1.
Fenway Park
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Fenway Park is a baseball park located in Boston, at 4 Yawkey Way near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home for the Boston Red Sox and it is the oldest ballpark in MLB. It is the fourth-smallest among MLB ballparks by seating capacity, second-smallest by total capacity, Fenway has hosted the World Series ten times, with the Red Sox winning five of them, and the Boston Braves winning one. The first, in the inaugural season, was the 1912 World Series. April 20,2012, marked Fenway Parks centennial, on March 7 of that year, the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Former pitcher Bill Lee has called Fenway Park a shrine and it is a pending Boston Landmark which will regulate further changes to the park. Today, the park is considered to be one of the most well-known sports venues in the world, the Red Sox moved to Fenway Park from the old Huntington Avenue Grounds. In 1911, owner John I. Taylor purchased the land bordered by Brookline Avenue, Jersey Street, Van Ness Street and Lansdowne Street and developed it into a larger baseball stadium. However, given that Taylors family also owned the Fenway Realty Company, like many classic ballparks, Fenway Park was constructed on an asymmetrical block, with consequent asymmetry in its field dimensions. The General Contractor was the Charles Logue Building Company, the first game was played April 20,1912, with mayor John F. Fitzgerald throwing out the first pitch and Boston defeating the New York Highlanders, 7-6 in 11 innings. Newspaper coverage of the opening was overshadowed by continuing coverage of the Titanic sinking a few days earlier, Fenway Park has historically drawn low attendance, its lowest occurring late in the 1965 season with two games having paid attendance under 500 spectators. On Wednesday, June 17,2009, the park celebrated its 500th consecutive Red Sox sellout, according to WBZ-TV, the team joined three NBA teams which achieved 500 consecutive home sellouts. The sellout streak ended on April 11,2013, in all the Red Sox sold out 794 regular season games, the parks address was originally 24 Jersey Street. In 1977, the section of Jersey Street nearest the park was renamed Yawkey Way in honor of longtime Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey, and the parks address is now 4 Yawkey Way. Some of the include, In 1934, a hand-operated scoreboard was added, with what was then considered high-technology lights to indicate balls. The scoreboard is updated by hand today from behind the wall. The National League scores were removed in 1976, but restored in 2003, in 1946, upper deck seats were installed, Fenway Park is essentially the first double-tiered ballpark in Boston since the South End Grounds of the 1880s. In 1947, arc lights were installed at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox were the third-to-last team out of 16 major league teams to have lights in their home park
2.
2007 Boston Red Sox season
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The 2007 Boston Red Sox season was the 107th season in the franchises Major League Baseball history. Managed by Terry Francona, the Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a with a record of 96 wins and 66 losses, in the postseason, the Red Sox first swept the American League West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS. In the ALCS, the Red Sox defeated the American League Central champion Cleveland Indians in seven games, advancing to the World Series, the Red Sox swept the National League champion Colorado Rockies, to capture their second championship in four years. On November 14,2006, Major League Baseball announced that the Red Sox had competed for the rights to negotiate a contract with Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston won with a bid of US$51.1 million and had 30 days to complete a deal. On December 13,2006, the day before the deadline and it was initially announced that closer Jonathan Papelbon would become a starter in 2007, partially to protect his arm from the injury that sidelined him for the final month of his rookie season. With Papelbon planned to be a starter and Keith Foulke declining arbitration and leaving the team, left-handed pitchers Hideki Okajima and J. C. Romero and right-handed pitcher Joel Piñeiro were signed as free agents, brendan Donnelly was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in a trade for pitcher Phil Seibel. However, there was no candidate for the closer role. The Red Sox lost free agent Álex González to the Cincinnati Reds, trot Nixon, also a free agent, signed with the Cleveland Indians, creating the need for a right fielder. The Red Sox pursued J. D. Drew, who had opted out of the remainder of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers to become a free agent. However, the Red Sox medical staff had concerns about Drews previously injured shoulder, on January 25,2007, the Red Sox and Drew agreed to a five-year deal worth $70 million. Outfielder Gabe Kapler, age 31, announced his retirement to fulfill his dream of becoming a coach. The Red Sox named him manager of their affiliate, the Greenville Drive. At the end of spring training of 2007, the Red Sox traded minor league veteran catcher Alberto Castillo for Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cory Keylor. Boston wins series 3–0 Boston wins series 4–3 Boston wins series 4–0 The Red Sox set an MLB post-season record by outscoring their collective opponents 99–46, note, Pos = position, G = Games played, AB = At Bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting Average, HR = Home Runs, RBI = Runs Batted In *Statistics listed are only for games started. The Red Sox not only won the AL East Division for the first time in 12 years, but clinched the best record in the American League—and all of baseball. While their 96–66 record was the same as that of the Cleveland Indians, thus, the wild card New York Yankees were sent to Cleveland while the Sox would host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3.
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
4.
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
5.
Error (baseball)
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The term error can also refer to the play during which an error was committed. In that case, the play will be scored both as a hit and an error. Similarly, a batter does not receive credit for a run batted in when runs score on an error, passed balls and wild pitches are separate statistical categories and are not scored as errors. There is a loophole in the rules on errors for catchers. There is therefore a no fault condition for the attempting to prevent a steal. However, when considering that the majority of stolen base attempts are successful, if the runner takes an additional base due to the wild throw, an error is charged for that advance. However, if the catchers glove is hit by the bat, it is counted as a catchers interference, traditionally, the number of errors was a statistic used to quantify the skill of a fielder. However, fans and analysts have questioned the usefulness and significance of errors as a metric for fielding skill, notably, mental misjudgments, such as failure to cover a base or attempting a force out when such a play is not available, are not considered errors. A more subtle, though more significant objection to the error, in order for a fielder to be charged with an error, he must have done something right by being in the correct place to be able to attempt the play. A poor fielder may avoid many errors simply by being unable to reach batted or thrown balls that a fielder could successfully reach. Thus, it is possible that a poor fielder will have fewer errors than any fielder with higher expectancies, however, this still leaves statistics, such as fielding percentage, that are based on errors as a way to compare the defensive abilities of players. Errors also hold significance in calculating the earned run average of a pitcher, runs scored due to an error are unearned, and do not count toward a pitchers ERA. In Major League Baseball, Herman Long holds the Major League records with 1096 errors in his career between 1889 and 1904, bill Dahlen, Deacon White and Germany Smith are the only other players to make 1,000 errors during their MLB careers. All of these players played at least one season before 1900, the 20th century record is held by Rabbit Maranville with 711 errors. Among active players, Adrián Beltré leads with 275 errors over 2475 career games as of June 14,2015, the major league record for errors by a pitcher in a career is held by Hippo Vaughn, with 64 errors. That also is the National League record, the American career mark is held by Ed Walsh. The most errors made by a pitcher in a season is 28 by Jim Whitney, the American League record of 15 is held by three pitchers, Jack Chesbro, Rube Waddell, and Ed Walsh. The record for most errors made by a pitcher in one inning is three, first set by Cy Seymour in 1898, the record was tied by Tommy John in 1988, Jaime Navarro in 1996 and Mike Sirotka in 1999
6.
