1.
Eddie Collins
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Edward Trowbridge Collins, Sr. nicknamed Cocky, was an American Major League Baseball second baseman, manager and executive. He played from 1906 to 1930 for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox, a graduate of Columbia University, Collins holds major league career records in several categories and is among the top few players in several other categories. Collins coached and managed in the major leagues after retiring as a player and he also served as general manager of the Boston Red Sox. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939 and he died several years later after having suffered from heart problems for a number of years. As a native of Millerton, a 384-acre village in Dutchess County, New York and he graduated from Columbia University, at a time when few major league players had attended college. He started his American professional baseball career on September 17,1906 when he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics at the age of 19, when he signed with the Philadelphia organization, Collins was still a student at Columbia. He played some of his minor league games under the last name of Sullivan so that he could protect his collegiate status. After spending all but 14 games of the 1907 season in the leagues, he played in 102 games in 1908. That season, he registered a.347 batting average and 67 steals, in 1910, Collins stole a career-high 81 bases and played on the first of his six World Series championship teams. He was part of the Athletics so-called $100,000 infield which propelled the team to four American League pennants and he earned the leagues Chalmers Award in 1914. In 1914, the newly formed Federal League disrupted major league contract stability by luring away established stars from the AL, to retain Collins, Athletics manager Connie Mack offered his second baseman the longest guaranteed contract that had ever been offered to a player. Collins declined, and after the 1914 season Mack sold Collins to the White Sox for $50,000, the Sox paid Collins $15,000 for 1915, making him the third highest paid player in the league, behind Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker. In Chicago, Collins continued to post top-ten batting and stolen base numbers and he was part of the notorious Black Sox team that threw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. However Collins was not accused of being part of the conspiracy and was considered to have played honestly, in August 1924, he was named player-manager of the White Sox and held the position through the 1926 season, posting a record of 174-160. Collins returned to Philadelphia to rejoin the Athletics in 1927 as a player-coach and he recorded only 143 plate appearances in his last four years, mostly as a pinch hitter. He did not play in any World Series games for the 1929 or 1930 World Series champion As, Collins finished his career with 1,300 runs batted in. To date, Collins is the only MLB player to play for two teams for at least 12 seasons each and he still holds the major league record of 512 career sacrifice bunts, over 100 more than any other player. He was the first major leaguer in history to steal 80 bases in a season, and still shares the major league record of six steals in a game
2.
Infielder
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An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive infield positions on the baseball field. In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. Although there are rules to baseball, in general the team playing offense tries to score runs by batting balls into the field that enable runners to make a complete circuit of the four bases. There are nine defensive positions on a baseball field, the part of the baseball field closest to the batter is known as the infield The infield is composed of four positions, first base, second base, third base and shortstop. Generally, the first three have responsibility for plays at their bases, although the shortstop often shares responsibility for second base with the second baseman. Each position requires a different set of skills, the second baseman tries to field balls hit between first and second base. The shortstop does the same second and third base. Once fielded, the balls must be thrown to the first baseman before the batter can reach first base, second basemen and shortstops—known as the middle infielders—also share responsibility for tagging runners who are attempting to steal second base. Because a shortstop has a throw to make to first base, he must reach the ball faster. For this reason, the shortstop must have the best fielding skills of any infielder, the third baseman primarily fields balls hit and bunted down the third base line, but can also attempt to reach balls hit between second and third base. The third baseman must also have a strong arm, since the throw from his position to first base is the longest on the infield. The first baseman is largely responsible for keeping one foot on first base while catching throws from the three infielders before the batter can reach first base. Because these throws are often hurried and thus off-target, the first baseman must have the ability to cleanly field thrown balls that hit the ground before they reach first base. Since the first baseman mostly stands close to his base, his mobility and throwing skills do not need to be high, good hitters who are slow of foot are often placed at first base. In some cases, a third baseman or outfielder who has lost some speed but is still a good hitter will be moved to first base to keep his bat in the line-up
3.
History of the Philadelphia Athletics
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The Oakland Athletics, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Philadelphia. This article details the history of the Philadelphia Athletics, from 1901 to 1954, see also, Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame The Western League had been renamed the American League in 1900 by league president Bancroft Johnson, and declared itself the second major league in 1901. Johnson created new franchises in the east and eliminated some franchises in the West, Philadelphia had a new franchise created to compete with the National Leagues Philadelphia Phillies. Former catcher Connie Mack was recruited to manage the club, Mack in turn persuaded Phillies minority owner Ben Shibe as well as others to invest in the team, which would be called the Philadelphia Athletics. Mack himself bought a 25% interest, while the remaining 25% was sold to Philadelphia sportswriters Sam Jones, the new league recruited many of its players from the existing National League, persuading them to jump to the American League in defiance of their National League contracts. One of the players who jumped to the new league was second baseman Nap Lajoie and he won the A. L. s first batting title with a.426 batting average, still a league record. The Athletics and the American League received a setback when, on April 21,1902, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court invalidated Lajoies contract with the Athletics and this order, though, was only enforceable in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Lajoie was sold to Cleveland, but was out of road games in Philadelphia until the National Agreement was signed between the two leagues in 1903. In the early years, the As established themselves as one of the dominant teams in the new league, winning the A. L. pennant six times and they won over 100 games in 1910 and 1911, and 99 games in 1914. The team was known for its $100,000 Infield, consisting of Stuffy McInnis, Eddie Collins, Jack Barry, Rube Waddell was also a major pitching star for the As in the early 1900s. According to Lamont Buchanan in The World Series and Highlights of Baseball, Plank holds the franchise record for career victories, with 284. In 1909, the As moved into the leagues first concrete-and-steel ballpark. This remains the second and last time in history where a new ballpark was built specifically for the As. Later in the decade, Mack bought the 25% of the stock owned by Jones. Shibe ceded Mack full control over the side while retaining control over the business side. In 1914, the Athletics lost the 1914 World Series to the Miracle Braves in a four-game sweep, Mack traded, sold or released most of the teams star players soon after. In his book To Every Thing a Season, Bruce Kuklick points out there were suspicions that the As had thrown the Series, or at least laid down. Mack himself alluded to that years later, but debunked it
4.
First baseman
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First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that players team. A first baseman is the player on the team playing defense who fields the area nearest first base, in the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3. Also called first sacker or cornerman, the first baseman is ideally a tall player who throws left-handed and possesses good flexibility, flexibility is needed because the first baseman receives throws from the other infielders, the catcher and the pitcher after they have fielded ground balls. In order for the runner to be called out, the first baseman must be able to stretch towards the throw and they often are power hitters who have a substantial number of home runs and extra base hits while maintaining a.270 plus batting average. Good defensive first basemen, according to Bill James, are capable of playing off first base so that they can field ground balls hit to the side of first base. The first baseman then relies upon the pitcher to cover first base to receive the ball to complete the out, indications of a good defensive first baseman include a large number of assists and a low number of throwing errors by other infielders. The nature of play at first base often requires first basemen to stay close to the bag to hold runners or to reach the bag before the batter. First basemen are not typically expected to have the range required of a baseman, shortstop. As a result, first base is not usually perceived to be as physically demanding as other positions, however, it can also be a very hard position to play, a large amount of concentration and timing is required. Though many play at first base their entire career, it is common for players to be moved to first base in order to extend their careers or to accommodate other recently acquired players. Facing a possible trade or a reduction in playing time. Catchers and corner outfielders are often moved to first base due to deteriorating health or if their fielding abilities at their position are detrimental to the team. When first base is not occupied by a baserunner, the first baseman usually stands behind first base, the distance he plays from the base and foul line is dependent on the current hitter and any runners on base. The exact position may depend on the first basemans experience, preference. For a known right-handed pull hitter, the first baseman might position himself further towards the second basemans normal fielding position, for a known left-handed pull hitter, the first baseman will position himself closer to the foul line in order to stop a ball hit down the line. To protect against a bunt on the first base side of the infield, as soon as the pitcher commits to throwing towards home plate, the first basemen will charge towards the hitter to field the bunt. During these plays, it is the responsibility of the second basemen to cover first base, with a base runner present at first base, the first baseman stands with his right foot touching the base to prepare for a pickoff attempt. Once the pitcher commits to throwing towards home plate, the first baseman comes off the bag in front of the runner and gets in a fielding position
5.
