1.
Second baseman
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In baseball and softball, second baseman is a fielding position in the infield, between third and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, in addition, second basemen are usually right-handed, only four left-handed throwing players have ever played second base since 1950. In the numbering system used to record plays, the second baseman is assigned the number 4. Good second basemen need to have very good range, since they have to field balls closer to the first baseman who is often holding runners on, on a batted ball to right field, the second baseman goes out towards the ball for the relay. Due to these requirements, second base is sometimes a primarily defensive position in the modern game, the second baseman catches line drives or pop flies hit near him, and fields ground balls hit near him and then throws the ball to a base to force out a runner. In this case, if the runner is to be forced out at second base then that base is covered by the shortstop. With a runner on first base, on a ball to the shortstop or third baseman the second baseman will cover second base to force out the runner coming from first. com
2.
Puerto Cabello
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Puerto Cabello is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas, as of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the country and is thus a vital cog in the countrys vast oil industry, the word cabello translates to hair. The Spaniards took to saying that the sea was so calm there that a ship could be secured to the dock by tying it with a single hair. Puerto Cabellos location made it an easy prey to buccaneers and was a trading post for Dutch smugglers during the 17th century. Most of the contraband trade consisted of cocoa with neighboring island Curaçao, Puerto Cabello was also at that time under Dutch control. It was not until 1730 that the Spanish took over the port and this company built warehouses, wharves and an array of forts to protect the harbor. The commodore Charles Knowles at command of the 70-gun HMS Suffolk in 1743 received orders to carry out attacks on the Spanish settlements at Puerto Cabello, the Spanish governor Gabriel de Zuluaga, well informed of the plans, recruits extra defenders and were supplied with gunpowder by the Dutch. Consequently, an attack on La Guaira, on 18 February 1743, Knowles withdrew his force and refitted at Curaçao before attempting an assault on Puerto Cabello on 15 April, and again on 24 April, but both assaults were beaten back. Knowles called off the expedition and returned to Jamaica, by the 1770s Puerto Cabello came to be the most fortified town on the Venezuela’s coast. The San Felipe castle and the Solano fortress remain from the period, the frigate Santa Cecilia, under the command of Captain Don Ramon de Chalas, sat in Puerto Cabello until Captain Edward Hamilton, aboard HMS Surprise cut her out of the harbour on 25 October 1799. The Spanish casualties included 119 dead, the British took 231 Spaniards prisoner, Hamilton had 11 men injured, four seriously, but none killed. The forces of the First Republic of Venezuela briefly held San Felipe castle, in 1812 Simón Bolívar, then a colonel in the independist forces, was appointed commandante of Puerto Cabello. He left after a royalist rebellion broke out, in 1821 the Spanish retreated to the castle after their defeat at the decisive Battle of Carabobo. Puerto Cabello was the last Spanish royalist stronghold during Venezuela’s war for independence, the harbour came under Anglo-German attack in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902-1903 and according to press reports was left in ruins. In 1962, Puerto Cabello was the site of an uprising, known as El Porteñazo, by pro-Fidel Castro naval officers, marines, and members of the FALN. Although loyalist naval forces were able to take back the base and arrest the rebels, they were unable to prevent the marines from occupying the city. Despite ambushes and bloody fighting, loyal National Guard and mechanized regular forces were able to retake Puerto Cabello
3.
Venezuela
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Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a federal republic located on the northern coast of South America. It is bordered by Colombia on the west, Brazil on the south, Guyana on the east, Venezuela covers 916,445 km2 and has an estimated population of 31775371. The territory now known as Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 amid resistance from indigenous peoples and it gained full independence as a separate country in 1830. During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments. This new constitution changed the name of the country to República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Venezuela is a presidential republic consisting of 23 states, the Capital District. Venezuela also claims all Guyanese territory west of the Essequibo River, oil was discovered in the early 20th century, and Venezuela has the worlds largest known oil reserves and has been one of the worlds leading exporters of oil. Previously an underdeveloped exporter of commodities such as coffee and cocoa, oil quickly came to dominate exports. The recovery of oil prices in the early 2000s gave Venezuela oil funds not seen since the 1980s, the Venezuelan government then established populist policies that initially boosted the Venezuelan economy and increased social spending, significantly reducing economic inequality and poverty. However, such policies later became controversial since they destabilized the economy, resulting in hyperinflation, an economic depression. According to the most popular and accepted version, in 1499, the stilt houses in the area of Lake Maracaibo reminded the navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, of the city of Venice, so he named the region Veneziola Piccola Venezia. The name acquired its current spelling as a result of Spanish influence, where the suffix -uela is used as a term, thus. The German language 16th century-term for the area, Klein-Venedig, also means little Venice, however, Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of the Vespucci and Ojeda crew, gave a different account. In his work Summa de geografía, he states that they found people who called themselves the Veneciuela. Thus, the name Venezuela may have evolved from the native word and it is not known how many people lived in Venezuela before the Spanish conquest, it has been estimated at around one million. In addition to indigenous peoples known today, the population included historic groups such as the Kalina, Auaké, Caquetio, Mariche, the Timoto-Cuica culture was the most complex society in Pre-Columbian Venezuela, with pre-planned permanent villages, surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. They also stored water in tanks and their houses were made primarily of stone and wood with thatched roofs. They were peaceful, for the most part, and depended on growing crops, regional crops included potatoes and ullucos
4.
Batting average
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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
5.
Hit (baseball)
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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
6.
Home run
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In modern baseball, the feat is typically achieved by hitting the ball over the outfield fence between the foul poles without first touching the ground, resulting in an automatic home run. There is also the home run, increasingly rare in modern baseball. When a home run is scored, the batter is credited with a hit and a run scored. Likewise, the pitcher is recorded as having given up a hit, a batted ball is also a home run if it touches either foul pole or its attached screen before touching the ground, as the foul poles are by definition in fair territory. A batted ball that goes over the wall after touching the ground is not a home run. A fielder is allowed to reach over the wall to attempt to catch the ball as long as his feet are on or over the field during the attempt. If the fielder successfully catches the ball while it is in flight the batter is out, however, since the fielder is not part of the field, a ball that bounces off a fielder and over the wall without touching the ground is still a home run. A home run accomplished in any of the above manners is a home run. This stipulation is in Approved Ruling of Rule 7.10, an inside-the-park home run occurs when a batter hits the ball into play and is able to circle the bases before the fielders can put him out. Unlike with a home run, the batter-runner and all preceding runners are liable to be put out by the defensive team at any time while running the bases. This can only happen if the ball does not leave the ballfield, with outfields much less spacious and more uniformly designed than in the games early days, inside-the-park home runs are now a rarity. They are usually the result of a ball being hit by a very fast runner, either way, this sends the ball into open space in the outfield and thereby allows the batter-runner to circle the bases before the defensive team can put him out. The speed of the runner is crucial as even triples are relatively rare in most modern ballparks, all runs scored on such a play, however, still count. An example of an unexpected bounce occurred during the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco on July 10,2007, by the time the ball was relayed, Ichiro had already crossed the plate standing up. This was the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history, Home runs are often characterized by the number of runners on base at the time. A home run hit with the bases empty is seldom called a one-run homer, with one runner on base, two runs are scored and thus the home run is often called a two-run homer or two-run shot. Similarly, a home runs with two runners on base is a three-run homer or three-run shot, the term four-run homer is seldom used, instead, it is nearly always called a grand slam. Hitting a grand slam is the best possible result for the turn at bat
7.
Run batted in
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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
8.
