1.
Baseball
–
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.
Run (baseball)
–
A player may score by hitting a home run or by any combination of plays that puts him safely on base as a runner and subsequently brings him home. The object of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent. But if the out is not a force out, but a tag out, then if that other baserunner crosses home plate before that tag out is made. Example 1, With a runner on third and two outs, batter hits a ball to the second baseman. The runner on third races home, the second baseman fields the ball and throws on to the first baseman in time to get the batter on the force out at first for the third out of the inning. Even if the runner on third had touched home plate before that force out was made at first, example 2, With a runner on third and two outs, batter hits a fly ball over centerfielders head. It bounces several times as it rolls to the wall, the runner on third runs safely home and easily scores a run. Meanwhile, the batter reaches first, then tries to advance to second. The centerfielder, having retrieved the ball, throws the ball to the second baseman, since the runner stepped on home plate before the batter was tagged out at second for the third out of the inning, his run will count. In baseball statistics, a player who advances around all the bases to score is credited with a run, while runs scored is considered an important individual batting statistic, it is regarded as less significant than runs batted in. Both individual runs scored and runs batted in are heavily context-dependent, for a more sophisticated assessment of a contribution toward producing runs for his team. If the inning is reconstructed without the error, and if that third batter, instead of reaching on an error, registered an out, thus, the two runs that did score will be classified as unearned, and will not count in the pitchers personal statistics. Be advised though that unearned runs are a statistical animal only, all runs count the same in the score, whether they are earned or unearned. The career record for most runs scored by a player is 2,295. The season record for most runs scored is 198, set by Billy Hamilton of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1894, the so-called modern-day record is 177, achieved by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees in 1921. The record for most seasons leading one of the leagues in runs scored is 8. The record for most consecutive games with at least one run scored is 18, shared by the Yankees Red Rolfe and the Cleveland Indians Kenny Lofton. The record for most runs scored by a player in a game is 7
3.
Error (baseball)
–
The term error can also refer to the play during which an error was committed. In that case, the play will be scored both as a hit and an error. Similarly, a batter does not receive credit for a run batted in when runs score on an error, passed balls and wild pitches are separate statistical categories and are not scored as errors. There is a loophole in the rules on errors for catchers. There is therefore a no fault condition for the attempting to prevent a steal. However, when considering that the majority of stolen base attempts are successful, if the runner takes an additional base due to the wild throw, an error is charged for that advance. However, if the catchers glove is hit by the bat, it is counted as a catchers interference, traditionally, the number of errors was a statistic used to quantify the skill of a fielder. However, fans and analysts have questioned the usefulness and significance of errors as a metric for fielding skill, notably, mental misjudgments, such as failure to cover a base or attempting a force out when such a play is not available, are not considered errors. A more subtle, though more significant objection to the error, in order for a fielder to be charged with an error, he must have done something right by being in the correct place to be able to attempt the play. A poor fielder may avoid many errors simply by being unable to reach batted or thrown balls that a fielder could successfully reach. Thus, it is possible that a poor fielder will have fewer errors than any fielder with higher expectancies, however, this still leaves statistics, such as fielding percentage, that are based on errors as a way to compare the defensive abilities of players. Errors also hold significance in calculating the earned run average of a pitcher, runs scored due to an error are unearned, and do not count toward a pitchers ERA. In Major League Baseball, Herman Long holds the Major League records with 1096 errors in his career between 1889 and 1904, bill Dahlen, Deacon White and Germany Smith are the only other players to make 1,000 errors during their MLB careers. All of these players played at least one season before 1900, the 20th century record is held by Rabbit Maranville with 711 errors. Among active players, Adrián Beltré leads with 275 errors over 2475 career games as of June 14,2015, the major league record for errors by a pitcher in a career is held by Hippo Vaughn, with 64 errors. That also is the National League record, the American career mark is held by Ed Walsh. The most errors made by a pitcher in a season is 28 by Jim Whitney, the American League record of 15 is held by three pitchers, Jack Chesbro, Rube Waddell, and Ed Walsh. The record for most errors made by a pitcher in one inning is three, first set by Cy Seymour in 1898, the record was tied by Tommy John in 1988, Jaime Navarro in 1996 and Mike Sirotka in 1999
4.
Earned run average
–
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched, runs resulting from defensive errors are recorded as unearned runs and omitted from ERA calculations. Henry Chadwick is credited with devising the statistic, which caught on as a measure of pitching effectiveness after relief pitching came into vogue in the 1900s. Some criterion was needed to capture the apportionment of earned-run responsibility for a pitcher in games that saw contributions from other pitchers for the same team, a pitcher is assessed an earned run for each run scored by a batter who reaches base while batting against that pitcher. The National League first tabulated official earned run average statistics in 1912, recently written baseball encyclopedias display ERAs for earlier years, but these were computed retroactively. Negro League pitchers are often rated by RA, or total runs allowed, as with batting average, the definition of a good ERA varies from year to year. During the dead-ball era of the 1900s and 1910s, an ERA below 2.00 was considered good, in the 1960s, sub-2.00 ERAs returned, as other influences such as ballparks with different dimensions were introduced. Today, an ERA under 4.00 is again considered good, the all-time record for the lowest single season earned run average by a pitcher pitching 300 or more innings is 1.12, set by Bob Gibson in 1968. The record for the lowest career earned run average is 1.82, held by Ed Walsh, but a purported record based on so few innings pitched is highly misleading. Over the years, more than a dozen part-time pitchers have pitched 105 or more innings and had a run average lower than 0.86. Some sources may list players with infinite ERAs and this can happen if a pitcher allows one or more earned runs without retiring a batter. Additionally, an undefined ERA occasionally occurs at the beginning of a baseball season and it is sometimes incorrectly displayed as zero or as the lowest ranking ERA, even though it is more akin to the highest. At times it can be misleading to judge relief pitchers solely on ERA, because they are charged only for runs scored by batters who reached base while batting against them. Thus, if a pitcher enters the game with his team leading by 1 run, with 2 outs and the bases loaded. If he retires the batter, his ERA for that game will be 0.00 despite having surrendered the lead. Starting pitchers operate under the rules but are not called upon to start pitching with runners already on base. The relievers freedom to use their energy for a few innings, or even for just a few batters. ERA, taken by itself, can also be misleading when trying to objectively judge starting pitchers, the advent of the designated hitter rule in the American League in 1973 made the pitching environment significantly different
5.
