Portal:Baseball
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The Baseball Portal
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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On Saturday, May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves played to a 1–1 tie in 26 innings, the most innings ever played in a single game in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was played at Braves Field in Boston before a crowd estimated at 4,000. Leon Cadore of Brooklyn and Joe Oeschger of Boston each pitched 26 innings and jointly hold the record for the longest pitching appearance in MLB history.
The day of the game saw rainy weather, and it was uncertain if the game would be played, but the skies cleared enough to allow it to proceed. Brooklyn scored a run in the fifth inning, and Boston in the sixth; thereafter, the pitchers became increasingly dominant. As the game exceeded eighteen innings, the small crowd at Braves Field cheered both pitchers. The last twenty innings were scoreless, and when darkness started to fall, the umpires called a halt after the twenty-sixth inning, as baseball fields did not yet have artificial lighting. (Full article...) -
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The Youngstown Ohio Works baseball team was a minor league club that was known for winning the premier championship of the Ohio–Pennsylvania League in 1905, and for launching the professional career of pitcher Roy Castleton a year later. A training ground for several players and officials who later established careers in Major League Baseball, the team proved a formidable regional competitor and also won the 1906 league championship.
During its brief span of activity, the Ohio Works team faced challenges that reflected common difficulties within the Ohio–Pennsylvania League, including weak financial support for teams. Following a dispute over funding, the team's owners sold the club to outside investors, just a few months before the opening of the 1907 season. (Full article...) -
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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 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 per 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...) -
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Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After winning a national championship with Michigan State in 1979, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers, leading the team to five NBA championships during their "Showtime" era. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests against his return from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.
Known for his extraordinary court vision, passing abilities, and leadership, Johnson was one of the most dominant players of his era. His career achievements include three NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA Finals MVPs, nine All-NBA First Team designations, and twelve All-Star games selections. He led the league in regular season assists four times, and is the NBA's all-time leader in average assists per game in both the regular season (11.19 assists per game) and the playoffs (12.35 assists per game). He also holds the records for most career playoff assists and most career playoff triple-doubles. Johnson was the co-captain of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team ("The Dream Team"), which won the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona. After leaving the NBA in 1991, he formed the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a barnstorming team that traveled around the world playing exhibition games. (Full article...) -
Image 5Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field between games of the twi-night doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Many had come to see the explosion rather than the games and rushed onto the field after the detonation. The playing field was so damaged by the explosion and by the rioters that the White Sox were required to forfeit the second game to the Tigers.
In the late 1970s, dance-oriented disco was the most popular music genre in the United States, particularly after being featured in hit films such as Saturday Night Fever (1977). However, disco sparked a major backlash from rock music fans—an opposition prominent enough that the White Sox, seeking to fill seats at Comiskey Park during a lackluster season, engaged Chicago shock jock and anti-disco campaigner Steve Dahl for the promotion at the July 12 doubleheader. Dahl's sponsoring radio station was WLUP (97.9 FM, now WCKL), so admission was discounted to 98 cents for attendees who turned in a disco record; between games, Dahl was to destroy the collected vinyl in an explosion. (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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Rogers Hornsby (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...) -
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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...) -
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Orval Leroy Grove (August 29, 1919 – April 20, 1992) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for ten seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox. In 207 career games, Grove pitched 1,176 innings and posted a win–loss record of 63–73, with 66 complete games, 11 shutouts, and a 3.78 earned run average (ERA).
