1.
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
2.
The 40/40 Club
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The 40/40 Club is a chain of sports bars and lounges owned by Jay-Z. The name is borrowed from the term for the exclusive group of Major League Baseball players who have achieved the rare individual feat of 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. The Atlantic City and Las Vegas locations have since closed, the venues are known for their live music, celebrity patrons, and sports memorabilia. The decor of The 40/40 Club is a mix of memorabilia from the USAs greatest games, the Hall of Fame connects the main floor with the upstairs VIP rooms and houses autographed jerseys donated by various sports celebrities
3.
Alfonso Soriano
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Alfonso Guilleard Soriano is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Washington Nationals, and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Soriano began his career with Hiroshima in 1996, but signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 1998 and was assigned to play in minor league baseball. The next year, he was the Most Valuable Player in the All-Star Futures Game, the Yankees traded Soriano to the Rangers after the 2003 season, and the Rangers traded Soriano to the Nationals after the 2005 season. He signed a contract as an agent with the Cubs before the 2007 season. The Cubs traded Soriano to the Yankees in 2013, and the Yankees released him in 2014, Soriano was a seven-time MLB All-Star, and won the All-Star Game MVP Award in 2004. He won the Silver Slugger Award four times and he played primarily as a second baseman for the Yankees and Rangers before being converted to an outfielder with the Nationals. Soriano is one of only 54 major league players to hit 400 or more home runs. Soriano began his baseball career in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Soriano spent 1996 playing in Japan in the minor Western League, in 1997, he was promoted to the varsity team, and, wearing uniform number 74, he appeared in nine games, batting.118 with two walks. Soriano disliked the intense Japanese practice schedule, and the Carp denied him an increase from $45,000 to $180,000 per year. Like Hideo Nomo and Hideki Irabu, who had previously left Japan to play in the United States and this prompted Carp executives to file an injunction against Soriano, and to send letters to MLB teams demanding that they cease all negotiations with him. After the Nomo case, NPB officials had amended the Working Agreement without consulting any MLB officials in an attempt to prevent the situation from recurring. Since MLB had not agreed to any changes to the agreement, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig declared that MLB would recognize Soriano as an agent on July 13,1998. Soriano signed as an agent with the New York Yankees in 1998, starting his career as an infielder, first as a third baseman. Soriano was named to the All-Star Futures Game in 1999 and he won the games most valuable player award after hitting two home runs in the contest. He played in New York for five seasons and his first hit in MLB came in 1999 when he hit a game-winning home run against Norm Charlton of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He finished in place for Rookie of the Year honors in 2001
4.
Batting (baseball)
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In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for ones team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, drive home, or advance runners along the bases for others to drive home. Hitting uses a motion that is unique to baseball, one that is rarely used in other sports. Hitting is unique because unlike most sports movements in the plane of movement hitting involves rotating in the horizontal plane. In general, batters try to get hits, however, their primary objective is to avoid making an out, and helping their team to score runs. There are several ways they can help their team score runs and they may draw a walk if they receive and do not swing the bat at four pitches located outside the strike zone. In cases when there is a runner on third and fewer than two outs, they can attempt to hit a fly to drive the runner in by allowing the runner on third to tag up. They might even be hit by a pitch, reach on an error or—if first is empty or there are two outs—on a dropped third strike, the defense attempts to get the batter out. The pitchers main role in this is to throw the ball in such a way that the batter strikes out or cannot hit it cleanly so that the defense can get him or her out. Batting is often cited as one of the most difficult feats in sports because it consists of hitting a small ball, usually moving at high velocity. In fact, if a batter can get a hit in three out of ten at bats, giving him an average of.300, he or she is considered a good hitter. In Major League Baseball, no batter has had over a.400 average at the end of the season since Ted Williams in 1941, an OPS at or near 1.000 is considered to be the mark of an exceptional hitter. A sustained OPS at or above 1.000 over a career is a only a few hitters have ever been able to reach. Batters vary in their approach at the plate, some are aggressive hitters, often swinging at the first pitch. Others are patient, attempting to work the count in order to observe all the types of pitches a pitcher will use. In preparation of hitting, every player has their own particular warm-up routine. Warming up before the game is usually done as a team, at the amateur level, the most notable drill used is the Tee Drill, where you hit a ball off a baseball tee and correct any issues you found during previous games or practices
5.
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
6.
