1.
Baseball
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Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each, who take turns batting and fielding. A run is scored when a player advances around the bases, Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which tries to prevent runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the team who reaches a base safely can later attempt to advance to subsequent bases during teammates turns batting. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the team records three outs. One turn batting for both teams, beginning with the team, constitutes an inning. A game is composed of nine innings, and the team with the number of runs at the end of the game wins. Baseball has no clock, although almost all games end in the ninth inning. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century and this game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the sport of the United States. Baseball is now popular in North America and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, in the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball teams are divided into the National League and American League, each with three divisions, East, West, and Central. The major league champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series, the top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision, a French manuscript from 1344 contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly la soule, with similarities to baseball. Other old French games such as thèque, la balle au bâton, consensus once held that todays baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular in Great Britain and Ireland. Baseball Before We Knew It, A Search for the Roots of the Game, by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England, recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of other. It has long believed that cricket also descended from such games. The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, David Block discovered that the first recorded game of Bass-Ball took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player. William Bray, an English lawyer, recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford and this early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants
2.
Strikeout
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In baseball or softball, a strikeout occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means the batter is out, a strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denoted by K. Although a strikeout suggests that the pitcher dominated the batter, the style that generates home runs also leaves batters susceptible to striking out. Some of the greatest home run hitters of all time — such as Alex Rodriguez, Gorman Thomas, Reggie Jackson, and Sammy Sosa — were notorious for striking out. A pitched ball is ruled a ball by the if the batter did not swing at it and, in that umpires judgment. Any pitch at which the batter swings or, that in that umpires judgment passes through the zone, is ruled a strike. Each ball and strike affects the count, which is incremented for each pitched ball with the exception of a ball on any count with two strikes. That is, a strike may only occur by the batter swinging and missing at a pitched ball. A pitched ball that is struck by the batter with the bat on any count, a batter may also strike out by bunting, even if the ball is hit into foul territory. In Japan, this is called furinige, or swing and escape, in Major League Baseball, it is known as an uncaught third strike. When this happens, a strikeout is recorded for both the pitcher and the batter, but no out is recorded, because of this, a pitcher may occasionally be able to record more than three strikeouts in one half-inning. In baseball scorekeeping, a strikeout is recorded as a K. A strikeout looking is often scored with a backward K, and sometimes as a K-L, CK, despite the scorekeeping custom of using K for strikeout, SO is the official abbreviation used by Major League Baseball. K is still used by fans and enthusiasts for purposes other than official record-keeping. The K may be placed backward in cases where the batter strikes out looking, the use of K for a strikeout was invented by Henry Chadwick, a newspaper journalist who is widely credited as the originator of the box score and the baseball scorecard. As is true in much of baseball, both the box score and scorecard remain largely unchanged to this day, Chadwick decided to use K, the last letter in struck, since the letter S was used for sacrifice. Chadwick was responsible for several other scorekeeping conventions, including the use of numbers to designate player positions and those unaware of Chadwicks contributions have speculated that K was derived from the last name of 19th century pitcher Matt Kilroy. If not for the evidence supporting Chadwicks earlier use of K, Kilroy raised the prominence of the strikeout, setting an all-time single-season record of 513 strikeouts in 1886, only two years after overhand pitching was permitted
3.
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
4.
Justin Verlander
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Justin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He is currently the longest tenured player on the Tigers, in 2006, Verlander was named the American League Rookie of the Year. On June 12,2007, he pitched a no-hitter—the first ever at Comerica Park—against the Milwaukee Brewers, striking out 12 batters and he pitched a second no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 7,2011, in Toronto, walking one and facing the minimum 27 batters. On November 21,2011, Verlander was voted the AL Most Valuable Player, winning with 280 points over Jacoby Ellsburys 242, completing a sweep of the Cy Young Award, Verlanders father Richard sent him to The Richmond Baseball Academy. He was able to throw his fastball 84 mph shortly after joining the academy and his velocity plateaued at 86 mph during his senior year at Goochland High School, during which he was sidetracked by strep throat. Verlanders velocity reached 87 mph during his first year at Old Dominion, Verlander, a 6′5,200 pound right-handed pitcher, played for the Old Dominion University baseball team for three years. On May 17,2002, he struck out a then-school record 17 batters against James Madison, in 2003, he set a school single-season record by recording 139 strikeouts. In 2004, he broke his own record and established a new Colonial Athletic Association record with 151 strikeouts, Verlander completed his career as the all-time strikeout leader in Old Dominion, the CAA and the Commonwealth of Virginia history with 427 in 335⅔ innings. During his three years, he averaged 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings and his career earned run average was 2.57. Verlander pitched for the USA national baseball team in 2003 and helped the USA to a medal in the Pan American Games. He was named CAA Rookie of the Year in 2002 and earned All-CAA honors in 2003 and 2004, Verlander was named the ODU Alumni Associations Male Athlete of the Year in 2004, and was the second overall pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers. Verlanders professional baseball began when the Detroit Tigers selected him second overall in the 2004 MLB Draft. He signed a contract on October 25,2004, Verlander made his professional debut in 2005. He played for two of Detroits minor league affiliates, the Lakeland Flying Tigers and the Erie SeaWolves, after posting a 9–2 record and a 1.67 ERA in 13 starts for Lakeland, Verlander joined the SeaWolves on June 20. On July 4,2005, Verlander started against the Cleveland Indians and pitched 5⅓ innings and he also made a start against the Minnesota Twins 19 days later. Verlander lost both of his major league starts in 2005, but in seven starts with Erie, he was 2–0, tightness in his right shoulder caused Verlanders season to end in early August when he was placed on the disabled list. Verlander was recognized as a Florida State League all–star, was a pitcher in the Futures Game and. Verlander made his Major League debut on July 4,2005 and he went 0–2 with a 7.15 ERA in his only 2 starts of the season
5.
