1.
National League
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Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The two league champions of 1903 arranged to compete against each other in the inaugural World Series, after the 1904 champions failed to reach a similar agreement, the two leagues formalized the World Series as an arrangement between the leagues. National League teams have won 48 of the 112 World Series contested from 1903 to 2016, the 2016 National League champions are the Chicago Cubs. By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak, additionally, Hulbert had a problem—five of his star players were threatened with expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky, Boston Red Stockings, the dominant team in the N. A. Hartford Dark Blues from the N. A. Mutual of New York from the N. A. St. Louis Brown Stockings from the N. A, the only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies. The first game in National League history was played on April 22,1876, at Philadelphias Jefferson Street Grounds, 25th & Jefferson, the new leagues authority was tested after the first season. The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878, over the next several years, various teams joined and left the struggling league. By 1880, six of the eight members had folded. The two remaining original NL franchises, Boston and Chicago, remain in operation today as the Atlanta Braves, in 1883 the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Phillies began National League play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city, the NL encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play in 1882. The A. A. played in cities where the NL did not have teams, offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, the National League and the American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence. These contests were less organized than the modern Series, lasting as few as three games and as many as fifteen, with two Series ending in disputed ties, the NL won four times and the A. A. only once, in 1886. Starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1887, the National League began to raid the American Association for franchises to replace NL teams that folded and this undercut the stability of the A. A. Other new leagues that rose to compete with the National League were the Union Association, the Union Association was established in 1884 and folded after playing only one season, its league champion St. Louis Maroons joining the NL. The NL suffered many defections of star players to the Players League, the Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York franchises of the NL absorbed their Players League counterparts. The labor strife of 1890 hastened the downfall of the American Association, after the 1891 season, the A. A. disbanded and merged with the NL, which became known legally for the next decade as the National League and American Association
2.
1969 Major League Baseball season
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The 1969 Major League Baseball season was celebrated as the 100th anniversary of professional baseball, honoring the first professional touring baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. It was the first season of what is now called the Divisional Era, the winners of each division would compete against each other in a League Championship Series, then best-of-five, to determine the pennant winners that would face each other in the World Series. In a year marked by the expansion of the decade, the New York Mets. East Division with a league-best 100–62 record, and sweeping the N. L, West Division Champion Atlanta Braves in three games in the first National League Championship Series, the Miracle Mets became the first expansion team to win a pennant. East Division Champion Orioles, holders of the best record in baseball, West Division Champion Minnesota Twins in three games in the first American League Championship Series. The upstart Mets upset the heavily favored Orioles and won the World Series title in five games, in an effort to counteract a trend of low-scoring games, Major League Baseball adopted two measures during the Baseball Winter Meetings held in December 1968. The strike zone was reduced to the area over home plate between the armpits and the top of the knees of a batter. Also, the height of the mound was reduced from 15 inches to 10 inches. A save became an official MLB statistic to reward relief pitchers who preserve a lead while finishing a game, MLB called for a four-team expansion to take place in 1971 at the 1967 Winter Meetings, the first expansion since 1962. However, there was a complication, influential U. S, the Leagues agreed and moved expansion up to 1969, with the AL putting one of its new franchises in Kansas City. Ewing Kauffman won the bidding for that franchise, naming it the Kansas City Royals, the other AL team was awarded to Seattle. A consortium led by Dewey Soriano and William Daley won the bidding for the Seattle franchise, and named it the Seattle Pilots, a salute to the harbor pilots of the Puget Sound maritime industry. In the NL, one franchise was awarded to San Diego, California, arnholdt Smith, former owner of the AAA Pacific Coast Leagues San Diego Padres, won the bidding for the San Diego franchise, also naming it the Padres. Charles Bronfman, owner of Seagram, won the bidding for the Montreal franchise, naming them the Expos and this was the last NL expansion until the 1993 season. As part of the 1969 expansion, each league was to be split into two divisions of six each, with each league holding a best-of-five League Championship Series to decide the pennant. The AL was divided purely along geographic lines, but when it came to assign divisions in the NL and this alignment also addressed concerns that putting the leagues three strongest clubs—St. Louis, San Francisco, and the Cubs—in the west would result in divisional unequity, the Padres and Expos each finished with 110 losses and at the bottom of their respective divisions. The Royals did better, finishing 69–93 and in fourth in the AL West, the legal fallout of the battle would lead eventually to the expansion for the 1977 season
3.
