who in turn, traded him to the Chicago Cubs. During his tenure with the Cubs, Barrett won a Silver Slugger Award in 2005, and recorded near career-high statistics in 2004 season. The Cubs traded Barrett to the San Diego Padres in June of 2007. Barrett sustained two major injuries, which caused him to miss 115 games with the Padres, and was subsequently released after the 2008 season. Barrett attempted to make a comeback with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009, but continued to struggle with injury issues, which led to his release in the subsequent offseason. He spent the second half of the 2010 season in the New York Mets minor league system. Barrett was also a volunteer assistant coach for the baseball team at the University of North Georgia. (Full article...) -
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Ryan Cole Lavarnway (Hebrew: ריאן לווארנוויי; born August 7, 1987) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, and Cleveland Indians. In international competition, he plays for Team Israel, and competed for them in the World Baseball Classic and in the Olympics.
Lavarnway attended Yale University, where in 2007 he won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) batting title by hitting .467 and led the NCAA with an .873 slugging percentage. That year, Lavarnway also set the Ivy League record with a 25-game hitting streak. In addition, he set the Ivy League all-time career home run record, with 33. (Full article...) -
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Richard Benjamin Ferrell (October 12, 1905 – July 27, 1995) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, and executive. He played for 18 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1929 through 1947 for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, and Washington Senators. His brother, Wes Ferrell, was a major league pitcher for 15 seasons, and they were teammates from 1933 through part of 1938 on the Red Sox and Senators. Following his three seasons in minor league baseball, he appealed to the Commissioner of Baseball to become a free agent, claiming that he was being held in the minors though he deserved promotion. The Commissioner agreed, and he was granted free agency; he signed with the St. Louis Browns.
Ferrell was regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball during the 1930s and early 1940s. While playing for the Red Sox in 1933, he and his brother Wes were selected to play for the American League (AL) team in the inaugural 1933 Major League Baseball All-Star Game held on July 6, 1933. His 1,806 games played as a catcher set an AL longevity record which stood for more than 40 years. A seven-time All-Star, Ferrell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984 by the Veterans Committee. After his playing career, he became a coach with the Senators, and later a scout and general manager with the Detroit Tigers. He died in July 1995 at the age of 89. (Full article...) -
Image 11Burton F. Gustafson (November 30, 1925 – October 22, 2022) was an American athlete and sports coach. After attending Northern Michigan University (NMU) where he was a three-sport star, he coached several high school football, basketball, and track and field teams. He then returned to NMU where he served from 1956 to 1961 as a coach in four sports. He later was an assistant coach for the Wyoming Cowboys and coach and administrator for the Green Bay Packers. (Full article...)
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Eppa Rixey Jr. (May 3, 1891 – February 28, 1963), nicknamed "Jephtha", was an American baseball player who played 21 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1933 as a left-handed pitcher. Rixey was best known as the National League's leader in career victories for a left-hander with 266 wins until Warren Spahn surpassed his total in 1959.
Rixey attended the University of Virginia where he was a star pitcher. He was discovered by umpire Cy Rigler, who convinced him to sign directly with the Phillies, bypassing minor league baseball entirely. His time with the Phillies was marked by inconsistency. He won 22 games in 1916, but also led the league in losses twice. In 1915, the Phillies played in the World Series, and Rixey lost in his only appearance. After being traded to the Reds prior to the 1921 season, he won 20 or more games in a season three times, including a league-leading 25 in 1922, and posted eight consecutive winning seasons. His skills were declining by the 1929 season, when his record was 10–13 with a 4.16 earned run average. He pitched another four seasons before retiring after the 1933 season. (Full article...) -
Image 13Benny M. Lefebvre (la-fever; November 16, 1912 – April 2, 1994) was an American athlete and sports coach. After graduating from Manual Arts High School, Lefebvre had a long career in professional football that spanned from 1934 to 1949. He also served as head baseball coach at Pepperdine University from 1940 to 1941, and in 1962. He later coached several high school baseball and football teams until his retirement in 1985. His four brothers each played football, and his three sons each signed professional baseball contracts. (Full article...)
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Image 14Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 – August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles despite the Dodgers being the second most profitable team in baseball from 1946 to 1956, and coordinating the move of the New York Giants to San Francisco at a time when there were no teams west of Kansas City, Missouri. In 2008, O'Malley was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for his contributions to and influence on the game of baseball.