Stolen base
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In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which he is not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base, a stolen base most often occurs when a baserunner advances to the next base while the pitcher is pitching the ball to home plate. Successful base stealers are not only fast but have good baserunning instincts, ned Cuthbert, playing for the Philadelphia Keystones in either 1863 or 1865, was the first player to steal a base in a baseball game, although the term stolen base was not used until 1870. For a time in the 19th century, stolen bases were credited when a baserunner reached an extra base on a hit from another player. For example, if a runner on first base reached third base on a single, in 1887, Hugh Nicol set a still-standing Major League record with 138 stolen bases, many of which would not have counted under modern rules. Modern steal rules were implemented in 1898. Base stealing was popular in the early decades, with speedsters such as Ty Cobb. Wills record was broken in turn by Lou Brock in 1974, base stealing is an important characteristic of the small ball managing style. Such managers emphasize doing the things to advance runners and score runs, often relying on pitching. The Los Angeles Dodgers of the 1960s, led by pitcher Sandy Koufax, the antithesis of this is reliance on power hitting, exemplified by the Baltimore Orioles of the 1970s, which aspired to score most of its runs via home runs. Often the small ball model is associated with the National League, however, some successful recent American League teams, including the 2002 Anaheim Angels, the 2001 Seattle Mariners and the 2005 Chicago White Sox have excelled at small ball. The Kansas City Royals have embodied this style recently, leading the league in stolen bases but finishing last in home runs in 2013 and 2014. Successful teams often combine both styles, with a runner or two complementing hitters with power, such as the 2005 White Sox, who despite playing small ball, still hit 200 home runs. Baseballs Rule 8 specifies the pitching procedure in detail, a runner intending to steal on the pitcher breaks for the next base the moment the pitcher commits to pitch to home plate. The pitcher cannot abort the pitch and try to put the runner out, if the runner breaks too soon, the pitcher may throw to a base rather than pitch, and the runner is usually picked off by being tagged out between the bases. Past this moment, any delay in the runners break makes it likely that the catcher, after receiving the pitch. Before the pitch, the runner takes a lead-off, walking several steps away from the base as a start toward the next base. Even a runner who does not intend to steal takes a lead of a few more steps
9.
Houston Astros
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The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros are members of the American League West division in Major League Baseball, the Astros have played their home games at Minute Maid Park since 2000. The Astros were established as the Houston Colt. 45s and entered the National League in 1962 with the expansion New York Mets. The current name—reflecting Houstons role as the center of the U. S. space program—was adopted three years later, when they moved into the Astrodome, the worlds first domed sports stadium. The Astros played in the NL from 1962 to 2012 and they played in the West division from 1969 to 1993, and the Central division from 1994 to 2012. The Astros have played in one World Series in 2005 against the Chicago White Sox, from 1888 until 1961, Houstons professional baseball club was the minor league Houston Buffaloes. Although expansion from the National League eventually brought an MLB team to Texas in 1962, Houston officials had been making efforts to do so for years prior. There were four men responsible for bringing Major League Baseball to Houston, George Kirksey and Craig Cullinan. They formed the Houston Sports Association as their vehicle for attaining a big league franchise for the city of Houston and they called the new league the Continental League. Wanting to protect potential new markets, both existing leagues chose to expand from eight teams to ten, however, plans eventually fell through for the Houston franchise after the Houston Buffaloes owner, Marty Marion, could not come to an agreement with the HSA to sell the team. To make matters worse, the Continental League as a whole folded in August 1960, however, on October 17,1960, the National League granted an expansion franchise to the Houston Sports Association in which their team could begin play in the 1962 season. Eventually, the Houston Sports Association succeeded in purchasing the Houston Buffaloes, at this point majority-owned by William Hopkins, the Buffs played one last minor league season as the top farm team of the Chicago Cubs in 1961 before being succeeded by the citys NL club. The new Houston team was named the Colt. 45s after a Name The Team contest was won by William Irving Neder, the Colt.45 was well known as the gun that won the west. The colors selected were blue and orange. The first team was formed mostly through a draft after the 1961 season. The Colt. 45s and their cousins, the New York Mets. Many of those associated with the Houston Buffaloes organization were allowed by the ownership to continue in the major league, Manager Harry Craft, who had joined Houston in 1961, remained in the same position for the team until the end of the 1964 season. General manager Spec Richardson also continued with the organization as business manager, similarly, the radio broadcasting team remained with the new Houston major league franchise
10.
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
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The game usually occurs on either the second or third Tuesday in July, and is meant to mark a symbolic halfway-point in the MLB season. Both of the major leagues share a common All-Star break, with no games scheduled on the day before or two days after the All-Star Game itself. Some additional events and festivities associated with the game take place each year close to, no official MLB All-Star Game was held in 1945 including the official selection of players due to World War II travel restrictions. The first All-Star Game was held on July 6,1933 as part of the 1933 Worlds Fair in Chicago, at Comiskey Park and was initiated by Arch Ward, initially intended to be a one-time event, its great success resulted in making the game an annual one. The venue for the All-Star Game is chosen by Major League Baseball, the criteria for the venue are subjective, generally, cities with new ballparks and those who have not hosted the game in a long time—or ever—tend to get selected. New York City has hosted more than any city, having done so nine times in five different stadiums. At the same time, the New York Mets failed to host for 48 seasons, in the first two decades of the game there were two pairs of teams that shared ballparks, located in Philadelphia and St. Louis. This led to some shorter-than-usual gaps between the use of venues, The Cardinals hosted the game in 1940, and the Browns in 1948. The Athletics hosted the game in 1943, and the Phillies in 1952, the venues traditionally alternate between the American League and National League every year. This tradition has been several times, The first time was in 1951. Detroit Tigers were chosen to host the game as part of the citys 250th birthday. The second was when the format during the 1959–1962 seasons resulted in the A. L. being one game ahead in turn. This was corrected in 2007, when the N. L, San Francisco Giants were the host for the 2007 All-Star Game, which also set up the 2008 game to be held at the A. L. s Yankee Stadium in its final season. This decision was made following the announcement of Miami as host for the 2017 All Star Game, the coaching staff for each team is selected by its manager. This honor is given to the manager, not the team and this happened in 2003, when Dusty Baker managed the National League team despite having moved from the National League champion San Francisco Giants to the Chicago Cubs. This has also included situations where the person is no longer actively managing a team, mcGraw came out of retirement for that purpose. Dick Williams resigned after managing the Oakland Athletics to the 1973 World Series, in 1974, he became manager of the California Angels, whose uniform he wore for the game. Tony La Russa, who managed the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, in 1979, Bob Lemon managed the American League team after having been fired by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner
11.
2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
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The 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 83rd edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was held on July 10,2012, during the 2012 Major League Baseball season at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, home of the Kansas City Royals. This marked the time the Mid-summer Classic had been played in Kansas City, with Kauffman Stadium last hosting the event in 1973. The event was held at Municipal Stadium in 1960, when the Athletics were still based there. The game was televised in the United States by Fox, the National League shutout the American League for the sixth time in All-Star Game history. It was the third-largest margin of victory for any Mid-summer Classic, the TV ratings fell even further than the 2011 edition, earning a 6.8 rating and 12 share on Fox. The total number of viewers who watched any portion of the game was up 7 percent from the year, however. The referendum passed in an election on April 4,2006, as a result of the deal, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig promised the area that the team would host a future All-Star Game no later than 2014. On June 16,2010, Selig officially awarded the rights to host the game to Kansas City for the 2012 season, fenway Park was also in contention for hosting the 2012 All-Star Game to celebrate that parks centennial. However Boston had most recently hosted the 1999 All-Star game, balloting for the 2012 All-Star Game starters began online April 20 and continued through June 28. Fan voting also took place in each MLB stadium, beginning May 8, the top vote-getters at each position and the top three among outfielders, were named the starters for their respective leagues. The results were announced on July 1, a record 40.2 million votes were cast, beating out the previous record from 2011 by a little under eight million. Josh Hamilton was the leading vote-getter with 11,073,744 votes, buster Posey set a new NL record for votes this year with 7,621,370 votes. After the rosters were revealed, a ballot of five players per league was created for the All-Star Final Vote to determine the 34th. The online balloting was conducted from Sunday afternoon, July 1, through Thursday afternoon, the winners of the All-Star Final Vote were Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers and David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals. Chipper Jones, of the Atlanta Braves, was removed from the ballot on July 3 after he replaced Matt Kemp on the due to injury. The only position player able to participate who was not used was Adam Dunn, lance Lynn and Huston Street were the pitchers not used by the National League. For the American League, pitchers Yu Darvish, Félix Hernández, Jake Peavy, in the first inning, the National League scored five runs, highlighted by Pablo Sandovals three run bases clearing triple to the right field corner
12.