The only freshman on the Proviso Township High School varsity baseball team, Grove's pitching ability attracted the attention of the White Sox. After signing with the team in 1937, Grove moved between the major leagues and minor leagues for a few seasons until 1943, when he found a solid place in the White Sox's pitching rotation. Grove had a career-year in 1943, finishing the season with career-bests in ERA, wins, and complete games; in 1944, he made his only All-Star appearance. (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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Sanford Koufax (/ˈkoʊfæks/; né Braun; born December 30, 1935), nicknamed "the Left Arm of God", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, as well as the first major sports star on the West Coast, Koufax was the first three-time winner of the Cy Young Award, each time winning unanimously and the only pitcher to do so when a single award was given for both the leagues; he was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1963. Retiring at the age of 30 due to chronic pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1972 at the age of 36, the youngest player ever elected.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Koufax was primarily a basketball player in his youth and had pitched in only a few games before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers at age 19. Due to the bonus rule he signed under, Koufax never pitched the minor leagues. His lack of pitching experience caused manager Walter Alston to distrust Koufax who saw inconsistent playing time during his first six seasons. As a result, though he often showed flashes of brilliance, Koufax struggled early on. Frustrated with the way he was being managed by the Dodgers, he almost quit after the 1960 season. After making adjustments prior to the 1961 season, Koufax quickly rose to become the most dominant pitcher in the major leagues. He was an All-Star in each of his last six seasons, leading the National League (NL) in earned run average each of his last five years, in strikeouts four times, and in wins and shutouts three times each. He was the first pitcher in the live-ball era to post an earned run average below 2.00 in three different qualifying seasons, and the first ever to record a 300-strikeout season three times. (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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Stanley Anthony Coveleski (born Stanislaus Kowalewski, July 13, 1889 – March 20, 1984) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for four American League (AL) teams between 1912 and 1928, primarily the Cleveland Indians. The star of the Indians pitching staff, he won over 20 games each year from the war-shortened 1918 season through 1921, leading the AL in shutouts twice and in strikeouts and earned run average (ERA) once each during his nine years with the club. The star of the 1920 World Series, he led the Indians to their first title with three complete-game victories, including a 3–0 shutout in the Game 7 finale. Traded to the Washington Senators after the 1924 season, he helped that club to its second AL pennant in a row with 20 victories against only 5 losses, including a 13-game winning streak, while again leading the league in ERA.
Coveleski followed in the footsteps of his brother Harry as a major league pitcher. But after making his debut with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1912, he was sidetracked by three more seasons in the minor leagues before joining the Indians in 1916, and won only 13 major league games before turning 27. Coveleski specialized in throwing the spitball, where the pitcher alters the ball with a foreign substance such as chewing tobacco. It was legal when his career began but prohibited in 1920, with Coveleski being one of 17 pitchers permitted to continue throwing the pitch. In 450 career games, Coveleski pitched 3,082 innings and posted a record of 215–142, with 224 complete games, 38 shutouts, and a 2.89 ERA. He set Cleveland records of 172 wins, 2,502+1⁄3 innings and 305 starts, which were later broken by Mel Harder and Willis Hudlin. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. (Full article...) -
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Stanley Frank Musial (/ˈmjuːziəl, -ʒəl/; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consistent hitters in baseball history, Musial spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1941 to 1944 and from 1946 to 1963, before becoming a first-ballot inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, where he frequently played baseball informally or in organized settings, and eventually played on the baseball team at Donora High School. Signed to a professional contract by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher in 1938, Musial was converted into an outfielder and made his major league debut in 1941. Noted for his unique batting stance, he quickly established himself as a consistent and productive hitter. In his first full season, 1942, the Cardinals won the World Series. The following year, he led the NL in six different offensive categories and earned his first MVP award. He was also named to the NL All-Star squad for the first time; he appeared in every All-Star game in every subsequent season he played. Musial won his second World Series championship in 1944, then missed the 1945 season while serving in the Navy. After completing his military service, Musial returned to baseball in 1946 and resumed his consistent hitting. That year he earned his second MVP award and third World Series title. His third MVP award came in 1948, when he finished one home run short of winning baseball's Triple Crown. After struggling offensively in 1959, Musial used a personal trainer to help maintain his productivity until he decided to retire in 1963. (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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Image 1In 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 2Diagram 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 3Pick-off attempt on runner (in red) at first base (from Baseball rules)