Riverfront Stadium
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Located on the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, the stadium was best known as the home of The Big Red Machine, as the Reds were often called in the 1970s. Construction began on February 1,1968, and was completed at a cost of less than $50 million, on June 30,1970, the Reds hosted the Atlanta Braves in their grand opening, with Hank Aaron hitting the first ever home run at Riverfront. Two weeks later on July 14,1970, Riverfront hosted the 1970 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and this game is best remembered for the often-replayed collision at home plate between Reds star Pete Rose and catcher Ray Fosse of the Cleveland Indians. In September 1996, Riverfront Stadium was renamed Cinergy Field in a deal with Greater Cincinnati energy company Cinergy. In 2001, to room for Great American Ball Park. There was a wall in center field visible after the renovations. The stadium was demolished by implosion on December 29,2002, the astroturf panels covering the tracks could be seen in left field during Reds games. Riverfront Stadiums scoreboard was designed by American Sign and Indicator, and that scoreboard would be upgraded in the 1980s with the addition of an adjacent Sony JumboTron. Riverfront quickly earned a place in Cincinnatis century-long baseball tradition as the home of one of the best teams in baseball history, the World Series would return in 1990, with Cincinnati winning the first two of a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics at Riverfront. Players who combined power and speed like Joe Morgan, Pete Rose and Ken Griffey, catcher Johnny Bench and first baseman Tony Pérez played here. The artificial turf covered not only the grass area of the ballpark but is usually the skinned portion of the infield. Only the pitchers mound, the plate area, and cutouts around first, second. This was the first stadium in the majors with this sliding pit configuration, Riverfront hosted the MLB All-Star Game twice. First on July 14,1970 with President Richard Nixon in attendance, despite Cincinnatis love of baseball, it was the prospect of a professional football team that finally moved the city to end 20 years of discussion and build a new stadium on the downtown riverfront. Perhaps the most memorable game at Riverfront was the AFC Championship on January 10,1982. The game became known as the Freezer Bowl and was won by the Bengals over the San Diego Chargers, the air temperature during the game was −9 °F and the wind chill was −37 °F, the coldest in NFL history. The win earned the Bengals their first of two trips to the Super Bowl while playing at Riverfront, Riverfront Stadium hosted the 1988 AFC Championship, as the Bengals beat the Buffalo Bills 21–10 to advance to their second Super Bowl appearance. During the Bengals tenure, they defeated every visiting franchise at least once, enjoying perfect records against the Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Eagles
4.
Cincinnati
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Cincinnati is a city in the U. S. state of Ohio that serves as county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the side of the confluence of the Licking with the Ohio River. With a population of 298,550, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and its metropolitan statistical area is the 28th-largest in the United States and the largest centered in Ohio. The city is part of the larger Cincinnati–Middletown–Wilmington combined statistical area. In the 19th century, Cincinnati was an American boomtown in the heart of the country, it rivaled the larger cities in size. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was listed among the top 10 U. S and it was by far the largest city in the west. By the end of the 19th century, with the shift from steamboats to railroads drawing off freight shipping, trade patterns had altered and Cincinnatis growth slowed considerably. Cincinnati is home to two sports teams, the Cincinnati Reds, the oldest franchise in Major League Baseball. The University of Cincinnati, founded in 1819, is one of the 50 largest in the United States, Cincinnati is known for its historic architecture. In the late 1800s, Cincinnati was commonly referred to as Paris of America, due mainly to such ambitious projects as the Music Hall, Cincinnatian Hotel. The original surveyor, John Filson, named it Losantiville, in 1790, Arthur St. Ethnic Germans were among the early settlers, migrating from Pennsylvania and the backcountry of Virginia and Tennessee. General David Ziegler succeeded General St. Clair in command at Fort Washington, after the conclusion of the Northwest Indian Wars and removal of Native Americans to the west, he was elected as the mayor of Cincinnati in 1802. Cincinnati was incorporated as a city in 1819, exporting pork products and hay, it became a center of pork processing in the region. From 1810 to 1830 its population tripled, from 9,642 to 24,831. Completion of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1827 to Middletown, Ohio further stimulated businesses, the city had a labor shortage until large waves of immigration by Irish and Germans in the late 1840s. The city grew rapidly over the two decades, reaching 115,000 persons by 1850. Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal began on July 21,1825, the first section of the canal was opened for business in 1827. In 1827, the canal connected Cincinnati to nearby Middletown, by 1840, during this period of rapid expansion and prominence, residents of Cincinnati began referring to the city as the Queen City
5.