1978 in baseball
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The following are the baseball events of the year 1978 throughout the world. January 25 – The San Diego Padres send Dave Tomlin and cash to the Texas Rangers in return for Gaylord Perry, who will win this years National League Cy Young Award. March 17 – At Al Lopez Field in Tampa, Florida, in 1990, the Boston Red Sox become the second team to adopt this tradition. April 1 – Starting off with a bang, Japanese star Sadaharu Oh hits a grand slam home run on opening day and it is his 757th home run. April 13 – The New York Yankees defeat the Chicago White Sox 4–2 in their opener on Reggie Candy Bar Day. Reggie Jackson slugs a 3-run home run in the first inning, april 16 – The St. Louis Cardinals Bob Forsch hurls a no-hitter in beating the Philadelphia Phillies 5–0. Forsch walks 2 and strikes out 3 in pitching the first home no-hitter by a Cardinal since Jesse Haines in 1924. His brother, the Houston Astros Ken Forsch, will toss a no-hitter the following season against the Atlanta Braves — making them the first big league brothers to each toss a no-hitter, as he was in the air, the ball hits the base, and caromes behind Smith. As he is diving in the direction, Smith reaches out with his bare hand. He bounces up, and throws Burroughs out at first, the Padres win the game 2–0. April 29 – Pete Rose smashes three home runs in a 14–7 win over the New York Mets, may 5 – Pete Rose singles off Montreals Steve Rogers for career hit 3,000 and gets a hug at first base from former teammate Tony Pérez. The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds 4–3, may 12 – At Royals Stadium, a potential game-ending routine fly ball becomes an Amos Otis walk-off inside-the-park home run as Reggie Jackson and Mickey Rivers collide in the outfield. The Kansas City Royals defeat the New York Yankees, 4–3, the misplay turns a sure Goose Gossage save into a sour loss for the current World Champion Yankees. May 14 – With the Chicago Cubs losing 7–5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Following the game, Paul Olden, a reporter for radio station KLAC in Los Angeles asks Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, Whats your opinion of Kingmans performance. Lasorda goes off in a now-famous obscenity-laced tirade, may 20 – At Olympic Stadium, Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits two home runs off Wayne Twitchell in a 6–0 victory over the Montreal Expos. His second is a 535-foot shot in the fourth inning that lands in the upper deck — the only fair ball ever to be hit there, may 23 – With the Oakland Athletics leading the American League Western Division, manager Bobby Winkles walks off the job. June 3 – Davey Johnson becomes the first major leaguer to hit two grand slams in a season, as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. June 14 – Pete Rose starts his 44-game hitting streak by collecting two hits in the Cincinnati Reds 3–1 win over the Chicago Cubs, june 16 – In his 12th major league season speckled with near-misses, Cincinnatis Tom Seaver finally hurls a no-hitter
7.
Boston
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Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
8.
Massachusetts
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It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named for the Massachusett tribe, which inhabited the area. The capital of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England is Boston, over 80% of Massachusetts population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution, during the 20th century, Massachusetts economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance. Plymouth was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, in 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of Americas most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. In 1777, General Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory, which during the Industrial Revolution catalyzed numerous important technological advances, in 1786, Shays Rebellion, a populist revolt led by disaffected American Revolutionary War veterans, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention. In the 18th century, the Protestant First Great Awakening, which swept the Atlantic World, in the late 18th century, Boston became known as the Cradle of Liberty for the agitation there that led to the American Revolution. The entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts has played a commercial and cultural role in the history of the United States. Before the American Civil War, Massachusetts was a center for the abolitionist, temperance, in the late 19th century, the sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in the western Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Holyoke, respectively. Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the state, including the Adams, both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also in Cambridge, have been ranked among the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world. Massachusetts public school students place among the top nations in the world in academic performance, the official name of the state is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. While this designation is part of the official name, it has no practical implications. Massachusetts has the position and powers within the United States as other states. Massachusetts was originally inhabited by tribes of the Algonquian language family such as the Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusett. While cultivation of crops like squash and corn supplemented their diets, villages consisted of lodges called wigwams as well as longhouses, and tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems. Between 1617 and 1619, smallpox killed approximately 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans, the first English settlers in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims, arrived via the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620, and developed friendly relations with the native Wampanoag people. This was the second successful permanent English colony in the part of North America that later became the United States, the event known as the First Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World which lasted for three days
9.