Stolen base
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In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which he is not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base, a stolen base most often occurs when a baserunner advances to the next base while the pitcher is pitching the ball to home plate. Successful base stealers are not only fast but have good baserunning instincts, ned Cuthbert, playing for the Philadelphia Keystones in either 1863 or 1865, was the first player to steal a base in a baseball game, although the term stolen base was not used until 1870. For a time in the 19th century, stolen bases were credited when a baserunner reached an extra base on a hit from another player. For example, if a runner on first base reached third base on a single, in 1887, Hugh Nicol set a still-standing Major League record with 138 stolen bases, many of which would not have counted under modern rules. Modern steal rules were implemented in 1898. Base stealing was popular in the early decades, with speedsters such as Ty Cobb. Wills record was broken in turn by Lou Brock in 1974, base stealing is an important characteristic of the small ball managing style. Such managers emphasize doing the things to advance runners and score runs, often relying on pitching. The Los Angeles Dodgers of the 1960s, led by pitcher Sandy Koufax, the antithesis of this is reliance on power hitting, exemplified by the Baltimore Orioles of the 1970s, which aspired to score most of its runs via home runs. Often the small ball model is associated with the National League, however, some successful recent American League teams, including the 2002 Anaheim Angels, the 2001 Seattle Mariners and the 2005 Chicago White Sox have excelled at small ball. The Kansas City Royals have embodied this style recently, leading the league in stolen bases but finishing last in home runs in 2013 and 2014. Successful teams often combine both styles, with a runner or two complementing hitters with power, such as the 2005 White Sox, who despite playing small ball, still hit 200 home runs. Baseballs Rule 8 specifies the pitching procedure in detail, a runner intending to steal on the pitcher breaks for the next base the moment the pitcher commits to pitch to home plate. The pitcher cannot abort the pitch and try to put the runner out, if the runner breaks too soon, the pitcher may throw to a base rather than pitch, and the runner is usually picked off by being tagged out between the bases. Past this moment, any delay in the runners break makes it likely that the catcher, after receiving the pitch. Before the pitch, the runner takes a lead-off, walking several steps away from the base as a start toward the next base. Even a runner who does not intend to steal takes a lead of a few more steps
7.
Jose Canseco
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José Canseco Capas Jr. is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball outfielder, and designated hitter. After retiring from Major League Baseball, he competed in boxing. Canseco is the twin brother of former major league player Ozzie Canseco. Canseco was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of Jose Sr. and he has a twin brother, Ozzie. When Fidel Castro came into power in 1959, Jose Sr. a territory manager for the oil and gasoline corporation Esso as well as a part-time English teacher, lost his job and eventually his home. The younger Jose Canseco played baseball at Miami Coral Park High School and he was named Most Valuable Player of the junior varsity team in his junior year, and of the varsity team the following year. He graduated in 1982 and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics, the Oakland Athletics drafted Canseco in the 15th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft. He played minor league baseball with the Medford As, Madison Muskies, Idaho Falls As, Canseco started the 1985 season with the Class-AA Huntsville Stars and became known as Parkway Jose for his long home runs that went close to the Memorial Parkway behind Joe Davis Stadium. In 1985, Canseco won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award and he made his Major League debut on September 2 and struck out in his one at-bat against the Baltimore Orioles. His first hit was off Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees on September 7. and he played in 29 games in the major leagues in 1985. He established himself in 1986, his first full season, being named the American Leagues Rookie of the Year, in 1987, Mark McGwire joined Canseco on the Athletics, McGwire hit 49 home runs that year and was also named the American League Rookie of the Year. Together, he and Canseco formed a fearsome offensive tandem, known as the Bash Brothers, in April 1988, Canseco guaranteed he would hit at least 40 home runs and steal at least 40 bases in the upcoming season. He went on to record 42 home runs and 40 steals becoming the first player in MLB history to hit the 40-40 mark in a single season. In recognition of his record the street in front of his high school was named after him but was later rescinded in 2008 after he admitted to previously using drugs throughout his career. That same year, he helped the Athletics sweep the Boston Red Sox in 4 games in the ALCS, Canseco hit a grand slam in Game 1 in his first official World Series at bat, but it would be his only hit in the Series. He was unanimously named the American Leagues Most Valuable Player in 1988, with a.307 batting average,120 runs scored,124 RBIs,42 home runs, and 40 stolen bases. Canseco had a solid postseason hitting for a.323 batting average and 2 home runs including one in the ALCS against the Blue Jays that reached the deck of the Sky Dome. Against the Giants in the World Series he hit for a.357 average with a run in game 3
8.