WLWT
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WLWT, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The station is owned by the Hearst Television subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, the stations studios and transmitter are located on Young Street in the Mount Auburn neighborhood of Cincinnati. WLWT was established by the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation, owners of WLW, Crosley Broadcasting was a subsidiary of the Crosley Corporation, which became a subsidiary of the Aviation Corporation in 1945. The stations studios were housed with WLW in the Crosley Square building, WLWT later affiliated exclusively with NBC in 1949, after WKRC-TV and WCPO-TV signed on during that year. Following the release of the FCCs Sixth Report and Order in 1952, WLWT was reassigned to channel 5, as the previous channel 4 allocation was shifted north to Columbus and given to sister station WLWC. In addition to WLWT and WLWC, Crosley also operated stations in markets, WLWD in Dayton. The three WLW television stations in Ohio were NBC affiliates, and carried common programming along with WLWI in Indianapolis, most of these shows were produced at the WLWT studios on Crosley Square, and included The Ruth Lyons 50-50 Club, the Paul Dixon Show and Midwestern Hayride. The programs were syndicated regionally and also appeared on two stations outside of the Midwest that were owned by Crosley, WLWA in Atlanta. In 1957, WLWT became the first station in the Cincinnati market to begin television broadcasts. It later became the first station in the nation to broadcast entirely in color, for a period during the 1970s, the stations slogan was 5, The Originator, in reference to all of the local programming that was produced by the station. The Crosley broadcast division took the name of its parent company in 1968, avcos ownership of WLW radio and WLWT, and the Columbus, Dayton and Indianapolis television stations was initially protected under the new rule. WLWTs channel 5 coverage area covered a large amount of the Dayton and Columbus markets, while WLW radio could be heard throughout much of eastern North America at night. Also in 1968, when the Cincinnati Bengals were enfranchised by the American Football League, channel 5, through NBC and this partnership would continue through the end of the 1997 season, when WKRC took over as the default station of record for the team. The station airs Bengals games nowadays when they are featured on NBCs Sunday Night Football, in the mid-1970s, Avco decided to exit broadcasting and sold all of its stations to separate buyers. WLWT was the next to last to be sold, going to Multimedia, as a result, the stations all lost their grandfathered protection, which led to an ownership conflict situation which Hearst-Argyle would encounter two decades later. The Gannett Company bought Multimedia in 1995, argyle merged with the broadcasting unit of the Hearst Corporation to form Hearst-Argyle Television in August 1997. Hearst had owned WDTN since 1981, but the company opted to keep the larger WLWT. WLWTs licensee name under Multimedia and Gannett ownership, Multimedia Entertainment, in 1996, WKRC-TV and WCPO-TV traded networks, leaving WLWT as the only Cincinnati television station to never change its affiliation
6.
WLW
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WLW – branded Newsradio 700 WLW – is a commercial news/talk radio station serving Greater Cincinnati. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a 50, 000-watt clear-channel station that covers much of the half of North America at night. WLW serves as the Cincinnati affiliate for ABC News Radio and as a station for the Cincinnati Bengals. It is also the home of radio personality Bill Cunningham, the WLW studios are located in Sycamore Township, while the station transmitter is located in Mason. Besides a standard transmission, WLW broadcasts over a single HD radio channel. In July 1921, radio manufacturer Powel Crosley Jr. began tests from his 20-watt College Hill home station, powell already owned a number of enterprises including the Crosmobile, and a refrigerator-freezer company. He owned the Cincinnati Reds baseball club from 1934 to 1961, Crosley was innovative, personally inventing, or funding the development of, many then–cutting edge technological advances related to his ventures. He placed these in the hands of his younger brother Lewis. On March 22,1922, Crosley and his Crosley Broadcasting Corporation began operating a commercially licensed,50 watt station, under its current call sign, Crosley was a fanatic about the new broadcasting technology, and continually increased his stations capability. The power increased to 500 watts in September 1922, and to 1000 watts in May 1924, in January 1925, WLW was the first 5000 watt broadcasting station. On October 4,1928, the station increased its power to 50 kilowatts and it was the first station at this power level, which remains the maximum power allowed for any AM station in the United States. At 50 kilowatts, WLW was heard easily over an area from New York to Florida. In 1933 he obtained a permit from the Federal Radio Commission for a 500 kilowatt superstation. It was the first large amplifier used in the United States for public, domestic radio broadcasting and was in operation between 1934 and 1939 and it was an experimental amplifier, driven by the radio stations regular 50 kW transmitter. It operated in class C with high-level plate modulation, the amplifier required a dedicated 33 kV electrical substation and a large pond complete with fountains for cooling. It operated with an input of about 750 kW and its output was 500 kW. In January 1934, WLW began broadcasting at the 500 kilowatt level late at night under the call sign W8XO. In April 1934 the station was authorized to operate at 500 kilowatts during regular hours under the WLW call letters, on May 2,1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a ceremonial button that officially launched WLWs 500-kilowatt signal
7.