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Image 4Sadaharu 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 51906 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 6Jackie 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 7Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not uniform numbers) (from Baseball)
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Image 9A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park (from Baseball)
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Image 10By the 1860s Civil War, baseball (bottom) had overtaken its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket (top) in popularity within the United States. (from History of baseball)
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Image 13The 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 15Japanese-Americans spectating a World War II-era game while in an internment camp. America's ties to immigrants and to Japan have been deeply shaped by a shared baseball heritage. (from History of baseball)
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Image 172013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 (from Baseball)
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Image 18Cy 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 19The typical motion of a right-handed pitcher (from Baseball rules)
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Image 21Alexander Cartwright, father of modern baseball (from History of baseball)
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Image 22Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 (from Baseball)
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Image 24An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 (from Baseball)
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Image 25A 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 26A batter follows through after swinging at a pitched ball. (from Baseball rules)
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Image 27Sadaharu 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 28Rickey 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 29Cover of Official Base Ball Rules, 1921 edition, used by the American League and National League (from Baseball rules)
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Image 30A well-worn baseball (from Baseball)
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Image 31Pesäpallo, 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 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 History of baseball)
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Image 34Fenway 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 35A first baseman receives a pickoff throw, as the runner dives back to first base. (from Baseball)
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Image 37The 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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Michael Eugene Fontenot Jr. (/ˌfɑːntɛnoʊ/; born June 9, 1980) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, and Philadelphia Phillies. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Fontenot was commonly used at second base, shortstop, or third base during his career. He won a World Series with the Giants in 2010.
Fontenot grew up in Louisiana. He attended Louisiana State University (LSU) and was a member of the LSU Tigers team that won the 2000 College World Series. After two years of college baseball, he was a first round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2002. Named the organization's Minor League Player of the Year in 2003, Fontenot never played in the major leagues for Baltimore, as he was included in a 2005 trade with the Cubs that sent Sammy Sosa to Baltimore. Fontenot debuted briefly with the Cubs in 2005, but it was not until 2007 that he reached the major leagues full time. He batted .305 while primarily used as a bench player in 2008 and began 2009 as the Cubs' starting second baseman. However, Fontenot lost the role after batting only .230 through August 7. He was traded to the Giants in 2010, becoming part of the team's first World Series victory since 1954. (Full article...) -
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Since the 1960s, the issue of Native American and First Nations names and images being used by sports teams as mascots has been the subject of increasing public controversy in the United States and Canada. This has been a period of rising Indigenous civil rights movements, and Native Americans and their supporters object to the use of images and names in a manner and context they consider derogatory. They have conducted numerous protests and tried to educate the public on this issue.
In response since the 1970s, an increasing number of secondary schools have retired such Native American names and mascots. Changes accelerated in 2020, following public awareness of institutional racism prompted by nationally covered cases of police misconduct. National attention was focused on the prominent use of names and images by professional franchises including the Washington Commanders (Redskins until July 2020) and the Cleveland Guardians (Indians until November 2021). In Canada, the Edmonton Eskimos became the Edmonton Elks in 2021. Each such change at the professional level has been followed by changes of school teams; for instance, 29 changed their names between August and December 2020. A National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) database tracks some 1,900 K-12 schools in 970 school districts with Native “themed” school mascots. (Full article...) -
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Frederick Phillip Sanchez Jr. (born December 21, 1977) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. Sanchez played in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox (2002–2003), Pittsburgh Pirates (2004–2009) and San Francisco Giants (2009–2011). He batted and threw right-handed.