Stuffy McInnis
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John Phalen Stuffy McInnis was a first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. McInnis gained his nickname as a youngster in the Boston suburban leagues, from 1909-27, McInnis played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies. In a 19-season career, McInnis posted a.307 batting average with 20 home runs and 1,062 RBI in 2,128 games, a native of Gloucester, Massachusetts, McInnis broke into baseball with the Philadelphia Athletics as a shortstop in 1909. Two seasons later, he replaced Harry Davis at first base as a member of the famous $100,000 infield, teaming up with second baseman Eddie Collins, third baseman Frank Baker and shortstop Jack Barry. As prices and costs rose in later years the tag seemed low, the Athletics were in their prime, winning the American League pennant in 1910,1911,1913 and 1914, and back-to-back World Championships in 1910 and 1911. The $100,000 infield broken up after Collins was sold to the White Sox, Baker went to the Yankees, only McInnis stayed, and he was traded to the Red Sox at the end of the 1917 season. McInnis was part of the Red Sox in the 1918 World Series and he drove in the only run of Babe Ruths 1-0 pitching victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the Series. He joined Cleveland for one season in 1922 before going to the National League in 1923 and he played with the Braves and Pirates, and also managed the Phillies in 1927, his last year in the majors. A good contact line drive hitter, McInnis batted over.300 during 12 of his 19 seasons and his most productive season came in 1912, when he hit.327, though he batted.368 in 59 games for the Pirates champion team in 1925. Extremely hard to strike out, he fanned only 189 times in 7,822 at-bats, in 1921, he struck out only 9 times in 584 at bats. McInnis also excelled in moving ahead with sacrifice hits. His career total of 384 sacrifice hits is third best in MLB history, McInnis also was an especially solid defensive player. He for decades held major league fielding records for first basemen over one season. In 1921, he played in 152 games with the Red Sox and committed one error in 1,651 chances for a.9993 mark. Between May 31,1921, and June 2,1922, on June 25,2007, Kevin Youkilis played in his 120th consecutive game at first base without an error, breaking the prior Red Sox record set in 1921 by McInnis. His streak was snapped at 238 games on June 7,2008, following his retirement as a player, McInnis coached the Norwich University baseball team from 1931 until 1944 and the Harvard baseball team from 1949-54. He died in Ipswich, Massachusetts, at age 69. norwich. edu/89-0/ Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference Baseball Almanac Stuffy McInnis at Find a Grave
6.
Second baseman
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In baseball and softball, second baseman is a fielding position in the infield, between third and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, in addition, second basemen are usually right-handed, only four left-handed throwing players have ever played second base since 1950. In the numbering system used to record plays, the second baseman is assigned the number 4. Good second basemen need to have very good range, since they have to field balls closer to the first baseman who is often holding runners on, on a batted ball to right field, the second baseman goes out towards the ball for the relay. Due to these requirements, second base is sometimes a primarily defensive position in the modern game, the second baseman catches line drives or pop flies hit near him, and fields ground balls hit near him and then throws the ball to a base to force out a runner. In this case, if the runner is to be forced out at second base then that base is covered by the shortstop. With a runner on first base, on a ball to the shortstop or third baseman the second baseman will cover second base to force out the runner coming from first. com
7.
Shortstop
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Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. The position is filled by defensive specialists, so shortstops are generally relatively poor batters who bat later in the batting order. In the numbering used by scorers to record defensive plays. More hit balls go to the shortstop than to any position, as there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters. Like a second baseman, a shortstop must be agile, for example performing a 4-6-3 double play. Also, like a third baseman, the shortstop fields balls hit to the side of the infield. Doc Adams of the Knickerbockers created the concept of the position, according to Thorn. In the first five years the Knickerbockers played, the team fielded anywhere from eight to eleven players, the only infielders were the players covering each of the bases, if there were more than eight players, extra outfielders were sometimes used. The outfielders had difficulty throwing baseballs into the infield, because of the light weight. Adams shortstop position, which he started playing at some time from 1849 to 1850, was used to field throws from the outfielders, with the advent of higher-quality baseballs, Adams moved to the infield, since the distance the balls could travel increased. Adams had a playing career with the Knickerbockers, he remained a player with the team until 1860. The shortstop ordinarily is positioned near second base on the third-base side, a shortstop must also be extremely agile, because balls hit to or near the shortstop position are usually hit harder than to other infield positions. Shortstops are required to cover second base in double play situations when the ball is hit to the second baseman or first baseman and they also cover second when a runner is attempting a stolen base, but only when a left-handed hitter is batting. This is because the infield will respond to a batter by shifting toward first base. They often become the man on balls to any part of the outfield that are being directed towards third base and all balls to left. Depending on the system the shortstop may cut balls from left field heading home, however, the emphasis on defense makes the position unusually difficult to fill. Historically, a strong shortstop did not have to be a good hitter.200, since the 1960s, however, such mediocre hitting has become rarer as teams increasingly demand players with ability to both field and hit. Alex Rodríguez, Michael Young, or Miguel Tejada, the year in which the player was inducted is given in brackets after his name
8.
Jack Barry (baseball)
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John Joseph Jack Barry was an American shortstop, second baseman, and manager in Major League Baseball, and later a college baseball coach. From 1908 through 1919, Barry played for the Philadelphia Athletics, born in Meriden, Connecticut, Barry spent his nearly entire tenure in the big leagues on winning teams, first the Philadelphia Athletics and later the Boston Red Sox. Athletics manager Connie Mack signed Barry off the campus of the College of the Holy Cross to play shortstop on what would become his famous $100,000 infield. The unit, one of the most famous groups of teammates in history, consisted of first baseman Stuffy McInnis, second baseman Eddie Collins. In 1915, the year after the Boston Braves swept the Athletics in the World Series, Red Sox owner Joe Lannin paid $8,000 for Barrys services, as Mack was dismantling the team. Upon joining the Red Sox, he hit just.262 but played reliable defense at shortstop and he played in the World Series in 1915 and 1916 for the Red Sox. Acknowledged as the teams leader, he became a player-manager in 1917, leading the team to a 90-win season. He served all of 1918 in the military, after poor play in 1919, he decided to retire rather than be sold away in another fire sale following Harry Frazees decision to sell his shortstop back to the Athletics. In an 11-season career, Barry posted a.243 batting average with 10 home runs and 429 RBI in 1223 games. Barry became the coach at Holy Cross in 1921, and continued in that position for 40 years until his death in Shrewsbury. During his tenure, he posted the highest career winning percentage in collegiate history and he was among the initial class of inductees to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1966. In 2007 he was an inaugural inductee of the College Baseball Hall of Fame along with Lou Gehrig, Christy Mathewson. List of Major League Baseball player–managers Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference Baseball Library
9.
Third baseman
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In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5. The third baseman requires good reflexes in reacting to batted balls, the third base position requires a strong and accurate arm, as the third baseman often makes long throws to first base. The third baseman sometimes must throw quickly to second base in time to start a double play, the third baseman must also field fly balls in fair and foul territory. Third base is known as the hot corner, because the third baseman is relatively close to the batter, a third baseman must possess good hand-eye coordination and quick reactions in order to catch hard line drives sometimes in excess of 125 miles per hour. Third basemen often must begin in an even closer to the batter if a bunt is expected. As with middle infielders, right-handed throwing players are standard at the position because they do not need to turn their body before throwing across the infield to first base. Mike Squires, who played fourteen games at third base in 1982 and 1983, is a rare example of a third baseman who threw lefty. Some third basemen have been converted from middle infielders or outfielders because the position does not require them to run as fast. Players who could hit with more ability often were not suited for third base, since the 1950s the position has become more of a power position with sluggers such as Eddie Mathews, Mike Schmidt and Ron Santo becoming stars. There are fewer third basemen in the Baseball Hall of Fame than there are Hall of Famers of any other position
10.