Barry Bonds
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Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. Bonds received seven NL MVP awards and 14 All-Star selections, and is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Bonds was regarded as an exceptional hitter, and finished his regular season career with a very high on-base percentage and isolated power. He holds many MLB hitting records, including most career runs, most home runs in a single season. He also received eight Gold Gloves for his defense in the outfield and he is ranked second in career Wins Above Replacement among all major league position players by both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. com, behind only Babe Ruth. Bonds led a career, notably as a central figure in baseballs steroids scandal. In 2007, he was indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to the grand jury during the federal governments investigation of BALCO. The perjury charges against Bonds were dropped, and he was initially convicted of obstruction of justice. Bonds has not been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first four years of eligibility, in the 2016 season, Bonds served as the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins. He played on the varsity team during his freshman year. He batted for a.467 batting average his senior year, Bonds attended Arizona State University, hitting.347 with 45 home runs and 175 runs batted in. In 1984 he batted.360 and had 30 stolen bases, in 1985, he hit 23 home runs with 66 RBIs and a.368 batting average. He was a Sporting News All-American selection that year and he tied the NCAA record with seven consecutive hits in the College World Series as sophomore and was named to All-Time College World Series Team in 1996. He graduated from Arizona State in 1986 with a degree in criminology and he was named ASU On Deck Circle Most Valuable Player, other winners include Dustin Pedroia, Willie Bloomquist, Paul Lo Duca, and Ike Davis. During college, he played part of one summer in the amateur Alaska Baseball League with the Alaska Goldpanners, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Bonds as the sixth overall pick of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft. He joined the Prince William Pirates of the Carolina League and was named July 1985 Player of the Month for the league, in 1986, he hit.311 in 44 games for the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League. Before Bonds made it to the leagues in Pittsburgh, Pirate fan attendance was low. Bonds made his league debut on May 30,1986. In 1986, Bonds led National League rookies with 16 home runs,48 RBI,36 stolen bases and 65 walks and he played center field in 1986, but switched to left field with the arrival of centerfielder Andy Van Slyke in 1987
9.
Alex Rodriguez
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Alexander Emmanuel A-Rod Rodriguez is a Dominican-American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Rodriguez was one of the sports most highly touted prospects and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. During his 22-year career, Rodriguez has amassed a.297 batting average,696 home runs, over 2,000 runs batted in, over 2,000 runs scored, and over 3,000 hits. He is a 14-time All-Star and has won three American League Most Valuable Player Awards, ten Silver Slugger Awards, and two Gold Glove Awards, Rodríguez is the career record holder for grand slams with 25. The Mariners selected Rodriguez first overall in the 1993 MLB draft, in 1996, he became the Mariners starting shortstop and finished second in voting for the AL MVP Award. Rodriguezs combination of power, speed, and defense made him a cornerstone of the franchise, the 10-year, $252 million contract he signed was the richest in baseball history. He played at a level in his three years with Texas, highlighted by his first AL MVP Award win in 2003. Prior to the 2004 season, Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees, in his first four seasons with New York, he was twice more named AL MVP. After opting out of his following the 2007 season, Rodriguez signed a new 10-year, $275 million deal with the Yankees. He became the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs and he won his first World Series in 2009, which was the first year of the new Yankee Stadium. The following year, he became the leader in home runs by a player of Hispanic descent. In recent years, Rodriguez has been hampered by hip and knee injuries and he played his final game as a Yankee on August 12,2016. In August 2013, MLB suspended him 211 games for his involvement in the scandal, had the original suspension been upheld, it would have been the longest non-lifetime suspension in Major League Baseball history. After an arbitration hearing, the suspension was reduced to 162 games, Rodriguez was born in the Washington Heights section of New York City, to a Dominican family. When he was four, Rodriguez and his parents moved to the Dominican Republic, then to Miami, Rodriguezs favorite baseball players growing up were Keith Hernandez, Dale Murphy, and Cal Ripken Jr. and his favorite team was the New York Mets. In 100 games he batted.419 with 90 steals, westminster went on to win the high school national championship in his junior year. He was first team prep All-American as a senior, hitting.505 with nine runs,36 runs batted in. He was selected as the USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year, in 1993, Rodriguez became the first high school player to ever try out for the United States national baseball team
10.
500 home run club
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In Major League Baseball, the 500 home run club is a group of batters who have hit 500 or more regular-season home runs in their careers. On August 11,1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club, Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs, a record which stood from 1935 until Hank Aaron surpassed it in 1974. Aarons ultimate career total,755, remained the record until Barry Bonds set the current mark of 762 during the 2007 season, twenty-seven players are members of the 500 home run club. At.344, Ted Williams holds the highest batting average among the members while Harmon Killebrew holds the lowest at.256. Of these 27 players,14 were right-handed batters,11 were left-handed, five 500 home run club members—Aaron, Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, and Alex Rodriguez—are also members of the 3,000 hit club. Gary Sheffields 500th home run was his first career run with the New York Mets. Five eligible club members—Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa—have not been elected to the Hall. Bonds and Sosa made their first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2013, Bonds received only 36. 2% and Sosa 12. 5% of the total votes, with 75% required for induction. Some believe the milestone has become less important with the number of new members,10 players joined the club from 1999 to 2009. Additionally, several of these recent members have had ties to performance-enhancing drugs, some believe that by not electing McGwire to the Hall the voters were establishing a referendum on how they would treat players from the Steroid Era. On January 8,2014, Rafael Palmeiro became the first member of the 500 Home Run Club to be removed from the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. As the BBWAA announced the selections for the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2014, players must be named on at least of 5. 0% of ballots to remain on future ballots. As of Opening Day 2017, Albert Pujols is the active member of the 500 home run club. Stats updated as of April 2,2017, Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders 3,000 hit club General Career Leaders & Records for Home Runs. 500 Home Run Club – Milestones