O'Malley's father, Edwin Joseph O'Malley, was politically connected. Walter, a University of Pennsylvania salutatorian, went on to obtain a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), and he used the combination of his family connections, his personal contacts, and both his educational and vocational skills to rise to prominence. First, he became an entrepreneur involved in public works contracting, and then he became an executive with the Dodgers. He progressed from being a team lawyer to being both the Dodgers' owner and president, and he eventually made the business decision to relocate the Dodgers franchise. Although he moved the franchise, O'Malley is known as a businessman whose major philosophy was stability through loyalty to and from his employees. (Full article...) -
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Russell Jay Kuntz (/ˈkuːnts/; born February 4, 1955) is an American baseball coach and former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers between 1979 and 1985. He never appeared in more than 84 games in any season during his playing career. In the final game of the 1984 World Series, Kuntz hit a pop fly to the second baseman that became the deciding run batted in (RBI).
Kuntz grew up in Kansas and California, playing three sports in high school and community college. He went to the Division III World Series twice with California State University, Stanislaus before being selected by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft. (Full article...)
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- ... that Major League Baseball pitcher Charlie Gray was billed as his team's pitcher "of six fingers and six toed fame" and called "a freak" by the Sporting Life?
- ... that Zack Kelly received a $500 signing bonus, lost money in his first professional seasons, and was released by two organizations before he made his Major League Baseball debut?
- ... that four years after Harry Frazee opened his Longacre Theatre, he sold his ownership stake in the theater to focus on baseball?
- ... that Gil Kim played professional baseball in the Netherlands, China, Australia, Spain, and Venezuela, scouted in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and coaches in Canada?
- ... that Genevieve Beacom became the first woman to pitch in the Australian Baseball League when she made her debut for the Melbourne Aces in 2022?
- ... that one Baltimore Orioles player compared the 2024 Major League Baseball jerseys to knockoffs from TJ Maxx?
- ... that Richard Worley played in minor baseball leagues and is now the commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department?
- ... that Didi Gregorius tweets after every game his baseball team wins, and has dedicated emojis for his teammates?
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I'm mad at Hank (Aaron) for deciding to play one more season. I threw him his last home run and thought I'd be remembered forever. Now, I'll have to throw him another. |
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Image 1The Dick Howser Trophy is bestowed annually to the national college baseball player of the year. The award is named after former collegiate and Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager Dick Howser, who died as the result of brain cancer on June 17, 1987, at the age of 51. In that same year, the award was established by friends of Howser and presented to Mike Fiore, the inaugural winner. It is considered to be the Heisman Trophy of college baseball.
Six winners of the Dick Howser Trophy are members of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. Five winners—Kris Benson, David Price, Stephen Strasburg, Adley Rutschman, and Paul Skenes—went on to become the first overall MLB draft pick. Jason Jennings, Buster Posey, and Kris Bryant went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award several years after winning the Dick Howser Trophy. Jered Weaver is the only award winner to pitch a no-hitter, while Mark Teixeira holds the record for most games with home runs from both sides of the plate. Furthermore, seventeen players won the Golden Spikes Award alongside the Dick Howser Trophy. Brooks Kieschnick is the only player to win the trophy more than once. (Full article...) -
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Major League Baseball (MLB) annually honors its best relief pitchers in the American League (AL) and National League (NL) with the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award, respectively. The awards are named after former relievers Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, who played their entire careers in the respective leagues. First issued in 2014, the awards replaced the Delivery Man of the Year Award, which had been presented since 2005.
The Reliever of the Year Awards are based on the votes of a panel of retired relievers. Each voter selects three pitchers for each league based solely on their performance in the regular season; a 5-3-1 weighted point system is used to determine the winner. At its inception in 2014, the panel consisted of the top five relievers in career saves at the time—Rivera, Hoffman, Lee Smith, John Franco, and Billy Wagner—and the four living relief pitchers who were in the Hall of Fame: Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, and Bruce Sutter. (Full article...) -
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Ben Sheets made six Opening Day starts for the Brewers, a franchise record.
The Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They play in the National League Central division. Established in Seattle, Washington, as the Seattle Pilots in 1969, the team became the Milwaukee Brewers after relocating to Milwaukee in 1970. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starting pitcher is an honor which is 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 Brewers have used 34 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 56 seasons.