Home Run Baker
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John Franklin Home Run Baker was an American professional baseball player. A third baseman, Baker played in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1922, for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baker has been called the original home run king of the majors. Baker was a member of the Athletics $100,000 infield and he helped the Athletics win the 1910,1911 and 1913 World Series. After a contract dispute, the Athletics sold Baker to the Yankees, Baker appeared with the Yankees in the 1921 and 1922 World Series, though the Yankees lost both series, before retiring. Baker led the American League in home runs for four consecutive years and he had a batting average over.300 in six seasons, had three seasons with more than 100 runs batted in, and two seasons with over 100 runs scored. Bakers legacy has grown over the years, and he is regarded by many as one of the best power hitters of the deadball era, during his 13 years as a major league player, Baker never played a single inning at any position other than third base. Baker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1955, Baker was born on March 13,1886, to Franklin Adams Baker and Mary Catherine on their farm in Trappe, Maryland. The Bakers, who were of English descent, had been farmers in Trappe for six generations and his mother, of Scottish descent, was reported to be a distant relative of Robert E. Lee. Baker enjoyed working on his fathers farm, but he aspired to become a baseball player from the age of ten. In Trappe, most of the attended the local baseball teams games on Saturdays. Franks older brother, Norman, was known in the town for his playing ability. Norman once tried out for the Philadelphia Athletics, but he did not like that city, Baker pitched for the local high school baseball team and worked as a clerk at a butcher shop and grocery store owned by relatives. He signed with a local baseball team based in Ridgely, Maryland, in 1905. The team, which was managed by Buck Herzog, paid him $5 per week, Herzog found that Baker could not pitch well, but that he could hit. Baker was unable to play the outfield well, but he was able to move into the infield as a third baseman for Ridgely, in 1906, Baker played for Sparrows Point Club in Baltimore, earning $15 per week. He received an offer to play for a team in the Class C Texas League in 1907 and he instead signed with an independent team based in Cambridge, Maryland. A scout for the New York Giants of the National League noticed Baker while he was playing for Sparrows Point and they arranged for Baker to receive a tryout with the Baltimore Orioles of the Class A Eastern League late in the 1907 season. Playing in five games, Baker recorded two hits, both singles, in 15 at-bats, Orioles manager Jack Dunn decided that Baker could not hit, and Baker was released
11.
Bill James
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George William Bill James is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two books devoted to baseball history and statistics. His Baseball Abstract books in the 1980s are the predecessor to websites using sabermetrics such as Baseball Prospectus. In 2006, Time named him in the Time 100 as one of the most influential people in the world and he is a Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox. James was born in Holton, Kansas, he never knew his mother and his father was a janitor at a high school. After four years at the University of Kansas residing at Stephenson Scholarship hall and he was the last person in Kansas to be sent to fight in the Vietnam War, although he never saw action there. Instead, he spent two years stationed in South Korea, during which time he wrote to KU about taking his final class and he was told he actually had met all his graduation requirements, so he returned to Lawrence in 1973 with degrees in English and economics. He also finished an Education degree in 1975, likewise from the University of Kansas, an aspiring writer and obsessive fan, James began writing baseball articles after leaving the United States Army in his mid-twenties. Many of his first baseball writings came while he was doing night shifts as a security guard at the Stokely-Van Camps pork, unlike most writers, his pieces did not recount games in epic terms or offer insights gleaned from interviews with players. A typical James piece posed a question, and then presented data and analysis written in a lively, insightful, editors considered Jamess pieces so unusual that few believed them suitable for their readers. In an effort to reach an audience, James began self-publishing an annual book titled The Bill James Baseball Abstract beginning in 1977. The 1978 edition, subtitled The 2nd annual edition of baseballs most informative and imaginative review, the first three editions garnered respect for Jamess work, including a very favorable review by Daniel Okrent in Sports Illustrated. New annual editions added essays on teams and players, by 1982 sales had increased tenfold, and a media conglomerate agreed to publish and distribute future editions. While writers had published books about baseball statistics before, few had reached a mass audience. Attempts to imitate Jamess work spawned a flood of books and articles that continues to this day, in 1988, James ceased writing the Abstract, citing workload-related burnout and concern about the volume of statistics on the market. He has continued to publish books about baseball history, which have sold well. James assistant Rob Neyer was responsible for much of the research, Neyer went on to become a featured baseball columnist at ESPN and SB Nation. The Player Ratings Book offered statistics and 50-word profiles aimed at the fantasy baseball enthusiast, the Bill James Handbook provides past-season statistics and next-season projections for Major League players and teams, and career data for all current Major League players
12.
American League
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The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League, is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a league based in the Great Lakes states. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season,25 years after the formation of the National League. At the end of season, the American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion. Through 2016, American League teams have won 64 of the 112 World Series played since 1903, the 2016 American League champions are the Cleveland Indians. The New York Yankees have won 40 American League titles, the most in the history, followed by the Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics. Originally a minor league known as the Western League, the American League later developed into a major league after the American Association disbanded, in its early history, the Western League struggled until 1894, when Ban Johnson became the president of the league. Johnson led the Western League into major league status and soon became the president of the newly renamed American League, babe Ruth, noted as one of the most prolific hitters in Major League Baseball history, spent the majority of his career in the American League. The American League has one notable difference versus the National League, in 1902, the Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis and were renamed the St. Louis Browns. In 1902, The Cleveland Bluebirds were also renamed the Cleveland Broncos, in 1903, the Broncos were renamed the Cleveland Naps. In 1915, the Naps were renamed the Cleveland Indians, in 1903, the Baltimore Orioles moved to New York and were renamed the New York Highlanders. In 1913, the Highlanders were renamed the New York Yankees, in 1904, the Chicago White Stockings were renamed the Chicago White Sox. In 1908, the Boston Americans were renamed the Boston Red Sox, in 1954, the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and were renamed as the Baltimore Orioles. In 1955, the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City and were renamed as the Kansas City Athletics, in 1961, the league expanded and added two teams as the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators, expanding the league to 10 teams. The original Senators team moved to Minneapolis/St, Paul in 1961 and were renamed as the Minnesota Twins. The Angels team name changed to the California Angels in 1966, then to the Anaheim Angels in 1997, the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots were added to the American League, expanding the league to 12 teams. In 1970, the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and were renamed the Milwaukee Brewers, in 1972, the Washington Senators relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and were renamed the Texas Rangers. In 1977, the league expanded to fourteen teams, when the Seattle Mariners, in 1998, the Tampa Bay Rays was added to the American League and at the same time, the Milwaukee Brewers were switched to the National League, leaving the American League with 14 teams
13.
World Series
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The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball in North America, contested since 1903 between the American League champion team and the National League champion team. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a playoff. As the series is played in October, during the season in North America. As of 2016, the World Series has been contested 112 times, with the AL winning 64, the 2016 World Series took place between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs. Seven games were played, with the Cubs victorious after game seven, the final score was 8–7, the game went into extra innings after a tied score of 6–6. This was the third World Series won by the Cubs, as well as their first title since 1908, in the National League, the St. As of 2016, no team has won consecutive World Series championships since the New York Yankees in 1998,1999, all championships were awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. From 1884 to 1890, the National League and the American Association faced each other in a series of games at the end of the season to determine an overall champion. These series were disorganized in comparison to the modern World Series, the number of games played ranged from as few as three in 1884, to a high of fifteen in 1887. Both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game, the series was promoted and referred to as The Championship of the United States, Worlds Championship Series, or Worlds Series for short. In his book Krakatoa, The Day the World Exploded, August 27,1883, Simon Winchester mentions in passing that the World Series was named for the New York World newspaper, but this view is disputed. Until about 1960, some sources treated the 19th-century Series on a basis with the post-19th-century series. After about 1930, however, many authorities list the start of the World Series in 1903, following the collapse of the American Association after the 1891 season, the National League was again the only major league. The league championship was awarded in 1892 by a playoff between half-season champions and this scheme was abandoned after one season. Beginning in 1893—and continuing until divisional play was introduced in 1969—the pennant was awarded to the club in the standings at the end of the season. For four seasons, 1894–1897, the league played the runners-up in the post season championship series called the Temple Cup. A second attempt at this format was the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup series, in 1901, the American League was formed as a second major league. No championship series were played in 1901 or 1902 as the National and these series were arranged by the participating clubs, as the 1880s Worlds Series matches had been
14.
1910 World Series
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The 1910 World Series featured the Philadelphia Athletics and the Chicago Cubs, with the Athletics winning in five games to earn their first championship. Jack Coombs of Philadelphia won three games and Eddie Collins supplied timely hitting, the greatest Cubs team in history closed out its glory years, only ten years into the new century. AL Philadelphia Athletics vs. NL Chicago Cubs Monday, October 17,1910, tuesday, October 18,1910, at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jack Coombs pitched erratically, allowing eight hits and walking nine, but still picked up the win. The Cubs left 14 men on base, a Series record at that time, the As combed Mordecai Brown for 13 hits, including four doubles in a six-run seventh that put the game away. Jimmy Archer became the first player in World Series history to appear in a World Series for both the National and American leagues when he took the field in Game 3 for Chicago, Archer played for the Tigers in the 1907 World Series. Philadelphia entered the series with ten days off compared to one day off for Chicago – the largest disparity of rest days in World series history. During the 1910 World Series, a baseball was secretly introduced into professional baseball for the first time. Cohen, Richard M. Neft, David S, the World Series, Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. Archived from the original on 2008
15.