Marty Brennaman
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Franchester Martin Marty Brennaman is an American sportscaster and has been the radio voice of Major League Baseballs Cincinnati Reds on the Cincinnati Reds Radio Network since 1974. Known for his opinionated, zealous, and sometimes contentious style, Brennaman has been named Ohio Sportscaster of the Year, in 1999, Brennaman was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Ford C, Frick Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000. A native of Portsmouth, Virginia, Brennaman attended Randolph-Macon College and he began his broadcasting career at WGHP-TV in High Point, North Carolina, and followed with stints in Salisbury, North Carolina and Norfolk, Virginia. In 1971, Brennaman began his career as a radio announcer for the Tidewater Tides. In 1973, Virginia Tech Athletic Director Frank O. Moseley hired the leading broadcaster in Virginia, Marty Brennaman. Brennaman was the first Tech broadcaster to call both football and basketball, but he left VT in 1974 to become the broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds, Brennaman joined Joe Nuxhall on the Reds radio team in 1974. Marty and Joe became an institution in the city, appearing together in numerous radio, brennamans trademark call of a Reds victory was coined during his second game with the team. Instead, only Nuxhalls traditional phrase of. Rounding third and heading for home, homer Baileys no-hitters against the Pirates in 2012 and against the Giants in 2013. Jake Arrietas no-hitter against the Reds in 2016, in 2000, Marty Brennaman won the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame to a broadcaster for major contributions to the game of baseball. In addition to the Virginia Squires and the Norfolk Tides, he has called games for the Indiana Pacers, Virginia Tech, in 2005 Brennaman was inducted into both the NSSA Hall of Fame and the National Radio Hall of Fame. After Rose was ejected from the game and Brennaman criticized Pallone during the radio broadcast, fans littered the field with debris. Brennaman had this to say regarding the incident, I still maintain we were right, Brennaman said. They accused us of inciting a riot, I dont think we did then and I dont think we did now. On June 12,2007, Brennaman made an on air apology during the Cincinnati Reds Radio Network broadcast for a comment he had recently made comparing an upcoming trip to the Bataan Death March. The Reds, who at the held the worst record in the National League, were set to face the Oakland Athletics. This occurred after then-Reds player Adam Dunn connected for a home run, Cubs fans customarily throw the opposing players ball back onto the field
8.
Joe Nuxhall
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Joseph Henry Nuxhall was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds. Immediately after retiring as a player, he became a broadcaster for the Reds from 1967 through 2004. Nuxhall held the record for career games pitched from 1965 to 1975. Called upon for that one game due to shortages during World War II, Nuxhall would eventually find his way back to the Reds in 1952. Long known as The Ol Left-hander, he compiled an earned run average of 3.90. Nuxhall died in 2007 after a battle with cancer. Nuxhall was born and raised in Hamilton, Ohio, during World War II, many regular baseball players were unavailable while serving in the military. Meanwhile, Nuxhall was the biggest member of the ninth class in nearby Hamilton, Ohio at 6 feet 2 inches and 190 pounds —a left-hander with a hard fastball. He had already been playing in a league with his father for a few years. Scouts looking to fill out the Reds depleted roster were following Orville Nuxhall, Joes father, but they were informed that the elder Nuxhall was not interested in signing a professional contract because of his five children. The scouts then became interested in the son, who was only 14 at the time, after waiting until the following years basketball season was over, Nuxhall signed a major league contract with the Reds on February 18,1944. General manager Warren Giles intended to wait until school was over in June to add him to the team, with permission from his high school principal, Nuxhall was in uniform with the team on Opening Day. On June 10, the Reds were playing the first place St. Louis Cardinals at Crosley Field and he started well, retiring the first batter he faced, Cardinals shortstop George Fallon, on a groundout. But he was unable to get out of the inning, yielding five walks and he spent the rest of the 1944 season in the minor leagues. But unlike Jake Eisenhart, who made his debut for the Reds the same day by getting the last out of the frame, Nuxhall remains the youngest person to play in a major league game in history. During his lifetime, it was believed that a 14-year-old named Fred Chapman pitched five innings in one 1887 game, however, in 2009, the Society for American Baseball Research discovered that this players name and age were both incorrect. The 1887 player was actually named Frank Chapman, and he was 25 years old at the time of his major league appearance. Joe Reliford, a 12-year-old batboy for the Class D Fitzgerald Pioneers, following his appearance with the Reds, he was assigned to the Birmingham Barons in the Southern League, but pitched only a third of an inning there
9.