2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
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The 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 85th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the home of the Minnesota Twins. This was the third All-Star Game played in the Twin Cities, Metropolitan Stadium hosted the game in 1965 and it was televised in the United States on Fox as part of a new eight-year deal. The Chicago Cubs were the other team that made a bid for hosting the 2014 All-Star Game. With 2014 being the American Leagues turn, Chicago made a bid hoping an exception would be made for the National League Cubs in order to honor the centennial of Wrigley Field, balloting for the 2014 All-Star Game starters began online April 24 and ended on July 3. The top vote-getters at each position and the top three among outfielders, were named the starters for their respective leagues, the results were announced on July 6. After the rosters were finalized, a ballot of five players per league was created for the All-Star Final Vote to determine the 34th. The online balloting was conducted from July 6 through July 10, the American League took a 3–0 lead in the first inning on a Derek Jeter double, a Mike Trout triple and a Miguel Cabrera home run. The NL scored two runs in the second with three hits by Aramis Ramirez, Chase Utley and Jonathan Lucroy against Jon Lester. Lucroy tied the game at three in the fourth with another RBI double, the American League took a 5–3 lead in the 5th on a Trout double and a Jose Altuve sacrifice fly. The lead held up and the AL won by the score of 5–3, list of Major League Baseball All-Star Game winners All-Star Futures Game Home Run Derby Official website of the All-Star Game 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at ESPN
13.
2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
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The 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be the 88th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game will be hosted by the Miami Marlins and will be played at Marlins Park on July 11,2017 and it will be televised nationally on Fox. The host city was announced on February 10,2015, by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and this will be the first time ever that the city of Miami will host the All-Star Game, since the teams inception in 1993. The Tampa Bay Rays will become the team presently in the MLB to never have hosted an All-Star Game. List of Major League Baseball All-Star Games All-Star Futures Game Home Run Derby Official website of the All-Star Game
14.
World Series
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The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball in North America, contested since 1903 between the American League champion team and the National League champion team. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a playoff. As the series is played in October, during the season in North America. As of 2016, the World Series has been contested 112 times, with the AL winning 64, the 2016 World Series took place between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs. Seven games were played, with the Cubs victorious after game seven, the final score was 8–7, the game went into extra innings after a tied score of 6–6. This was the third World Series won by the Cubs, as well as their first title since 1908, in the National League, the St. As of 2016, no team has won consecutive World Series championships since the New York Yankees in 1998,1999, all championships were awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. From 1884 to 1890, the National League and the American Association faced each other in a series of games at the end of the season to determine an overall champion. These series were disorganized in comparison to the modern World Series, the number of games played ranged from as few as three in 1884, to a high of fifteen in 1887. Both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game, the series was promoted and referred to as The Championship of the United States, Worlds Championship Series, or Worlds Series for short. In his book Krakatoa, The Day the World Exploded, August 27,1883, Simon Winchester mentions in passing that the World Series was named for the New York World newspaper, but this view is disputed. Until about 1960, some sources treated the 19th-century Series on a basis with the post-19th-century series. After about 1930, however, many authorities list the start of the World Series in 1903, following the collapse of the American Association after the 1891 season, the National League was again the only major league. The league championship was awarded in 1892 by a playoff between half-season champions and this scheme was abandoned after one season. Beginning in 1893—and continuing until divisional play was introduced in 1969—the pennant was awarded to the club in the standings at the end of the season. For four seasons, 1894–1897, the league played the runners-up in the post season championship series called the Temple Cup. A second attempt at this format was the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup series, in 1901, the American League was formed as a second major league. No championship series were played in 1901 or 1902 as the National and these series were arranged by the participating clubs, as the 1880s Worlds Series matches had been
15.
Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
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The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America, MVP voting takes place before the postseason, but the results are not announced until after the World Series. The BBWAA began by polling three writers in each city in 1938, reducing that number to two per league city in 1961. The BBWAA does not offer a definition of what most valuable means. First basemen, with 34 winners, have won the most MVPs among infielders, followed by second basemen, third basemen, of the 24 pitchers who have won the award,15 are right-handed while 9 are left-handed. Walter Johnson, Carl Hubbell, and Hal Newhouser are the pitchers who have won multiple times. Barry Bonds has won the most often and the most consecutively, jimmie Foxx was the first player to win multiple times,9 players have won three times, and 19 have won twice. Frank Robinson is the player to win the award in both the American and National Leagues. The awards only tie occurred in the National League in 1979, there have been 18 unanimous winners, who received all the first-place votes. The New York Yankees have the most winning players with 22, the award has never been presented to a member of the following four teams, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, and Tampa Bay Rays. The most recent recipients are Mike Trout in the American League, in recent decades, pitchers have rarely won the award. When Justin Verlander won the AL award in 2011, he became the first pitcher in league to be named the MVP since Dennis Eckersley in 1992. Verlander also became the first starting pitcher to win this award since Roger Clemens had accomplished the feat in 1986. The National League went even longer without an MVP award to a pitcher—after Bob Gibson won in 1968, the 1910 race for best average in the American League was between the Detroit Tigers widely disliked Ty Cobb and Nap Lajoie of the Cleveland Indians. On the last day of the season, Lajoie overtook Cobbs batting average with seven bunt hits against the St. Louis Browns, American League President Ban Johnson said a recalculation showed that Cobb had won the race anyway, and Chalmers ended up awarding cars to both players. The following season, Chalmers created the Chalmers Award, a committee of baseball writers were to convene after the season to determine the most important and useful player to the club and to the league. Since the award was not as effective at advertising as Chalmers had hoped, in 1922 the American League created a new award to honor the baseball player who is of the greatest all-around service to his club. Winners, voted on by a committee of eight baseball writers chaired by James Crusinberry, received a bronze medal, voters were required to select one player from each team and player-coaches and prior award winners were ineligible
16.
Rawlings Gold Glove Award
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Managers are not permitted to vote for their own players. Additionally, a sabermetric component provided by Society for American Baseball Research accounts for approximately 25 percent of the vote, eighteen Gold Gloves are awarded each year, one at each of the nine positions in each league. In 1957, the glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position. The award was created from a made from gold lamé-tanned leather. For the first four seasons of the award, individual awards were presented to left fielders, center fielders, from 1961 through 2010, the phrase at each position was no longer strictly accurate, since the prize was presented to three outfielders irrespective of their specific position. Any combination of outfielders, often three center fielders, could win the award in the same year, critics called for awarding a single Gold Glove for each individual outfield position, arguing that the three outfield positions are not equivalent defensively. Starting in 2011, separate awards for each position were once again presented. In the 1985 American League voting, a tie for third-place resulted in the presentation of Gold Glove Awards to four outfielders, the Gold Gloves are selected by managers and coaches that may have seen a player as few as six times during the season. Bill Chuck of Comcast SportsNet New England wrote that Gold Glove voters frequently counted only errors to determine winners, geoff Baker of The Seattle Times said the votes for the Gold Gloves rely largely on a players past reputation. The Associated Press wrote that fans have viewed the Gold Gloves as mostly a popularity contest. Derek Jeter, winner of five Gold Gloves, believes that many defensive factors cannot be quantified, in 2013, Rawlings collaborated on the Gold Glove Award with SABR, who provided the SABR Defensive Index to add a sabermetric component to the selection process. The index accounted for 25 percent of the vote, while managers, afterwards, Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Gold Gloves appear to have significantly closed the gap on their more statistically-driven counterparts. The most Gold Gloves ever won by one player is 18 by pitcher Greg Maddux and he won 13 consecutive awards from 1990 to 2002, all in the National League. Brooks Robinson has the most wins as a third baseman, with 16 Gold Gloves, and is tied for the second-highest total overall with pitcher Jim Kaat, Iván Rodríguez has won the most Gold Gloves as a catcher, with 13 career awards in the American League. Ozzie Smith has 13 wins at shortstop, he and Rodríguez are tied for the fourth-highest total among all winners, among outfielders, Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays, who played primarily right field and center field, respectively, are tied for the lead with 12 Gold Gloves. Keith Hernandez, the leader at first base, has won 11 times, other players with 10 or more wins include shortstop Omar Vizquel, catcher Johnny Bench, third baseman Mike Schmidt, and outfielders Ken Griffey Jr. Ichiro Suzuki, Andruw Jones, and Al Kaline. The only player to win Gold Gloves as an infielder and outfielder is Darin Erstad, the only other player to win Gold Gloves at multiple positions is Plácido Polanco, who won at second base and third base. In 2016, Rawlings announced it would begin awarding a gold glove annually to a female fastpitch softball player in the National Pro Fastpitch league, NPF coaches and managers vote for a winner
17.