Official scorer
–
In the game of baseball, the official scorer is a person appointed by the league to record the events on the field, and to send the official scoring record of the game back to the league offices. Judgment calls are made about errors, unearned runs, fielders choice, the value of hits in certain situations. This record is used to compile statistics for each player and team, a box score is a summary of the official scorers game record. Newspaper writers initially performed this function in the days of Major League Baseball. Controversies related to perceived bias or errors in scoring have led to questions about important baseball records, including several no-hitters and Joe DiMaggios 56-game hitting streak of 1941. By 1979, many major newspapers decided to ban their writers from scoring baseball games due to conflict-of-interest concerns, since 1980, some reforms have been suggested to improve the performance of official scorers. In 2001, MLB formed a committee to review their performance. This authority was used by the scoring three times during the 2009 season. In 2006, an academic study seemed to confirm the existence of a home-team bias in scoring decisions. Henry Chadwick is generally credited with the invention of scorekeeping in baseball, Chadwick was also the inventor of the modern box score and the writer of the first rule book for the game of baseball. A judgment call that is required by the official scorer does not alter the outcome of a game, qualified candidates for scoring were submitted to the leagues for approval. Baseball writer-scorers usually worked at the games played at the stadium of the team which they covered for their newspaper. The writer-scorers were tasked with making decisions that could impact the statistics of the team they were writing about. Because of this affiliation, the scorer was often presumed by the baseball players and managers to favor the home team when making the required judgment calls during the course of a game. Criticism of scoring decisions date to the earliest days of the game, some historians claim that Joe DiMaggios record 56-game hitting streak in 1941 was made possible by several generous rulings at Yankee Stadium. Although scoring decisions were widely believed to favor the hitter over the defense, infielder Dave Johnson said, Ive been involved in five or six no-hit games, and all of them were suspected of being helped by hometown scoring. One of the last controversies of the era was seen in a 1978 game at St. Louis. The official scorer Neal Russo judged the play to be a rather than a hit
6.
Wild pitch
–
A wild pitch usually passes the catcher behind home plate, often allowing runners on base an easy chance to advance while the catcher chases the ball down. Sometimes the catcher may block a pitch, and the ball may be nearby, a closely related statistic is the passed ball. As with many statistics, whether a pitch that gets away from a catcher is counted as a wild pitch or a passed ball is at the discretion of the official scorer. The benefit of the doubt is given to the catcher if there is uncertainty, therefore. Because the pitcher and catcher handle the much more than other fielders, certain misplays on pitched balls are defined in Rule 10.13 as wild pitches. No error shall be charged when a pitch or passed ball is scored. A wild pitch may only be scored if one or more runners advance, if the bases are empty, or the catcher retrieves the ball quickly and the runner are unable to advance, a wild pitch is not charged. A scored run due to a pitch is recorded as an earned run. A runner who advances on a pitch is not credited with a stolen base unless he breaks before the pitcher begins his delivery. Nolan Ryan is the leader in the category, throwing 277 wild pitches over his 27 years in Major League Baseball. He also led his league in the category in six different seasons, however, the all-time record belongs to Tony Mullane, who threw 343 in the early years of the game from 1881 to 1894. After Ryans 277, the pitcher on the list is Mickey Welch 274. Bill Stemmyer still holds the record, throwing 63 wild pitches in 1886. Since 1900, however, the highest total in a season has been 30, the modern record in a single game is 6, held by three different pitchers. Dickey, Phil Niekro, Walter Johnson, and Kevin Gregg all hold the modern-era single inning wild pitch record with four, rick Ankiel, however, has produced five wild pitches in the 3rd inning of the 2000 NLDS. Bert Cunningham of the Players League in 1890 also threw five in an inning, the current active leader is Félix Hernández, with 132 wild pitches. The only other pitchers with 100+ wild pitches are John Lackey with 114. Baseball Reference – MLB Career Leaders and Records for Wild Pitches Baseball Rules See section 10.13
7.
Third baseman
–
In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5. The third baseman requires good reflexes in reacting to batted balls, the third base position requires a strong and accurate arm, as the third baseman often makes long throws to first base. The third baseman sometimes must throw quickly to second base in time to start a double play, the third baseman must also field fly balls in fair and foul territory. Third base is known as the hot corner, because the third baseman is relatively close to the batter, a third baseman must possess good hand-eye coordination and quick reactions in order to catch hard line drives sometimes in excess of 125 miles per hour. Third basemen often must begin in an even closer to the batter if a bunt is expected. As with middle infielders, right-handed throwing players are standard at the position because they do not need to turn their body before throwing across the infield to first base. Mike Squires, who played fourteen games at third base in 1982 and 1983, is a rare example of a third baseman who threw lefty. Some third basemen have been converted from middle infielders or outfielders because the position does not require them to run as fast. Players who could hit with more ability often were not suited for third base, since the 1950s the position has become more of a power position with sluggers such as Eddie Mathews, Mike Schmidt and Ron Santo becoming stars. There are fewer third basemen in the Baseball Hall of Fame than there are Hall of Famers of any other position
8.
Strikeout
–
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
9.