1978 Cincinnati Reds season
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The 1978 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The Reds finished in place in the National League West with a record of 92-69. The Reds were managed by Sparky Anderson and played their games at Riverfront Stadium. Following the season, Anderson was replaced as manager by John McNamara, october 31,1977, Woodie Fryman and Bill Caudill were traded by the Reds to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Bonham. October 31,1977, Joe Henderson was purchased from the Reds by the Toronto Blue Jays, february 25,1978, Dave Revering and cash were traded by the Reds to the Oakland Athletics for Doug Bair. In honor of Saint Patricks Day, Reds general manager Dick Wagner had green versions of the Reds uniforms made, the Reds hosted the New York Yankees at Al Lopez Field on March 17,1978. This was the first time a league team wore green trimmed uniforms on March 17. During the season, Pete Rose tied the National League record with a 44-game hitting streak held by Willie Keeler, the streak began on June 14, and came to an end on August 1. June 6,1978,1978 Major League Baseball draft Skeeter Barnes was drafted by the Reds in the 16th round, otis Nixon was drafted by the Reds in the 21st round, but did not sign. On May 5,1978, Rose became the 13th and youngest player in league history to collect his 3, 000th career hit. The streak started quietly, but by the time it had reached 30 games, the media took notice and a pool of reporters accompanied Rose, on July 19 against the Phillies, Rose was hitless going into the ninth with his team trailing. He ended up walking and the streak appeared over, but the Reds managed to bat through their entire lineup, giving Rose another chance. Facing Ron Reed, Rose laid down a bunt single to extend the streak to 32 games. He eventually tied Willie Keelers single season National League record at 44 games, but on August 1, Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, the Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball
10.
Cincinnati Reds
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The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the National League Central division. They were a member of the American Association in 1882. The Reds played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993 and they have won five World Series titles, nine NL pennants, one AA pennant, and 10 division titles. The team plays its games at Great American Ball Park. Bob Castellini has been executive officer since 2006. The origins of the modern Cincinnati Reds can be traced to the expulsion of a team bearing that name. Both were important activities to entice the citys large German population, while Hulbert made clear his distaste for both beer and Sunday baseball at the founding of the league, neither practice was actually against league rules in those early years. On October 6,1880, however, seven of the eight team owners pledged at a league meeting to formally ban both beer and Sunday baseball at the regular league meeting that December. Only Cincinnati president W. H. Kennett refused to sign the pledge, when these attempts failed, he formed a new independent ballclub known as the Red Stockings in the Spring of 1881, and brought the team to St. Louis for a weekend exhibition. The Reds first game was a 12–3 victory over the St. Louis club, upon arriving in the city, however, Caylor and Thorner discovered that no other owners had decided to accept the invitation, with even Phillips not bothering to attend his own meeting. By chance, the duo met a former pitcher named Al Pratt, the ploy worked, and the American Association was officially formed at the Hotel Gibson in Cincinnati with the new Reds a charter member with Thorner as president. The club never placed higher than second or lower than fifth for the rest of its tenure in the American Association, the National League was happy to accept the teams in part due to the emergence of the new Players League. This new league, a failed attempt to break the reserve clause in baseball. Because the National League decided to expand while the American Association was weakening and it was also at this time that the team first shortened their name from Red Stockings to Reds. The Reds wandered through the 1890s signing local stars and aging veterans, during this time, the team never finished above third place and never closer than 10½ games. At the start of the 20th century, the Reds had hitting stars Sam Crawford, seymours.377 average in 1905 was the first individual batting crown won by a Red. In 1911, Bob Bescher stole 81 bases, which is still a team record, like the previous decade, the 1900s were not kind to the Reds, as much of the decade was spent in the leagues second division
11.