Silver Slugger Award
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Managers and coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. The Silver Slugger was first awarded in 1980 and is given by Hillerich & Bradsby, the award is a bat-shaped trophy,3 feet tall, engraved with the names of each of the winners from the league and plated with sterling silver. The prize is presented to outfielders irrespective of their specific position, embattled home run record-holder Barry Bonds won twelve Silver Slugger Awards in his career as an outfielder, the most of any player. He also won the award in five consecutive seasons twice in his career, from 1990 to 1994, retired catcher Mike Piazza and former New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez are tied for second, with ten wins each. Rodriguez awards are split between two positions, he won seven Silver Sluggers as a shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, wade Boggs leads third basemen with eight Silver Slugger Awards, Barry Larkin leads shortstops with nine. Other leaders include Ryne Sandberg and Mike Hampton, todd Helton and Albert Pujols are tied for the most wins among first baseman with four, although Pujols has won two awards at other positions. David Ortiz has won seven awards at designated hitter position, the most at that position, inline citations Louisville Slugger – The Silver Slugger Award
18.
Hank Aaron Award
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The Hank Aaron Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball players selected as the top hitter in each league, as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media. It was introduced in 1999 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Hank Aarons surpassing of Babe Ruths career home run mark of 714 home runs, the award was the first major award to be introduced by Major League Baseball in 19 years. For the 1999 season, a winner was selected using a points system. Hits, home runs, and runs batted in were given point values. In 2000, the system was changed to a ballot in which each MLB teams radio and television play-by-play broadcasters and their first place vote receives five points, the second place vote receives three points, and the third place vote receives one point. Beginning in 2003, fans were given the opportunity to vote via MLBs official website, fans votes account for 30% of the points, while broadcasters and analysts votes account for the other 70%. The 2004–2006 Hank Aaron Award was decided in three separate phases, in August fans voted at each Clubs official Web site from among three players nominated by the respective Club. The leading vote getter from each Club became one of 30 finalists, online fan voting then determined the overall League winner. In 2007–2008 five finalists in each league were determined in fan balloting on MLB. com, from 30 club nominees selected by a panel assembled by Major League Baseball. Online fan votes decided the overall League winner, for the 2009 Award fans selected both the finalists and the ultimate winners of the award. In September fans voted for one finalist out of three nominees from each MLB Club, once those 30 finalists were selected, fans voted for one American League and one National League winner, from September 16–30. The award is handed out to the winners of both leagues before Game 4 of the World Series every year, with Aaron himself presenting the awards. The first winners of the award were Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa in 1999, while the most recent winners are David Ortiz, alex Rodriguez has won the award four times, the most of any player. The winner with the most hits is Todd Helton, who won as a Colorado Rockies in 2000, the winner with the most home runs is Barry Bonds from 2001, and Manny Ramírez in 1999 has the most RBIs. Created exclusively for Major League Baseball by FineAwards. com, the Hank Aaron Award has a hand-carved maritaca granite base and it is finished with a subtle etching of the Major League Baseball logo. The award, weighing 12 pounds, sits upon a custom designed cherry wood display, silver Slugger Award, given to the best offensive player at each position. Edgar Martínez Award, given to the best designated hitter, Major League Baseball Triple Crown This Year in Baseball Awards Baseball awards List of Major League Baseball awards Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame General Specific
19.
Venezuelans
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Venezuelan people are from a multiethnic nation in South America called Venezuela. Venezuelans are predominantly Roman Catholic and speak Spanish, the majority of Venezuelans are the result of a mixture of Europeans, Africans and Amerindians. 51. 6% of the population are Mestizos of mixed European, African and Amerindian ancestry and 43. 6% of Venezuelans consider themselves European or Middle Eastern, an additional 3. 6% identify as Black/African-descendants, while 3. 2% identify as Amerindians. However, archaeological excavations are the evidences that establish certain periods that were taking place on the continent, there are four periods of diversity that develop in the current Venezuela, which also entering a new period, it did not mean the end of the previous. The first migrations to the continent were probably from East Asia to 15,000 years and these early migrants came at first to be located in North America, later moving to the territory of present Venezuela. Now for their offspring, it was clear verify the Asian features on their faces that will adapt to the climate and lifestyle. On August 2,1498, Christopher Columbus, and the Spanish colonizers ships, landed for the first time in American mainland and did so in the current Venezuelan territory. Another group of whites who were born in Venezuela were originally called Creole, representing 20% of the population, they were mostly from the Canary Islands, the other two smaller groups were the original inhabitants and indigenous blacks brought from Africa, they were about 5% of the population. This process is responsible for the majority of Venezuelans who are of mestizo mixed race. The country has a population that reflects its rich history. Many of the peoples were absorbed by the mestizo population. Small numbers are descendants of French, English and Polish, as they emigrated during World War II, black Africans were brought as slaves, mostly coastal lowlands, beginning early in the sixteenth century and continuing into the nineteenth century. Currently, according to the critic DAmbrosio and other academics, about 51. 6% of Venezuelans are mestizos, 45% are white, 2% are black and 1% Indians. Notably, according to scholars, is the fact that virtually there are no pure blacks in Venezuela, including those with the darkest skin. Most of which being limited to black Venezuelans who descend from recent immigrants, the only Venezuelan town where there is a consistent number of them is Colonia Tovar. The population of approximately 28 million people made Venezuela the sixth-most populous country in Latin America, approximately more than one million are living in other countries. More than ninety percent of the Venezuelans live in urban areas – a figure higher than the world average. The literacy rate in Venezuela is also well above the average
20.
Major League Baseball
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Major League Baseball is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams now play in the National League and American League, the NL and AL operated as separate legal entities from 1876 and 1901 respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities since 1903, the merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament. Baseballs first professional team was founded in Cincinnati in 1869,30 years after Abner Doubleday supposedly invented the game of baseball, the first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one team or league to another. The period before 1920 in baseball was known as the dead-ball era, Baseball survived a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series, which came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The sport rose in popularity in the 1920s, and survived potential downturns during the Great Depression, shortly after the war, baseballs color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of expansion for the AL and NL, then new stadiums, Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s, and media reports began to discuss the use of anabolic steroids among Major League players in the mid-2000s. In 2006, an investigation produced the Mitchell Report, which implicated many players in the use of performance-enhancing substances, today, MLB is composed of thirty teams, twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada. Baseball broadcasts are aired on television, radio, and the Internet throughout North America, MLB has the highest season attendance of any sports league in the world with more than 73 million spectators in 2015. MLB is governed by the Major League Baseball Constitution and this document has undergone several incarnations since 1875, with the most recent revisions being made in 2012. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball, MLB hires and maintains the sports umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, MLB maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of Minor League Baseball. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years, the weakened ruling granted more stability to the owners of teams and has resulted in values increasing at double-digit rates. There were several challenges to MLBs primacy in the sport between the 1870s and the Federal League in 1916, the last attempt at a new league was the aborted Continental League in 1960. The chief executive of MLB is the commissioner, Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer is Tony Petitti. There are five other executives, president, chief officer, chief legal officer, chief financial officer. The multimedia branch of MLB, which is based in Manhattan, is MLB Advanced Media and this branch oversees MLB. com and each of the 30 teams websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the league, MLB Productions is a similarly structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media
21.