Cleveland Indians
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The Cleveland Indians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League Central division. Since 1994, they have played at Progressive Field, the teams spring training facility is at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The Indians current World Series championship drought is the longest active drought, the name Indians originated from a request by club owner Charles Somers to baseball writers to choose a new name to replace Cleveland Naps following the departure of Nap Lajoie after the 1914 season. The name referenced the nickname Indians that was applied to the Cleveland Spiders baseball club during the time when Louis Sockalexis, common nicknames for the Indians include the Tribe and the Wahoos, the latter being a reference to their logo, Chief Wahoo, a controversial Native American caricature. The teams mascot is named Slider, the franchise originated in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1894 as the Grand Rapids Rustlers, a minor league team in the Western League. The team moved to Cleveland in 1900 and changed its name to the Cleveland Lake Shores, one of the American Leagues eight charter franchises, the major league incarnation of the club was founded in Cleveland in 1901. Originally called the Cleveland Bluebirds, the played in League Park until moving permanently to Cleveland Stadium in 1946. At the end of the 2016 season, they had a regular season record of 9. In 1857 baseball games were a spectacle in Clevelands Public Squares. City authorities tried to find an ordinance forbidding it, to the joy of the crowd, – Harold Seymour 1865–1868 Forest Citys of Cleveland 1869–1872 Forest Citys of Cleveland From 1865 to 1868 Forest Citys was an amateur ball club. During the 1869 season, Cleveland was among several cities which established professional baseball teams following the success of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team. In the newspapers before and after 1870, the team was called the Forest Citys. In 1871 the Forest Citys joined the new National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, ultimately, two of the leagues western clubs went out of business during the first season and the Chicago Fire left that citys White Stockings impoverished, unable to field a team again until 1874. Cleveland was thus the NAs westernmost outpost in 1872, the year the club folded, Cleveland played their full schedule to July 19 followed by two games versus Boston in mid-August and disbanded at the end of the season. 1879–1881 Cleveland Forest Citys 1882–1884 Cleveland Blues In 1876, the National League supplanted the NA as the professional league. Cleveland were not among its members, but by 1879 the league was looking for new entries. The Cleveland Forest Citys baseball team was then re-created, the National League required distinct colors for the 1882 season, so the Cleveland Forest Citys became the Cleveland Blues
6.
Miguel Cabrera
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José Miguel Cabrera Torres, commonly known as Miguel Cabrera and nicknamed Miggy, is a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He is currently the first baseman for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball, since his debut in 2003 he is a two-time American League Most Valuable Player award winner, a four-time AL batting champion, and an eleven-time MLB All-Star. He has played at first and third base for most of his league career. He claimed the 17th Major League Baseball Triple Crown in 2012, Cabrera was signed in 1999 as an amateur free agent by the Florida Marlins, and progressed through their minor league system. He made his Major League debut in mid-2003 at the age of 20, over the next four seasons, Cabrera was a regular player for the Marlins before being traded to the Detroit Tigers in late 2007. In 2012, Cabrera became the first player since 1967 to win the batting Triple Crown, leading the AL with a.330 batting average,44 home runs, and 139 RBI, earning him the AL MVP award that year. In 2013, Cabrera improved on his previous years batting performance, including a career-high.348 batting average, Cabrera was born on April 18,1983, in Maracay, Aragua State, Venezuela, to parents Miguel and Gregoria Cabrera. Miguel was signed by the Marlins in 1999 as a free agent and came up through their farm system, teaming with future major leaguers Adrian Gonzalez. He began his career in 2000 as a shortstop in the Gulf Coast League. Heading into 2001, the Marlins bumped Cabrera up to the Low Class-A Kane County Cougars where he teamed up with current Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and he earned his way into the Futures Game during All-Star Weekend in Seattle, along with Gonzalez. He ended the year batting.268 with 30 extra-base hits,66 RBIs, entering the following season, Cabrera was once again promoted, this time to the Jupiter Hammerheads of the High Class-A Florida State League. At the request of then Marlins coach, Ozzie Guillén, Cabrera made the transition from shortstop to third base. By July, his average was locked in at.277, and he led his team with 45 RBI earning himself a trip to the Futures game. He finished the season batting.278 with 43 doubles and 75 RBIs, up to this point, he hit just nine homers in his 489 at-bats. To begin the 2003 season, Cabrera earned another promotion to the Double-A Carolina Mudcats, there he teamed up with Dontrelle Willis, the left-handed fireballer with whom he would later join in the majors. In his fourth season, Miguel was shredding the competition. In April, he hit.402, and by June his average stood at.365 with 10 homers and 59 RBIs before being called up to the majors. Cabrera made his league debut on June 20,2003, at 20 years old, Édgar Rentería