1911 World Series
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In the 1911 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the New York Giants four games to two. Philadelphia third baseman Frank Home Run Baker earned his nickname during this Series, an ironic sidelight was that Mathewson had criticized Marquard in his newspaper column after Game 2, for giving up the gopher ball, only to fall victim himself the very next day. Baker was swinging a hot bat in general, going 9 for 24 to lead all batters in the Series with a.375 average. According to his New York Times obituary, Giants catcher Chief Meyers threw out 12 runners, the six consecutive days of rain between Games 3 and 4 caused the longest delay between World Series games until the earthquake-interrupted 1989 Series. With the sixth and final game being played on October 26, thus the nickname Home Run Baker was born. Two innings later with the score tied at 1, Baker would single. The Giants would rally for one run in the bottom half, tuesday, October 24,1911, at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania After six days of rain the series resumed. Chief Bender, after getting roughed up for two runs in the first shut out the Giants the rest of the way on his way to a 4–2 win and 3–1 Series lead. Wednesday, October 25,1911, at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, New York On the verge of elimination, the Giants fought back. They tied it at 3 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth, and then won it with a run in the tenth when Larry Doyle scored on a sacrifice fly, Home plate umpire Bill Klem later said Doyle had failed to touch home plate after sliding in. Since none of the Athletics noticed this and Philadelphia failed to appeal, thursday, October 26,1911, at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1911 World Series, Philadelphia Athletics over New York Giants Cohen, Richard M. Neft, David S. The World Series, Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989, archived from the original on 2008
16.
1913 World Series
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In the 1913 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the New York Giants four games to one. The As pitching gave the edge to a closer-than-it-looked Series in 1913, the great Christy Mathewson lost his Series swan song in the final game to an old college rival and eventual fellow Baseball Hall of Fame member, Eddie Plank. The Giants thus became the first National League team since the Chicago Cubs to win three consecutive pennants and they were also the second club to lose three consecutive World Series, and, as of 2017, the last to do so. The Series itself was an ironic face-off, as the Giants, the As would win again in a four-game sweep in the 1989 World Series, famous for the earthquake that struck before Game 3, which would be the last World Series victory for the As. AL Philadelphia Athletics vs. NL New York Giants In the opener, frank apparently liked his nickname and wanted to hang on to it. Mathewson and Plank matched craft and guile, and after nine innings it was as it had been at the beginning, in the bottom of the ninth, the Giants had put on a stirring baseball version of the goal-line stand. With none out, the As had Amos Strunk on third, the next batter, Jack Lapp, grounded to first, where Hooks Wiltse, a pitcher, was filling in. Wiltse made a stop and threw home to nab Strunk. With Barry on third now and Lapp on first, Plank grounded to Wiltse and Hooks fired home again, Mathewson retired the next hitter, and the game went into extra innings. The home team won a game, although the visiting Giants made it close in the late innings. So all but one of the five games of the 1913 World Series were won by the visiting team, planks own error in the fifth inning cost him a shutout in the finale. 1913 World Series, Philadelphia Athletics over New York Giants Cohen, Richard M. Neft, the World Series, Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. Archived from the original on 2008
17.
1914 World Series
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In the 1914 World Series, the Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics in a four-game series. The Miracle Braves were in last place on July 4, then won the National League pennant by 10 1⁄2 games, the Braves relatively unknown starting trio of pitchers, with a combined career record of 285–245, outperformed the Athletics vaunted rotation in all four games. Hank Gowdy hit.545 with five hits and also drew five walks for Boston in the series and was the difference maker in Games 1 and 3. Adding to their supposed disadvantages, the Braves arguably lacked a notable home-field advantage and they had abandoned their 43-year-old home field South End Grounds in August 1914, choosing to rent from the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park while awaiting construction of Braves Field. Thus their home games in this Series were also at Fenway and this was the first four-game sweep in World Series history. The Cubs had defeated the Tigers four games to none in 1907, cohan through bookmaker Sport Sullivan, who was also implicated in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Chief Bender and Eddie Plank would jump to the rival Federal League for the 1915 season, Mack unloaded most of his other high-priced stars soon after and, within two years, the As achieved the worst winning percentage in modern history. The heavily favored As with all their hall-of-fame talent were assumed to win as they were the team on paper. This attitude was reflected in the case when the pennant was assured in the As case, Connie Mack gave star pitcher Chief Bender the week off. When scolded by Mack, he replied, Why should I check out a bunch of bush league hitters, catcher Hank Gowdy had a single, double and triple as well as a walk in leading Bostons offensive attack. He was also on the end of a double steal in the eighth inning. Meany may also have been the source for the sensational sidelight that Stallings motive for this may have been the rumor that the As may have sabotaged the Shibe Park visiting clubhouse. Bill James, Bostons other 26-game winner, hooked up against Philadelphias Eddie Plank in a pitchers duel. James allowed only three runners in the first eight innings, picking off two of them in holding Philadelphia scoreless. Plank matched him until the ninth, when Amos Strunk lost Charlie Deals fly ball in the sun for a double, deal then stole third, and scored on a two-out single by Les Mann. James walked two batters in the ninth, but got Eddie Murphy to ground into a double play to give Boston a 2–0 advantage in the series coming back home to Fenway. Lefty Tyler of the Braves went up against Bullet Joe Bush in a twelve-inning thriller, frank Home Run Bakers two-out single in the tenth plated two runs to give the Athletics a 4–2 lead and a seeming victory to get them back in the series. But Hank Gowdy led off the bottom of the tenth with a run
18.
Federal League
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The Federal League came together in early 1913 through the work of John T. Powers, and immediately challenged the operations of organized baseball. Playing in what detractors called the league allowed players to avoid the restrictions of the organized leagues reserve clause. The competition of another, better paying league caused players salaries to skyrocket, interference by the National and American Leagues in their operations caused the Federal League to fold after the 1915 season. The Federal League left its mark on history in the field now known as Wrigley Field. The league itself and many sports writers considered it a league during its existence. In 1912, baseball promoter John T. Powers formed an independent professional league known as the Columbian League, however, the withdrawal of one of the organizations primary investors caused the league to fail before ever playing a game. Undaunted, Powers tried again the year, creating a new league with teams in Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, St. Louis. He named the organization the Federal League, and served as its first president, because it did not abide by the National Agreement on player payment in place in organized baseball, the Federal League was called an outlaw league by its competitors. The Federal Leagues outlaw status allowed it to players from established clubs. In its first season Powers initially served as president, but he was replaced by James A. Gilmore. Other financers of the League included oil baron Harry F. Sinclair, ice magnate Phil Ball, as a major circuit, the Federal League consisted of eight teams each season. Four of the teams were placed in established Big League cities, the other four teams were placed in more marginal areas. In the first year,1914, some of the teams had official nicknames and some did not, by the second season, most of the teams had official nicknames, although many writers still called many of the teams -Feds. In order for the Federal League to succeed, it needed Big League players, walter Johnson signed a three-year contract with the Chicago team, but the Senators Clark Griffith went personally to Johnsons home in Kansas and made a successful counter-offer. Major League players that jumped to the Federal League included Bill McKechnie, Claude Hendrix, Jack Quinn, Russell Ford, Tom Seaton, Doc Crandall, Al Bridwell, Hy Myers, the Federal League also recruited Big League names to manage the new teams. Joe Tinker managed the Chicago team, Mordecai Brown managed the St. Louis team, the league had close pennant races both years. In 1914, Indianapolis beat out Chicago by 1½ games,1915 witnessed the tightest pennant race in Major League history, as three teams fought into the last weekend of the season. But since the Whales played two fewer games than the Terrapins, they were awarded the pennant based on their slightly better winning percentage, Pittsburgh, with one game unplayed, ended up at 86-67
19.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, and operated by private interests. The Halls motto is Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations, the word Cooperstown is often used as shorthand for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Hall of Fame was established in 1939 by Stephen Carlton Clark, Clark had sought to bring tourists to a city hurt by the Great Depression, which reduced the local tourist trade, and Prohibition, which devastated the local hops industry. A new building was constructed, and the Hall of Fame was dedicated on June 12,1939, the erroneous claim that U. S. Civil War hero Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown was instrumental in the early marketing of the Hall. An expanded library and research facility opened in 1994, dale Petroskey became the organizations president in 1999. In 2002, the Hall launched Baseball As America, an exhibit that toured ten American museums over six years. The Hall of Fame has since also sponsored educational programming on the Internet to bring the Hall of Fame to schoolchildren who might not visit, the Hall and Museum completed a series of renovations in spring 2005. The Hall of Fame also presents an annual exhibit at FanFest at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Jeff Idelson replaced Petroskey as president on April 16,2008. In 2012, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed a law ordering the United States Mint to produce and sell commemorative, non-circulating coins to benefit the private, non-profit Hall. The bill, House Bill H. R.2527, was introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Rep. Richard Hanna, a Republican from New York, the coins, which depict baseball gloves and balls, are the first concave designs produced by the Mint. The mintage included 50,000 gold coins,400,000 silver coins, the Mint released them on March 27,2014, and the gold and silver editions quickly sold out. The Hall receives money from surcharges included in the sale price,114 members of the Hall of Fame have been inducted posthumously, including four who died after their selection was announced. Of the 35 Negro league members,29 were inducted posthumously, the Hall of Fame includes one female member, Effa Manley. The newest inductees, enshrined on July 24,2016, are players Mike Piazza, the incoming class of 2017, to be formally enshrined on July 30, consists of executives John Schuerholz and Bud Selig and players Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Iván Rodríguez. In addition to honoring Hall of Fame inductees, the National Baseball Hall of Fame has presented 40 men with the Ford C, while Frick and Spink Award honorees are not members of the Hall of Fame, they are recognized in an exhibit in the Hall of Fames library. ONeil Award honorees are also not Hall of Fame members, but are listed alongside a permanent statue of the namesake and first recipient, Buck ONeil. From a final ballot typically including 25–40 candidates, each writer may vote for up to 10 players, until the late 1950s, any player named on 75% or more of all ballots cast is elected. A player who is named on fewer than 5% of ballots is dropped from future elections, players receiving 5% or more of the votes but fewer than 75% are reconsidered annually until a maximum of ten years of eligibility
20.
