1.
2008 Major League Baseball season
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The Civil Rights Game, an exhibition, in Memphis, Tennessee took place March 29 when the New York Mets beat the Chicago White Sox, 3–2. The All-Star Game was played on July 15 at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York City, for the eighth straight season, a defending World Champion – the Boston Red Sox – failed to defend their championship. The Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series 4 games to 1 over the Tampa Bay Rays and this was Philadelphias second championship, and also the first World Series appearance for the Rays. The Angels clinched home field on September 26 when the Tampa Bay Rays lost to the Detroit Tigers. On September 20, the Chicago Cubs became the team to get their passport to October with a win over the St. Louis Cardinals. This marked the first time since 1907 and 1908 that the Cubs appeared in consecutive postseasons, two days later, the Cubs clinched the home field advantage through the National League Playoffs by beating the New York Mets. Also on September 20, the Tampa Bay Rays guaranteed a spot in the playoffs for the first time in history by beating the Minnesota Twins at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay won its first American League East title six days later, on September 23, the Boston Red Sox clinched a playoff spot, their fifth in the last six years. The Red Sox win also eliminated the Yankees from the post-season for the first time since 1993, on September 26, the Yankees handed the Rays the American League East title by beating the Red Sox by a 19–8 score, making Boston the Wild Card. On September 25, the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the National League West when the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, on September 27, the Philadelphia Phillies clinched the National League East title for the second straight year with their win over the Washington Nationals, 4–3. This marks the first time they would play in consecutive postseasons since the 1980 and 1981 seasons, the 1981 appearance made possible by the split season due to the players strike. The previous season, the Marlins beat the Mets while the Phillies beat the Nationals on the last day to knock the Mets out of the postseason as the Phillies won the NL East. The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins in a playoff by 1–0 at U. S. Cellular Field on September 30, becoming the winner of the American League Central, note, Major League Baseballs playoff format automatically seeds the Wild Card team 4th. Normally, the No.1 seed plays the No.4 seed in the Division Series, hence, Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs did not face each other in the NLDS. In scores, home teams are in italics, winning team is boldface, Tampa Bay Rays vs. John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves recorded his 3, 000th strikeout against Felipe López of the Washington Nationals April 22. Kenny Rogers of the Detroit Tigers became the all-time career pickoff leader with 92, on May 9, Rogers picked off Wilson Betemit of the New York Yankees, passing Mark Langston. Greg Maddux of the San Diego Padres recorded his 350th career win against the Colorado Rockies on May 10, Brad Ausmus of the Houston Astros recorded his 1, 500th hit on May 12 against the Giants
2.
Nationals Park
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Nationals Park is a baseball park located along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D. C. It is the ballpark for the Washington Nationals, the citys Major League Baseball franchise. When the Nationals franchise relocated to Washington, D. C. they temporarily played at RFK Stadium until Nationals Park was completed and it is the first LEED-certified green major professional sports stadium in the United States. The facility hosted the 2008 seasons first game, when the Nationals hosted the Atlanta Braves on March 30,2008, the Washington Monument and the Capitol building are visible from the upper decks on the first base side of the field. The parks name echoes the name of the early-1900s ballpark used by the Washington Senators/Nationals. The name was originally a name, as the Lerner Family had planned to sell its naming rights. When a strong bid never surfaced, the team chose to stick with Nationals Park, the stadium and its grounds are owned by Events DC. Nationals Park will host the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Nationals Park is also home to traditions such as the Presidents Race during the fourth inning. Nationals Park is located in the Southeast quadrant of Washington, D. C. on a block of South Capitol Street called Taxation Without Representation Street at the Anacostia River waterfront. The ballpark is accessible from I-395 via the Southwest Freeway, and from I-295 via the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, the Douglass Bridge was renovated so that South Capitol Street could continue at ground level past the stadium. The main method of transportation to the stadium is on the Washington Metro system, the stadium is one block from the Navy Yard – Ballpark station on the Green Line. The station is located near the center field entrance and is heavily used by fans on game day. Parking near the stadium is limited, there are a total of 14 Nationals Park-sanctioned parking lots or garages, with a small number of third-party lots also in the vicinity of the stadium. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Nationals ran a shuttle service from parking lots at RFK Stadium to Nationals Park on game days. However, the team canceled the service after the 2009 season, several Metrobus routes and the DC Circulators Union Station-Navy Yard Route serve the park. Various other transit options include a taxi service from Alexandria, Virginia. Cyclists are encouraged to ride to the stadium and are offered free valet bicycle parking. Garage C, located next to the windows at the corner of 1st and N Street
3.