Umpire (baseball)
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The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump. They are also addressed as blue at lower levels due to the common color of the uniform worn by umpires. In professional baseball, the blue is seldom used by players or managers. In a game officiated by two or more umpires, the umpire in chief is the umpire who is in charge of the entire game. This umpire calls balls and strikes, calls fair balls, foul balls short of first/third base, to avoid injury, the home plate umpire wears the same mask the catcher wears. If another umpire leaves the infield to cover a potential play in foul ground or in the outfield, in the event that an umpire is injured and only three remain, the second base position will generally be left vacant. In nearly all levels of organized baseball, including the majors, an umpiring crew rotates so that each umpire in the works each position, including plate umpire. In the earliest days of baseball, however, many senior umpires always worked the plate, Klem did so for the first 16 years of his career. On the Major League level, an umpiring crew generally rotates positions clockwise each game, for example, the plate umpire in one game would umpire third base in the next. Other umpires are called base umpires and are stationed near the bases. When two umpires are used, the umpire is simply the base umpire. This umpire will make most calls concerning runners on the bases and nearby plays, to indicate a full swing, he will clench his fist. When four umpires are used, each umpire is named for the base at which he is stationed, sometimes a league will provide six umpires, the extra two are stationed along the outfield foul lines are called the left-field and right-field umpires. Outfield umpires are used in events, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. For Major League Baseball, all levels use six umpires, while at lower levels. Rulings on catches of batted balls are made by the umpire closest to the play. The term umpire-in-chief is not to be confused with the crew chief, at the major-league and high minor-league levels, the crew chief acts as a liaison between the league office and the crew and has a supervisory role over other members of the crew. For example, on the Major League level, The Crew Chief shall coordinate, an umpires judgment call used to be final, unless the umpire making the call chose to ask his partner for help and then decided to reverse it after the discussion
10.
Baseball field
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A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term is used as a metonym for baseball park.5 inches. Adjacent to each of the two parallel 8. 5-inch sides is a batters box, the point of home plate where the two 12-inch sides meet at right angles is at one corner of a ninety-foot square. The other three corners of the square, in order from home plate, are called first base, second base. Three canvas bags fifteen inches square mark the three bases and these three bags along with home plate form the four points at the corners of the infield. All the bases, including home plate, lie entirely within fair territory, thus, any batted ball that touches those bases must necessarily be in fair territory. Thus, although the points of the bases are 90 feet apart, the lines from home plate to first and third bases extend to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction and are called the foul lines. The portion of the field between the foul lines is fair territory, the rest is foul territory. The area in the vicinity of the square formed by the bases is called the infield, most baseball fields are enclosed with a fence that marks the outer edge of the outfield. The fence is set at a distance ranging from 300 to 420 feet from home plate. Most professional and college baseball fields have a right and left foul pole and these poles are at the intersection of the foul lines and the respective ends of the outfield fence and, unless otherwise specified within the ground rules, lie in fair territory. Thus, a ball that passes over the outfield wall in flight and touches the foul pole is a fair ball. First base is the first of four bases that must be touched by a player on the team in order to score a run. Unlike when a player reaches second or third base, it is permissible for a batter-runner to overrun first base without being in jeopardy of being put out. After contact is made with the base, the batter-runner may slow down and return to first base at his leisure, the runner cannot be tagged out if he is touching the base with any part of his body. The first baseman is the player responsible for the area near first base. A professional first baseman is often a slow runner and tall, a tall first baseman presents a large target to which other fielders can throw, and his height gives him a larger range in reaching and catching errant throws. Also, a right-handed first baseman must, when setting himself up to receive a throw from an infielder, execute a half-pivot near the base, there are three infield positions that can only effectively be occupied by right-handed players, 2nd base, 3rd base, and shortstop
11.
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
12.
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
13.
Al Clark (umpire)
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Clark umpired 3,392 major league games in his 26-year career. He umpired in two World Series, two All-Star Games, five American League Championship Series, and three American League Division Series. In 2004, he was sentenced to four months in jail and he now is a member at Fords Colony Country Club in Williamsburg, VA, and currently lives in that development. List of Major League Baseball umpires Ruttman, Larry, al Clark, Longtime Major League Umpire, Fallen and Redeemed. American Jews and Americas Game, Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball, lincoln, Nebraska and London, England, University of Nebraska Press
14.
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
15.
Ceremonial first pitch
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The ceremonial first ball is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Now, the guest stands in front of the pitchers mound and he or she may also sometimes stand on the mound. The recipient of the pitch is usually a player from the home team, the ceremonial thrower may be a notable person who is in attendance, an executive from a company that sponsors the team, or a person who won the first pitch opportunity as a contest prize. Often, especially in the leagues, multiple first pitches are made. The practice of having a mayor, governor, or other local celebrity throw out ceremonial first pitches dates back to at least 1890, governor William McKinley of Ohio, for example, threw the ball into the diamond before an opening day game between Toledo and Columbus in 1892. President William Howard Taft started the American tradition of Presidential first pitches in 1910 at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D. C. on the Washington Senators Opening Day. Every President since Taft has thrown out at least one ceremonial first ball or pitch, either for Opening Day, donald Trump opted to decline the Washington Nationals invitation to throw the ceremonial first pitch in 2017. U. S. Presidents & Major League Baseball
16.
Don Drysdale
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Donald Scott Don Drysdale was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played as a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, Drysdale was one of the most dominant pitchers of the late 1950s and early to mid 1960s. Standing 6 ft 5 in tall, he was a presence on the pitchers mound. Drysdale won the 1962 Cy Young Award and is known for setting a Major League Baseball record by pitching 58 2⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings in 1968, after his playing career, he became a radio and television broadcaster. Drysdale was born in Van Nuys, Los Angeles and attended Van Nuys High School, pitching for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, he teamed with Sandy Koufax during the late 1950s and early and middle 1960s to form one of the most dominating pitching duos in history. Nicknamed Big D by fans, Drysdale used brushback pitches and a fastball to intimidate batters. His 154 hit batsmen remains a modern National League record, Drysdale was also a good hitter for a pitcher. In 14 seasons, he had 218 hits, including 29 home runs, in 1962, Drysdale won 25 games and the Cy Young Award. In 1963, he struck out 251 batters and won Game 3 of the World Series at Los Angeles Dodger Stadium over the Yankees, in 1965, he was the Dodgers only.300 hitter and tied his own National League record for pitchers with seven home runs. That year, he also won 23 games and helped the Dodgers to their third World Championship in Los Angeles. In 1968, he set Major League records with six shutouts and 58 2⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings. He ended his career with 209 wins,2,486 strikeouts,167 complete games and 49 shutouts and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, and had his number 53 retired at Dodger Stadium on July 1,1984. He was also the last player on the Dodgers who had played for Brooklyn and he won three NL Player of the Month awards, June 1959, July 1960, and May 1968. In 1965, Sandy Koufax declined to pitch the first game of the World Series because it was on Yom Kippur, Drysdale pitched for the Dodgers instead of Koufax, and gave up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. When Walter Alston, the manager, came to the mound to remove him from the game, Drysdale said, I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, the Dodgers lost to the Minnesota Twins, 8-2. Drysdale and Koufax took part in a famous salary holdout together in the spring of 1966 and those contracts made them the first pitchers to earn more than $100,000 a year. This holdout was the beginning of collective bargaining in baseball, a chronically sore shoulder forced Drysdale to retire during the 1969 season
17.
