1.
Atlanta Braves
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The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball franchise based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The franchise competes in Major League Baseball as a member of the National League East division, the Braves played home games at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium from 1966 to 1996, and Turner Field from 1997 to 2016. Since 2017, their stadium has been SunTrust Park, a new stadium 10 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta in Cumberland/Galleria, Georgia. The Braves play spring training games in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in January 2017, the Braves announced a formal agreement to move their spring training home to North Port, Florida. The Braves name, which was first used in 1912, originates from a term for a Native American warrior, from 1991 to 2005, the Braves were one of the most successful franchises in baseball, winning division titles an unprecedented 14 consecutive times in that period. The Braves won the NL West 1991–93 and the NL East 1995–2005, the Braves advanced to the World Series five times in the 1990s, winning the title in 1995. The Braves are the only Major League Baseball franchise to have won the World Series in three different home cities, the Braves and the Chicago Cubs are the National Leagues two remaining charter franchises. The Braves were founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1871, the team states it is the oldest continuously operating professional sports franchise in America. After various name changes, the team began operating as the Boston Braves. Then, in 1953, the moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The teams tenure in Atlanta is noted for Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruths career home run record in 1974, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, established in 1869 as the first openly all-professional baseball team, voted to dissolve after the 1870 season. The original Boston Red Stockings team and its successors can lay claim to being the oldest continuously playing team in American professional sports. Two young players hired away from the Forest City club of Rockford, Illinois, turned out to be the biggest stars during the NAPBBP years, pitcher Al Spalding and second baseman Ross Barnes. Led by the Wright brothers, Barnes, and Spalding, the Red Stockings dominated the National Association, the team became one of the National Leagues charter franchises in 1876, sometimes called the Red Caps. The Boston Red Caps played in the first game in the history of the National League, on Saturday, April 22,1876, defeating the Athletics, although somewhat stripped of talent in the National Leagues inaugural year, Boston bounced back to win the 1877 and 1878 pennants. The Red Caps/Beaneaters were one of the dominant teams during the 19th century. For most of time, their manager was Frank Selee. Boston came to be called the Beaneaters in 1883, while retaining red as the team color, the 1898 team finished 102–47, a club record for wins that would stand for almost a century
2.
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
3.
Blaine Boyer
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Blaine Thomas Boyer is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres and he also played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hanshin Tigers. Boyer was drafted by the Braves on June 13,2000 in the 3rd round of the 2000 Draft, after attending George Walton Comprehensive High School in Marietta, Georgia. His first season of pro baseball was with the league team the Gulf Coast Braves. In his first season, playing for the Atlanta Braves as a midseason call-up, Boyer went 4–5 with a 4.52 ERA and 57 strikeouts with the Danville Braves in 2001. The next year, he played with the Class A team the Macon Braves, in 2003, Boyer stayed with the Macon Braves when they moved to Rome. That year he finished 5th in the league in wins with 12 and he finished the year with a 12–8 record and a 3.69 ERA. He also recorded a minor-league career-high 115 strikeouts, in 2004, Boyer played with Class A Myrtle Beach. He led the Carolina League with 154 innings pitched and was selected to the Carolina League All-Star team and he was elected the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 3 by The Sports Network. On June 12,2005, Boyer was called up to the major leagues directly from the AA Mississippi Braves and he went 4–1 with a 2.05 ERA in 23 games at Atlantas home field, Turner Field. On May 14,2008, Boyer pitched 1.1 innings to record his first Major League save against the Philadelphia Phillies, on April 20,2009, Boyer was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Brian Barton. A few months later, on June 4, Boyer was designated for assignment, on June 8, Boyer was claimed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Boyer signed a league contract with the New York Mets on January 21,2011. The deal included an invitation to spring training, on April 10,2011, Boyer was designated for assignment. Boyer signed a league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 20,2011. He was released on June 18 and he signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals on July 5,2011. He was assigned to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds and he was released on August 13, after allowing 26 runs in 16 innings for Memphis. Boyer retired from baseball in 2012 and he returned to baseball the next year, when he signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals on January 3,2013
4.