Born with a severely pigeon-toed left foot and a club right foot, Sanchez defied doctors' expectations by learning how to walk normally. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Foothill League his senior year at Burbank High School, getting drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 30th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. However, Sanchez chose to attend college instead, spending two years at Glendale Community College, one year at Dallas Baptist University, and one year at Oklahoma City University, where he was a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American short stop. Following his college career, he was drafted by the Red Sox in the 11th round of the 2000 draft. (Full article...) -
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Andrew Bernard "Barney" Gilligan (January 3, 1856 – April 1, 1934) was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned 12 seasons, 11 of which were spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Cleveland Blues (1879–1880), Providence Grays (1881–1885), Washington Nationals (1886–1887), and Detroit Wolverines (1888). Gilligan, who predominately played as a catcher, also played as an outfielder and a shortstop. Over his career, Gilligan compiled a career batting average of .207 with 217 runs scored, 388 hits, 68 doubles, 23 triples, three home runs, and 167 runs batted in (RBI) in 523 games played. Although the majority of his career was spent in the major leagues, Gilligan also played in minor league baseball. He was listed as standing 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) and weighing 130 pounds (59 kg). (Full article...) -
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José Delfín Fernández Gómez (July 31, 1992 – September 25, 2016) was a Cuban-born American professional baseball pitcher who played four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a member of the Miami Marlins from 2013 until his death in 2016. He stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 243 pounds (110 kg) during his playing career. He was affectionately known as "Niño" to his teammates and fans due to the youthful exuberance with which he played the game.
Fernández was born in Santa Clara, Cuba. He made three unsuccessful attempts at defecting to the United States before he finally succeeded in 2008. He enrolled at Braulio Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida, and was selected by the Marlins in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft. Fernández made his MLB debut with the Marlins on April 7, 2013. He was named to the 2013 National League All-Star Team, and won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Month Award in July and August. After the season, he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award and finished third in Cy Young Award balloting. He underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2014 season and was named to his second All-Star Game in 2016. (Full article...) -
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William Louis Raimondi (December 1, 1912 – October 18, 2010) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Minor League Baseball for 22 years, including 21 years in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). He played for the Oakland Oaks from 1932 to 1949, the Sacramento Solons from 1949 to 1950, and the Los Angeles Angels from 1951 to 1953. Raimondi is a member of the PCL Hall of Fame, elected in 1951.
Raimondi was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. After a standout baseball career at McClymonds High School in Oakland, California, Raimondi signed with the Oaks of the PCL. He tried out with the Cincinnati Reds for the 1936 season, but an arm injury prevented him from playing in Major League Baseball (MLB). Raimondi returned to the Oaks in 1937, and declined further opportunities from MLB clubs to stay close to home. He served as the interim manager of the Oaks during the 1945 season. A year after winning the PCL championship with the 1948 Oaks under Casey Stengel, Chuck Dressen traded Raimondi to Sacramento, where he became a player-coach during the 1950 season. Signing with the Angels in 1951, Raimondi served as a backup catcher and coach through the 1953 season, when he retired. (Full article...) -
Image 7Norman 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...) -
Image 8Kenneth Raymond Hunt Jr. (December 14, 1938 – January 27, 2008) was an American starting pitcher who played one full Major League Baseball season for the 1961 Cincinnati Reds. Listed at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and 200 pounds (91 kg), Hunt batted and threw right-handed. He overcame control problems to reach the major leagues with the Reds in 1961, starting games for the National League champions. He won The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award and appeared in the World Series, which the Reds lost in five games to the New York Yankees. However, his control problems resurfaced in the minor leagues after that, and he never appeared in another major league game. Following his career, he coached baseball and basketball at Morgan High School in Utah for 20 years. (Full article...)
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Image 9Wilburn Edward "Eddy" Furniss III (born September 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. A standout college baseball player for Louisiana State University (LSU), Furniss has been inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. He is the 10th athlete, and 2nd baseball player, in LSU history to have his number retired.
With the LSU Tigers, Furniss was a two-time College World Series champion and a two-time All-American. He won the Dick Howser Trophy as college baseball's best player in 1998, and set Southeastern Conference (SEC) records in numerous offensive categories, including home runs and runs batted in (RBIs). He was among the National Collegiate Athletic Association's all-time leaders in home runs and RBIs at the time he graduated from college. (Full article...) -
Image 10Denny M. Bautista Germán (born August 23, 1980) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. Bautista is 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and weighs 190 pounds (86 kg). He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Francisco Giants from 2004 to 2010. From 2011 through 2013, he played for the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League. He bats and throws right-handed. Bautista throws three pitches: a fastball, a curveball, and a changeup. He has struggled with control throughout his career.