Montreal Expos
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The Montreal Expos were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball franchise located outside the United States and they played in the National League East Division from 1969 until 2004. Following the 2004 season, the relocated to Washington, D. C. Named after the Expo 67 Worlds Fair, the Expos originally played at Jarry Park Stadium before moving to Olympic Stadium in 1977, the Expos failed to post a winning record in any of their first ten seasons. The team won its division title in the strike-shortened 1981 season. The team was sold in 1991 by its majority, founding owner, Charles Bronfman, felipe Alou was promoted to the teams field manager in 1992, becoming MLBs first Dominican-born manager. He led the team to four winning seasons, including 1994, Alou became the Expos leader in games managed. The aftermath of the 1994 strike initiated a downward spiral as the Expos chose to sell off their best players, Major League Baseball purchased the team prior to the 2002 season after the club failed to secure funding for a new ballpark. In their final two seasons, the team played 22 home games each year at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On September 29,2004, MLB announced the franchise would relocate to Washington, D. C. for the 2005 season, the Expos posted an all-time record of 2,753 wins,2,943 losses and 4 ties during their 36 years in Montreal. Vladimir Guerrero led the franchise in both runs and batting average, and Steve Rogers in wins and strikeouts. Three pitchers threw four no-hitters, Bill Stoneman, Charlie Lea, and Dennis Martínez, professional baseball in Montreal dates back to 1890 when teams briefly played in the International Association. A second attempt at hosting a pro team failed in 1895, the Montreal Royals of the Eastern League were subsequently founded in 1897 and played 20 seasons. The Royals were revived in 1928 and were purchased by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939 to serve as one of their Triple-A affiliates, under Dodgers management, the Royals won seven International League championships and three Junior World Series titles between 1941 and 1958. In 1946, Jackie Robinson joined the Royals and led the team to a Junior World Series title in advance of his breaking baseballs colour barrier one year later. Almost immediately upon the Royals demise, Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, on May 27,1968, National League president Warren Giles announced the league would add expansion teams in San Diego and Montreal at a cost of US$10 million each. With the franchise secured, Snyder built a group of six partners led by financier Jean-Louis Lévesque. Lévesque was originally tapped as chairman and the face of the ownership group since he was a francophone
4.
Quebec
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Quebec is the second-most populous province of Canada and the only one to have a predominantly French-speaking population, with French as the sole provincial official language. Quebec is Canadas largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division and it also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canadas second-most populous province, after Ontario, most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. Approximately half of Quebec residents live in the Greater Montreal Area, the Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples. Even in central Quebec at comparatively southerly latitudes winters are severe in inland areas, Quebec independence debates have played a large role in the politics of the province. Parti Québécois governments held referendums on sovereignty in 1980 and 1995, in 2006, the House of Commons of Canada passed a symbolic motion recognizing the Québécois as a nation within a united Canada. These many industries have all contributed to helping Quebec become an economically influential province within Canada, early variations in the spelling of the name included Québecq and Kébec. French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose the name Québec in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the seat for the French colony of New France. The province is sometimes referred to as La belle province, the Province of Quebec was founded in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 after the Treaty of Paris formally transferred the French colony of Canada to Britain after the Seven Years War. The proclamation restricted the province to an area along the banks of the Saint Lawrence River, the Treaty of Versailles ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States. After the Constitutional Act of 1791, the territory was divided between Lower Canada and Upper Canada, with each being granted an elected legislative assembly, in 1840, these become Canada East and Canada West after the British Parliament unified Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. This territory was redivided into the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario at Confederation in 1867, each became one of the first four provinces. In 1898, the Canadian Parliament passed the first Quebec Boundary Extension Act that expanded the provincial boundaries northward to include the lands of the aboriginal peoples. This was followed by the addition of the District of Ungava through the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act of 1912 that added the northernmost lands of the Inuit to create the modern Province of Quebec. In 1927, the border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador was established by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Located in the part of Canada, and part of Central Canada. Its topography is very different from one region to another due to the composition of the ground, the climate. The Saint Lawrence Lowland and the Canadian Shield are the two main regions, and are radically different
5.