Chipper Jones
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Initially a shortstop, he was the Braves primary starting third baseman for nearly all of the period from 1995–2012. In 2002 and 2003, Jones played left field before returning to base in 2004. Standing 64 tall and weighing 210 pounds during his playing career, the number one overall pick in the 1990 MLB draft by Atlanta, Jones made his MLB debut late in 1993. Between 1996 and 2003, he batted at least.300 with 26 home runs in seven of eight seasons, an eight time All-Star, he won the 1999 National League Most Valuable Player Award, and the 1999 and 2000 NL Silver Slugger Award for third basemen. He was the MLB batting champion in 2008 after hitting.364 and he currently holds the Braves team record for career on-base percentage, and on July 5,2007, passed Dale Murphy for third place on the Braves all-time career home run list. Jones ended his career in 2012 with a.303 career batting average, with 468 home runs,1,512 walks and he has the most career RBI for a third baseman. Also one of the most accomplished hitters in the history of the game. He is the only switch hitter in MLB history with both a career batting average of at least.300 and 400 or more home runs. When Jones was nearing retirement as a player, many baseball writers predicted that he would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as soon as he became eligible. On June 28,2013, the Braves retired Jones number 10, in December 2015, Jones re-joined the Braves as special assistant to baseball operations. Chipper Jones was born in DeLand, Florida on April 24,1972 and his father, Larry Wayne Jones, Sr. was a teacher and coach at T. DeWitt Taylor High School in Pierson, the same high school Jones would later attend and play baseball. Jones received the nickname Chipper from his father and other family members and he showed an early love for baseball predominantly because of his fathers position as coach, and began to play Little League teams at age 7. During his freshman year, Jones played starting pitcher and shortstop for Taylor High School, during the same year, he also played on a local American Legion Baseball team in right field. Following his freshman year, Jones was enrolled at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, in his three seasons at Bolles, the team went 65-19 and won a state double-A championship. Jones batted.483 in his season and also pitched well enough for a 7-3 record and.987 earned run average, striking out 100 batters. Joness team got to the championship again during his senior year. The Atlanta Braves selected Jones as the first pick overall in the 1990 Major League Baseball draft, Atlanta expressed desire to select pitcher Todd Van Poppel as the first pick, however Van Poppel explicitly stated that he would not sign with the Braves. Atlanta then selected Jones, who played shortstop at the time, in 1991, Jones played with the Macon Braves, Atlantas class-A minor league affiliate
5.
Yunel Escobar
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Yunel Escobar Almenares is a Cuban professional baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball. He made his MLB debut with the Atlanta Braves in 2007, while primarily a shortstop throughout his career, Escobar has since transitioned to third base. Escobar was born in Havana, Cuba, Brayan Peña, a former teammate of Escobar with the Atlanta Braves, was Escobars best friend growing up in Cuba, with the two boys often playing on the same team and sharing bats, gloves, and cleats. In 2004, Escobar defected from Cuba by sea, and landed in the Florida Keys, the Braves drafted Escobar in the second round of the 2005 draft, 75th overall. We saw him as a talent, said Roy Clark. A lot of clubs didnt feel that they had enough background, former Braves general manager John Schuerholz said he does not hesitate when he finds a Cuban who fits his teams needs. Im not a politician, Schuerholz said and we look for baseball talent wherever we can find it. And wherever it is, we go after it, Escobars tense relationship with Cuban authorities in the aftermath of Peñas defection had limited his exposure to major league scouts. With little more than a few off-season workouts to draw upon, the Braves, however, spoke with Pena, who had been called up to the majors to play for the Braves only days before Escobar was drafted in the 2005 draft. Braves officials asked Pena countless questions about everything from Escobars skill set to his command of English to his family background, the best recommendation we got was from Brayan, Clark says. Escobar received a $475,000 signing bonus, after being drafted and signed by the Braves in 2005, Yunel began in the Appalachian League with Danville, hitting.400 with two homers. Escobar played the entire 2006 season in Double-A Mississippi and was selected to All-Star Futures Game and his performance in Mississippi was somewhat disappointing with a few bright spots. Escobar showed good plate discipline with 59 walks against just 77 strikeouts and this led to a strong.361 on-base percentage. However, Escobar saw his power numbers drop and his slugging percentage fell to.346 and his OPS went from.828 to.707. Throughout these struggles, Escobar developed a relationship with manager. His talent reasserted itself with a performance in the Arizona Fall League. Escobar had a strong spring training for the Braves in 2007 before being sent down to Triple-A Richmond to start the season. Escobar set the Triple-A International League on fire during his stint there during the first two months of the 2007 season
6.