American League
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The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League, is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a league based in the Great Lakes states. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season,25 years after the formation of the National League. At the end of season, the American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion. Through 2016, American League teams have won 64 of the 112 World Series played since 1903, the 2016 American League champions are the Cleveland Indians. The New York Yankees have won 40 American League titles, the most in the history, followed by the Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics. Originally a minor league known as the Western League, the American League later developed into a major league after the American Association disbanded, in its early history, the Western League struggled until 1894, when Ban Johnson became the president of the league. Johnson led the Western League into major league status and soon became the president of the newly renamed American League, babe Ruth, noted as one of the most prolific hitters in Major League Baseball history, spent the majority of his career in the American League. The American League has one notable difference versus the National League, in 1902, the Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis and were renamed the St. Louis Browns. In 1902, The Cleveland Bluebirds were also renamed the Cleveland Broncos, in 1903, the Broncos were renamed the Cleveland Naps. In 1915, the Naps were renamed the Cleveland Indians, in 1903, the Baltimore Orioles moved to New York and were renamed the New York Highlanders. In 1913, the Highlanders were renamed the New York Yankees, in 1904, the Chicago White Stockings were renamed the Chicago White Sox. In 1908, the Boston Americans were renamed the Boston Red Sox, in 1954, the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and were renamed as the Baltimore Orioles. In 1955, the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City and were renamed as the Kansas City Athletics, in 1961, the league expanded and added two teams as the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators, expanding the league to 10 teams. The original Senators team moved to Minneapolis/St, Paul in 1961 and were renamed as the Minnesota Twins. The Angels team name changed to the California Angels in 1966, then to the Anaheim Angels in 1997, the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots were added to the American League, expanding the league to 12 teams. In 1970, the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and were renamed the Milwaukee Brewers, in 1972, the Washington Senators relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and were renamed the Texas Rangers. In 1977, the league expanded to fourteen teams, when the Seattle Mariners, in 1998, the Tampa Bay Rays was added to the American League and at the same time, the Milwaukee Brewers were switched to the National League, leaving the American League with 14 teams
22.
Sports Illustrated
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Sports Illustrated is an American sports media franchise owned by Time Inc. Its self-titled magazine has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million people each week and it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice. Its swimsuit issue, which has published since 1964, is now an annual publishing event that generates its own television shows, videos. There were two magazines named Sports Illustrated before the current magazine began on August 16,1954, in 1936, Stuart Scheftel created Sports Illustrated with a target market for the sportsman. He published the magazine from 1936 to 1938 on a monthly basis, the magazine was a life magazine size and focused on golf, tennis, and skiing with articles on the major sports. He then sold the name to Dell Publications, which released Sports Illustrated in 1949, dells version focused on major sports and competed on magazine racks against Sport and other monthly sports magazines. During the 1940s these magazines were monthly and they did not cover the current events because of the production schedules, there was no large-base, general, weekly sports magazine with a national following on actual active events. It was then that Time patriarch Henry Luce began considering whether his company should attempt to fill that gap, at the time, many believed sports was beneath the attention of serious journalism and did not think sports news could fill a weekly magazine, especially during the winter. A number of advisers to Luce, including Life magazines Ernest Havemann, tried to kill the idea, but Luce, the goal of the new magazine was to be basically a magazine, but with sports. Launched on August 16,1954, it was not profitable and not particularly well run at first, but Luces timing was good. The popularity of sports in the United States was about to explode. The early issues of the magazine seemed caught between two opposing views of its audience, after more than a decade of steady losses, the magazines fortunes finally turned around in the 1960s when Andre Laguerre became its managing editor. A European correspondent for Time, Inc, in May 1956, Luce brought Laguerre to New York to become assistant managing editor of the magazine. He was also one of the first to sense the rise of national interest in professional football, Laguerre also instituted the innovative concept of one long story at the end of every issue, which he called the bonus piece. His genius as an editor was that he made you want to please him, Laguerre is also credited with the conception and creation of the annual Swimsuit Issue, which quickly became, and remains, the most popular issue each year. Regular illustration features by artists like Robert Riger, high school football Player of the Month awards. In 2015 Sports Illustrated purchased a group of companies and combined them to create Sports Illustrated Play. The magazines photographers also made their mark with innovations like putting cameras in the goal at a hockey game, by 1967, the magazine was printing 200 pages of fast color a year, in 1983, SI became the first American full-color newsweekly
23.
J. J. Watt
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Justin James J. J. Watt is an American football defensive end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Texans with the 11th pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Watt received the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award three times in his first five seasons. Although primarily a defensive end, he shifts to defensive tackle in some situations. He has also taken snaps on offense, catching three passes during the 2014 season. In 2014, Watt became the first player in NFL history to record two 20+ sack seasons in a career and he holds the Texans franchise records for both sacks and forced fumbles. Watt was born on March 22,1989, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, to parents Connie, a building operations vice-president, and John Watt, the Watt family has Scottish ancestry. One of Watts brothers, Derek Watt, is an NFL fullback for the San Diego Chargers and his younger brother, T. J. Watt, is a student and football player at the University of Wisconsin. Watt played hockey from age four to age 13 and played for teams that traveled to Canada. He gave up hockey when weekly games started to conflict with his schedule, Watt also played football throughout his childhood and became passionate about football while he was in fifth grade. Watt attended Pewaukee High School, where he was a four-year letter-winner in football and also lettered in basketball, baseball, during his senior year, he was selected for first-team All-State. He earned the Woodland Conference Player of the Year Award his senior year, and first-team All-State, All-County, All-Area and he was also named the teams MVP. During his senior year, Watt accumulated a total of 399 receiving yards,26 catches, Watt followed in his fathers footsteps and competed in the shot put during his senior season, earning first-team All-state selection. He captured the title in the shot put at the 2007 WIAA Division II Championship. Regarded as a recruit by both Rivals. com and Scout. com, Watt was ranked neither among the top tight end nor among the top defensive end prospects in his class. After official visits to Central Michigan, Colorado, and Minnesota, Watt received a scholarship offer from Central Michigan University and matriculated there. Watt has stated that he was led to believe that as a tight end, at Central Michigan, he played 14 games, compiling 77 receiving yards and 8 receptions. Watts coaches suggested that he move to tackle, but Watt decided to forgo his starting spot and scholarship to walk on at the University of Wisconsin. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Watt was redshirted for the 2008 season and was named Wisconsin’s Scout Team Player of the Year, in 2009, he played in 13 games as defensive end
24.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
25.