Columbia University
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Columbia University is a private Ivy League research university in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1754 as Kings College by royal charter of George II of Great Britain, after the American Revolutionary War, Kings College briefly became a state entity, and was renamed Columbia College in 1784. Columbia is one of the fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities and was the first school in the United States to grant the M. D. degree. The university also has global research outposts in Amman, Beijing, Istanbul, Paris, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Asunción, Columbia administers annually the Pulitzer Prize. Additionally,100 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Columbia as students, researchers, faculty, Columbia is second only to Harvard University in the number of Nobel Prize-winning affiliates, with over 100 recipients of the award as of 2016. In 1746 an act was passed by the assembly of New York to raise funds for the foundation of a new college. Classes were initially held in July 1754 and were presided over by the colleges first president, Dr. Johnson was the only instructor of the colleges first class, which consisted of a mere eight students. Instruction was held in a new schoolhouse adjoining Trinity Church, located on what is now lower Broadway in Manhattan, in 1763, Dr. Johnson was succeeded in the presidency by Myles Cooper, a graduate of The Queens College, Oxford, and an ardent Tory. In the charged political climate of the American Revolution, his opponent in discussions at the college was an undergraduate of the class of 1777. The suspension continued through the occupation of New York City by British troops until their departure in 1783. The colleges library was looted and its sole building requisitioned for use as a hospital first by American. Loyalists were forced to abandon their Kings College in New York, the Loyalists, led by Bishop Charles Inglis fled to Windsor, Nova Scotia, where they founded Kings Collegiate School. After the Revolution, the college turned to the State of New York in order to restore its vitality, the Legislature agreed to assist the college, and on May 1,1784, it passed an Act for granting certain privileges to the College heretofore called Kings College. The Regents finally became aware of the colleges defective constitution in February 1787 and appointed a revision committee, in April of that same year, a new charter was adopted for the college, still in use today, granting power to a private board of 24 Trustees. On May 21,1787, William Samuel Johnson, the son of Dr. Samuel Johnson, was unanimously elected President of Columbia College, prior to serving at the university, Johnson had participated in the First Continental Congress and been chosen as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. The colleges enrollment, structure, and academics stagnated for the majority of the 19th century, with many of the college presidents doing little to change the way that the college functioned. In 1857, the college moved from the Kings College campus at Park Place to a primarily Gothic Revival campus on 49th Street and Madison Avenue, during the last half of the 19th century, under the leadership of President F. A. P. Barnard, the institution assumed the shape of a modern university
21.
Hit (baseball)
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If a batter reaches first base because of offensive interference by a preceding runner, he is also credited with a hit. A hit for one base is called a single, for two bases a double, and for three bases a triple, a home run is also scored as a hit. Doubles, triples, and home runs are also called extra base hits, an infield hit is a hit where the ball does not leave the infield. Infield hits are uncommon by nature, and most often earned by speedy runners, a no-hitter is a game in which one of the teams prevented the other from getting a hit. Throwing a no-hitter is rare and considered an accomplishment for a pitcher or pitching staff. In most cases in the game, no-hitters are accomplished by a single pitcher who throws a complete game. A pitcher who throws a no-hitter could still allow runners to reach safely, by way of walks, errors, hit batsmen. If the pitcher allows no runners to reach base, the no-hitter is a perfect game, in 1887, Major League Baseball counted bases on balls as hits. The result was skyrocketing batting averages, including some near.500, Tip ONeill of the St. Louis Browns batted.485 that season, the experiment was abandoned the following season. There is controversy regarding how the records of 1887 should be interpreted, the number of legitimate walks and at-bats are known for all players that year, so computing averages using the same method as in other years is straightforward. In 1968, Major League Baseball formed a Special Baseball Records Committee to resolve this issues, the Committee ruled that walks in 1887 should not be counted as hits. Most current sources list ONeills 1887 average as.435, as calculated by omitting his walks and he would retain his American Association batting championship. However, the variance between methods results in differing recognition for the 1887 National League batting champion, cap Anson would be recognized, with his.421 average, if walks are included, but Sam Thompson would be the champion at.372 if they are not. The official rulebook of Major League Baseball states in Rule 10, Rule 10.05 Comment, In applying Rule 10.05, the official scorer shall always give the batter the benefit of the doubt. Runner is called out for interference with a fielder attempting to field a batted ball, unless in the scorers judgment the batter-runner would have been safe had the interference not occurred
22.
At bat
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In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is a batters turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance, a batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during his turn at bat. A batter is credited with an at bat only if that plate appearance does not have one of the results enumerated below, a batter will not receive credit for an at bat if their plate appearance ends under the following circumstances, He receives a base on balls. He hits a fly or a sacrifice bunt. He is awarded first base due to interference or obstruction, usually by the catcher and he is replaced by another hitter before his at bat is completed, in which case the plate appearance and any related statistics go to the pinch hitter. In addition, if the inning ends while he is still at bat, in this case, the batter will come to bat again in the next inning, though the count will be reset to no balls and no strikes. Note that just because a player is described as being at bat in this sense, he will not necessarily be given an at bat in his statistics and this ambiguous terminology is usually clarified by context. To refer explicitly to the meaning of at bat described above. Batting order At bats with runners in scoring position
23.