Pearl, Mississippi
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Pearl is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi located on the east side of the Pearl River from the state capital of Jackson. The population was 25,092 at the 2010 census and it is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. Today, Pearl is a community, it is the 13th largest city in the state. After the American Civil War, the bottomlands of the Pearl River were developed for agriculture, population was sparse until the mid-1900s, when development of the state capital of Jackson in Hinds County to the west spilled over into this county. New residents and industry settled here, on September 16,1968, a community meeting was held to discuss the incorporation of Pearl, with all but 6 of the 657 attending residents favoring incorporation. A Boundary Committee proposed several different possible boundaries a little more than a month later, a majority at that meeting also agreed on naming the city Pearl, in preference to the also-proposed Riverview and Brightsville. Pearl was affected by the violence of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1970, Pearl had 9,613 white residents and 10 black residents who were probably live-in servants to white households. By the 1990s Pearl had become more integrated, and by 2010 blacks made up 23% of the population. The first mayor, Harris Harvey, was elected, as well as council members Jimmy Joe Thompson, W. D. McAlpin, James Netherland, Ophelia Byrd, Mack C Atwood, with the Mississippi Supreme Court ruling of June 5,1973, the incorporation could proceed. A week later, the legislature issued a charter. On June 29,1973 Governor William Winter presided over the first annual Pearl Day Celebration, with the swearing in of the new officials. The Pearl Municipal Separate School District was created on May 18,1976 by an Ordinance of the City of Pearl Mayor, the first franchise by the City of Pearl for cable television to be installed was granted on July 6,1976. The Pearl Chamber of Commerce was formed on August 24,1978, on October 1,1997, Luke Woodham went on a shooting spree that ended at Pearl High School, killing two and injuring seven, after earlier stabbing his mother to death. Unlike many Mississippi cities, Pearl does not have a square as it is not the county seat. Over the years the city has redeveloped the former Pearl High School into City Hall, including the Pearl Police Department, public works departments, a large auditorium-style Community Center was built next door. Its clock tower is inscribed with the names of graduates of Pearl High School for the period 1949 through 1989 while the school occupied this building. A25,000 sq ft library opened near City Hall on July 18,2005, Pearl voters approved a $1.5 million bond issue to construct a new junior high school on December 1,1981. The Rankin County campus of Hinds Community College opened in Pearl on July 1,1983, the Mississippi Braves baseball team play in Trustmark Park in Pearl
7.
Jackson, Mississippi
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Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital city and largest urban center of the U. S. state of Mississippi. It is the seat of Hinds County, equally sharing its county power with the Town of Raymond. The City of Jackson also owns more than 3,000 acres, Jackson is on the Pearl River, which drains into the Gulf of Mexico, and it is part of the Jackson Prairie region of the state. The city is named after General Andrew Jackson, who was honored for his role in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, the current slogan for the city is The City with Soul. It has had numerous musicians prominent in blues, gospel, folk, and jazz, the city is the anchor for the metropolitan statistical area. While its population declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census, the 2010 census ascribed a population of 539,057 to the five-county Jackson metropolitan area. The Choctaw name for the locale was Chisha Foka, the area now called Jackson was obtained by the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Doaks Stand in 1820, by which the Choctaw ceded some of their land. After the treaty was ratified, European-American settlers began to move into the area, under pressure from the U. S. government, the Choctaw Native Americans agreed to removal after 1830 from all their lands east of the Mississippi River under the terms of several treaties. They gave up their membership and became state and United States citizens at the time. Today, most Choctaw in Mississippi have reorganized and are part of the federally recognized Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and they live in several majority-Indian communities located throughout the state. The largest community is located in Choctaw 100 mi northeast of Jackson, the village became known as LeFleurs Bluff. During the late 18th century and early 19th century, this site had a trading post and it was connected to markets in Tennessee. Tennessee soldiers returning from the military campaigns near New Orleans in 1815 built a road that connected Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana to this district. A United States treaty with the Choctaw, the Treaty of Doaks Stand in 1820, LeFleurs Bluff was developed when it was chosen as the site for the new states capital city. The Mississippi General Assembly decided in 1821 that the state needed a centrally located capital and they commissioned Thomas Hinds, James Patton, and William Lattimore to look for a suitable site. The absolute center of the state was a swamp, so the group had to widen their search, after surveying areas north and east of Jackson, they proceeded southwest along the Pearl River until they reached LeFleurs Bluff in todays Hinds County. The Assembly passed an act on November 28,1821, authorizing the site as the permanent seat of the government of the state of Mississippi, One Whig politician lamented the new capital as a serious violation of principle because it was not at the absolute center of the state. The capital was named for General Andrew Jackson, to honor his victory at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 and he was later elected as the seventh President of the United States
8.