Bautista grew up receiving instruction on pitching from his second cousin, Pedro Martínez. The Florida Marlins signed him in 2000 but traded him to the Baltimore Orioles before Bautista reached the major leagues. He debuted with the Orioles in 2004, appearing in two games before getting traded to the Kansas City Royals. Bautista was ranked Kansas City's number two prospect by Baseball America entering the 2005 season, but he made just seven starts before missing the rest of the season with an injury. He posted a 5.66 earned run average (ERA) for the Royals in 2006 before getting traded to the Colorado Rockies. He appeared in nine games (all in relief) for the Rockies in 2007, spending most of the year in the minor leagues. (Full article...) -
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George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.
The eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush, and a member of the Bush family, he flew warplanes in the Texas Air National Guard in his twenties. After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1975, he worked in the oil industry. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers, of Major League Baseball, before being elected governor of Texas in 1994. As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice system. He also helped make Texas the country's leading producer of wind-generated electricity. In the 2000 presidential election, he won over Democratic incumbent Vice President Al Gore, while losing the popular vote after a narrow and contested Electoral College win, which involved a Supreme Court decision to stop a recount in Florida. (Full article...) -
Image 12Lucas Stephen French (born September 13, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the eighth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. French debuted with the Tigers in 2009, then played with the Seattle Mariners in 2009 and 2010.
Born in Kansas, French attended Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado, where he was a Louisville Slugger Preseason High School All-American in his senior year. Drafted by the Tigers, he spent the next several years in their minor league system before making his debut with the team in 2009. He won his first game in the major leagues on July 9, then was traded to the Mariners on July 31 as part of a deal that brought Jarrod Washburn to Detroit to help the Tigers try to win the American League Central Division. (Full article...) -
Image 13"Dancin' Homer" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 8, 1990. In the episode, Homer becomes the new mascot of the Springfield Isotopes, the town's baseball team, after firing up the crowd at a baseball game. When the Isotopes start a winning streak, Homer becomes the mascot for the Capital City Capitals. The Simpsons move there but return home after Homer fails to enthrall the big-city crowd.
The episode was written by Ken Levine and David Isaacs and directed by Mark Kirkland. It was Kirkland's first directing role, and he has since directed many episodes. Singer Tony Bennett guest starred as himself and actor Tom Poston guest starred as the Capital City Capitals' mascot, the Capital City Goofball. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 14.9, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired. (Full article...) -
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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...) -
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Patrick Alan Corbin (born July 19, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He won the 2019 World Series with the Nationals, recording the win in game 7.
At Cicero – North Syracuse High School, Corbin did not pitch for his high school's baseball team until his junior season. He played college baseball at Mohawk Valley Community College and Chipola College. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim chose Corbin in the second round of the 2009 MLB draft, and traded him to the Diamondbacks in 2010 as part of a package for Dan Haren. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch
- ... that baseball umpire Cece Carlucci made the umpiring equipment used in The Natural?
- ... that thirty years after playing his first season for the Miami Hurricanes, J. D. Arteaga became the team's head coach in 2024?
- ... that Mark Hutton was the first Australian to be a starting pitcher in a Major League Baseball game?
- ... that while waiting for an interview, journalist Rod Beaton was involved in a shoving incident with baseball player Barry Bonds?
- ... 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 in 1915, Walter McCredie unsuccessfully challenged the baseball color line that prohibited non-white players?
- ... that Major League Baseball player Wade Meckler was 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 metres) tall and weighed 75 pounds (34 kilograms) when he was a high-school freshman?
- ... that baseball player Shane Rawley has published a novel?
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Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water. The other third is covered by Garry Maddox.
— Ralph Kiner, broadcaster for the New York Mets
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Image 1
The Atlanta Braves are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Atlanta, Georgia. They play in the National League East division. 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. Since the establishment of the draft in 1965, the Braves have selected 56 players in the first round.