Major League Baseball
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Major League Baseball is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams now play in the National League and American League, the NL and AL operated as separate legal entities from 1876 and 1901 respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities since 1903, the merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament. Baseballs first professional team was founded in Cincinnati in 1869,30 years after Abner Doubleday supposedly invented the game of baseball, the first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one team or league to another. The period before 1920 in baseball was known as the dead-ball era, Baseball survived a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series, which came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The sport rose in popularity in the 1920s, and survived potential downturns during the Great Depression, shortly after the war, baseballs color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of expansion for the AL and NL, then new stadiums, Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s, and media reports began to discuss the use of anabolic steroids among Major League players in the mid-2000s. In 2006, an investigation produced the Mitchell Report, which implicated many players in the use of performance-enhancing substances, today, MLB is composed of thirty teams, twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada. Baseball broadcasts are aired on television, radio, and the Internet throughout North America, MLB has the highest season attendance of any sports league in the world with more than 73 million spectators in 2015. MLB is governed by the Major League Baseball Constitution and this document has undergone several incarnations since 1875, with the most recent revisions being made in 2012. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball, MLB hires and maintains the sports umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, MLB maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of Minor League Baseball. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years, the weakened ruling granted more stability to the owners of teams and has resulted in values increasing at double-digit rates. There were several challenges to MLBs primacy in the sport between the 1870s and the Federal League in 1916, the last attempt at a new league was the aborted Continental League in 1960. The chief executive of MLB is the commissioner, Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer is Tony Petitti. There are five other executives, president, chief officer, chief legal officer, chief financial officer. The multimedia branch of MLB, which is based in Manhattan, is MLB Advanced Media and this branch oversees MLB. com and each of the 30 teams websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the league, MLB Productions is a similarly structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media
18.
New York Yankees
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The Essendon Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League, the sports premier competition. Formed in 1871 as a club and playing as a senior club since 1878. It is historically associated with Essendon, a suburb in the north-west of Melbourne, dyson Heppell is the current team captain. A founding member club of both the Victorian Football Association, in 1877, and the Victorian Football League, in 1896, the club claims to have over at least one million supporters Australia wide. Essendon has won 16 VFL/AFL premierships which, along with Carlton, is the most of any club in the competition, the club was founded by members of the Royal Agricultural Society, the Melbourne Hunt Club and the Victorian Woolbrokers. The Essendon Football Club is thought to have formed in 1872 at a meeting it the home of a well-known brewery family, the McCrackens, whose Ascot Vale property hosted a team of local junior players. Robert McCracken, the owner of several city hotels, was the founder and first president of the Essendon club and his son, Alex, Alex would later become president of the newly formed VFL. Alexs cousin, Collier, who had played with Melbourne, was the teams first captain. The club played its first recorded match against the Carlton second twenty on 7 June 1873, Essendon played 13 matches in its first season, winning seven, with four draws and losing two. The club was one of the junior members of the Victorian Football Association in 1877. During its early years in the Association, Essendon played its matches at Flemington Hill. In 1878, Essendon played in the first match on what would be considered by modern standards to be a field at Flemington Hill. In 1879 Essendon played Melbourne in one of the earliest night matches recorded when the ball was painted white, in 1883 the team played four matches in Adelaide. In 1891 Essendon won their first VFA premiership, which they repeated in 1892,1893 and 1894, one of the clubs greatest players, Albert Thurgood played for the club during this period. Essendon was undefeated in the 1893 season, at the end of the 1896 season Essendon along with seven other clubs formed the Victorian Football League. Essendons first VFL game was in 1897 was against Geelong at Corio Oval in Geelong, Essendon won its first VFL premiership by winning the 1897 VFL finals series. Essendon again won the premiership in 1901, defeating Collingwood in the Grand Final, the club won successive premierships in 1911 and 1912 over Collingwood and South Melbourne respectively. The nickname first appeared in print in the local North Melbourne Advertiser in 1889 and it was known firstly as Essendon Town and, after 1905, as Essendon
19.
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
20.
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
21.
Coin flipping
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Coin flipping, coin tossing, or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties. It is a form of sortition which inherently has only two possible and equally likely outcomes, the historical origin of coin flipping is the interpretation of a chance outcome as the expression of divine will. Coin flipping as a game was known to the Romans as navia aut caput, as some coins had a ship on one side, in England, this game was referred to as cross and pile. The expression Heads or Tails results from heads and tails being considered opposite body parts, during a coin toss, the coin is thrown into the air such that it rotates edge-over-edge several times. Either beforehand or when the coin is in the air, an interested party calls heads or tails, the other party is assigned the opposite side. Depending on custom, the coin may be caught, caught and inverted, when the coin comes to rest, the toss is complete and the party who called correctly or was assigned the upper side is declared the winner. It is possible for a coin to land on its edge, however, even on a flat surface it is possible for a coin to land on its edge, with a chance of about 1 in 6000. Angular momentum typically prevents most coins from landing on their edges unsupported if flipped, such cases in which a coin does land on its edge are exceptionally rare and in most cases the coin is simply re-flipped. The coin may be any type as long as it has two sides, it need not be a circulating coin as such. Larger coins tend to be more popular than smaller ones, most high-profile coin tosses use custom-made ceremonial medallions. Three-way coin flips are also possible, by a different process – this can be either to choose two out of three, or to choose one out of three. To choose two out of three, three coins are flipped, and if two coins come up the same and one different, the different one loses, leaving two players. To choose one out of three, either reverse this, or add a regular two-way coin flip between the players as a second step. Note that the flip is 75% likely to work each time it is tried. A legacy of this coin flip was to reduce the use of coin flips to break ties in Texas sports, Coin tossing is a simple and unbiased way of settling a dispute or deciding between two or more arbitrary options. In a game theoretic analysis it provides even odds to both involved, requiring little effort and preventing the dispute from escalating into a struggle. Factors such as direction, the position of the sun. In team sports it is often the captain who makes the call, a competitive method may be used instead of a toss in some situations, for example in basketball the jump ball is employed, while the face-off plays a similar role in ice hockey
22.