Hit (baseball)
–
If a batter reaches first base because of offensive interference by a preceding runner, he is also credited with a hit. A hit for one base is called a single, for two bases a double, and for three bases a triple, a home run is also scored as a hit. Doubles, triples, and home runs are also called extra base hits, an infield hit is a hit where the ball does not leave the infield. Infield hits are uncommon by nature, and most often earned by speedy runners, a no-hitter is a game in which one of the teams prevented the other from getting a hit. Throwing a no-hitter is rare and considered an accomplishment for a pitcher or pitching staff. In most cases in the game, no-hitters are accomplished by a single pitcher who throws a complete game. A pitcher who throws a no-hitter could still allow runners to reach safely, by way of walks, errors, hit batsmen. If the pitcher allows no runners to reach base, the no-hitter is a perfect game, in 1887, Major League Baseball counted bases on balls as hits. The result was skyrocketing batting averages, including some near.500, Tip ONeill of the St. Louis Browns batted.485 that season, the experiment was abandoned the following season. There is controversy regarding how the records of 1887 should be interpreted, the number of legitimate walks and at-bats are known for all players that year, so computing averages using the same method as in other years is straightforward. In 1968, Major League Baseball formed a Special Baseball Records Committee to resolve this issues, the Committee ruled that walks in 1887 should not be counted as hits. Most current sources list ONeills 1887 average as.435, as calculated by omitting his walks and he would retain his American Association batting championship. However, the variance between methods results in differing recognition for the 1887 National League batting champion, cap Anson would be recognized, with his.421 average, if walks are included, but Sam Thompson would be the champion at.372 if they are not. The official rulebook of Major League Baseball states in Rule 10, Rule 10.05 Comment, In applying Rule 10.05, the official scorer shall always give the batter the benefit of the doubt. Runner is called out for interference with a fielder attempting to field a batted ball, unless in the scorers judgment the batter-runner would have been safe had the interference not occurred
10.
Interference (baseball)
–
In baseball, interference occurs in situations in which a person illegally changes the course of play from what is expected. Interference might be committed by players on the offense, players not currently in the game, catchers, umpires, each type of interference is covered differently by the rules. Whenever this offensive interference occurs, the ball becomes dead, if the interference was committed by a batter or a baserunner, that player is called out and all other runners must return to the bases they occupied at the time of the interference. If interference is committed by a runner with the intent of preventing a double play. If interference is committed by a runner or by some other member of the offensive team. Also under NFHS rules only, all runners are required to attempt to avoid collisions, if a runner fails to do so, he is guilty of malicious contact, which is one kind of offensive interference. Malicious contact carries the penalty of ejection from the game. Any collision that occurs in this situation is not interference, because the action is in regard to a thrown ball. As long as such a runners actions are related to his attempt to reach the base, the most common case of this is when a runner is attempting to score and the catcher has control of the ball. This is usually attempted only when the play is close, when the catcher is set up and ready, the runner has little chance of knocking the ball away. Any such attempt presents a significant chance of injury to the baserunner, the batter physically hinders the catchers opportunity to throw out a baserunner while standing outside of the batters box. There are some exceptions to the penalty for offensive interference, if there are two outs in this situation, the normal interference penalty applies, the batter is out and the run does not score. At some levels of play, verbal as well as physical hindrance can be called for interference and this is not called as interference in professional or higher amateur baseball. The ball came loose, initially enabling Rodríguez to advance and the previous runner Derek Jeter to score, the play originally stood but on appeal, Rodríguez was ruled out on the interference and Jeter returned to first, under the general definition of the rule above. A famous alleged offensive interference occurred in the game of the 1975 World Series. With a runner on first, Cincinnati Reds player Ed Armbrister laid down a sacrifice bunt, Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk attempted to field the ball and throw to second base and get the lead runner out. However, Armbrister did not immediately run to first base but instead stood essentially still in the vicinity of home plate, as a result, Fisks throw went into center field, and the Reds ended up with runners on first and third with no outs. The Red Sox protested, saying that Armbrister interfered, but home plate umpire Larry Barnett refused to change the call
11.
Pinch-runner
–
A pinch runner is a baseball player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing a player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted, occasionally a pinch runner is inserted for other reasons, ejection, or if the original player on base has become injured. A pinch-runner is not credited with a game played for the purpose of consecutive game streaks, in fact, Alfredo Griffin of the Toronto Blue Jays scored the winning run in a game, yet his consecutive game streak ended as he appeared only as a pinch runner. As with other substitutions in baseball, when a player is run for. The pinch runner may remain in the game or be substituted for at the managers discretion, earlier in baseball history, teams would occasionally use courtesy runners as well as pinch runners. A baserunner that had to leave the game due to injury would be replaced by a courtesy runner. The courtesy runner could leave the game and re-enter later, or could be an already in the game playing a different position. The player who had to leave the game was free to return to play, the last use of a courtesy runner in Major League Baseball was in 1949. Rule 3.04 of baseballs Official Rules now forbids courtesy runners, one of the most famous pinch runners was Herb Washington of the Oakland Athletics. He signed Washington, a star with no baseball experience. Washington appeared in 105 games for the Athletics in 1974 and 1975, scoring 33 runs and stealing 31 bases and his 1975 Topps baseball card is the only baseball card in history to use the Pinch Runner position label. Pinch hitter List of all instances of courtesy runners
12.
Pinch-hitter
–
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead, unlike basketball, American football, or ice hockey, baseball does not have a free substitution rule and thus the replaced player in baseball is never allowed back into that game. The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the order of the player whom he replaces. The player chosen to be a pinch hitter is often a backup infielder or outfielder, the pinch hitter may not re-enter the game after being replaced with another player. The American League of Major League Baseball, the Pacific League in Japan, the KBO League in Korea and this removes one possible situation where a pinch hitter may be desired. Pinch hitters are often used to replace a player when the pinch hitter is thought to have a better chance of reaching base or helping other runners to score. This is because pitchers are often poor hitters and get tired after six to seven innings of pitching. The pinch hitter may remain in the following a pinch-hit at-bat. This is a list of players with the most pinch-hits in Major League Baseball history, names which appear in bold are active players. Includes games through July 22,2011
13.