Brian Schneider
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Brian Duncan Schneider is an American former professional baseball catcher and current catching coach for the Miami Marlins. He has played for the Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Schneider was born in Jacksonville, Florida to Peter and Karen Schneider. Schneider played high school baseball at Northampton Area High School in Northampton, Pennsylvania and he was named Player of the Year in Lehigh Valley in both 1994 and 1995. Schneider was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1995 June draft, after making a strong impression at the Expos spring training in 2000, Schneider was called up to the majors following an injury to regular catcher Chris Widger. Schneider made his league debut on May 26,2000 at San Diego. The following day he made his first start, going 2-for-3 including a double in the 6th inning for his first major league hit. In the 2001 season Schneider split his time between the league and the minors, but he made the most of his opportunities when he was given playing time with the Expos. He compiled an average of.317 in 27 games, driving in 6 runs. On September 22,2001 Schneider hit his first career home run, in 2002 Schneider served as the backup catcher to Michael Barrett. He made his debut on June 4,2002 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 73 games Schneider hit.275 with 5 home runs,29 RBIs and 19 doubles, on September 24,2002 he was honored as the Expos nominee for Major League Baseballs first annual Roberto Clemente Award, losing out to Jim Thome. In 2003, his season with the Expos, Schneider caught a majority of the clubs games for the first time. He was ranked fifth in the league in fielding with a.996 percentage, at the plate, he established career highs in numerous offensive categories, including hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, total bases and walks. The 2004 season saw Schneider post career highs in hits, home runs, for the second straight season, he led major league catchers in throwing out base-stealers, with a 47.8 percent success rate. Schneider finished the season with a percentage of.998. In 2005, Schneider was the first player to play catcher in Washington Nationals history and that same year, Schneider threw out a majors-leading 38 percent of would-be base stealers. Between 2003 and 2005, he threw out 43.5 percent of base-stealers, Schneider struggled offensively during the first half of the 2006 season, hitting just.223 through August 4. His form picked up though, and he batted.324 with 9 doubles,1 home run and 21 RBIs in the 42 games thereafter
6.
Lastings Milledge
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Lastings Darnell Milledge is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and he was the youngest player in MLBs National League during the 2006 season. Milledge was born in Bradenton, Florida, at the age of twelve, he pitched and played third base and hit third for the Manatee East Little League team that was the national runner-up in the 1997 Little League World Series. He received the win on the mound in the game of the regional. In 2001, he led Team USA to a Gold Medal game victory over Venezuela in the International Baseball Federations AA World Youth Championships, later that year, Baseball America named Milledge the best 16-year-old player in the United States. He graduated from Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton, Florida in 2003 after leading his team to the state 5A title his senior year and he subsequently transferred to Lakewood Ranch High School where he finished his education and amateur baseball career. As a result of the incident, Milledge was passed over in the 2003 amateur draft until the Mets selected him as the twelfth pick in the first round. The Mets completed an investigation of the matter and, satisfied with the results. The delay in signing Milledge prevented him from beginning his career until shortly before the end of the minor league season in 2003. He appeared in seven games, hitting.231 for the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League. In 2004, he was slated to start the year with the class A Capital City Bombers, but he suffered a fractured metacarpal on his right hand in spring training, missing the first six weeks of the season. In 65 games with the Bombers, he hit.337 with 13 home runs,58 RBI and 23 stolen bases, earning him a promotion to the St. Lucie Mets in August. In 2005, he continued his minor league success hitting.302 with St. Lucie in the first half of the season and he began the 2006 season leading off and playing right field for the AAA Norfolk Tides. Milledge made his league debut on May 30,2006 as the starting right fielder for the Mets in a 7–2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He went 1 for 4 with a double off Arizona pitcher Miguel Batista, Milledge was 21 years,55 days old on the day of his debut - exactly the same age as former Met Darryl Strawberry when he made his 1983 debut. In his three stints in the majors in 2006, Milledge hit.241 with 4 HR and 22 RBI in 56 games. In late September, one of Milledges Mets teammates placed a sign on his locker which read, Know Your Place, the sign-placer was identified in published reports as then-Mets closer Billy Wagner. After having a spring training both on and off the field, Milledge was named to the Mets opening day roster
7.
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
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Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D. C. located about two miles due east of the U. S. Capitol building. It is the current home of D. C, United of Major League Soccer and the AT&T Nations Football Classic. The U. S. mens national team has played 22 matches there from 1977 to 2013. The stadium opened 56 years ago as District of Columbia Stadium in October 1961, armory Board and the U. S. Department of the Interior. It is now owned and operated by Events DC, an organization affiliated with the city government under a long-term lease from the National Park Service. The previous venue for baseball and football in Washington was Griffith Stadium and it has hosted international soccer matches in the 1994 World Cup,1996 Summer Olympics, and 2003 Womens World Cup. It also hosted a college bowl game, the Military Bowl, before its move in 2013 to Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The stadium was renamed in January 1969 for U. S, Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated in Los Angeles the previous June. The announcement was made by Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall on January 18, RFK was one of the first major stadiums designed specifically as a multi-sport facility for both football and baseball. As a professional venue, RFK Stadium was home to the NFLs Redskins for 36 seasons. The teams return to prominence as a football power began the year that the original baseball Senators played their final season. The Redskins first game in D. C, Stadium was a 24–21 loss to the New York Giants on October 1,1961. The Beatles performed their last concert in Washington, D. C. on August 15,1966, the teams first win in the stadium was over its future archrival, the Dallas Cowboys, on December 17. This was the win in a 1–12–1 season, and it came on the final weekend of the regular season. The Redskins last win at RFK was a 37–10 victory over the Cowboys on December 22,1996, in its twelfth season, RFK saw its first pro football playoff game on Christmas Eve 1972, a 16–3 win over the Green Bay Packers. The stadium hosted the NFC Championship Game five times and the Redskins won them all, in the Super Bowls that followed, Washington won three of the five. The expansion Washington Senators of the American League played at RFK Stadium from 1962 through 1971 and they played their first season in 1961 at Griffith Stadium, now the site of the medical center for Howard University. In its ten seasons as the Senators home field, RFK Stadium was known as a hitters park
8.