Greenville, South Carolina
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Greenville is the county seat of Greenville County in the upstate region of South Carolina, in the United States. The citys mayor is Knox White, who has served in that position since December 1995, with an estimated population of 64,579 as of 2015, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. The population of the area was 400,492 as of 2010. Greenville is the largest city in the Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin Metropolitan Statistical Area, the MSA had a population of 874,869 in 2015, making it the largest in South Carolina and the third largest in the Carolinas. Greenville is the largest city in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Combined Statistical Area, according to United States Census Bureau, the CSA had a population of 1,426,625 as of 2015, making it the largest CSA in the state. The CSA, a 10-county region of northwestern South Carolina, is known as The Upstate, Greenville is located approximately halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, along Interstate 85, and its metropolitan area also includes Interstates 185 and 385. The land of present-day Greenville was once the ground of the Cherokee which was forbidden to colonists. A wealthy settler from Virginia named Richard Pearis arrived in South Carolina around 1754 trading with Cherokee, Pearis had a child with a Cherokee woman and received about 100,000 acres from the Cherokee around 1770. Pearis established a plantation on the Reedy River called the Great Plains in present-day downtown Greenville, the American Revolution divided the South Carolina country between the Loyalists and Patriots. Pearis supported the Loyalists and together with their allies the Cherokee attacked the Patriots, the Patriots retaliated by burning down Pearis plantation and jailing him in Charleston. Pearis never returned to his plantation but Paris Mountain is named after him, the Treaty of Dewitts Corner in 1777 ceded almost all Cherokee land, including present-day Greenville, to South Carolina. Greenville County was created in 1786 and was named for its physical appearance, however, other sources say Greenville is named after General Nathanael Greene in honor of his service in the American Revolutionary War. Lemuel J. Alston came to Greenville County in 1788 and bought 400 acres, in 1797 Alston used his land holdings to establish a village called Pleasantburg where he also built a stately mansion. Vardry McBee purchased Alstons land in 1816 who then leased the Alston mansion for a summer resort, McBee decided to make the mansion his home in 1835 until his death in 1864. Considered to be the father of Greenville, McBee donated land for many such as churches, academies. Furman University was funded by McBee who helped bring the university to Pleasantburg from Winnsboro, in 1853 McBee and other Greenville County leaders funded a new railroad called the Greenville and Columbia Railroad. Pleasantburg boomed to around 1,000 in the 1850s due to the growth of McBees donations, in 1831 Pleasantburg was incorporated as Greenville. In December 1860 Greenville supported a convention to debate the issue of secession for South Carolina, the Greenville District sent James Furman, William K. Easley, Perry E. Duncan, William H. Campbell, and James P. Harrison as delegates for the convention
9.
Jeff Francoeur
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Jeffrey Braden Francoeur, nicknamed Frenchy, is an American professional baseball right fielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. Francoeur is noted for his throwing arm in the outfield. He won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2007, Francoeur was selected by the Braves in the first round of the June 2002 amateur draft. A 4-star Defensive Back committed to Clemson, he chose to forego college to play baseball. After the draft, Francoeur was assigned to the teams advanced Rookie League club in Danville, Virginia, Francoeur advanced steadily through the Braves minor league system, playing for Rome in 2003, Myrtle Beach and Greenville in 2004, and Mississippi in 2005. Francoeur was a member of the Rome Braves inaugural season team which went on to win the 2003 South Atlantic League Championship and he led that team in home runs with 14. In 2004, Francoeur was named the top prospect in the Braves organization by Baseball America and he was a member of the Carolina League regular season and postseason All-Star team. In 2005, he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game before getting called up by Atlanta, reyes cooperated with the prank, maintaining the appearance of being deaf by not speaking or listening to music. Chihuahuas first baseman/outfielder Cody Decker made a film about the prank. Sportswriter Peter Gammons called Decker My new favorite person, Francoeur was promoted by Atlanta on July 6,2005. He was part of a group of players, nicknamed the Baby Braves. Francoeur made his Major League debut the day when he started in right field against the Chicago Cubs in the second game of a double header. In the bottom of the 8th inning he hit a 3-run homer to center field, Francoeur finished the season batting. 300/. 336/.549 in 67 games, with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs. During his rookie season he garnered a reputation as a free swinging fastball hitter, on defense, Francoeur became known for having a strong and accurate arm, finishing the season with 13 outfield assists despite playing less than half the season. He finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting while garnering the most second place votes, Francoeur hit.260 with 29 homers and 103 RBIs in his first full season in the majors. He also became just the fourth Brave to play in all 162 games of a season, joining Félix Millán, Dale Murphy, Francoeur was ejected for the first time in his career on July 16,2006. On May 13,2006, Francoeur hit a grand slam against the Washington Nationals