1979 World Series
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The Pirates were famous for adopting Sister Sledges hit anthem We Are Family as their theme song. Grant Jackson pitched for the Orioles in the 1971 series and for the Pirates in the 1979 series, in this Series, it was the American League teams turn to play by National League rules, meaning no designated hitter and the Orioles pitchers would have to bat. Willie Stargell, the series MVP, hit.400 with a record seven extra-base hits and matched Reggie Jacksons record of 25 total bases, set in 1977. The 1979 Pirates were the last team to win Game 7 of a World Series on the road until the San Francisco Giants defeated the Royals in Kansas City to win Game 7 of the 2014 Series. New York repeated the feat in 1986, as did the New England area in the 2004 season and these same two teams met at the beginning of the decade, in 1971. Earl Weavers Orioles had won the first two games of that only to lose to Danny Murtaughs Pirates in seven. This time Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner was looking to win a Series of his own, gone were the likes of slugger Boog Powell and defensive wizard Brooks Robinson—shortstop Mark Belanger and pitcher Jim Palmer were the only two remaining players from the 1971 roster. A young Steady Eddie Murray was a staple at first-base and an emerging superstar, the only other real star hitter on the team was right-fielder Ken Singleton who set career highs in home runs,35, and runs batted in,111, in the regular season. Center fielder Al Bumbry provided the speed,37 swipes, and outfielder Gary Roenicke, the talented pitching staff was captained by veteran catcher Rick Dempsey. The starters were led by 1979 Cy Young Award winner, Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor, Steve Stone, the bullpen helped with 30 wins against only 13 losses led by Don Stanhouse and Tippy Martinez. The Orioles won the American League East rather easily, finishing eight games ahead of the second place Milwaukee Brewers, on the other hand, these Pittsburgh Pirates struggled early in the season eventually winning the National League East by just two games over the Montreal Expos. Only after getting infielders, Tim Foli and Bill Madlock, did the Pirates start winning consistently, the great Roberto Clemente had inspired the 1971 team toward the title and the key ingredient to this team was his successor and spiritual leader, 38-year-old Willie Pops Stargell. The Bucs lineup featured the National League leader in bases, Omar Moreno with 77, team runs batted in leader, Dave Parker with 98. Madlock would add two more batting titles in 1981 and 1983, the pitching staff was a ragtag bunch led by the Candy-Man, John Candelarias fourteen wins with five other pitchers winning ten or more games. The tall and lean Kent Tekulve had 31 saves, good for second in the league, Pops Stargell would hit three home runs in this series becoming the oldest player to win both the regular season MVP and the World Series MVP. His Family would persevere after losing three out of the first four games, giving Earl Weaver and his Orioles a déjà vu nightmare when the Bucs came back to win in seven games. NL Pittsburgh Pirates vs. AL Baltimore Orioles Game 1 was originally scheduled for Tuesday October 9 but was postponed due to a mix of rain. When it was played the night, the first-pitch temperature of 41°F was the coldest in the history of the Fall Classic until it was eclipsed 18 years later in Game 4 of the 1997 World Series
12.
Road (sports)
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A road game or away game is a sports game where the specified team is not the host and must travel to another venue. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions, each team has a location where it practices during the season and where it hosts games. When a team is not the host, it must travel to games. Thus, when a team is not hosting a game, the team is described as the team, the visiting team, or the away team. The venue in which the game is played is described as the stadium or the road. The host team is said to be the home team, major sporting events, if not held at a neutral venue, are often over several legs at each teams home ground, so that neither team has an advantage over the other. Occasionally, the team may not have to travel very far at all to a road game. These matches often become local derbies, a few times a year, a road team may even be lucky enough to have the road game played at their own home stadium or arena. This is prevalent in college athletics where many schools will play in regional leagues or groundshare. The related term true road game has seen increasing use in U. S. college sports in the 21st century, while regular-season tournaments and other special events have been part of college sports from their creation, the 21st century has seen a proliferation of such events. These are typically held at sites, with some of them taking place outside the contiguous U. S. or even outside the country entirely. In turn, this has led to the use of true road game to refer to contests played at one home venue. In some association football leagues, particularly in Europe, the teams fans sit in their own section. Depending on the stadium, they will either sit in a designated section or be separated from the home fans by a cordon of police officers. However, in the leagues in England, supporters may be free to mix. When games are played at a site, for instance the FA Cup final in England which is always played at Wembley Stadium. This results in each team occupying one half of the stadium and this is different from other sports, particularly in North America, where very few fans travel to games played away from their home stadium. Home and away fans are not separated at these games
13.