The Pilots, whose home ballpark was Sick's Stadium, played their inaugural Opening Day game on the road against the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, on April 8, 1969. Marty Pattin was their starting pitcher that day; he earned the win in a game the Pilots won, 4–3. In 1970, the team relocated to Wisconsin and began playing their home games at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Brewers opened their first season in Milwaukee at home with Opening Day starter Lew Krausse Jr. taking the loss in a 12–0 defeat by the California Angels on April 9. County Stadium was home to the Brewers for 31 seasons through 2000. Their final Opening Day game at the facility occurred on April 26, 1995. Starter Ricky Bones took a no decision in the Brewers' 12–3 win over the Chicago White Sox. Steve Woodard received an unusual no decision in 2000, when the team's Opening Day game against the Cincinnati Reds was called in the sixth inning due to rain, with the score tied at 3. The team moved into American Family Field, then known as Miller Park, in 2001, but they did not play their first Opening Day game at the new stadium until five years later. In that game, held on April 3, 2006, Milwaukee defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5–2; starter Doug Davis did not figure in the decision. (Full article...) -
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Ted Williams has the highest career on-base percentage in MLB history, led the American League in 12 seasons (also a record), and held the single-season on-base percentage record for 61 years.
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped or uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference. OBP is calculated in Major League Baseball (MLB) by dividing the sum of hits, walks, and times hit by a pitch by the sum of at-bats, walks, times hit by pitch and sacrifice flies. A hitter with a .400 on-base percentage is considered to be great and rare; only 61 players in MLB history with at least 3,000 career plate appearances (PA) have maintained such an OBP. Left fielder Ted Williams, who played 19 seasons for the Boston Red Sox, has the highest career on-base percentage, .4817, in MLB history. Williams led the American League (AL) in on-base percentage in twelve seasons, the most such seasons for any player in the major leagues. Barry Bonds led the National League (NL) in ten seasons, a NL record. Williams also posted the then-highest single-season on-base percentage of .5528 in 1941, a record that stood for 61 years until Bonds broke it with a .5817 OBP in 2002. Bonds broke his own record in 2004, setting the current single-season mark of .6094.
Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played at least 10 major league seasons, have been either retired for five seasons or deceased for six months, and have not been banned from MLB. These requirements leave 6 living players ineligible who have played in the past 5 seasons; 5 players (Bill Joyce, Ferris Fain, Jake Stenzel, Bill Lange, and George Selkirk) who did not play 10 seasons in MLB; and Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was banned for his role in the Black Sox Scandal. (Full article...) -
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In baseball, a player earns a Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories in the same season. The term "Triple Crown" generally refers to the batting achievement of leading a league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI) over the same season. The term "Pitching Triple Crown" refers to the pitching achievement of leading a league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average (ERA).
The term "Triple Crown" is typically used when a player leads one league, such as the American League (AL) or the National League (NL), in the specified categories. A tie for a lead in any category, such as home runs, is sufficient to be considered the leader in that category. A "Major League Triple Crown" may be said to occur when a player leads all of Major League Baseball in all three categories. (Full article...) -
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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 twelve pitchers throw thirteen 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 fewer 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. Four 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, David Cone in 1999, and Domingo German in 2023. 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 Domingo Germán's perfect game against the Oakland Athletics during the 2023 season on June 28. 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, David 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 twelve 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. German's perfect game represented the second largest margin of victory in a Yankees no-hitter, as the Yankees defeated the Athletics 11–0 in the 24th perfect game in MLB history. (Full article...) -
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Bill Dawley was the starting pitcher for the Sounds' inaugural April 15, 1978, opener.
The Nashville Sounds Minor League Baseball team has played in Nashville, Tennessee, since being established in 1978 as an expansion team of the Double-A Southern League. They moved up to Triple-A in 1985 as members of the American Association before joining the Pacific Coast League in 1998. With the restructuring of the minor leagues in 2021, they were placed in the Triple-A East, which became the International League in 2022. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starting pitcher is an honor which is 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 Sounds have used 43 different Opening Day starters in their 46 seasons.
Nashville's first Opening Day game was played against the Memphis Chicks at Tim McCarver Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 15, 1978. Bill Dawley was their starting pitcher that day; he took the decision in a game the Sounds lost, 4–2. Their first Opening Day game held at home was an 8–7 win against the Birmingham Barons at Herschel Greer Stadium on April 9, 1981. Starter Jamie Werly, who went on to win the Southern League Most Outstanding Pitcher Award that season, did not figure in the decision. On April 4, 2013, starter Tyler Thornburg took a no decision in the final Opening Day game at Greer Stadium, a 5–4 Sounds win. The team left Greer after the 2014 season, but did not play their first Opening Day game at First Horizon Park, their new facility then known as First Tennessee Park, until two years later. In that game, held on April 7, 2016, Sounds starting pitcher Chris Smith was charged with the loss in a 5–0 shutout by the Oklahoma City Dodgers. (Full article...) -
Image 8The Texas Rangers are an American baseball franchise based in Arlington, Texas. They are members of the American League West division. The Rangers franchise was formed in 1961, then called the Washington Senators, as a member of the American League. In its 62-year history, the Texas Rangers baseball franchise of Major League Baseball's American League has employed 28 managers. The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field.