Houston Texans
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The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team competes in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference South division. The Texans first played in 2002 as a team, making them the youngest franchise in the NFL currently. The Texans replaced Houstons previous franchise, the Houston Oilers, which moved to Nashville, the teams majority owner is Bob McNair. While the team struggled in the 2000s, they clinched its first playoff berth during the 2011 season as AFC South division champions. The Texans have gone on to win more AFC South championships in 2012,2015, to date, the Texans are the only NFL franchise to have never played in a conference championship game. In 1996, an earlier, the Cleveland Browns had controversially relocated to become the Baltimore Ravens. As part of the settlement between the NFL, the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and the owned by Art Modell. In order to out the franchisees at 32, the league also contemplated adding another expansion franchise. In association with Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, they would push for a domed stadium as part of the bid to lure the NFL back to Houston, on October 6,1999 the NFL awarded the 32nd team to Houston, at the cost of $700 million. The Houston Texans joined the league at the 2002 NFL season, while the team struggled in early seasons, results began to improve once native Houstonian Gary Kubiak became the head coach in 2006. The Texans finished with a.500 season in both 2007 and 2008, and nearly qualified for the 2009–10 NFL playoffs with a 9–7 result in 2009. In 2010, the team started the season on a 4–2 record going into a Week 7 bye week, the Texans then beat wild card Cincinnati Bengals 31–10 in the first round of the 2011–12 NFL playoffs, before a 20–13 defeat by the Ravens in the semifinals. The Texans surged as the team to beat in the AFC South in 2012, however, they lost three of their last four games to finish 12–4, beating the rival Indianapolis Colts in that four-game stretch allowed them to clinch their 2nd AFC South title. The Texans beat the Bengals again in the round. The Texans started 2–0 in 2013 but went into a tailspin, Kubiak was fired as head coach after being swept by the rival Jacksonville Jaguars, who themselves started 0–8. Wade Phillips filled in as coach, but the Texans poor form did not change. The 14-game losing streak is also the worst in franchise history, the Texans entered the 2014 season with a 14-game losing streak
26.
Sporting News Player of the Year Award
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This is a list of the Major League Baseball players awarded by Sporting News since 1936 as recipients of the Sporting News Player of the Year. The Sporting News established in 1936 the Player of the Year award and it is the oldest and most prestigious award given to the single player in MLB who had the most outstanding season. Until 1969, it was the major award given to a single player from MLB. In 1969, Baseball Digest began its Player of the Year award for one player in all of MLB, in 1993, the first Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award was given. In 1998, the Major League Baseball Players Association began its own Player of the Year award, for one player in all of MLB, Baseball America also began its Major League Player of the Year award in 1998. In 2012, MLBs GIBBY Awards added an MLB Most Valuable Player category, several players have won the award more than once. Ted Williams, Joe Morgan, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera are the players to win the award in consecutive years. Ted Williams won the five times. Sandy Koufax is the pitcher to win the award more than once. Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds are the players to win the award while playing with different teams. Stan Musial and Alex Rodriguez are the players to win the award while playing different positions. The only tie was in 1962, when Don Drysdale and Maury Wills shared the honor, Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds are the only players to win the award with multiple teams. Alex Rodriguez won the award with the most teams, winning multiple SN Player of the Year awards has been seen as guaranteed admission to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds is the player with multiple awards, eligible for the Hall of Fame. The table is of the Players that have won two or more awards and the year they were inducted into Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, active players are not eligible for the Hall of Fame. Outfielders and Pitchers have won the most awards
27.
Maracay
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Maracay is a city in north-central Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast, and is the capital and most important city of the state of Aragua. Most of it falls under the jurisdiction of the Girardot Municipality, the population of Maracay and its surroundings as per the 2011 census was 955,362. In Venezuela, Maracay is known as Ciudad Jardín, or Garden City, officially established on March 5,1701 by Bishop Diego de Baños y Sotomayor in the valleys of Tocopio and Tapatapa in northern Venezuela. According to the most accepted explanation, it was named after an indigenous chief, and refers to the Maracayo. Alternative etymologies cite a local aromatic tree called Mara, Maracay experienced rapid growth during Juan Vicente Gómezs dictatorship. The city is home to the Mausoleo de Gómez, where the remains are stored. The areas around Maracay are agricultural, sugarcane, tobacco, coffee, there are also cattle-herding and timber-cutting activities. Activity by the Venezuelan Military also adds a great deal to Maracays economy, Maracay has good transportation facilities and infrastructure. The city is linked to most other important localities by the Autopista Regional del Centro and it also has good access to Venezuelas small national railway system. The city boasts the national Hidroplane airport, located on the shore of the Lago de Valencia, the city does not have a subway system, but one is in the planning stages. The Airport Mariscal Sucre and the military Air Base El Libertador Maracay is a city heavily influenced by the military, Maracay is the cradle of Venezuelan aviation, and it is home to the two largest Air Force bases in the country. The Venezuelan F-16 fighter planes are stationed here, as well as the new Sukhoi-30MKEs acquired by the Venezuelan Government, other military facilities include the Fourth Armored Division of the Army and the Venezuelan Paratroopers main base and training center. It is also home to the ammunition and weapons factory that produces the Venezuelan version of the FN FAL rifle. The mountains on the side of Maracay, that separate it from the coast, make up the Henri Pittier National Park. The park is a lush rainforest, with a great variety of ferns. Two very winding roads cut through the park over the mountains to the coast, one, beginning at the North-Central part of the city known as Urbanización El Castaño, goes to the beach town of Choroní. The other, beginning at the North-Western part at the city of El Limón, goes to Ocumare de la Costa, Maracay houses the Faculty of Veterinarians and Agronomy of the Universidad Central de Venezuela, and an extension of the Universidad de Carabobo. The main Campus of the UNEFA is located here, career choices include, Electronics, Aeronautical and Civil Engineering, as well as other disciplines such as avionics
28.
Venezuela national baseball team
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The Venezuela national baseball team is the national team of Venezuela. They are currently ranked six in the world by the International Baseball Federation, in June 2005, Major League Baseball announced the formation of the World Baseball Classic, a sixteen nation international competition to be held in March 2006 for the first time. The team Venezuela sent to the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic included Venezuelan players from Major League Baseball, a player is eligible to participate on a WBC national team if, The player is a citizen of the nation the team represents. The player is a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents, the player was born in the nation or territory the team represents. The player has one parent who is, or if deceased was, the player has one parent who was born in the nation or territory the team represents. Venezuela competed in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, playing its games in Pool C. The Venezuelans secured advancement out of Pool C with a pair of resounding wins over Italy, along the way, Venezuela also lost a 15–6 slugfest against the United States, but won twice against the same team. In the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Venezuela was eliminated by Puerto Rico, who went on to eliminate Italy and their placing as the third team in Pool C after defeating newcomers Spain was sufficient to secure direct qualification to the 2017 World Baseball Classic. In 2009, Europe will host the IBAF World Cup and it will mark the first time in history the Baseball World Cup will not be hosted by a certain country, but rather a whole continent. The 2009 Baseball World Cup will take place from 9–27 September, seven European countries will host and participant in the tournament of 22 teams. The event will be made up of five consisting of four teams each. Italy and Netherlands serve as hosts of the sixteen teams of the second round, & Venezuela 2006=7th 1955, 3rd 1959, 1st 1975, 3rd 2006 World Baseball Classic 2009 World Baseball Classic 2013 World Baseball Classic Players from Venezuela in MLB
29.
2017 World Baseball Classic
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The 2017 World Baseball Classic was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22,2017. It was the iteration of the WBC. The first-round hosts were Seoul, Tokyo, Miami and Zapopan, the second-round hosts were Tokyo and San Diego, and the championship round was played in Los Angeles. Two of the four qualifiers, Colombia and Israel, each made their first appearance in the World Baseball Classic, the Netherlands, Japan, Puerto Rico, and the United States advanced to the championship round. Defending champion Dominican Republic was eliminated in the second round, the United States defeated Puerto Rico to win the championship game, 8–0. Marcus Stroman was named tournament MVP and he made three starts for Team USA, and posted a 2.35 ERA in 15 1⁄3 total innings, including six shutout innings in the championship game. The top three teams from pool of the first round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified. The first and second rounds of the tournament were played in round-robin format, with each playing each other team in their pool once. However, in an effort to reduce the likelihood that a team would be eliminated on statistical tiebreakers, if there is a two-way tie for first, since both teams advance, there would be no extra game. The team that won the game between the teams would be declared the pool winner, and the other team the pool runner-up. If there is a tie for first, head-to-head results would not help to break the tie. In this case, statistics would determine the team. If there is a tie for second, statistics would determine the top two teams who would then play to determine the pool runner-up. The team ranked worst on the calculation would be eliminated, IPD − Innings the team pitched. RA/IPD − The index of RA/IPD, Pool A of the First Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held at Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul, South Korea from March 6 to 10,2017, between Team Israel, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Taiwan. Pool A was a round-robin tournament, prior to the start of the tournament, ESPN considered Team Israel, ranked 41st in the world, to be the biggest underdog in the tournament, referring to them as the Jamaican bobsled team of the WBC. Team Israel and Team Netherlands qualified for the round, in Japan. Israel became the first baseball team to go undefeated in the first round of the WBC’s main draw after entering the draw by winning in a qualifying round
30.