Of those 56 players, 27 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 15 of these were right-handed, while 12 were left-handed. The Braves have also selected eight outfielders, seven shortstops, five catchers, four third basemen, three first basemen, and two second basemen in the initial round of the draft. The franchise has drafted nine players from colleges or high schools in the state of Florida, more than any other state. Eight more selections have come from their home state of Georgia. Two selections have come from outside the 50 United States: Luis Atilano (2003) is from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Scott Thorman (2000) is from Ontario, Canada. (Full article...) -
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The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Cincinnati who play in the National League's Central Division. In their history, the franchise also played under the names Cincinnati Red Stockings and Cincinnati Redlegs. They played in the American Association from 1882 through 1889, and have played in the National League since 1890. 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 that 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 Reds have used 76 Opening Day starting pitchers since they began play as a Major League team in 1882.
The Reds have played in several different home ball parks. They played two seasons in their first home ball park, Bank Street Grounds, and had one win and one loss in Opening Day games there. The team had a record of six wins and ten losses in Opening Day games at League Park, and a record of three wins and seven losses in Opening Day games at the Palace of the Fans. The Reds played in Crosley Field from 1912 through the middle of the 1970 season, and had a record of 27 wins and 31 losses in Opening Day games there. They had an Opening Day record of 19 wins, 11 losses and 1 tie from 1971 through 2002 at Riverfront Stadium, and they have a record of three wins and six losses in Opening Day games at their current home ball park, the Great American Ball Park. That gives the Reds an overall Opening Day record of 59 wins, 66 losses and one tie at home. They have a record of three wins and one loss in Opening Day games on the road. (Full article...) -
Image 3The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media. It is named for Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente. Originally known as the Commissioner's Award, it has been presented by MLB since 1971. In 1973, the award was renamed after Clemente following his death in a plane crash while he was delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.
Each year, a panel of baseball dignitaries selects one player from among 30 nominees, one from each club. Teams choose their nominee during the regular season, and the winner is announced at the World Series. The player who receives the most votes online via MLB's official website, MLB.com, gets one vote in addition to the votes cast by the panel. Since 2007, the Roberto Clemente Award has been presented by Chevy. Chevy donates money and a Chevy vehicle to the recipient's charity of choice and additional money is donated by Chevy to the Roberto Clemente Sports City, a non-profit organization in Carolina, Puerto Rico, that provides national sports activities for children. Chevy donates additional funds to the charity of choice of each of the 30 club nominees. (Full article...) -
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The Philadelphia Phillies have participated in 140 seasons in Major League Baseball since their inception in 1883. They are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in all of American professional sports. Through October 1, 2022, they have played 21,203 games, winning 10,019 games and losing 11,184.
Since their 1883 inception, the team has made 14 playoff appearances, won eight National League pennants, and won two World Series championships (against the Kansas City Royals in 1980 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008). (Full article...) -
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The Baltimore Orioles are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland. They play in the American League East division. The Orioles started playing in Baltimore in 1954, after moving from St. Louis, where they were known as the St. Louis Browns. 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 Orioles have used 33 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 60 seasons since moving to Baltimore. The 33 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 22 wins, 18 losses 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.
The first Opening Day for the Orioles was played in Detroit against the Detroit Tigers on April 13, 1954. Don Larsen was the Orioles' Opening Day starting pitcher that day, in a game the Orioles lost 3–0. Jim Palmer and Mike Mussina have made the most Opening Day starts for the Baltimore Orioles, with six apiece. Palmer has a record of five wins and one loss in his Opening Day starts, and Mussina has a record of three wins, two losses and one no decision. Dave McNally made five Opening Day starts for the Orioles, with a record of three wins and no losses. Other Oriole pitchers who have made multiple Opening Day starts are Steve Barber, Rodrigo López, and Jeremy Guthrie, with three apiece, and Milt Pappas, Dennis Martínez, Mike Flanagan, Mike Boddicker, and Rick Sutcliffe, with two apiece. Flanagan's two Opening Day starts occurred eight years apart, in 1978 and 1986. (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...) -
Image 7The Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented by Major League Baseball (MLB) to the player who is judged to have "re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season." The award was developed in 2005, as part of a sponsorship agreement between MLB and Viagra. In 2005 and 2006 representatives from MLB and MLB.com selected six candidates each from the American (AL) and National Leagues (NL) and one winner for each league was selected via an online poll on MLB.com. Since then, the winners have been selected by a panel of MLB beat reporters. Under the current voting structure, first place votes are worth five points, second place votes worth three, and third place votes worth one with the award going to the player with the most points overall. Past winners have often overcome injury or personal problems en route to their award-winning season.