Batting average
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Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batsmen in cricket and batters in baseball. The development of the statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. In cricket, a batting average is the total number of runs they have scored divided by the number of times they have been out. The number is also simple to interpret intuitively, if all the batsmans innings were completed, this is the average number of runs they score per innings. If they did not complete all their innings, this number is an estimate of the average number of runs they score per innings. Batting average has been used to gauge cricket players relative skills since the 18th century, most players have career batting averages in the range of 20 to 40. This is also the range for wicket-keepers, though some fall short. All-rounders who are more prominent bowlers than batsmen typically average something between 20 and 30,15 and under is typical for specialist bowlers. Under this qualification, the highest Test batting average belongs to Australias Sir Donald Bradman, given that a career batting average over 50 is exceptional, and that only four other players have averages over 60, this is an outstanding statistic. The fact that Bradmans average is so far above that of any other cricketer has led several statisticians to argue that, statistically at least, he was the greatest sportsman in any sport. As at 21 October 2016, Adam Voges of Australia has recorded an average of 72.75 from 27 innings played and it should also be remembered, especially in relation to the ODI histogram above, that there were no ODI competitions when Bradman played. If their scores have a geometric distribution then total number of runs scored divided by the number of times out is the maximum likelihood estimate of their true unknown average, Batting averages can be strongly affected by the number of not outs. A different, and more developed, statistic which is also used to gauge the effectiveness of batsmen is the strike rate. It measures a different concept however – how quickly the batsman scores – so it does not supplant the role of batting average and it is used particularly in limited overs matches, where the speed at which a batsman scores is more important than it is in first-class cricket. Table shows players with at least 20 innings completed, in baseball, the batting average is defined by the number of hits divided by at bats. It is usually reported to three places and read without the decimal, A player with a batting average of.300 is batting three-hundred. A point is understood, in only, to be.001. If necessary to break ties, batting averages could be taken beyond the.001 measurement, henry Chadwick, an English statistician raised on cricket, was an influential figure in the early history of baseball
24.
Run (baseball)
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A player may score by hitting a home run or by any combination of plays that puts him safely on base as a runner and subsequently brings him home. The object of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent. But if the out is not a force out, but a tag out, then if that other baserunner crosses home plate before that tag out is made. Example 1, With a runner on third and two outs, batter hits a ball to the second baseman. The runner on third races home, the second baseman fields the ball and throws on to the first baseman in time to get the batter on the force out at first for the third out of the inning. Even if the runner on third had touched home plate before that force out was made at first, example 2, With a runner on third and two outs, batter hits a fly ball over centerfielders head. It bounces several times as it rolls to the wall, the runner on third runs safely home and easily scores a run. Meanwhile, the batter reaches first, then tries to advance to second. The centerfielder, having retrieved the ball, throws the ball to the second baseman, since the runner stepped on home plate before the batter was tagged out at second for the third out of the inning, his run will count. In baseball statistics, a player who advances around all the bases to score is credited with a run, while runs scored is considered an important individual batting statistic, it is regarded as less significant than runs batted in. Both individual runs scored and runs batted in are heavily context-dependent, for a more sophisticated assessment of a contribution toward producing runs for his team. If the inning is reconstructed without the error, and if that third batter, instead of reaching on an error, registered an out, thus, the two runs that did score will be classified as unearned, and will not count in the pitchers personal statistics. Be advised though that unearned runs are a statistical animal only, all runs count the same in the score, whether they are earned or unearned. The career record for most runs scored by a player is 2,295. The season record for most runs scored is 198, set by Billy Hamilton of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1894, the so-called modern-day record is 177, achieved by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees in 1921. The record for most seasons leading one of the leagues in runs scored is 8. The record for most consecutive games with at least one run scored is 18, shared by the Yankees Red Rolfe and the Cleveland Indians Kenny Lofton. The record for most runs scored by a player in a game is 7
25.
Stolen base
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In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which he is not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base, a stolen base most often occurs when a baserunner advances to the next base while the pitcher is pitching the ball to home plate. Successful base stealers are not only fast but have good baserunning instincts, ned Cuthbert, playing for the Philadelphia Keystones in either 1863 or 1865, was the first player to steal a base in a baseball game, although the term stolen base was not used until 1870. For a time in the 19th century, stolen bases were credited when a baserunner reached an extra base on a hit from another player. For example, if a runner on first base reached third base on a single, in 1887, Hugh Nicol set a still-standing Major League record with 138 stolen bases, many of which would not have counted under modern rules. Modern steal rules were implemented in 1898. Base stealing was popular in the early decades, with speedsters such as Ty Cobb. Wills record was broken in turn by Lou Brock in 1974, base stealing is an important characteristic of the small ball managing style. Such managers emphasize doing the things to advance runners and score runs, often relying on pitching. The Los Angeles Dodgers of the 1960s, led by pitcher Sandy Koufax, the antithesis of this is reliance on power hitting, exemplified by the Baltimore Orioles of the 1970s, which aspired to score most of its runs via home runs. Often the small ball model is associated with the National League, however, some successful recent American League teams, including the 2002 Anaheim Angels, the 2001 Seattle Mariners and the 2005 Chicago White Sox have excelled at small ball. The Kansas City Royals have embodied this style recently, leading the league in stolen bases but finishing last in home runs in 2013 and 2014. Successful teams often combine both styles, with a runner or two complementing hitters with power, such as the 2005 White Sox, who despite playing small ball, still hit 200 home runs. Baseballs Rule 8 specifies the pitching procedure in detail, a runner intending to steal on the pitcher breaks for the next base the moment the pitcher commits to pitch to home plate. The pitcher cannot abort the pitch and try to put the runner out, if the runner breaks too soon, the pitcher may throw to a base rather than pitch, and the runner is usually picked off by being tagged out between the bases. Past this moment, any delay in the runners break makes it likely that the catcher, after receiving the pitch. Before the pitch, the runner takes a lead-off, walking several steps away from the base as a start toward the next base. Even a runner who does not intend to steal takes a lead of a few more steps
26.
Most valuable player
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In sports, a most valuable player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best-performing player in an entire league, for a particular competition, or on a specific team. Initially used in sports, the term is now also commonly used in amateur sports, as well as in other completely unrelated fields such as business. In many sports, MVP awards are presented for a specific match—in other words, the term is most common in the United States and Canada. In other cases, Player of the Year is used, in Australia, Australian rules football clubs and leagues use the term best and fairest, while those playing rugby league use Player of the Year, such as the Dally M Medal. The National Basketball League, however, uses the American-style MVP for its awards, in many cases the awards are voted on by members of the media. In others the vote is by players, coaches, or umpires, in recent years, online polls from the public decide some awards
27.
Chicago White Sox
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The Chicago White Sox is an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League Central division. The White Sox play their games at Guaranteed Rate Field. They are one of two league clubs in Chicago, the other is the Chicago Cubs, who are a member of the National League Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf. One of the American Leagues eight charter franchises, the Chicago team was established as a major baseball club in 1900. The club was called the Chicago White Stockings, but this was soon shortened to Chicago White Sox. The team played games at South Side Park before, in 1910. The White Sox won the 1906 World Series with a team dubbed the Hitless Wonders, and the 1917 World Series led by Eddie Cicotte, Eddie Collins. The 1919 World Series was marred by the Black Sox Scandal, in response, Major League Baseballs new Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned the players from Major League Baseball for life. In 1959, led by Early Wynn, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio and manager Al Lopez and they won the AL pennant in 2005, and went on to win the World Series. The White Sox originated as the Sioux City Cornhuskers of the Western League, in 1894, Charles Comiskey bought the Cornhuskers and moved them to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they became the St. Paul Saints. In 1901, the Western League broke the National Agreement and became the new major league American League, the very first season in the American League ended with a White Stockings championship. However, that would be the end of the season as the World Series did not begin until 1903, the franchise, now known as the Chicago White Sox, made its first World Series appearance in 1906, beating the crosstown Cubs in six games. The White Sox would win a pennant and second World Series in 1917, beating the New York Giants in six games with help from stars Eddie Cicotte. The Sox were heavily favored in the 1919 World Series, huge bets on the Reds fueled speculation that the series had been fixed. This set the franchise back, as they did not win another pennant for 40 years. The White Sox did not finish in the half of the American League again until after club founder Charles Comiskey died and passed ownership of the club to his son
28.