Mickey Vernon became the first manager of the then Washington Senators in 1961, serving for just over two seasons. Ron Washington has managed more games and seasons than any other manager in Rangers history. Before 2010, the only Rangers manager to have led the team to the playoffs was Johnny Oates, who also won the 1996 Manager of the Year Award with the Rangers. Ted Williams is the only Rangers manager to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a player; Whitey Herzog, who was inducted in the Hall in 2010, is only Rangers manager to earn induction as a manager. (Full article...) -
Image 9The Toronto Blue Jays are members of the American League (AL) East Division in Major League Baseball (MLB). There have been 14 different managers of the Blue Jays, the only Canadian baseball franchise in Major League Baseball. In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager (or more formally, the field manager). They are the only team outside the United States to win a World Series, and the first team to win a World Series in Canada. John Schneider was the interim manager, until the club named him their full time manager in the off season and giving him a three-year contract after, replacing Charlie Montoyo; Montoyo was fired on July 13, 2022.
Cito Gaston has both managed and won the most games of any Blue Jays manager, with 1,731 games and 894 wins. He is followed by John Gibbons in both categories, with 1,258 games and 644 wins, who surpassed Bobby Cox's marks during his second stint as manager. Gaston is the only Blue Jays manager to win a World Series in 1992 and 1993, the fourth African-American manager in MLB history, and was the first African-American manager to win a World Series. Cox is the only Blue Jays manager to be awarded the AL Manager of the Year Award in 1985. Mel Queen has the best winning percentage by winning 80 percent of his 5 games coached. (Full article...) -
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Roy Halladay, the Opening Day starting pitcher from 2003 to 2009
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Toronto, Ontario. They play in the American League East division. The Blue Jays first played their home games at Exhibition Stadium until 1989, when they moved into the SkyDome, which was renamed Rogers Centre in 2005. 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 honour, 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 Blue Jays have used 25 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 43 seasons. The 25 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 15 wins, 16 losses and 12 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.
The Blue Jays first Opening Day starting pitcher was Bill Singer, who received a no decision against the Chicago White Sox. Roy Halladay holds the Blue Jays' record for most Opening Day starts with seven consecutively from 2003 to 2009, and has an Opening Day record of 3–3. Halladay also has the most starts at home with four. Dave Lemanczyk has the worst winning percentage as the Opening Day starting pitcher with a record of 0–2, both of which were pitched away from Exhibition Stadium. (Full article...) -
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The Chicago White Sox celebrate after defeating the Minnesota Twins 1–0 to win the 2008 American League Central.
A tie-breaker was required in Major League Baseball (MLB) when two or more teams were tied at the end of the regular season for a postseason position such as a league pennant (prior to the introduction of the League Championship Series in 1969), a division title, or a wild card spot. Until 2022, both the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) used a one-game playoff format for tie-breakers, although the NL used a best-of-three series prior to 1969, when the leagues were split into divisions. As these tie-breaker games counted as part of the regular season and MLB teams (American League beginning in 1961, and National League beginning in 1962) have 162-game regular season schedules, the tie-breaker games were sometimes referred to as "Game 163". In 2022, as part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement to end the 2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout, tiebreaker games were replaced with statistical tiebreaker procedures.
Sixteen tie-breakers – 12 single-game and four series – have been played in MLB history. In baseball statistics, tie-breaker games counted as regular season games with all events in them counted towards regular season statistics. This had implications on statistical races, such as when Matt Holliday won the batting average and runs batted in titles thanks in part to his performance in the 2007 tie-breaker. Home-field advantage for tie-breakers was determined by a coin flip through the 2008 season, after which performance-based criteria, starting with head-to-head record of the tied teams, were put in place. (Full article...) -
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Derek Jeter (1992) has won five World Series titles with the New York Yankees, and was the Rookie of the Year in 1996.