Home run
–
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
14.
Justin Verlander
–
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
15.
Cleveland Indians
–
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
16.
Shane Greene
–
Shane The Iceman Greene is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the New York Yankees, Greene attended East Ridge High School in Clermont, Florida, and played for their baseball team as a pitcher. He received a scholarship to attend the University of West Florida and he lost his scholarship in May 2008 when he had to undergo Tommy John surgery. He transferred to Daytona Beach Community College, while rehabilitating, the velocity of his fastball improved from 89 miles per hour before the surgery to 93 to 94 miles per hour after. The New York Yankees selected Greene in the 15th round of the 2009 MLB Draft and he was added to the 40-man roster on November 20,2013. He won the Kevin Lawn Award as the Yankees Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2013, Greene was assigned to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League to start the 2014 season. He was promoted to the major leagues on April 9,2014 and he made his MLB debut against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park on April 24. In July, Greene replaced Vidal Nuño in the Yankees starting rotation and he ended the season with a 5–4 win–loss record and a 3.78 earned run average, while recording more than one strikeout per inning pitched. Greene began the 2015 season in the Tigers starting rotation, where he posted a 3–0 record, in his next 10 starts, he posted a 1–6 record with an 8.60 ERA, allowing 16 earned runs on 21 hits over nine innings in his last three starts. On June 12, Greene was optioned to the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League, on June 16, in his first start for the Mud Hens, Greene went 7 1⁄3 innings, allowing four hits, no runs, and one strikeout. On July 27,2015, it was announced that the Tigers would move Greene from the rotation to the bullpen. After returning to the Tigers following a stint with the Toledo Mud Hens on July 12 and he posted a 9.20 ERA in his last 13 appearances, and did not last more than five innings in his last six starts.88 ERA in 18 games. Greene made the Tigers 2016 starting rotation and he pitched out of the bullpen in the teams April 5 opening day game against the Miami Marlins and earned his first major league save. After pitching three innings of an April 24 start against the Cleveland Indians, Greene was removed from the due to a blister on his throwing hand. He returned from the DL on June 4, and was placed in the Tigers bullpen, for the 2016 season, Greene made 50 appearances, posting a 5–4 record and 5.82 ERA, while striking out 59 batters in 60 1⁄3 innings pitched. Greene throws a fastball and a sinking two-seam fastball that each average 92–94 mph. His primary offspeed pitch is a slider in the 87–88 mph range, career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference Shane Greene on Twitter
17.
Miguel Cabrera
–
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
18.
Carlos Santana (baseball)
–
Carlos Santana is a Dominican professional baseball designated hitter, first baseman, and left fielder with the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. He was primarily a catcher through the 2013 season, prior to the emergence of Cleveland catcher Yan Gomes, Santana signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005. He began his pro career with the Gulf Coast Dodgers, the rookie level minor league affiliate and he played 32 games in 2005 and batted.295. In addition to catcher, he played as a second baseman, third baseman, on July 26,2008, he was traded with John Meloan to the Indians for Casey Blake. In 2008 with the Akron Aeros, Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino, entering the 2009 season, Santana was named the top prospect in the Indians organization by Baseball America. He was also ranked as the top prospect in 2010. He was named the Indians 2009 Minor League Player of the Year, Santana was called up to the Indians on June 11,2010 to make his major league debut, after hitting.316 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs in 57 games for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. He hit in third spot in the order, making him the first Tribe player to debut hitting third since Jim Norris in 1977. On June 12,2010, in his second MLB game, Santana recorded his first Major League hit, in his next at-bat, Santana hit his first Major League home run to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning. On August 2,2010, Santana was injured in a game at Fenway Park while defending home plate against Red Sox baserunner Ryan Kalish, while attempting to dislodge the ball from Santanas mitt, Kalish slid into his left knee, bending it to the side. Santana was unable to leave the field and had to be removed on a cart, test revealed that Santana has a high grade sprain of his LCL and a hyperextension of his left knee. The injury ended Santanas rookie season, Santana started a triple play against the White Sox on April 3,2011 with a diving catch off of an Alexei Ramírez bunt. On April 29,2011 Santana hit his first major league grand slam, Santana finished 2011 with 27 home runs. Carlos finished sixth in Major league baseball with 97 walks and changed his batting stance, on April 10,2012, the Indians signed Santana to a five-year, $21 million contract with a club option for the 2016 season. Heading into the All-Star break, Santana was hitting.221, including five runs and 30 RBIs. Manager Manny Acta talked of the hopes the Indians had for their catcher, when Santana hit a home run in a July 18 game versus the Tampa Bay Rays, it was his first since May 15. He later added on a single and finished the game with a season-high four RBIs, I know Santana feels so much better to get that monkey off his back. That power drought had been weighing on him, Acta remarked after the game, Santana matched a career with five RBIs in a September 23 game against the Royals
19.