A Comeback Player of the Year Award has been given by The Sporting News since 1965 but its results are not officially recognized by Major League Baseball. Since the beginning of the MLB award in 2005, the recipients have been identical with the following exceptions: 2008 NL (TSN honored Fernando Tatís, MLB honored Brad Lidge), 2010 AL (TSN honored Vladimir Guerrero, MLB honored Francisco Liriano), 2012 AL (TSN honored Adam Dunn, MLB honored Fernando Rodney), 2016 (TSN honored Jose Fernandez and Mark Trumbo, MLB honored Anthony Rendon and Rick Porcello), 2018 NL (TSN honored Matt Kemp, MLB honored Jonny Venters), 2019 AL (TSN honored Hunter Pence, MLB honored Carlos Carrasco), and 2020 AL (TSN honored Carrasco, MLB honored Salvador Pérez). Liriano and Posey are the only players to win the MLB award multiple times with Liriano being the first to win it in each league. (Full article...) -
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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.
Ozzie Smith, known as "the Wizard of Oz", has won the most Gold Glove Awards at shortstop; he captured 13 awards in his 19 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. Omar Vizquel is second among shortstops with 11 wins; he won two with the San Francisco Giants in the National League after winning nine with the Seattle Mariners and the Cleveland Indians in the American League. Luis Aparicio won nine times at shortstop for the third-highest total, followed by Mark Belanger with eight wins. Dave Concepción and Derek Jeter have won five awards; four-time winners at shortstop include Brandon Crawford, Tony Fernández, Jimmy Rollins, Andrelton Simmons and Alan Trammell. Hall of Famers who have won Gold Glove Awards at shortstop include Smith, Aparicio, Trammell, Ernie Banks, Robin Yount, Barry Larkin and Cal Ripken Jr., whose 2,632 consecutive games played earned him his "Iron Man" nickname. (Full article...) -
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The Boston Red Sox are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Boston, Massachusetts. They have played in the American League since it was founded in 1901, and the American League East since divisions were introduced in 1969. The first game of each baseball season for a team is known as Opening Day, for which being named the starting pitcher is an honor. That honor is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, although there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. (Full article...) -
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An immaculate inning occurs in baseball when a pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning using the minimum possible number of pitches: nine. This has happened 114 times in Major League history and has been accomplished by 104 pitchers (79 right-handed and 25 left-handed).
Major League Baseball's first immaculate inning was accomplished by John Clarkson of the Boston Beaneaters against the Philadelphia Quakers on June 4, 1889; and the most recent by Michael Kopech of the Chicago White Sox on July 10, 2024. Use of the term "immaculate inning" first appeared in newspaper reporting after 2000. (Full article...) -
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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. In 2021, they were placed in the Triple-A East, which became the International League in 2022. The team has employed seven play-by-play announcers who have provided running commentary for their games' radio broadcasts on fourteen radio stations throughout their history.
As of 2024, all Sounds home and road games are broadcast on WBUZ-HD3 94.9 FM (AM 830). Live audio broadcasts are also available online through the team's website and the MiLB First Pitch app. Games can be viewed through the MiLB.TV subscription feature of the official website of Minor League Baseball, with audio provided by a radio simulcast. (Full article...) -
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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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The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball franchise based in Providence, Rhode Island from 1878 to 1885. During the team's eight seasons in the National League (NL), which then comprised eight teams, they finished third place or higher in the final standings seven times, and won the league championship in both 1879 and 1884. Providence played their home games at the Messer Street Grounds, which was located in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence. The Grays were officially organized on January 16, 1878 by Benjamin Douglas, who became the team's general manager. Henry Root was hired as the team president‚ and Tom Carey was initially hired to be the on-field captain, whose duties were similar to the modern-day manager. On January 21, 1878, Providence applied for membership in the NL, and was officially approved on February 6. On April 10, Root took over ownership of the team, fired Douglas for incompetence and insubordination, and hired Tom York to replace Carey as captain.