Catcher
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Catcher is also a general term for a fielder who catches the ball in cricket. Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player, when a batter takes his/her turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket, positioned behind home plate, the catcher can see the whole field, and is therefore in the best position to direct and lead the other players in a defensive play. The catcher typically calls for using hand signals. The calls are based on the mechanics and strengths, as well as the batters tendencies and weaknesses. Foul tips, bouncing balls in the dirt, and contact with runners during plays at the plate are all events to be handled by the catcher and this includes a mask, chest and throat protectors, shin guards, and a heavily padded catchers mitt. The physical and mental demands of being involved on every defensive play can wear catchers down over a long season, because of the strategic defensive importance of catching, if a catcher has exceptional defensive skills, teams are often willing to overlook their relative offensive weaknesses. A knowledgeable catchers ability to work with the pitcher, via selection and location. Many great defensive catchers toiled in relative anonymity, because they did not produce large offensive numbers, notable examples of light-hitting, defensive specialists were, Ray Schalk, Jim Hegan, Jim Sundberg and Brad Ausmus. Schalks career batting average of.253 is the lowest of any player in the Baseball Hall of Fame. That he was selected for enshrinement in 1955 was largely a tribute to his defensive skills. Catchers are often able to play first base and less commonly third base, in the numbering system used to record baseball plays, the catcher is assigned the number 2. In the middle of the century, the game of baseball began to evolve from a sport played by amateurs for recreation into a more serious game played by professionals. One of the most dramatic changes was the transition of the delivery from an underhand motion to an overhanded throw. As the game progressed towards professionals and became serious, pitchers began to attempt to prevent the batter from hitting the ball by throwing faster pitches. With the introduction of the strike in 1858, catchers began inching closer to home plate due to the rules requirement that a strikeout could only be completed by a catch. These developments meant that catchers began to take on a defensive role
31.
Kansas City Royals
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The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball as a team of the American League Central division. The team was founded as a franchise in 1969, and has participated in four World Series, winning in 1985 and 2015. The name Royals originates from the American Royal, a show, horse show, rodeo. Entering the American League in 1969 along with the Seattle Pilots, since April 10,1973, the Royals have played at Kauffman Stadium, formerly known as Royals Stadium. The team remained competitive throughout the early 1990s, but then had one winning season from 1995 to 2012. For 28 consecutive seasons, the Royals did not qualify to play in the Major League Baseball postseason, the team broke this streak in 2014 by securing the franchises first wild card berth and advancing to the World Series. The Royals followed this up by winning the teams first Central Division title in 2015, the Royals began play in 1969 in Kansas City, Missouri. In their inaugural game, on April 8,1969, the Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 4–3 in 12 innings, in 1971, the Royals had their first winning season, with manager Bob Lemon leading them to a second-place finish. In 1973, under manager Jack McKeon, the Royals adopted their iconic powder blue road uniforms, the 1973 All-Star Game was hosted at Royals Stadium, with Otis and Mayberry in the AL starting lineup. The event was held at Municipal Stadium in 1960, when the Athletics were based in Kansas City. However, the Royals lost to the New York Yankees in three straight American League Championship Series encounters, after the Royals finished in second place in 1979, Herzog was fired and replaced by Jim Frey. Under Frey, the Royals rebounded in 1980 and advanced to the ALCS, the Royals vanquished the Yankees in a three-game sweep punctuated by a George Brett home run off of Yankees star relief pitcher Goose Gossage. After reaching their first World Series, the Royals fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in six games, Game 6 was also significant because it remains the most-watched game in World Series history with a television audience of 54.9 million viewers. In July 1983, while the Royals were headed for a second-place finish behind the Chicago White Sox another chapter in the rivalry with the New York Yankees occurred. After Yankee Manager Billy Martin came out of the dugout to talk to home plate umpire Tim McClelland, McClelland, McClelland then pointed to Brett in the dugout and gave the out sign, disallowing the home run. Brett stormed out of the dugout, angry and hysterical, the homer was later reinstated by AL President Lee MacPhail, and the Royals won the game after it was resumed several weeks later. The 1983 season was notable for some transitional changes in the Royals organization
32.
Scout (sport)
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Advance scouts watch the teams that their teams are going to play in order to help determine strategy. Many scouts are former coaches or retired players, while others have made a career just of being scouts, Major League scouts and professional scouts typically track active players under contract to other teams for potential acquisition. They also may support advance scouts or evaluate competing minor league organizations, per their designation, the former follow players in MLB, while pro scouts work minor league and independent league baseball. Amateur scouts evaluate high school and college players and prepare their MLB teams for the June amateur draft. To ensure that players are seen by multiple evaluators, amateur scouts are usually divided into area scouts, regional cross-checkers, international scouts cover players not from the United States, Puerto Rico and other U. S. territories, or Canada. Modern day scouts are becoming more and more reliant on computer programs to aid, many professional sport clubs now use computers to organize their collected information and data. Most sports still depend on human management to decide which players their organization will draft or sign, steve Belichick — late assistant coach and scout for the United States Naval Academy, author of Football Scouting Methods, and father of the NFL coach. Dick Haley — architect of 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty Bill Nunn — legendary scout for Pittsburgh Steelers Will Robinson- also scouted for the NFLs Detroit Lions. Kevin Mackey, Indiana Pacers Piet de Visser Geoff Twentyman Les Kershaw Jack Hixon Marco Zunino Liam Brady Pierluigi Casiraghi Jorge Alvial Håkan Andersson Garnet Bailey Jordan, occasional Glory, The History of the Philadelphia Phillies. ISBN 0-7864-1260-7 Robbins, Mike, Ninety Feet from Fame, Close Calls With Baseball Immortality, crowning the Kansas City Royals, Remembering the 1985 World Series Champs. Prophet of the Sandlots, Journeys with a Major League Scout
33.
Birth certificate
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A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term birth certificate can refer to either the document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth. Depending on the jurisdiction, a record of birth might or might not contain verification of the event by such as a midwife or doctor, the documentation of births is a practice widely held throughout human civilization, especially in China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Persia. The original purpose of statistics was for tax purposes and for the determination of available military manpower. Births were initially registered with churches, who maintained registers of births and this practice continued into the 19th century. The compulsory registration of births with governmental agencies is a practice originated in the United Kingdom in 1853. The United States did not get a system until 1902. Most countries have statutes and laws that regulate the registration of births, the actual record of birth is stored with a government agency. That agency will issue certified copies or representations of the birth record upon request. The certification is signed and/or sealed by the registrar or other custodian of birth records, despite 191 countries ratifying the Convention, the births of millions of children worldwide go unregistered. This phenomenon disproportionately impacts indigenous populations and even in developed countries, contributes to difficulties in fully accessing civic rights. Retrospective registration may be necessary where there is a backlog of children whose births have gone unregistered, in Senegal, the government is facilitating retrospective registration through free local court hearings and the number of unregistered children has fallen considerably as a result. In Sierra Leone, the government gave the National Office of Births and Deaths special permission to issue birth certificates to children over seven, in Bolivia, there was a successful three-year amnesty for the free registration of young people aged between 12 and 18. Statelessness, or the lack of nationality, impacts the daily lives of some 11-12 million people around the world. Perhaps those who suffer most are stateless infants, children, though born and raised in their parents’ country of habitual residence, they lack formal recognition of their existence. States and territories of Australia are responsible for the issuance of certificates, through agencies generally titled Registry of Births Deaths. Initially registering a birth is done by a hospital through a Birth Registration Statement or similar, home births are permitted, but a statement is required from a registered midwife, doctor or 2 other witnesses other than the parents. Unplanned births require in some states that the baby be taken to a hospital within 24 hours, once registered, a separate application can be made for a birth certificate, generally at a cost
34.