Connie Mack
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Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he records for wins, losses. Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for the clubs first 50 seasons of play, starting in 1901, before retiring at age 87 following the 1950 season, however, constant financial struggles forced repeated rebuilding of the roster, and Macks teams also finished in last place 17 times. Mack was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, Mack was born Cornelius McGillicuddy in East Brookfield, Massachusetts on December 22,1862. As with many Irish immigrants whose names began with Mc, the McGullicuddys were often referred to as Mack and his parents, Michael McGillicuddy and Mary McKillop, were both immigrants from Ireland. Michael McGillicuddys father was named Cornelius McGillicuddy, and by tradition, Connie is a common nickname for Cornelius, so Cornelius McGillicuddy was called Connie Mack from an early age. Connie Mack never legally changed his name, on the occasion of his marriage at age 48. His nickname on the field was Slats, for his height of 6 feet 2 inches. During the American Civil War, he served with the 51st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Michael McGillicuddy suffered from several ailments as the result of his military service, he was able to work only infrequently, and drew a disability pension. Mack was educated in East Brookfield, and began working summers in local cotton mills at age 9 to help support his family. He quit school after completing the eighth grade at age 14, intending to work full-time to contribute to the familys support and he clerked at a store, worked on local farms, and worked on the production lines of the shoe factories in nearby towns. Mack was also an athlete, and frequently played baseball. In 1879 his skills landed him a place on East Brookfields town team, though younger than his teammates by several years, Mack was the teams catcher and de facto captain. Beginning in 1886, Mack played 10 seasons in the National League and one in the Players League, for a total of 11 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely as a catcher. Beginning in 1884, he played on minor league teams in the Connecticut cities of Meriden, in the winter of 1889, he jumped to the Buffalo team of the new Players League, the Bisons, investing his entire life savings of $500 in shares in that club. But the Players League went out of business only a year. In December 1890 Mack signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League, as a player, Mack was a light-hitting catcher with a reputation as a smart player, but didnt do anything particularly well as a player. Mack was one of the first catchers to position himself directly behind home plate instead of in front of the backstop, according to Wilbert Robinson, Mack never was mean
29.
College of the Holy Cross
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The College of the Holy Cross or Holy Cross is a private, undergraduate Roman Catholic, Jesuit liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England, U. S. News & World Report ranked Holy Cross 25th in the U. S. among liberal arts colleges in 2014. Holy Cross is the only Catholic college among the top 50 liberal arts schools on the U. S. News list, opened as a school for boys under the auspices of the Society of Jesus, it was the first Jesuit college in New England. Today, Holy Cross is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is part of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium. Holy Cross sports teams are called the Crusaders, and their color is purple. Holy Cross was founded by Benedict Joseph Fenwick, SJ, second Bishop of Boston, from the beginning of his tenure as the second Bishop of Boston, Benedict Joseph Fenwick of the Society of Jesus intended to establish a Catholic college within the boundaries of his diocese. The site of the college, Mount Saint James, was occupied by a Roman Catholic boarding school, run by the Rev. James Fitton, with his lay collaborator, Joseph Brigden. Fitton sold the land to Bishop Fenwick and the Diocese of Boston to be used to found the Roman Catholic college that the bishop had wanted in Boston, Fenwick gave the College the name of his cathedral church, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. & supply them with everything but clothes, will not this be a bold undertaking. It will stand on a beautiful eminence & will command the view of the town of Worcester. Within three years, the enrollment had increased to 100 students, initially the education was more at the elementary and high school level, later it became a higher level institution. Since its founding, Holy Cross has produced the fifth most members of the Catholic clergy out of all American Catholic colleges. The first class graduated in 1849, led by the valedictorian James Augustine Healy, the son of an Irish planter in Georgia and his common-law wife. His father sent all his sons north for their education at Holy Cross College, Healy graduated with his close friend Colby Kane, who would also go on to join the clergy, and was influential in many of Healys early writings on Eucharistic transubstantiation. Fenwick Hall, the main building, was completely destroyed by fire in 1852. Funds were raised to rebuild the College, and in 1853, petitions to secure a charter for the college from the state Legislature were denied in 1847 for a variety of causes, including anti-Catholicism on the part of some legislators. The increased rate of immigration from Ireland during the famine years roused resistance from residents of Massachusetts. Initially, Holy Cross diplomas were signed by the president of Georgetown University, after repeated denials, a charter was finally granted on March 24,1865, by Governor John A
30.
Run batted in
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A run batted in, plural runs batted in, is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored. For example, if the batter bats a base hit, then another player on a base can go home. Prior to the 1920 Major League Baseball season, runs batted in were not a baseball statistic. Nevertheless, the RBI statistic was tabulated—unofficially—from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer Ernie Lanigan, common nicknames for an RBI include ribby, rib, and ribeye. The plural of RBI is generally RBIs, although some commentators use RBI as both singular and plural, as it can stand for runs batted in. The official scorers judgment must determine whether a run batted in shall be credited for a run that scores when a fielder holds the ball or throws to a wrong base. The perceived significance of the RBI is displayed by the fact that it is one of the three categories that comprise the triple crown, in addition, career RBIs are often cited in debates over who should be elected to the Hall of Fame. This implies that better offensive teams—and therefore, the teams in which the most players get on base—tend to produce hitters with higher RBI totals than equivalent hitters on lesser-hitting teams, totals are current through October 8,2015
31.
Boston Red Sox
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The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League East division. The Red Sox have won eight World Series championships and have played in 13, founded in 1901 as one of the American Leagues eight charter franchises, the Red Sox home ballpark has been Fenway Park since 1912. The Red Sox name was chosen by the owner, John I. Taylor, around 1908, following the lead of previous teams that had known as the Boston Red Stockings. Boston was a dominant team in the new league, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903 and winning four more championships by 1918. Following their victory in the 2013 World Series, they became the first team to win three World Series trophies in the 21st century, including championships in 2004 and 2007. Red Sox history has also marked by the teams intense rivalry with the Yankees. The Boston Red Sox are owned by Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Liverpool F. C. of the Premier League in England. The Red Sox are consistently one of the top MLB teams in road attendance. From May 15,2003 to April 10,2013, the Red Sox sold out every home game—a total of 820 games for a professional sports record. Neil Diamonds Sweet Caroline has become an anthem for the Red Sox, the name Red Sox, chosen by owner John I. Taylor after the 1907 season, refers to the red hose in the team uniform beginning 1908. Sox had been adopted for the Chicago White Sox by newspapers needing a headline-friendly form of Stockings. The team name Red Sox had previously used as early as 1888 by a colored team from Norfolk. The Spanish language media sometimes refers to the team as Medias Rojas, the official Spanish site uses the variant Los Red Sox. The Red Stockings nickname was first used by a team by the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Managed by Harry Wright, Cincinnati adopted a uniform with white knickers and red stockings and earned the famous nickname, the Boston Red Stockings won four championships in the five seasons of the new National Association, the first professional league. Other names were used before Boston officially adopted the nickname Braves in 1912
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1915 World Series
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In the 1915 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one. In their only World Series before 1950, the Phillies won Game 1 before being swept the rest of the way and it was 65 years before the Phillies won their next Series game. The Red Sox pitching was so strong in the 1915 series that the young Babe Ruth was not used on the mound and only made a single pinch-hitting appearance. Red Sox owner Joseph Lannin lost the toss for home field advantage. The league presidents selected the umpires, and it was announced that J. G. Taylor Spink would be one of the official scorers, one controversy surrounded the allocation of tickets to the Red Sox Royal Rooters fan club. Each visiting team was allocated 200 tickets, but the Red Sox requested an additional 400 on behalf of their supporters, the Phillies Baker Bowl sat only 20,000, and their above-cited owner, William Baker, refused to allocate additional tickets for visiting fans. The matter was resolved by National Commission chairman Garry Herrmann, who gave the Red Sox tickets from the Commissions own Series allocation. The Phillies won Game 1, 3–1, although New York Times reporter Hugh Fullerton wrote of the future 300+ game-winning Hall of Famer, Alexander pitched a bad game of ball. He had little or nothing in his review of the game, headed Nothing, the Times also reported that a crowd of 10,000 gathered in Manhattans Times Square to view a real-time mechanical recreation of the game on a giant scoreboard sponsored by the newspaper. The Phillies were not to win another game until 1977. The Red Sox swept Games 2–5, all by one run, in Game 2, Woodrow Wilson became the first U. S. President to attend a World Series game. This was the second year that a Boston team beat a Philadelphia team in the World Series after the Braves had swept the Athletics the year before. Unlike the 1913 Series, where the team won only one of the five games. In Fenway or Philadelphias Baker Bowl, it might have been a run or at least an extra-base hit which might have turned the Series around. The Phillies had packed some extra outfield seats into their already-small bandbox of a ballfield and this proved crucial in the decisive Game 5, in which Bostons Harry Hooper twice homered over the moved-in center field fence and Duffy Lewis followed suit. In Braves Field, those would have been extra-base hits at best, AL Boston Red Sox vs. NL Philadelphia Phillies The Red Sox won on three home runs by two of their outfielders, two cheapies by Harry Hooper and one by Duffy Lewis. Those were the only round-trippers in the entire Series, the first four games being pitchers duels,1915 World Series, Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies Cohen, Richard M. Neft, David S. The World Series, Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989, archived from the original on 2008