Box score (baseball)
–
In baseball, the statistical summary of a game is reported in a box score. An abbreviated version of the box score, duplicated from the scoreboard, is the line score. The Baseball Hall of Fame credits Henry Chadwick with the invention of the box score, the line score is a two-line chart that reports each teams run totals by inning, and total runs, total hits, and total errors on a line. The visiting team is on the top line and the team on the bottom line. The terms top of the inning and bottom of the inning are derived from their positions in the line score, sometimes, the winning team is bolded or colored for quick-reference. If the home team is leading and does not bat in the bottom of the 9th inning. Line score for the Brooklyn Dodgers–New York Giants pennant-winning game of October 3,1951, The box score lists the line score as well as individual, the statistics used are those recorded by the official scorer of each game. The following box score is of a game in baseball history. At the top of the box score, the editor of a publication may list the time, date, in the example, the stadiums name and city are listed. The line score is listed as part of the box score, usually near the top. Innings are normally grouped in sets of three for ease of reading, the team totals of runs, hits, and errors are listed last, after a separating character such as a dash. The actual score of the game is represented by the first column after the dash, The batting performances of each player in the game are grouped by team and their fielding positions or batting roles are normally listed next to their last name. Typically only last names are used, unless two players with the name appear in the game, in which case a distinctive first initial is also used. When a player switches fielding position, both positions are listed, substitute players are listed where they were placed in the batting order. Players who had a role only are listed by that role. Substitutes who enter for defensive purposes and do not make a plate appearance have their position shown. When a pinch hitter or pinch runner remains in the game, Some box scores will indent substitutes names to indicate their spot in the order was the same as the non-indented starters name above it, others will leave all names left-justified. Batting statistics are displayed to the right of the names in the lineup, at minimum are shown each batters at bats, runs, hits, and runs batted in
20.
Batting (baseball)
–
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
21.
Batting average
–
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batsmen in cricket and batters in baseball. The development of the statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. In cricket, a batting average is the total number of runs they have scored divided by the number of times they have been out. The number is also simple to interpret intuitively, if all the batsmans innings were completed, this is the average number of runs they score per innings. If they did not complete all their innings, this number is an estimate of the average number of runs they score per innings. Batting average has been used to gauge cricket players relative skills since the 18th century, most players have career batting averages in the range of 20 to 40. This is also the range for wicket-keepers, though some fall short. All-rounders who are more prominent bowlers than batsmen typically average something between 20 and 30,15 and under is typical for specialist bowlers. Under this qualification, the highest Test batting average belongs to Australias Sir Donald Bradman, given that a career batting average over 50 is exceptional, and that only four other players have averages over 60, this is an outstanding statistic. The fact that Bradmans average is so far above that of any other cricketer has led several statisticians to argue that, statistically at least, he was the greatest sportsman in any sport. As at 21 October 2016, Adam Voges of Australia has recorded an average of 72.75 from 27 innings played and it should also be remembered, especially in relation to the ODI histogram above, that there were no ODI competitions when Bradman played. If their scores have a geometric distribution then total number of runs scored divided by the number of times out is the maximum likelihood estimate of their true unknown average, Batting averages can be strongly affected by the number of not outs. A different, and more developed, statistic which is also used to gauge the effectiveness of batsmen is the strike rate. It measures a different concept however – how quickly the batsman scores – so it does not supplant the role of batting average and it is used particularly in limited overs matches, where the speed at which a batsman scores is more important than it is in first-class cricket. Table shows players with at least 20 innings completed, in baseball, the batting average is defined by the number of hits divided by at bats. It is usually reported to three places and read without the decimal, A player with a batting average of.300 is batting three-hundred. A point is understood, in only, to be.001. If necessary to break ties, batting averages could be taken beyond the.001 measurement, henry Chadwick, an English statistician raised on cricket, was an influential figure in the early history of baseball
22.
Slugging percentage
–
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage is a popular measure of the power of a hitter. Walks are specifically excluded from this calculation, the name is a misnomer, as the statistic is not a percentage but a scale of measure whose computed value is a rational number in the interval. For example, in 1920, Babe Ruth played his first season for the New York Yankees. In 458 at bats, Ruth had 172 hits, comprising 73 singles,36 doubles,9 triples, and 54 home runs, a predecessor metric was developed by Branch Rickey in 1954. Rickey, in Life magazine, suggested that combining OBP with what he called extra base power would give a better indicator of performance than typical Triple Crown stats. EBP was a predecessor to slugging percentage, allen Barra and George Ignatin were early adopters in combining the two modern-day statistics, multiplying them together to form what is now known as SLOB. OPS simply stands for on-base plus slugging, and is an addition of the two values. Because it is easy to calculate, OPS has been used with increased frequency in recent years as a form to evaluate contributions as a batter. The maximum numerically possible slugging percentage is 4.000, a number of MLB players have momentarily had a 4.000 career slugging percentage by homering in their first major league at-bat. No player has ever retired with a 4.000 slugging percentage, the players are Eric Cammack, Scott Munninghoff, Eduardo Rodríguez, and Charlie Lindstrom. List of Major League Baseball career slugging percentage leaders Moneyball Sabermetrics Slugging Percentage Calculator
23.
Double (baseball)
–
To hit many doubles, one must have decent hitting skill and power, it also helps to run well enough to beat an outfield throw. Doubles typically drive in runs from base, second base. When total bases and slugging percentages are calculated, the two is used for the calculation. The all-time leader in doubles is Tris Speaker, with 792, a two-base hit awarded by an umpire when a batted ball is hit fairly and bounces out of play is referred to as a ground rule double. The batter is awarded second base and any runners advance two bases from the base occupied at the time of the pitch. Prior to 1931, such hits were considered home runs, a two-base hit awarded because the batter hit into a special situation defined in the ground rules is also defined as a ground rule double. An example of this occurs where the rules of Chicagos Wrigley Field award a ground rule if a batted ball is lost in the vines on the outfield bleacher wall. The rules of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis awarded a ground rule if the ball became stuck in its Teflon ceiling
24.
Triple (baseball)
–
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielders misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielders choice. Triples have become rare in Major League Baseball. It often requires a hit to a distant part of the field. It also usually means that the hit the ball solidly. The triple is considered one of the most exciting plays in baseball, a triple is the hardest to achieve in terms of hitting for the cycle. com List of single-season triples leaders, Baseball-Reference. com
25.