Ron Guidry
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Ronald Ames Guidry, nicknamed Louisiana Lightning and Gator, is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees of the American League, Guidry was also the pitching coach of the Yankees from 2006 to 2007. Guidry won the AL Cy Young Award in 1978 as the best pitcher in the AL and he also won five Gold Glove Awards, given for superior fielding, and appeared in four All-Star games. Guidry served as captain of the Yankees from 1986 through 1988, Guidry was born in Lafayette, Louisiana where he pitched for the University of Southwestern Louisiana He began his career pitching briefly in the 1975 and 1976 seasons after 4 years in the minors. In 1977, he began as a pitcher but was moved into the starting rotation. He helped lead the New York Yankees to a World Series championship in 1977 and 1978, in those two years combined, Guidry went 4-0 in the postseason with 3 complete games in 5 starts, allowing only nine earned runs in 37 1⁄3 innings pitched. In 1978, Guidry posted a career year, one of the best in the modern era, against the California Angels on June 17, he struck out a Yankee-record 18 batters. Guidrys 18-strikeout performance is cited as the launching pad of the Yankee Stadium tradition of fans standing and clapping for a strikeout with two strikes on the opposing batter. For the season, Guidry went 25-3, in a season that is among the top 10 for winning percentage in baseball history. He led the league with a sparkling 1.74 ERA,25 wins, a.893 winning percentage,9 shutouts,248 strikeouts and he held batters to a.193 batting average.249 on-base percentage, and.279 slugging percentage. He was particularly effective with 2 outs and runners in scoring position, Guidrys success during 1978 was due in large part to mastering the slider. He began throwing the pitch the year before, and was able to use the sharp-breaking slider to complement his fastball throughout the season. He claimed the American League Cy Young Award, Guidry also finished second in American League Most Valuable Player voting to Boston Red Sox slugger Jim Rice. The game is best known for Bucky Dents seventh-inning, three-run home run off Mike Torrez that gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead. In the second inning of game, Guidry himself had given up a home run to Carl Yastrzemski—the only home run a left-hander would hit against him all season. Later that month, the Yankees again won the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers, no American League pitcher posted an earned run average as low again until Bostons Pedro Martínez in 2000. Coincidentally, in all three of Guidrys losses in 1978, the pitcher on the opposing team threw left-handed and had the first name Mike. Guidry posted two saves in two appearances, but his starting pitching suffered a bit as he was an ordinary 7-7 through July 21, over the next seven seasons, Guidry amassed a 113-57 win-loss record
23.
Starting pitcher
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In baseball, a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponents first batter of a game, a pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher. Starting pitchers are expected to pitch for a significant portion of the game, although their ability to do this depends on many factors, including effectiveness, stamina, health, and strategy. A starting pitcher in professional baseball usually rests three, four, or five days after pitching a game before pitching another, therefore, most professional baseball teams have four, five or six starting pitchers on their rosters. These pitchers, and the sequence in which they pitch, is known as the rotation, in modern baseball, a five-man rotation is most common. Under ideal circumstances, a manager of a team would prefer a starting pitcher to pitch as many innings as possible in a game. Often, a pitcher is subject to a pitch count. The most common pitch count for a pitcher is in the neighborhood of 100. Pitch count limits are especially common for starting pitchers who are recovering from injury, in the early decades of baseball, it was not uncommon for a starting pitcher to pitch three hundred innings or more, over the course of a season. In addition, there are accounts of starting pitchers pitching on consecutive days and it is believed that these feats were only possible because pitchers in the early years of the game, unlike modern starters, rarely threw the ball with maximum effort. A starting pitcher who can be counted on to throw many innings is known as a workhorse. An example of a modern-day workhorse pitcher is Roy Halladay, who was the leader in both complete games thrown and shutouts before his retirement in 2013. A starting pitcher must complete five innings of work in order to qualify for a win in a game he starts and it is possible to be credited with a loss despite pitching fewer than five innings. A starter who works six or more innings giving up three or fewer earned runs is said to have achieved a quality start. A starter that finishes the game without having to be relieved by the bullpen is said to have thrown a complete game, the pitcher that throws a complete game is almost always in a position for a win. Starting pitchers usually have a variety of pitches to choose from, fastballs, A pitch thrown hard and which generally follows a mostly straight trajectory. There are a number of different types of fastballs, the 4-seam fastball is the hardest thrown pitch, but also has very little movement or break to it. The 2-seam fastball is slightly slower than the 4-seam, but breaks slightly inward to the throwing arm as well as drop slightly
24.
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
25.