The New York Yankees are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in The Bronx, New York. They play in the American League East division. Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Yankees have selected 46 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball'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 48 players the Yankees have selected in the first round, 23 were pitchers. Of these, 18 were right-handed and 5 were left-handed. The Yankees have drafted ten outfielders, six shortstops, three catchers, three first basemen, and three third basemen. The team has never drafted a player at second base. The Yankees drafted 29 players out of high school, and drafted 18 players out of college. Eleven of the players came from high schools or colleges in the state of California, and Florida follows with five players. (Full article...) -
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Walter Johnson holds the record with 12 different seasons that he was a strikeout leader, including 8 consecutive from 1912 through 1919. Johnson was one of the five charter members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In baseball, the strikeout is a statistic used to evaluate pitchers. A pitcher earns a strikeout when he puts out the batter he is facing by throwing a ball through the strike zone, "defined as that area over homeplate (sic) the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap", which is not put in play. Strikeouts are awarded in four situations: if the batter is put out on a third strike caught by the catcher (to "strike out swinging" or "strike out looking"); if the pitcher throws a third strike which is not caught with fewer than two outs; if the batter becomes a baserunner on an uncaught third strike; or if the batter bunts the ball into foul territory with two strikes.
Major League Baseball recognizes the player or players in each league[a] with the most strikeouts each season. Jim Devlin led the National League in its inaugural season of 1876; he threw 122 strikeouts for the Louisville Grays. The American League's first winner was Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who captured the American League Triple Crown in 1901 by striking out 158 batters, along with leading the league in wins and earned run average. Walter Johnson led the American League in strikeouts twelve times during his Hall of Fame career, most among all players. He is followed by Nolan Ryan, who captured eleven titles between both leagues (nine in the American League and two in the National League). Randy Johnson won nine strikeout titles, five coming with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Three players have won seven strikeout championships: Dazzy Vance, who leads the National League; Bob Feller; and Lefty Grove. Grover Cleveland Alexander and Rube Waddell led their league six times, and five-time winners include Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Sam McDowell, Christy Mathewson, Amos Rusie, and Tom Seaver. (Full article...) -
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Justin Upton, the first overall selection in 2005, was named to the 2009 All-Star Team.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in the National League West division. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball'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. Since the franchise first participated in the draft in 1996, the Diamondbacks have selected 28 players in the first round. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1997 expansion draft in which the Diamondbacks filled their roster.
Of the 28 players picked in the first round by the Diamondbacks, 15 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 11 of these have been right-handed, while 4 have been left-handed. Five players taken in the first round have been shortstops; additionally, two players have been selected at each of first base, third base, catcher, and the outfield. No second baseman has been selected in the first round by the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks have drafted 16 players out of college, and 10 out of high school. Arizona has drafted seven players out of high schools or colleges in the state of California, with two being taken from each of Florida, Georgia, and their home state of Arizona. (Full article...) -
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Jewish players have played in Major League Baseball since the league came into existence in the late 19th century, and have a long and storied history within the game. There have been 188 players who identified as Jewish during their Major League career, including players who converted during or before their careers, and players who have or had at least one Jewish parent, and identified as Jewish by virtue of their parentage.
In the early years, Jewish baseball players faced constant antisemitic heckles from opponents and fans, with many hiding their heritage to avoid discrimination in the league. Despite this, a number of Jewish players overcame such abuse and went on to become stars. Two such players, Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax, were both elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and are widely considered to be amongst the most important and iconic players in baseball and American history. The sport played a large part in the assimilation of American Jews into American society at a time of rampant antisemitism, and remains a very important part in Jewish American culture today. (Full article...)
More did you know
- ... that Irv Hall's 1,904 at bats without a home run from 1943 to 1946 places him second among batters since 1900 who never hit a home run during their Major League Baseball career?
- ... that the "Wizard of Oz" and "Iron Man" are just two of the eight members of the Baseball Hall of Fame who have won Gold Glove Awards at shortstop?
- ... that John Mayberry, Jr. hit his first two career home runs against the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays, the last two Major League Baseball teams for which his father John Mayberry played?
- ... that despite its author keeping detailed journals of his experiences, the baseball memoir Odd Man Out was criticized by many people named in the book as being factually inaccurate?
- ... that Nemo Gaines is the only graduate of the United States Naval Academy to play in Major League Baseball?
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![Walter Johnson and US President Calvin Coolidge shake hands](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Walter_Johnson_and_Calvin_Coolidge_shake_hands_FINAL.jpg/400px-Walter_Johnson_and_Calvin_Coolidge_shake_hands_FINAL.jpg)
Credit: National Photo Company Collection |
Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887–December 10, 1946), nicknamed "The Big Train," was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between 1907 and 1927. One of the most celebrated players in baseball history, Johnson established several pitching records, some of which remained unbroken for more than a half-century.
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