1.
Cincinnati Reds
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The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the National League Central division. They were a member of the American Association in 1882. The Reds played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993 and they have won five World Series titles, nine NL pennants, one AA pennant, and 10 division titles. The team plays its games at Great American Ball Park. Bob Castellini has been executive officer since 2006. The origins of the modern Cincinnati Reds can be traced to the expulsion of a team bearing that name. Both were important activities to entice the citys large German population, while Hulbert made clear his distaste for both beer and Sunday baseball at the founding of the league, neither practice was actually against league rules in those early years. On October 6,1880, however, seven of the eight team owners pledged at a league meeting to formally ban both beer and Sunday baseball at the regular league meeting that December. Only Cincinnati president W. H. Kennett refused to sign the pledge, when these attempts failed, he formed a new independent ballclub known as the Red Stockings in the Spring of 1881, and brought the team to St. Louis for a weekend exhibition. The Reds first game was a 12–3 victory over the St. Louis club, upon arriving in the city, however, Caylor and Thorner discovered that no other owners had decided to accept the invitation, with even Phillips not bothering to attend his own meeting. By chance, the duo met a former pitcher named Al Pratt, the ploy worked, and the American Association was officially formed at the Hotel Gibson in Cincinnati with the new Reds a charter member with Thorner as president. The club never placed higher than second or lower than fifth for the rest of its tenure in the American Association, the National League was happy to accept the teams in part due to the emergence of the new Players League. This new league, a failed attempt to break the reserve clause in baseball. Because the National League decided to expand while the American Association was weakening and it was also at this time that the team first shortened their name from Red Stockings to Reds. The Reds wandered through the 1890s signing local stars and aging veterans, during this time, the team never finished above third place and never closer than 10½ games. At the start of the 20th century, the Reds had hitting stars Sam Crawford, seymours.377 average in 1905 was the first individual batting crown won by a Red. In 1911, Bob Bescher stole 81 bases, which is still a team record, like the previous decade, the 1900s were not kind to the Reds, as much of the decade was spent in the leagues second division
2.
Adam Dunn
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Adam Troy Dunn, nicknamed Big Donkey, is an American former professional baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals, Chicago White Sox and he is a two-time MLB All-Star. Dunn batted left-handed and threw right-handed and he is 6 feet 6 inches in height and weighs 285 pounds. He is tied for most opening day home runs at 8 with Frank Robinson and Ken Griffey, Jr. and on August 18,2012, he became the 50th MLB player to hit 400 career home runs. He also ranked third on the all-time strikeout list at the time of his retirement, with 2,379, Dunn was a standout quarterback at New Caney High School in Texas. After graduating from school, the Cincinnati Reds drafted Dunn in the second round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft. Dunn had previously committed to play football for the University of Texas at Austin, the Reds and Dunn agreed to a deal which allowed him to play minor league baseball during the summer, and return to Austin in August to prepare for football. Dunn redshirted his season and served as a backup to Major Applewhite. When star recruit Chris Simms committed to Texas, Dunn was asked to move to the end position. As a result, he left the Longhorns to concentrate on baseball in 1999, despite his high strikeout totals, Dunn exhibits good plate discipline. He has been among the league leaders every season in number of pitches per at bat. His career batting average is slightly under.240, but he has compiled a career on-base percentage above.360. He is annually among the leaders in both bases on balls and strikeouts. Dunn has the fifth-lowest career at bats per home run average in Major-League history and his 13.96 ratio is eclipsed only by Mark McGwire, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, and Jim Thome. Stretching behind Dunn are such Hall-of-Famers as Ralph Kiner, Harmon Killebrew, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, and Mike Schmidt, respectively. Dunn made his MLB debut on July 20,2001, in 2002, Dunn had a career-high 128 walks and a.400 on-base percentage. During that same year, he was selected to the 2002 National League All-Star team, in that game, Dunn hit a ball to center field that was a few feet from being a game ending home run. He also walked in his only plate appearance
3.
Baseball
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Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each, who take turns batting and fielding. A run is scored when a player advances around the bases, Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which tries to prevent runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the team who reaches a base safely can later attempt to advance to subsequent bases during teammates turns batting. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the team records three outs. One turn batting for both teams, beginning with the team, constitutes an inning. A game is composed of nine innings, and the team with the number of runs at the end of the game wins. Baseball has no clock, although almost all games end in the ninth inning. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century and this game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the sport of the United States. Baseball is now popular in North America and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, in the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball teams are divided into the National League and American League, each with three divisions, East, West, and Central. The major league champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series, the top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision, a French manuscript from 1344 contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly la soule, with similarities to baseball. Other old French games such as thèque, la balle au bâton, consensus once held that todays baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular in Great Britain and Ireland. Baseball Before We Knew It, A Search for the Roots of the Game, by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England, recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of other. It has long believed that cricket also descended from such games. The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, David Block discovered that the first recorded game of Bass-Ball took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player. William Bray, an English lawyer, recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford and this early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants
4.