Carl Yastrzemski
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Carl Michael Yastrzemski is an American former Major League Baseball player. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox. He was primarily a left fielder, but also played 33 games as a third baseman and mostly was a first baseman and designated hitter later in his career. Yastrzemski is an 18-time All-Star, the possessor of seven Gold Gloves, a member of the 3,000 hit club, and he is second on the all-time list for games played, and third for total at-bats. He is the Red Sox all-time leader in career RBIs, runs, hits, singles, doubles, total bases, and games played, and is third on the teams list for home runs behind Ted Williams and David Ortiz. In 1967 Yastrzemski achieved a peak in his career, leading the Red Sox to the American League pennant for the first time in two decades and being voted the 1967 American League MVP. Yaztrzemski also won the Triple Crown that year, a milestone which was not accomplished again in the Major Leagues until Miguel Cabrera achieved the feat 45 years later in 2012, Yastrzemski was born in Bridgehampton, New York to Carl Yastrzemski, Sr. and Hattie Skonieczny. Both his parents were of a Polish background, and young Carl was bilingual from an early age, raised on his fathers potato farm, Carl played on sandlot baseball teams with his father, who, he maintains, was a better athlete than he was. Carl also played Little League Baseball, Yaz attended Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship briefly before embarking on his baseball career. Yastrzemski, who had studied business at Notre Dame, fulfilled a promise to his parents by finishing his degree at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, Yastrzemski began his major-league career in 1961. From the beginning, there was pressure on him to perform. He would prove to be a successor at the plate. In 12 years as a fielder, Yastrzemski won seven Gold Gloves. Yastrzemski enjoyed his best season in 1967, when he won the American League Triple Crown with a.326 batting average,44 home runs and 121 RBIs and he was voted Most Valuable Player almost unanimously. His 12. 4WAR was the highest since Babe Ruths 1927 season,1967 was the season of the Impossible Dream for the Red Sox, who rebounded from a ninth-place finish a year before to win the American League pennant on the last day of the season. The Red Sox went into the two games of the season trailing the Twins by 1 game and leading the Tigers by 1/2 game. The Red Sox final two games were against Minnesota with the pennant and home run title on the line, in the Saturday game, Yaz went 3 for 4 with a home run and 4 RBI. Klllebrew also homered, but the Red Sox won, 6-4, thus, the teams went into the final game tied for 1st place, and Yaz and Killebrew were tied with 44 home runs apiece
26.
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
27.
Jim Rice
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James Edward Rice, nicknamed Jim Ed, is a former Major League Baseball left fielder and designated hitter who played his entire 16-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox. Rice was an eight-time American League All-Star and was named the ALs Most Valuable Player in 1978 after becoming the first major player in 19 years to hit for 400 total bases. He went on to become the player to lead the major leagues in total bases in consecutive seasons. He joined Ty Cobb as one of two players to lead the AL in total three years in a row. He batted.300 seven times, collected 100 runs batted in eight times and 200 hits four times and he also led the league in home runs three times, RBIs and slugging percentage twice each. He ended his career with a, when Rice retired, his 1,503 career games in left field ranked seventh in AL history. Rice was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26,2009, the Red Sox went on to lose the World Series,4 games to 3, to the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. In 1978, Rice won the Most Valuable Player award in a campaign where he hit.315 and led the league in runs, RBI, hits, triples, total bases. His 406 total bases that year were the most in the AL since Joe DiMaggio had 418 in 1937 and this feat wasnt repeated again until 1997, when Larry Walker had 409 in the NL. No AL player has done it since Rice in 1978, and his remains the third highest by an AL right-handed hitter, behind DiMaggio. In 1986, Rice had 200 hits, batted.324, the Red Sox made it to the World Series for the second time during his career. This time, Rice played in all 14 postseason games, where he collected 14 hits and he also scored 14 runs and drove in six. The 14 runs Rice scored is the fifth most recorded by an individual during a single years postseason play. The Red Sox went on to lose the World Series to the New York Mets,4 games to 3, Rice led the AL in home runs three times, in RBI twice, in slugging percentage twice, and in total bases four times. He also picked up Silver Slugger Awards in 1983 and 1984, Rice hit at least 39 home runs in a season four times, had eight 100-RBI seasons and four seasons with 200+ hits, and batted over.300 seven times. He finished his 16-year career with a.298 batting average,382 home runs,1,451 RBIs,1,249 runs scored,2,452 hits and he was an American League All-Star eight times. In addition to winning the American League MVP award in 1978, Rice is the only player in major league history to record over 200 hits while hitting 39 or more HRs for three consecutive years.315 or higher. Among all major league players during time, Rice was the leader in five of these categories
28.
Bucky Dent
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Russell Earl Bucky Dent is a former American Major League Baseball player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the shortstop for the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978. Dent is most famous for his run in a tie-breaker game against the Boston Red Sox at the end of the 1978 season. Dent was born November 25,1951, in Savannah, Georgia, to Dennis ODey and he went home from the hospital with his mothers brother James Earl Dent, and James wife, Sarah. Bucky and his half-brother were raised by the Dents, who changed his last name to Dent and he and his half-brother were led to believe the Dents were their biological parents, until he was ten years old. Dent was told the woman he knew as his aunt was in fact his mother, later in life, he was told the name of his father, whom he then found, thus sparking and developing a relationship. Dent grew up in Sylvania, Georgia, and Hialeah, Florida, the sixth pick in the 1970 major league draft, by the age of 21 he was playing shortstop for the Chicago White Sox, wearing uniform number 30. The pressure of succeeding Luis Aparicio at the position was problematic, however, and in 1977 the White Sox traded him to the Yankees for Oscar Gamble, LaMarr Hoyt, the Yankees gave him uniform number 20. Dent is widely remembered for hitting a home run that gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the 1978 AL East division tie-breaker game against the Boston Red Sox. This was all the more due to the fact that Dent was not known as a power hitter. The home run was one of only 40 he hit in his entire 12-year career, further, Dent occupied the ninth spot in the batting order, not generally considered a power slot. The Yankees went on to win the game 5-4, securing the title in the process. Ever since then, Red Sox fans have called him Bucky Fucking Dent, Dent continued his unusually high production by batting.417 in the 1978 World Series, earning Series Most Valuable Player honors, as the Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, four games to two. A three-time All-Star, Dent remained the Yankees shortstop until 1982, during his six years with the Yankees, Dent lived in a home in Wyckoff, New Jersey that he later rented to Don Zimmer, after Dent was traded. On the Rangers, his number was 7. Dent returned to the Yankees briefly in 1984 before finishing his career season with the Kansas City Royals. He retired having spent his full 12-year playing career in the American League, after retiring as a player, Dent managed in the Yankees minor-league system, notably with the Columbus Clippers. He served the Yankees as manager of the club for portions of two seasons, compiling an 18–22 record in 1989 and an 18–31 record in 1990
29.