Al Pedrique
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Alfredo José Pedrique García is a Venezuelan professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pedrique served as the Houston Astros bench coach and as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is currently the manager of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the International League, Pedrique was signed by the Mets in 1978 and made his debut nine years later. After five games with the team, he hit.301 with the Pirates in his rookie season, Pedrique was a career.247 hitter with one home run,36 RBI,32 runs,18 doubles, one triple, and five stolen bases in 174 games. After retiring, Pedrique managed in the minors for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros and he came back to the majors in 2003 as a third base coach for the Diamondbacks. He was replaced by Wally Backman, and then Bob Melvin, tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated called the incident one of professional cowardice. The Astros hired Pedrique as their coach on October 31,2009, after previously serving as their Minor League Field Coordinator. In 2014, the New York Yankees hired Pedrique as the manager of the Tampa Yankees, on January 6,2016, Pedrique was announced as the manager of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. In his first season as manager, he led the RailRiders to the International Leagues Governors Cup championship
35.
2007 Houston Astros season
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The Houston Astros 2007 season began with the team trying to take the NL Central title back from the World Series winners, the St. Louis Cardinals, after the Cardinals won it in 2006. To make up for losing key players, they signed pitcher Woody Williams, and traded with the Colorado Rockies for Jason Jennings. The largest offseason move the Astros made was signing outfielder Carlos Lee to a 6-year contract worth $100 million, on June 28, second baseman Craig Biggio achieved his 3, 000th career hit. The club officially retired Bagwells jersey number 5 on August 26, on January 3, the Astros reported that infielder Mark Loretta would sign a contract worth $2.5 million. On January 12, the Astros signed veteran outfielder Richard Hidalgo to a Minor League Contract, Hidalgo spent his first 8 seasons with the Astros before working with the Mets then the Rangers. He was released on March 24 after a subpar Spring training, on April 28, the Astros purchased the contract of Hunter Pence, the organizations top prospect from Triple-A affiliate, and made his debut that night where he got his first career hit and run scored. By May 2007, the Astros had suffered one of their worst losing streaks since the 1995 season with 10 losses in a row, losing 4-3 to the Cincinnati Reds on May 30. The Astros were just one shy of tying their worst skid in franchise history, before snapping that streak the next day. On June 12, the Astros beat the Oakland Athletics for the first time in team history. Longtime Astros second baseman Craig Biggio recorded his 3, 000th career hit in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies on June 28, Jeff Bagwell, who played first base for the Astros alongside Biggio for 15 seasons, was in the dugout and emerged to congratulate him. The Astros fans, who had momentarily quieted after cheering Biggio for his achievement, erupted into cheers again the moment Biggio dragged Bagwell onto the playing field and to the first base line. The thing with Baggy is that he and I worked so hard here for this city and for this organization and we made so many sacrifices as far as playing the game and giving your body to a city, a team. Together, they bowed to the crowd as Bagwell raised Biggios arm, in the bottom of the 11th inning of the same game, Carlos Lee hit a towering walk-off grand slam to win the game for the Astros. On July 24, Biggio announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2007 season and he hit a grand slam in that nights game which broke a 3–3 tie and led to an Astros win. On July 28, the Astros traded RHP Dan Wheeler to Tampa Bay for right-handed slugger 3B Ty Wigginton and he is now signed through 2009. On July 29, long time and former All-Star third baseman Morgan Ensberg was designated for assignment to make room for newly acquired Wigginton, on August 26, the club officially retired Bagwells jersey number 5 prior to the start of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the player in Astros history to have his number retired. Three first bases were used in the game, each embossed with an insignia that said
36.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
37.
Greeneville Astros
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The Greeneville Astros are a minor league baseball team of the Appalachian League, and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Tusculum, Tennessee, and play their games at Pioneer Park on the campus of Tusculum College. The Astros have led the Appalachian League in average attendance every year since their move to Pioneer Park, in 2007, the first former Greeneville Astros made it to the major leagues. Four players from the 2004 Greenville team were called up to Houston late in the 2007 season, Juan Gutiérrez, Felipe Paulino, Troy Patton, josé Altuve, shortstop Felipe Paulino, pitcher 2015, Defeated Kingsport 2-1 in semifinals, defeated Princeton 2-1 to win league championship. 2013, Defeated Kingsport 2-1 in semifinals, lost to Pulaski 2-0 in finals,2004, Defeated Danville 2-1 to win league championship. Official Greenville Astros website Astros coverage at GreenevilleSun. com
38.
Minor League Baseball
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All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the organization known as Minor League Baseball. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, do not have any links to Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball teams may enter into a PDC for a two- or four-year term. At the expiration of a PDC term, teams may renew their affiliation, or sign new PDCs with different clubs, though many relationships are renewed and endure for extended time periods. Minor League teams that are owned directly by the major league club do not have PDCs with each other and are not part of the reaffiliation shuffles that occur every other year, several more independent leagues operate in the United States and Canada. The earliest professional baseball association, the National Association of 1871 to 1875 and this system proved unworkable, however, as there was no way to ensure competitive balance, and financially unsound clubs often failed in midseason. This problem was solved in 1876 with the formation of the National League, with a membership which excluded less competitive. Professional clubs outside the National League responded by forming regional associations of their own, there was a series of ad hoc groupings, such as the New England Association of 1877 and the Eastern Championship Association of 1881. These were loose groups of independent clubs which agreed to play a series of games for a championship pennant, the first minor league is traditionally considered to be the Northwestern League of 1883 to 1884. Unlike the earlier minor associations, it was conceived as a permanent organization and it also, along with the National League and the American Association, was a party to the National Agreement of 1883. Included in this was the agreement to respect the reserve lists of clubs in each league, teams in the National League and the American Association could only reserve players who had been paid at least $1000. Northwest League teams could reserve players paid merely $750, implicitly establishing the division into major and minor leagues, over the next two decades, more minor leagues signed various versions of the National Agreement. Eventually, the minor leagues joined together to negotiate jointly, in the late 1890s, the Western League run by the fiery Ban Johnson decided to challenge the National Leagues position. Representatives of the different minor leagues met at the Leland Hotel in Chicago on September 5,1901, in response to the National–American battle, they agreed to form the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, called the NAPBL, or NA for short. The purpose of the NA at the time was to maintain the independence of the leagues involved, several did not sign the agreement and continued to work independently. Powers was made the first president of the NAPBL, whose offices were established in Auburn, in 1903, the conflict between the American and National Leagues ended in the National Agreement of 1903. The NAPBL became involved in the stages of the negotiations to develop rules for the acquisition of players from their leagues by the National
39.
Appalachian League
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The Appalachian League of Professional Baseball is a Rookie-class Minor League Baseball league that began play in 1911. It operated as a Class D league, and before becoming a Rookie league in 1963, teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee. The leagues season starts in June, after major league teams have signed players they selected in the amateur draft. Along with the Pioneer League, it forms the second-lowest rung on the league ladder. Although classified as a Rookie league, the level of play is higher than that of the two complex Rookie leagues, the Gulf Coast League and Arizona League. Unlike these two leagues, Appalachian League games charge admission and sell concessions, the original Appalachian League only existed for four seasons from 1911-1914 and all teams were independent with no MLB affiliation. The original league consisted of the Asheville Moonshiners, the Bristol Boosters, the Cleveland Counts, the Johnson City Soldiers, the Knoxville Appalachians, and the Morristown Jobbers. The third iteration of the Appalachian league, which started in 1937, was shifted to D-level minor league and it consisted of four teams, the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox, the third iteration of the Johnson City Soldiers, the Newport Canners, and the Pennington Gap Lee Bears
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