George W. Bush
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George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was also the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and he is the eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election and he is the second president to assume the nations highest office after his father, following the lead of John Quincy Adams. He is also a brother of Jeb Bush, a former Governor of Florida who was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 presidential election, the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bushs first term as president. Bush responded with what became known as the Bush Doctrine, launching a War on Terror, a military campaign that included the war in Afghanistan in 2001. He also promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, Social Security reform and his tenure included national debates on immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and torture. In the 2004 Presidential race, Bush defeated Democratic Senator John Kerry in another close election. After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism from across the spectrum for his handling of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina. Amid this criticism, the Democratic Party regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections, Bush left office in 2009, returning to Texas where he purchased a home in Crawford. He wrote a memoir, Decision Points and his presidential library was opened in 2013. His presidency has been ranked among the worst in historians polls published in the late 2000s and 2010s. George Walker Bush was born on July 6,1946, at Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, as the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife, the former Barbara Pierce. He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, another younger sister, Robin, died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953. His grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U. S and his father, George H. W. Bush, was Ronald Reagans Vice President from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st U. S. President from 1989 to 1993. Bush has English and some German ancestry, along with more distant Dutch, Welsh, Irish, French, Bush attended public schools in Midland, Texas, until the family moved to Houston after he had completed seventh grade. He then spent two years at The Kinkaid School, a school in Houston. Bush attended high school at Phillips Academy, a school in Andover, Massachusetts
9.
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
10.
Atlanta Braves
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The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball franchise based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The franchise competes in Major League Baseball as a member of the National League East division, the Braves played home games at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium from 1966 to 1996, and Turner Field from 1997 to 2016. Since 2017, their stadium has been SunTrust Park, a new stadium 10 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta in Cumberland/Galleria, Georgia. The Braves play spring training games in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in January 2017, the Braves announced a formal agreement to move their spring training home to North Port, Florida. The Braves name, which was first used in 1912, originates from a term for a Native American warrior, from 1991 to 2005, the Braves were one of the most successful franchises in baseball, winning division titles an unprecedented 14 consecutive times in that period. The Braves won the NL West 1991–93 and the NL East 1995–2005, the Braves advanced to the World Series five times in the 1990s, winning the title in 1995. The Braves are the only Major League Baseball franchise to have won the World Series in three different home cities, the Braves and the Chicago Cubs are the National Leagues two remaining charter franchises. The Braves were founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1871, the team states it is the oldest continuously operating professional sports franchise in America. After various name changes, the team began operating as the Boston Braves. Then, in 1953, the moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The teams tenure in Atlanta is noted for Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruths career home run record in 1974, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, established in 1869 as the first openly all-professional baseball team, voted to dissolve after the 1870 season. The original Boston Red Stockings team and its successors can lay claim to being the oldest continuously playing team in American professional sports. Two young players hired away from the Forest City club of Rockford, Illinois, turned out to be the biggest stars during the NAPBBP years, pitcher Al Spalding and second baseman Ross Barnes. Led by the Wright brothers, Barnes, and Spalding, the Red Stockings dominated the National Association, the team became one of the National Leagues charter franchises in 1876, sometimes called the Red Caps. The Boston Red Caps played in the first game in the history of the National League, on Saturday, April 22,1876, defeating the Athletics, although somewhat stripped of talent in the National Leagues inaugural year, Boston bounced back to win the 1877 and 1878 pennants. The Red Caps/Beaneaters were one of the dominant teams during the 19th century. For most of time, their manager was Frank Selee. Boston came to be called the Beaneaters in 1883, while retaining red as the team color, the 1898 team finished 102–47, a club record for wins that would stand for almost a century