Goose Gossage
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Richard Michael Goose Gossage is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New York Yankees, although Gossage is otherwise generally referred to as Rich in popular media, a baseball field named after him bears the name Rick. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was one of the earliest manifestations of the dominating modern closer, with facial hair. He also is the leader in blown saves. Respected for his impact in games, Gossage recorded the final out to clinch a division, league. His eight All-Star selections as a reliever were a record until Mariano Rivera passed him in 2008 and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. Gossage attended Wasson High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Chicago White Sox selected him in the ninth round of the 1970 MLB draft. Gossage led the American League in saves in 1975, after the 1976 season, the White Sox traded Gossage and Terry Forster to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Silvio Martinez and Richie Zisk. He became an agent after the 1977 season, and signed with the New York Yankees. Gossage again led the AL in saves in 1978 and 1980, one of his most impressive performances was on September 3,1978, in a game vs. the Seattle Mariners. Replacing Sparky Lyle in the top of the 9th with runners on second and third and no outs and he missed some of the 1979 season with the Yankees with a thumb injury sustained in a locker-room fight with teammate Cliff Johnson. Ron Guidry, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, volunteered to go to the bullpen to replace him, in 1983, his last season with the Yankees, Gossage broke Sparky Lyles club record of 141 career saves, Dave Righetti passed his final total of 150 in 1988. Gossage holds the Yankees career record for ERA and hits per nine innings among pitchers with at least 500 innings for the team, in eight of his first ten seasons as a closer, Gossages ERA was less than 2.27. Over his career, right-handed hitters hit.211 against him, Gossage became upset with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for meddling with the team. In 1982, he called Steinbrenner the fat man upstairs, Gossage became a free agent after the 1983 season, and insisted that he would not resign with New York. He signed with the San Diego Padres, on August 17,1986, Gossage struck out Pete Rose in Roses final major-league at bat. Before the 1988 season, the Padres traded Gossage and Ray Hayward to the Cubs for Keith Moreland, released by the Cubs in March 1989, he signed with the San Francisco Giants in April. The Yankees selected Gossage off of waivers in August and he pitched for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball in 1990
30.
Save (baseball)
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In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances, described below. The number of saves, or percentage of save opportunities converted, is an oft-cited statistic of relief pitchers. It became an official Major League Baseball statistic in 1969, mariano Rivera is MLBs all-time leader in regular season saves with 652. The term save was being used as far back as 1952, executives Jim Toomey of the St. A formula with more criteria for saves was invented in 1960 by baseball writer Jerome Holtzman and he felt that the existing statistics at the time, earned run average and win–loss record, did not sufficiently measure a relievers effectiveness. ERA does not account for inherited runners a reliever allows to score, Holtzman felt that Face was more effective the previous year when he was 5–2. When Holtzman presented the idea to J. G. Taylor Spink, publisher of The Sporting News, Holtzman recorded the unofficial save statistic in The Sporting News weekly for nine years before it became official in 1969. In conjunction with publishing the statistic, The Sporting News in 1960 also introduced the Fireman of the Year Award, the save became an official MLB statistic in 1969. It was MLBs first new major statistic since the run batted in was added in 1920, in baseball statistics, the term save is used to indicate the successful maintenance of a lead by a relief pitcher, usually the closer, until the end of the game. A save is a statistic credited to a pitcher, as set forth in Rule 10.19 of the Official Rules of Major League Baseball. If a relief pitcher satisfies all of the criteria for a save, except he does not finish the game, he will often be credited with a hold. A blown save is charged to a pitcher who enters a game in a situation which permits him to earn a save, if the reliever allows the tying or leading run, but the relievers team wins the game, the reliever wins the game. Due to this definition, a pitcher cannot blow multiple saves in a game unless he has multiple save opportunities, the blown save was introduced by the Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1988. A pitcher who enters the game in a situation and does not finish the game—but his team still leading—is not charged with a save opportunity. Save percentage is the ratio of saves to save opportunities, in 1974, tougher criteria were adopted for saves where the tying run had to be on base or at the plate when the reliever entered to qualify for a save. This addressed saves such as Ron Taylors in a 20–6 New York Mets win over the Atlanta Braves. The rule was relaxed in 1975 to credit a save when a reliever pitches at least one inning with no more than a lead, or comes in with runners on base. In 2000, Rolaids started recording a save when a pitcher enters a save situation with the potential tying run already on base
31.
1978 World Series
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The 1978 World Series matched the defending champions New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a rematch of the 1977 Series, with the Yankees winning in six games to repeat as champions. 1978 was the first of ten years that saw ten different teams win the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers would break the string with a World Series win in 1988 and this Series had two memorable confrontations between Dodger rookie pitcher Bob Welch and the Yankees Reggie Jackson. In Game 2, Welch struck Jackson out in the top of the ninth with two outs and the tying and go-ahead runs on base to end the game. In Game 6, Jackson smashed a two-run homer off Welch in the seventh to increase the Yankees lead to 7–2 and it wasn’t easy for these two teams to repeat as their respective league’s champions, both scrambling back to the Fall Classic late in the season. The New York Yankees were as far back as fourteen games behind the Boston Red Sox at mid-July suffering from injuries to pitchers Catfish Hunter and Jim Beattie. A public display of antipathy between manager Billy Martin and slugger Reggie Jackson resulted in the replacement of Martin by the amenable, with time running out, the Yankees, four games behind the Red Sox in the American League East, began a crucial four-game series in Boston. On September 7, the Yanks began the Boston Massacre with a 15–3 drubbing of the “Sox” with second baseman Willie Randolph driving in five runs. The assault continued with the Yankees winning game two, 13–2, game three, 7–0 and game four, an eighteen-hit, 7–4 victory completing the sweep, the Yankees and Red Sox were now tied for first place with twenty games remaining for both clubs. Overall, New York would win 48 of their last 68 games finishing the season in a dead-heat with Boston. The Yanks went on to win a playoff on October 2 made famous by light hitting Bucky Dents clutch three-run homer in the seventh inning. Ron Guidry would win his 25th game, Goose Gossage pitching the last 2 2⁄3 innings picking up his 27th save, retiring hall of famer Carl Yastrzemski with a man on base for the final out. In the National League the Los Angeles Dodgers were locked in a three way race with the rival San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds falling as far as 6 1⁄2 games back. Unlike the 1977 Dodgers with four 30+ home run hitters, this squad’s leader in home runs was Reggie Smith with 29, no pitcher won twenty or more games but five pitchers did win at least ten games. Rookie Bob Welch was a key after being promoted from the minors, winning seven games and his uniform number was retired by the Dodgers prior to the start of game one. In a repeat of the 1977 playoffs the Yankees again dispatched the Kansas City Royals, after losing the first two games of the World Series, the Yankees would become the first team ever to come back to win the Series in six. AL New York Yankees vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers With Yankee ace Ron Guidry unavailable at least until Game 3, Figueroa left after two innings, allowing home runs to Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes. Lopes would add a three-run shot in the fourth off Ken Clay to make it 6–0, another Dodger run crossed the plate in the fifth, Ron Cey scoring on a Clay wild pitch
32.