Extra-base hit
–
Extra-base hits are often not listed separately in tables of baseball statistics, but are easily determined by calculating the sum total of a batters doubles, triples, and home runs. The record for most career extra-base hits is 1,477, another related statistic of interest that can be calculated is extra bases on long hits. A batter gets three of these for home run, two for each triple, and one for each double. Thus, leading the league in Most extra bases in long hits is a significant accomplishment in power hitting, the statistic Extra-Base Hits Allowed is denoted by the abbreviation XBA. Totals are current through the end of the 2014 season, Hank Aaron –1,477 Barry Bonds –1,440 Stan Musial –1,377 Babe Ruth –1,356 Willie Mays –1,323 Totals are current through the end of the 2014 season. Babe Ruth –119 Lou Gehrig –117 Barry Bonds –107 Chuck Klein –107 Todd Helton –105 Slugging average Total bases
26.
Grand slam (baseball)
–
In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners, thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the game of contract bridge. Roger Connor is believed to have been the first major league player to hit a grand slam, on September 10,1881, for the Troy Trojans. Although Charlie Gould hit one for the Boston Red Stockings in the National Association on September 5,1871, alex Rodriguez has 25 career grand slams, the most by any player in Major League Baseball history, passing Lou Gehrigs 23 on September 20,2013. Meanwhile, Don Mattingly set the record with six grand slams in 1987 – remarkably. Travis Hafner tied Mattinglys Major League record in 2006, while in 2009, several grand slams, the first being Connors in 1881, consisted of a player hitting a walk-off grand slam for a one-run victory, some baseball observers call this an ultimate grand slam. Ryan Howard was the most recent to do so in a 6-5 victory by the Philadelphia Phillies over the Houston Astros on August 7,2014, during the 2005 major league season, grand slams accounted for 132 of the 5017 home runs hit. On June 13–14,2006, the Minnesota Twins hit grand slams in consecutive games against the Boston Red Sox, in 2006, the Chicago White Sox hit grand slams in three consecutive games against the Houston Astros. Scott Podsednik hit the grand slam of his career in the series opener. Joe Crede followed up with a slam of his own on Saturday, the White Sox became the first team to accomplish this since the Detroit Tigers in 1993. On the other hand, the 2007 Kansas City Royals surrendered grand slams in three games, two against the Baltimore Orioles and one against the Tigers. Four players hit a grand slam in their first Major League at-bat, Bill Duggleby, Jeremy Hermida, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Kouzmanoff, Nava, and Duggleby hit theirs on the first pitch, Hermidas grand slam was in a pinch-hit at bat. Tony Cloninger is the pitcher to hit two grand slams in one game, for the Atlanta Braves in a 1966 contest against the San Francisco Giants. Tatis was only the second National League player to hit two grand slams in one game, joining Cloninger, tatis had never hit a grand slam before in his career. Bill Mueller is the player to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in the same game, when he hit 2 on July 29,2003 for the Boston Red Sox vs. the Texas Rangers. Robin Ventura is the player to hit a grand slam in both games of a doubleheader, when he did so on May 20,1999 for the New York Mets against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Daiei Hawks accomplished the feat in 1999, on August 25,2011, the New York Yankees, hosting the Oakland As, became the first team in MLB history to hit three grand slams in one game. Robinson Canó, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson took pitchers Rich Harden, Fautino de los Santos, coming back from a 7−1 deficit, the second grand slam gave the Yankees their first lead of the game, they went on to win 22–9
27.
Run batted in
–
A run batted in, plural runs batted in, is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored. For example, if the batter bats a base hit, then another player on a base can go home. Prior to the 1920 Major League Baseball season, runs batted in were not a baseball statistic. Nevertheless, the RBI statistic was tabulated—unofficially—from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer Ernie Lanigan, common nicknames for an RBI include ribby, rib, and ribeye. The plural of RBI is generally RBIs, although some commentators use RBI as both singular and plural, as it can stand for runs batted in. The official scorers judgment must determine whether a run batted in shall be credited for a run that scores when a fielder holds the ball or throws to a wrong base. The perceived significance of the RBI is displayed by the fact that it is one of the three categories that comprise the triple crown, in addition, career RBIs are often cited in debates over who should be elected to the Hall of Fame. This implies that better offensive teams—and therefore, the teams in which the most players get on base—tend to produce hitters with higher RBI totals than equivalent hitters on lesser-hitting teams, totals are current through October 8,2015
28.
Base on balls
–
The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseballs Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08. The term base on balls distinguishes a walk from the manners in which a batter can be awarded first base without liability to be put out. An important difference is that for a hit batter or catchers interference, the ball is dead and no one may advance unless forced, a batter who draws a base on balls is commonly said to have been walked by the pitcher. When the batter is walked, runners advance one base without liability to be put out only if forced to vacate their base to allow the batter to take first base.04. Receiving a base on balls does not count as a hit or an at bat for a batter but does count as a time on base, therefore, a base on balls does not affect a players batting average, but it can increase his on-base percentage. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, though the effect is mostly the same, one exception is that on a HBP, the ball is dead. On a HBP, any runners attempting to steal on the play must return to their original base unless forced to the next base anyway. When a walk occurs, the ball is live, any runner not forced to advance may nevertheless attempt to advance at his own risk. Also, because a ball is live when a base on balls occurs, runners on base forced to advance one base may attempt to advance one base. The batter-runner himself may attempt to advance beyond first base, at his own risk, rule 6.08 addresses this matter as well. An attempt to advance an additional base beyond the base awarded might occur when ball four is a ball or a wild pitch. In 1880, the National League changed the rules so that eight balls instead of nine were required for a walk, in 1884, the National League changed the rules so that six balls were required for a walk. In 1887, the National League and American Association agreed to abide by some uniform rule changes, in 1889, the National League and the American Association decreased the number of balls required for a walk to four. In 2017, Major League Baseball approved a change allowing for a batter to be walked intentionally by having the defending bench signal to the Umpire. The move was met some controversy. A subset of the base on balls, a base on balls or intentional walk is when the pitcher deliberately pitches the ball away from the batter in order to issue a base on balls. As with any other walk, an intentional walk entitles the batter to first base without liability to be put out, intentional walks are a strategic defensive maneuver, commonly done to bypass one hitter for one the defensive team believes is less likely to initiate a run-scoring play. Teams also commonly use intentional walks to set up a play or force out situation for the next batter
29.