1979 Philadelphia Phillies season
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The 1979 Philadelphia Phillies season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the National League East,14 games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates, prior to the 1979 season, Pete Rose signed a four-year, $3. 2-million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, temporarily making him the highest-paid athlete in team sports. The Phillies were in the middle of the greatest era in the history of the franchise when Rose came on board and they had won the National League East three years running two of which were won with 101 win seasons. The Phillies entered the 1979 season with one of the strongest lineups in the league with the addition of Rose, december 4,1978, Jeff Schneider was drafted from the Phillies by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1978 rule 5 draft. December 5,1978, Carmelo Castillo was drafted by the Cleveland Indians from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1978 minor league draft, december 5,1978, Pete Rose was signed as a free agent by the Phillies. December 6,1978, Joe Charboneau was traded by the Phillies to the Cleveland Indians for Cardell Camper, january 9,1979, Mark Davis was drafted by the Phillies in the 1st round of the secondary phase of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft. February 23,1979, Barry Foote, Ted Sizemore, Jerry Martin, Derek Botelho, march 27,1979, Richie Hebner and José Moreno were traded by the Phillies to the New York Mets for Nino Espinosa. March 27,1979, Rudy Meoli was signed as an agent by the Phillies. March 28,1979, Dan Boitano was traded by the Phillies to the Milwaukee Brewers for Gary Beare, march 29,1979, Del Unser was signed as a free agent by the Phillies. On April 18, in a victory versus the Pirates, Greg Luzinski became the first visiting player to hit a run into the fifth level of Three Rivers Stadium. On May 17,1979, the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 at Wrigley Field in ten innings with a 30-mph wind blowing out to left field, after the game, the Phils were 14 games over.500 and in first place by 3½ games over the Montreal Expos. On July 10 Del Unser hit his third pinch hit home run. Unser tied a Major League Baseball record with homers in three straight pinch at bats, the at bats were on June 30, July 5, and July 10. By August 29, the team had fallen to fifth place, mid-season injuries to Manny Trillo, Larry Bowa, and Greg Luzinski contributed to hurt the club. The teams decline led to the firing of manager Danny Ozark on August 31 who was replaced by Dallas Green, Green was named interim manager, a position made permanent shortly after the end of the season. The Phillies front office introduced an alternate version of the team uniform for the 1979 season to be worn for Saturday games. They were called Saturday Night Specials, in a nod to cheap handguns then called by that name and were worn for the first and last time on May 19,1979. The immediate reaction of the media, fans, and players alike was negative, April 3,1979, Todd Cruz was traded by the Phillies to the Kansas City Royals for Doug Bird
14.
Paul Blair (baseball)
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Paul L. D. Blair was an outfielder who spent seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds. He was the center fielder for the Orioles when they won two World Series Championships, four American League pennants and five American League East titles from 1966 to 1974. One of baseballs best defensive players at his position, he earned the Gold Glove Award eight times, one of the best defensive oufielders of his era, he had excellent range and was brilliant at tracking fly balls. He seemed to taunt hitters by playing shallow, then running down balls hit over his head, Blair was born in Cushing, Oklahoma but grew up in Los Angeles where he attended Manual Arts High School. An accomplished athlete, he played basketball, baseball and track while a student, Blair was originally signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1961. After spending the 1962 season in their system, he was selected by the Orioles in the 1962 first-year draft on November 26,1962. He broke into the Orioles lineup in 1965 and, despite hitting only.234 with five runs and 25 runs batted in. In 1966 he batted.277 on an Orioles team that won the World Series, Blair also caught Lou Johnsons fly ball for the final out of the Series. In 1967 Blair established a career high.293 batting average with 11 home runs and 64 RBIs and he also won the first of his eight Gold Glove Awards. After slumping to.211 in 1968, Blair had perhaps his best season in 1969, batting second behind Don Buford in the Orioles lineup, he hit.285 with career highs in home runs, runs batted in and runs. He also made the All-Star team for the first time, he would repeat this feat in 1973. His Orioles won the pennant, with Blair becoming the first player to have 5 hits in a post-season game, the Orioles lost to the Miracle Mets in the World Series. Blair went only 2-for-20 in that Series, including being the victim of one of Tommie Agees two spectacular Game Three catches. On that Agee catch, Blair would be the first batter Nolan Ryan would face in a World Series—the only World Series game the Hall of Fame pitcher would participate in. One of Blairs two hits came in the seventh inning of Game Two, it broke up Jerry Koosmans bid for a no-hitter, on May 31,1970 Blair was beaned by California Angel pitcher Ken Tatum and suffered a broken nose. He recovered quickly, finishing the season batting.267 and that year, Baltimore won another pennant and defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games in World Series. Both Blair and Series MVP Brooks Robinson atoned for their 1969 World Series performances by tying a five-game Fall Classic record with nine hits apiece, in 1971 Blair took up switch-hitting but stopped after batting only.193. His Orioles won another pennant, but lost the World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates in seven games, Blairs speed going back in the outfield enabled him to play shallow, and make catches à la Willie Mays
15.