1975 World Series
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The 1975 World Series of Major League Baseball was played between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds. In 2003, it was ranked by ESPN as the second-greatest World Series ever played, Cincinnati won the series four games to three. The Reds won the seventh and deciding game of the series on a ninth-inning RBI single by Joe Morgan, the sixth game of the Series was a 12-inning classic at Bostons Fenway Park. While there are many moments from that game, it is remembered in Boston for the walk-off home run hit in the bottom of the twelfth by Carlton Fisk. Fisks home run gave the Sox a 7–6 win to send the series to a seventh game. The series also included a play involving Fisk and the Reds Ed Armbrister in Game 3, Tony Pérezs home run off Bill Lees blooper pitch in Game 7. This was also the eleventh consecutive World Series that did not feature the New York Yankees, the Yankees would win the next three pennants afterwards, and the last two World Series in that same run, as well as a memorable tiebreaker game against the Red Sox in 1978. This pennant drought was matched in 1992, and surpassed in 1993, NL Cincinnati Reds vs. AL Boston Red Sox †, postponed from October 18 due to rain Luis Tiant and Don Gullett were locked in a scoreless pitching duel until the seventh. Tiant, batting in this game for the first time all season and he later scored the Red Sox first run on a single by Carl Yastrzemski. The Red Sox sandwiched the Reds run with single tallies of their own in the first on an RBI single by Carlton Fisk, the Reds, however, rallied in the ninth to tie the series. Bench led off the inning with a double down the field line. Dave Concepción tied the game by singling in Bench and then stole second, with two outs, Ken Griffey doubled in Concepción with the go-ahead run. Rawly Eastwick retired the Sox in the ninth to get the victory, back at home, the Reds prevailed in another squeaker that showed just how much this Series was destined to become a classic. For nine innings, the game was a homer-fest, Carlton Fisk put the Sox on the board in the second with a solo homer off Reds starter Gary Nolan. The Reds countered by taking a 2–1 lead in the fourth when Tony Pérez walked, the Reds then chased Wise in the fifth when Dave Concepción and César Gerónimo hit back-to-back solo shots. Pete Rose followed with a triple and scored on Joe Morgans sacrifice fly to give the Reds a 5–1 lead. The Sox scratched back in the sixth when Reds reliever Pat Darcy issued consecutive walks to Carl Yastrzemski and Fisk, wild-pitched Fisk to third, in the seventh, Bernie Carbo closed the gap to 5–3 with a pinch-hit solo homer off Clay Carroll. In the ninth, with ace reliever Rawly Eastwick on the mound, but, Eastwick gave up a single to Rico Petrocelli and a tying two-run homer to Dwight Evans, sending the game into extra innings
33.
1976 World Series
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The 1976 Reds became --and remain – the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason. The Reds are also the last National League team to win back-to-back World Series and it also marked the second time that the Yankees were swept in a World Series. This World Series was the first in which the designated hitter rule, the use of the DH wound up benefiting the Reds, who were able to get utility infielder Dan Driessens bat in the lineup. Driessen hit.357 with one home run, elliott Maddox, Carlos May, and Lou Piniella shared the role for the New York Yankees. Game 1, played at Cincinnatis Riverfront Stadium, marked the first time the DH was used in a National League ballpark, Game 2, also at Riverfront Stadium, was the first World Series weekend game to be scheduled at night. After spending the last two years sharing home field with the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, the New York Yankees returned home to a rebuilt and modified Yankee Stadium. George Steinbrenner had now owned the team for three years, since 1973, with Billy Martin serving the first of his five stints as manager since 1975. The heart of the team was Yankee captain, Thurman Munson, whose grit, third baseman, Graig Nettles, and first baseman, Chris Chambliss were the key run producers, while speedy outfielders Roy White and Rivers set the table for the power hitters. Super free agent Catfish Hunter headed the staff while reliever Sparky Lyle led the A. L. in saves with 23, the Yankees finished 10 1⁄2 ahead in the A. L. East advancing to the World Series by beating the Kansas City Royals in the game of the playoffs on a ninth-inning walk-off home run by Chambliss. The defending champion Cincinnati Reds were piloted by Sparky Anderson who had a lineup led by second baseman Joe Morgan. Morgan went on to win his second-straight National League Most Valuable Player award, but Foster would go on to win the 1977 MVP award, giving the Reds six MVPs in an eight-year stretch. Bench won MVP honors in 1970 &72 while Rose took home the hardware in 73, the Reds led the NL in every significant offensive category including runs scored, batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and stolen bases. On the mound, the Reds relied on left-handers Don Gullett and Fred Norman to pacify the Yankee hitters in Games 1 and 2, respectively. Gullett had come back from an injury to start Game 1 but had to leave the game in the eighth inning due to a twisted ankle while Norman out-pitched ace Hunter in Game 2. Game 3 in New York pitted effective 1976 NL Rookie of the Year Pat Zachry for the Reds against newly acquired Yankee, Ellis only lasted 3 1⁄3 innings, exiting in the fourth after a home run by Driessen. Game 4 was delayed a day due to rain, but the Reds were ready for the sweep, Benchs 2 run home run gave the Reds a 3–1 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, a frustrated Billy Martin threw a baseball from the dugout onto the field towards home plate umpire Bill Deegan, causing his ejection from the game