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1916 World Series
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In the 1916 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Brooklyn Robins four games to one. Casey Stengel shone on offense for the Robins in the 1916 Series, the Soxs Babe Ruth pitched thirteen shutout innings in Game 2, starting a consecutive scoreless innings streak that would reach 29 in 1918. As with the 1915 Series, the Red Sox played their games at the larger Braves Field. Brooklyn fielded some strong teams under their manager and namesake Wilbert Robinson in the late 1910s, the Robins, also interchangeably called the Dodgers, would win the pennant again in 1920, but the American League teams were generally stronger during that interval. It would be 39 years before the Dodgers would win their first World Series title in 1955, the Series had the longest game in terms of innings in World Series history until Game 3 of the 2005 World Series. AL Boston Red Sox vs. NL Brooklyn Robins Until the ninth, holding a comfortable 6-1 lead, a walk, hit batter, error and bases-full walk to Fred Merkle finally forced the Red Sox to call on Carl Mays from the bullpen to preserve a 6-5 win. The Robins scored in the top of the first on a home run by Hy Myers. The game remained 1–1 until the bottom of the 14th, when the Red Sox won it on a single by Del Gainer. A seventh-inning home run by Larry Gardner chased Brooklyn starter Jack Coombs, jeff Pfeffer came through with 2.2 innings of hitless relief to save the victory for Coombs. Brooklyns first three batters reached safely off Dutch Leonard in a two-run first inning, but thats all the Dodgers would get off him. Larry Gardners second home run in two days was a one to left-center that scored two teammates ahead of him, giving Leonard all hed need. The final game was over in a snappy 1 hour,43 minutes, Boston scratched out a run on a walk, sacrifice bunt, groundout and passed ball. The Red Sox added more in the third, thanks to an error and a Chick Shorten RBI single, casey Stengel led off the Dodger ninth with a hit, but Shore allowed no more. 1916 World Series, Boston Red Sox over Brooklyn Robins Cohen, Richard M. Neft, the World Series, Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. Archived from the original on 2008
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1918 Boston Red Sox season
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The 1918 Boston Red Sox season was the eighteenth season in the franchises Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished first in the American League with a record of 75 wins and 51 losses, the team then faced the National League champion Chicago Cubs in the 1918 World Series, which the Red Sox won in six games to capture the franchises fifth World Series. This would be the last World Series championship for the Red Sox until 2004, the Red Sox pitching staff, led by Carl Mays and Bullet Joe Bush, allowed the fewest runs in the league. Babe Ruth was the starter and also spent significant time in the outfield, as he was the best hitter on the team, leading the AL in home runs. Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. NL Chicago Cubs 1918 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference 1918 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac. com
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United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
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Home run
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In modern baseball, the feat is typically achieved by hitting the ball over the outfield fence between the foul poles without first touching the ground, resulting in an automatic home run. There is also the home run, increasingly rare in modern baseball. When a home run is scored, the batter is credited with a hit and a run scored. Likewise, the pitcher is recorded as having given up a hit, a batted ball is also a home run if it touches either foul pole or its attached screen before touching the ground, as the foul poles are by definition in fair territory. A batted ball that goes over the wall after touching the ground is not a home run. A fielder is allowed to reach over the wall to attempt to catch the ball as long as his feet are on or over the field during the attempt. If the fielder successfully catches the ball while it is in flight the batter is out, however, since the fielder is not part of the field, a ball that bounces off a fielder and over the wall without touching the ground is still a home run. A home run accomplished in any of the above manners is a home run. This stipulation is in Approved Ruling of Rule 7.10, an inside-the-park home run occurs when a batter hits the ball into play and is able to circle the bases before the fielders can put him out. Unlike with a home run, the batter-runner and all preceding runners are liable to be put out by the defensive team at any time while running the bases. This can only happen if the ball does not leave the ballfield, with outfields much less spacious and more uniformly designed than in the games early days, inside-the-park home runs are now a rarity. They are usually the result of a ball being hit by a very fast runner, either way, this sends the ball into open space in the outfield and thereby allows the batter-runner to circle the bases before the defensive team can put him out. The speed of the runner is crucial as even triples are relatively rare in most modern ballparks, all runs scored on such a play, however, still count. An example of an unexpected bounce occurred during the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco on July 10,2007, by the time the ball was relayed, Ichiro had already crossed the plate standing up. This was the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history, Home runs are often characterized by the number of runners on base at the time. A home run hit with the bases empty is seldom called a one-run homer, with one runner on base, two runs are scored and thus the home run is often called a two-run homer or two-run shot. Similarly, a home runs with two runners on base is a three-run homer or three-run shot, the term four-run homer is seldom used, instead, it is nearly always called a grand slam. Hitting a grand slam is the best possible result for the turn at bat
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Slugging percentage
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In baseball statistics, slugging percentage is a popular measure of the power of a hitter. Walks are specifically excluded from this calculation, the name is a misnomer, as the statistic is not a percentage but a scale of measure whose computed value is a rational number in the interval. For example, in 1920, Babe Ruth played his first season for the New York Yankees. In 458 at bats, Ruth had 172 hits, comprising 73 singles,36 doubles,9 triples, and 54 home runs, a predecessor metric was developed by Branch Rickey in 1954. Rickey, in Life magazine, suggested that combining OBP with what he called extra base power would give a better indicator of performance than typical Triple Crown stats. EBP was a predecessor to slugging percentage, allen Barra and George Ignatin were early adopters in combining the two modern-day statistics, multiplying them together to form what is now known as SLOB. OPS simply stands for on-base plus slugging, and is an addition of the two values. Because it is easy to calculate, OPS has been used with increased frequency in recent years as a form to evaluate contributions as a batter. The maximum numerically possible slugging percentage is 4.000, a number of MLB players have momentarily had a 4.000 career slugging percentage by homering in their first major league at-bat. No player has ever retired with a 4.000 slugging percentage, the players are Eric Cammack, Scott Munninghoff, Eduardo Rodríguez, and Charlie Lindstrom. List of Major League Baseball career slugging percentage leaders Moneyball Sabermetrics Slugging Percentage Calculator
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Double (baseball)
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To hit many doubles, one must have decent hitting skill and power, it also helps to run well enough to beat an outfield throw. Doubles typically drive in runs from base, second base. When total bases and slugging percentages are calculated, the two is used for the calculation. The all-time leader in doubles is Tris Speaker, with 792, a two-base hit awarded by an umpire when a batted ball is hit fairly and bounces out of play is referred to as a ground rule double. The batter is awarded second base and any runners advance two bases from the base occupied at the time of the pitch. Prior to 1931, such hits were considered home runs, a two-base hit awarded because the batter hit into a special situation defined in the ground rules is also defined as a ground rule double. An example of this occurs where the rules of Chicagos Wrigley Field award a ground rule if a batted ball is lost in the vines on the outfield bleacher wall. The rules of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis awarded a ground rule if the ball became stuck in its Teflon ceiling
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Total base
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In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player has gained with hits. It is a sum for which the weight value is 1 for a single,2 for a double,3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. Only bases attained from hits count toward this total, reaching base by other means or advancing further after the hit does not increase the players total bases. The total bases divided by the number of at bats is the players slugging average, hank Aaron is the career leader in total bases with 6,856. Stan Musial and Willie Mays are the other players with at least 6,000 career total bases. Stats updated as of April 2,2017, baseball. reference. com – Career Leaders & Records for Total Bases
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Extra-base hit
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Extra-base hits are often not listed separately in tables of baseball statistics, but are easily determined by calculating the sum total of a batters doubles, triples, and home runs. The record for most career extra-base hits is 1,477, another related statistic of interest that can be calculated is extra bases on long hits. A batter gets three of these for home run, two for each triple, and one for each double. Thus, leading the league in Most extra bases in long hits is a significant accomplishment in power hitting, the statistic Extra-Base Hits Allowed is denoted by the abbreviation XBA. Totals are current through the end of the 2014 season, Hank Aaron –1,477 Barry Bonds –1,440 Stan Musial –1,377 Babe Ruth –1,356 Willie Mays –1,323 Totals are current through the end of the 2014 season. Babe Ruth –119 Lou Gehrig –117 Barry Bonds –107 Chuck Klein –107 Todd Helton –105 Slugging average Total bases