Detroit Tigers
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The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League Central division. One of the ALs eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in 1901 and they are the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in the AL. The Tigers have won four World Series championships,11 AL pennants, the Tigers also won division titles in 1972,1984 and 1987 while members of the AL East. The team currently plays its games at Comerica Park in Downtown Detroit. The Tigers constructed Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Avenue in Corktown, in 1912, the team moved into Navin Field, which was built on the same location. It was expanded in 1938 and renamed Briggs Stadium and it was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961 and the Tigers played there until moving to Comerica Park in 2000. The club is a member of the American League, one of four clubs still located in its original city. It was established as a member in 1901. The Tigers played their first game as a league team at home against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 25,1901. After entering the ninth inning behind 13–4, the team staged a comeback to win 14–13. The team finished third in the eight-team league,11 years later, an elegant stadium was constructed on the site of Bennett Park and named Navin Field for owner Frank Navin. In 1938, it was improved and named Briggs Stadium, and was subsequently renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961, Tiger Stadium was used by the Tigers until the end of the 1999 season. Since 2000, they have played in Comerica Park, there are various legends about how the Tigers got their nickname. One involves the orange stripes they wore on their black stockings, Tigers manager George Stallings took credit for the name, however, the name appeared in newspapers before Stallings was manager. Another legend concerns a sportswriter equating the 1901 teams opening day victory with the ferocity of his alma mater and they had played significant roles in certain Civil War battles and in the 1898 Spanish–American War. The baseball team was informally called both Wolverines and Tigers in the news. The earliest known use of the name Tigers in the media was in the Detroit Free Press on April 16,1895, upon entry into the majors, the ballclub sought and received formal permission from the Light Guard to use its trademark
16.
San Francisco Giants
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The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball franchise based in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1883 as the New York Gothams, and renamed three years later to the New York Giants, the team moved to San Francisco in 1958. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the National League West division. As one of the longest-established and most successful baseball teams. The team was the first major team based in New York City. They have won 23 NL pennants and have played in 20 World Series competitions – both NL records, the Giants eight World Series championships rank second in the National League and are tied for fourth overall. The Giants have played in the World Series 20 times –14 times in New York, six in San Francisco –, the Giants franchise has the most Hall of Fame players in all of professional baseball. The Giants rivalry with the Dodgers is one of the longest-standing, the teams began their rivalry as the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, respectively, before both franchises moved west for the 1958 season. The Giants have won six pennants and three World Series championships since arriving in San Francisco and those three championships have come in 2010,2012, and most recently in 2014, having defeated the Kansas City Royals four games to three during the 2014 World Series. The Giants began as the baseball club founded by millionaire tobacconist John B. Day and veteran amateur baseball player Jim Mutrie, the Gothams, as the Giants were originally known, entered the National League in 1883, while their other club, the Metropolitans played in the American Association. Nearly half of the original Gotham players were members of the disbanded Troy Trojans, Louis Browns in a pre-modern-era World Series. They repeated as champions the year with a pennant and Championship victory over the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. It is said that one particularly satisfying victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Mutrie. From then on, the club was known as the Giants, the Giants original home stadium, the Polo Grounds, dates from this early era. It was originally located north of Central Park adjacent to 5th and 6th Avenues and 110th and 112th Streets, the Giants were a powerhouse in the late 1880s, winning their first two National League Pennants and World Championships in 1888 and 1889. But nearly all of the Giants stars jumped to the upstart Players League, whose New York franchise was named the Giants. The new team built a stadium next door to the Polo Grounds