Bunt (baseball)
–
A bunt is a special type of offensive technique in baseball or fastpitch softball. In a bunt play, the batter loosely holds the bat in front of the plate, the primary goal in bunting is to ground the ball into fair territory, as far from the fielders as possible, generally while staying within the infield. The bunt is often characterized by the batter turning his body toward the pitcher, depending on the type of bunt, the batter might square well before the pitcher begins throwing, or as the pitch is being batted. In a sacrifice bunt, the batter will put the ball into play with the intention of advancing a baserunner, in exchange for the batter being thrown out. The sacrifice bunt is most often used to advance a runner from first to base, although the runner may also be advanced from second to third base. The sacrifice bunt is most often used in close, low-scoring games, a sacrifice bunt is not counted as an at-bat. In general, when sacrifice bunting, a batter will square to bunt well before the releases the ball. The squeeze play occurs when the batter sacrifices with the purpose of scoring a runner from third base, due to the high-risk nature of this play, it is not often executed, but can often be an exciting moment within the game. If a runner scores in a play, the batter may be credited with an RBI. A batter may also bunt for a base hit and this is not a sacrifice play, because the batter is trying to reach base safely, without any intention of advancing a runner. A batter may try to bunt for a hit while there are runners on base. A batter bunting for a hit will often hold back his bunt while the pitcher begins delivering the ball. If successful, the bunt is scored as a hit single, rarely does a bunt result in an extra base hit. Often when attempting to bunt for a hit, the batter will begin running as he is bunting the ball. This is called a drag bunt, the action of squaring to bunt is compromised during a drag bunt, as the feet are not set. Players sometimes get one hand up the barrel, and other times bunt with both hands at the base of the bat, there have been instances of one-handed drag bunts as well, in MLB, Rafael Furcal has been known to try such a bunt. A swinging bunt occurs when a hit ball rolls a short distance into play. A swinging bunt is often the result of a checked swing and it is not a true bunt, and if the scorer judges that the batter intended to hit the ball, it cannot be counted as a sacrifice
30.
Base running
–
In baseball, base running is the act of running around the bases performed by members of the team at bat. In general, base running is a part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run. The goal of batting is generally to produce base runners, or help move base runners along, runners on second or third base are considered to be in scoring position since a normal hit, even a single, will often score them. Part of the goal of a runner and a batter is to get the runner into scoring position, for any base running to occur, a batter must initially become a base runner. The term is not applied if the batter hits a foul ball or to a player awarded first base. A player ceases to be a runner when, he scores a run, he is put out in any way. If a base runners teammate is put out for the out of the inning. A runner who is touching a base which he is entitled to occupy may not be tagged out, runners may attempt to advance from base to base on any fair ball that touches the ground. When a ball is hit in the air and caught by the team, runners must return. Once they do this, they may attempt to advance at their own risk, on a ball that touches the ground in fair territory, if there is a force, runners are required to run. Base runners may attempt to advance at any time while the ball is alive, the catcher—or pitcher, in lieu of delivering the pitch—often tries to prevent this by throwing the ball to one of the infielders in order to tag the runner. This pick-off attempt is unsuccessful in tagging out the runner but is effective in keeping the runner closer to the base. If the runner is tagged out while diving back to the base, if the runner attempts to advance to the next base but is tagged out before reaching it safely, he is caught stealing. A successful attempt by the runner is called a stolen base, if a pitch gets away from the catcher, runners may also try to advance. This may be a pitch, if the pitcher is held responsible for the ball getting away. Sometimes the defending team will ignore a runner who is trying to steal a base, in case a runner is not credited with a steal. The standard dimensions of a field, with 90 feet between bases, generate many close base running plays. On one hand, an infielder who fields a ball hit on the ground, then throws it quickly and accurately
31.
Stolen base
–
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
32.
Pitcher
–
In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important defensive player, there are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and closer. The National League in Major League Baseball and the Japanese Central League are among the leagues that have not adopted the designated hitter position. In most cases, the objective of the pitcher is to deliver the pitch to the catcher without allowing the batter to hit the ball with the bat. A successful pitch is delivered in such a way that the batter either allows the pitch to pass through the zone, swings the bat at the ball and misses it. If the batter elects not to swing at the pitch, it is called a strike if any part of the passes through the strike zone. A check swing is when the batter begins to swing, If the batter successfully checks the swing and the pitch is out of the strike zone, it is called a ball. There are two legal pitching positions, the windup and the set position or stretch, either position may be used at any time, typically, the windup is used when the bases are empty, while the set position is used when at least one runner is on base. Each position has certain procedures that must be followed, a balk can be called on a pitcher from either position. A power pitcher is one who relies on the velocity of his pitches to succeed, generally, power pitchers record a high percentage of strikeouts. A control pitcher succeeds by throwing accurate pitches and thus records few walks, nearly all action during a game is centered on the pitcher for the defensive team. A pitchers particular style, time taken between pitches, and skill heavily influence the dynamics of the game and can determine the victor. Meanwhile, a batter stands in the box at one side of the plate. The type and sequence of pitches chosen depend upon the situation in a game. The relationship between pitcher and catcher is so important that some teams select the starting catcher for a game based on the starting pitcher. Together, the pitcher and catcher are known as the battery, although the object and mechanics of pitching remain the same, pitchers may be classified according to their roles and effectiveness. The starting pitcher begins the game, and he may be followed by relief pitchers, such as the long reliever, the left-handed specialist, the middle reliever. In Major League Baseball, every team uses Baseball Rubbing Mud to rub game balls in before their pitchers use them in games, a skilled pitcher often throws a variety of different pitches to prevent the batter from hitting the ball well
33.