Providence was successful in signing several star players for their inaugural season: Paul Hines had played the previous four seasons with the Chicago White Stockings; Tom Carey was signed after the Hartford Dark Blues folded; Doug Allison was the catcher for the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, who had an 84-game winning streak from 1869 to 1870; and John Montgomery Ward, who was playing his first season in the major leagues. Ward had a win–loss record of 22–13 and Hines led the league in home runs, runs batted in (RBIs), and batting average as the Grays finished in third place among the six teams in the NL for the 1878 season, with a record of 33 wins, 27 losses, and 2 ties. The Grays won the NL championship in 1879, placing first among the league's eight teams with Ward winning 47 games as their starting pitcher, and the leadership of George Wright, who played second base and also managed. The team had a strong hitting line-up with Hines' league leading .357 batting average, as well as new additions Jim O'Rourke and Joe Start, who both had batting averages over .300. William Edward White, a Brown University player who played one game for the Grays on June 21, 1879, may have been the first African-American to play at the major league level; according to Peter Morris of the Society for American Baseball Research, the evidence for White is strong, but not conclusive. If this claim is true, then White pre-dated both Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother Weldy Walker, who both played for the 1884 Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association (AA). In 1880, the Grays finished in second place among the eight NL teams, with Ward winning 39 games. On June 17 of that year, Ward pitched the second perfect game in major league history. (Full article...) -
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The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National League West division. The Rockies have participated in MLB's annual June draft since 1992. 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. Since the franchise was established as an expansion team in 1992, the Rockies have selected 31 players in the first round. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1992 expansion draft through which the Rockies filled their roster.
Of the 31 players selected in the first round by the Rockies, 18 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 12 of these have been right handed, and 6 have been left-handed. The Rockies have also selected six outfielders, four shortstops, and one player each at catcher, first base, and third base. The Rockies have never selected a second baseman in the first round. The Rockies have drafted 16 players out of high school, and 14 out of college. Colorado has drafted seven players from high schools or colleges in the state of California, with five coming from Texas and three from Tennessee. The Rockies' 2002 selection—Jeff Francis—is the only selection from outside the United States.
None of the Rockies' first-round picks have won a World Series championship with the team. One pick has been elected to the Hall of Fame, Todd Helton who was the 8th overall pick in 1995. The Rockies' first-round selection in 1999—Jason Jennings—won the MLB Rookie of the Year award with the franchise in 2002, his first full season in the Major Leagues. Todd Helton—the Rockies' 1995 selection—has won four Silver Slugger Awards and three Gold Gloves, as well as being named to five All-Star teams. Casey Weathers, the Rockies' 2007 selection, won a bronze medal in baseball with the United States team at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Rockies have never held the first overall pick in the draft, but held the second overall pick once, which they used in 2006 to select Greg Reynolds. (Full article...) -
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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...)
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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Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American baseball player who pitched for five different major league teams from 1890 to 1911. During his 22-year career, Young established numerous professional pitching records in the majors, some of which have stood for a century. Young retired with 511 career wins, 94 wins ahead of Walter Johnson, who is second on the list of most wins in Major League history. In honor of Young's contributions to Major League Baseball (MLB), the Cy Young Award, an annual award given to the pitcher voted the most effective in each of the two leagues, was created in 1956. Young was also elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
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- Portals with no named maintainer
- Automated article-slideshow portals with 51–100 articles in article list
- Automated article-slideshow portals with 501–1000 articles in article list
- Random portal component with 41–50 available subpages
- Automated article-slideshow portals with 201–500 articles in article list
- Random portal component with 11–15 available subpages
- Random portal component with 21–25 available image subpages