Save (baseball)
–
In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances, described below. The number of saves, or percentage of save opportunities converted, is an oft-cited statistic of relief pitchers. It became an official Major League Baseball statistic in 1969, mariano Rivera is MLBs all-time leader in regular season saves with 652. The term save was being used as far back as 1952, executives Jim Toomey of the St. A formula with more criteria for saves was invented in 1960 by baseball writer Jerome Holtzman and he felt that the existing statistics at the time, earned run average and win–loss record, did not sufficiently measure a relievers effectiveness. ERA does not account for inherited runners a reliever allows to score, Holtzman felt that Face was more effective the previous year when he was 5–2. When Holtzman presented the idea to J. G. Taylor Spink, publisher of The Sporting News, Holtzman recorded the unofficial save statistic in The Sporting News weekly for nine years before it became official in 1969. In conjunction with publishing the statistic, The Sporting News in 1960 also introduced the Fireman of the Year Award, the save became an official MLB statistic in 1969. It was MLBs first new major statistic since the run batted in was added in 1920, in baseball statistics, the term save is used to indicate the successful maintenance of a lead by a relief pitcher, usually the closer, until the end of the game. A save is a statistic credited to a pitcher, as set forth in Rule 10.19 of the Official Rules of Major League Baseball. If a relief pitcher satisfies all of the criteria for a save, except he does not finish the game, he will often be credited with a hold. A blown save is charged to a pitcher who enters a game in a situation which permits him to earn a save, if the reliever allows the tying or leading run, but the relievers team wins the game, the reliever wins the game. Due to this definition, a pitcher cannot blow multiple saves in a game unless he has multiple save opportunities, the blown save was introduced by the Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1988. A pitcher who enters the game in a situation and does not finish the game—but his team still leading—is not charged with a save opportunity. Save percentage is the ratio of saves to save opportunities, in 1974, tougher criteria were adopted for saves where the tying run had to be on base or at the plate when the reliever entered to qualify for a save. This addressed saves such as Ron Taylors in a 20–6 New York Mets win over the Atlanta Braves. The rule was relaxed in 1975 to credit a save when a reliever pitches at least one inning with no more than a lead, or comes in with runners on base. In 2000, Rolaids started recording a save when a pitcher enters a save situation with the potential tying run already on base
34.
Hold (baseball)
–
A hold is awarded to a relief pitcher who meets the following three conditions,1. Records at least one out,3, leaves the game before it has ended without his team having relinquished the lead at any point and does not record a save. The hold is not an official Major League Baseball statistic, unlike saves, wins, and losses, more than one pitcher per team can earn a hold for a game, though it is not possible for a pitcher to receive more than one hold in a given game. A pitcher can receive a hold by protecting a lead even if that lead is lost by a pitcher after his exit. While middle relievers earn their share, holds are most often credited to setup pitchers, in 1994, PA SportsTicker created an alternate definition for a hold, removing the requirement that a pitcher needs to make an out in order to record a hold. In 2009, STATS LLC purchased PA SportsTicker, and the definition is no longer in use. While holds are not an official MLB statistic, they are visible in many box scores, including espn. com. Many fantasy baseball providers also include holds as a category which can be included in customized leagues. The career leaders are listed based on total holds according to MLB. com, however, the hold totals do not always agree from site to site, or with MLB. com from 1999 onward. The following players who began their Major League careers before 1999 would be among the career leaders if MLB had recorded the statistic in games prior to the 1999 season. They are listed here with hold totals as calculated by Baseball-reference. com. ** as calculated by Baseball-reference. com to include years before 1999. The single season MLB record for holds is 41, established by Joel Peralta in 2013 pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays, Peralta surpassed the previous record of 40 holds set by Luke Gregerson in 2010 with the San Diego Padres
35.
Perfect game
–
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches a base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach safely for any other reason. The feat has been achieved 23 times in MLB history –21 times since the era began in 1900. A perfect game is also a no-hitter and a shutout, a fielding error that does not allow a batter to reach base, such as a misplayed foul ball, does not spoil a perfect game. Weather-shortened contests in which a team has no baserunners and games in which a team reaches first base only in extra innings do not qualify as perfect games under the present definition. The first confirmed use of the perfect game was in 1908. Although it is possible for multiple pitchers to combine for a game, to date. In Nippon Professional Baseball, no-hitters or perfect games that use two or more pitchers are considered unofficial, the first known use in print of the term perfect game occurred in 1908. Several sources have claimed that the first recorded usage of the perfect game was by Ernest J. Lanigan in his Baseball Cyclopedia. The Chicago Tribune came close to the term in describing Richmonds game in 1880, Richmond was most effectively supported, similarly, in writing up Wards perfect game, the New York Clipper described the perfect play of Providences defense. The definition of game was made to parallel this new definition of the no-hitter. There has been one game in the World Series, thrown by Don Larsen for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 8,1956. By coincidence, the second Yankee pitcher to throw a game, David Wells in 1998, graduated from the same high school as Larsen - Point Loma High School in San Diego. The most recent perfect game pitched in Major League Baseball was thrown by Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 15,2012 and he struck out the side twice and struck out twelve total batters in the 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay. Since the beginning of the 2009 MLB season, it was the time that the Tampa Bay Rays were on the losing end of a perfect game. The only perfect game thrown in a Little League World Series championship was by Angel Macias of the Monterrey, Mexico, the Perfect Game, A Classic Collection of Facts, Figures, Stories and Characters from the Society for American Baseball Research. More Than Merkle, A History of the Best and Most Exciting Baseball Season in Human History, Perfect, The Inside Story of Baseballs Seventeen Perfect Games. The Greatest Game Ever Pitched, Sports Illustrated,27 Men Out, Baseballs Perfect Games