Softball
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Softball is a variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago as an indoor game and it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground, softball, kitten ball, and because it was also played by women, ladies baseball. The name softball was given to the game in 1926 because the used to be soft. A tournament held in 1933 at the Chicago Worlds Fair spurred interest in the game, the Amateur Softball Association of America governs the game in the United States and sponsors annual sectional and World Series championships. Womens fastpitch softball became a Summer Olympic sport in 1996, but it were dropped from the 2012 Games, there are three types of softball. In fastpitch softball, the pitch is fast, there are nine players on the field at one time, modified softball restricts the windmill windup of the pitcher, although the pitcher is allowed to throw as hard as possible with the restricted back swing. Softball rules vary somewhat from those of baseball, despite the name, the ball used in softball is not very soft. It is about 12 in in circumference, which is 3 in larger than a baseball, Softball recreational leagues for children often use an 11-inch ball. In fast pitch softball the entire infield is sand, whereas the infield in baseball is grass except at the bases which are sand, the earliest known softball game was played in Chicago, Illinois on Thanksgiving Day,1887. It took place at the Farragut Boat Club at a gathering to hear the outcome of the Yale University, when the score was announced and bets were settled, a Yale alumnus threw a boxing glove at a Harvard supporter. The other person grabbed a took a swing at it, george Hancock called out Play ball. And the game began, with the boxing glove tightened into a ball and this first contest ended with a score of 41–40. The ball, being soft, was fielded barehanded, george Hancock is credited as the games inventor for his development of ball and an undersized bat in the next week. The Farragut Club soon set rules for the game, which spread quickly to outsiders, envisioned as a way for baseball players to maintain their skills during the winter, the sport was called Indoor Baseball. Under the name of Indoor-Outdoor, the game moved outside in the year. In 1895 Lewis Rober, Sr. of Minneapolis organized outdoor games as exercise for firefighters, Rober may not have been familiar with the Farragut Club rules. Fire Station No.19 in Minneapolis, Robers post from 1896 to 1906, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in part for its association with the sports development, the first softball league outside the United States was organized in Toronto in 1897. The name softball dates back to 1926, the name was coined by Walter Hakanson of the YMCA at a meeting of the National Recreation Congress
5.
Strike zone
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In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate, whether a pitch passed through the zone or not is decided by an umpire, who is generally positioned behind the catcher. Strikes are desirable for the pitcher and the team, as three strikes result in a strikeout of that batter. A pitch that misses the strike zone is called a ball, balls are desirable for the batter and the batting team, as four balls allow the batter to take a base on balls. There is more than one set of rules that govern baseball and softball and it depends on the level and league as to which set of rules are being used. The governing bodies for the different sets of rules may have different definitions. The top of the zone is defined in the Major League Official Rules as a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the batters shoulders and the top of the uniform pants. The bottom of the zone is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap. The right and left boundaries of the strike zone correspond to the edges of home plate, a pitch that touches the outer boundary of the zone is as much a strike as a pitch that is thrown right down the center. A pitch at which the batter does not swing and which does not pass through the zone is called a ball. The active tally of strikes and balls during a turn batting is called the count. This volume thus takes the form of a right pentagonal prism located above home plate. A pitch passing outside the front of the volume of the strike zone. Major League Baseball has occasionally increased or reduced the size of the zone in an attempt to control the balance of power between pitchers and hitters. After the record home run year by Roger Maris in 1961, in 1968, pitchers such as Denny McLain and Bob Gibson among others dominated hitters, producing 339 shutouts. Carl Yastrzemski would be the only American League hitter to finish the season with an average higher than.300. Although the de facto enforced strike zone can vary, the rules define a pitch as a strike if any part of the ball passes through any part of the strike zone. While baseball rules provide a definition for the strike zone, in practice
6.
At bat
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In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is a batters turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance, a batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during his turn at bat. A batter is credited with an at bat only if that plate appearance does not have one of the results enumerated below, a batter will not receive credit for an at bat if their plate appearance ends under the following circumstances, He receives a base on balls. He hits a fly or a sacrifice bunt. He is awarded first base due to interference or obstruction, usually by the catcher and he is replaced by another hitter before his at bat is completed, in which case the plate appearance and any related statistics go to the pinch hitter. In addition, if the inning ends while he is still at bat, in this case, the batter will come to bat again in the next inning, though the count will be reset to no balls and no strikes. Note that just because a player is described as being at bat in this sense, he will not necessarily be given an at bat in his statistics and this ambiguous terminology is usually clarified by context. To refer explicitly to the meaning of at bat described above. Batting order At bats with runners in scoring position
7.
Out (baseball)
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In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When three outs are recorded in an inning, a half of the inning, or their turn at batting. To signal an out, an umpire makes a fist with one hand. Home plate umpires often use a motion to signal a called third strike. The most common ways batters or runners are put out are by strikeouts, fly outs, tag outs, the ball is dead and no runner may score, nor runners advance, except runners forced to advance. In baseball statistics, each out must be credited to exactly one defensive player, when referring to outs credited to a defensive player, the term putout is used. Example, a batter hits a ball which is fielded by the shortstop. The shortstop then throws the ball to the first baseman, the first baseman then steps on first base before the batter reaches it. For this play, only the first baseman is credited with a putout, for a strikeout, the catcher is credited with a putout, because the batter is not out until the pitched ball is caught by the catcher. When an out is recorded without a direct involvement, such as where a runner is hit by a batted ball. Although pitchers seldom get credited with putouts, they are credited with their role in getting outs through various pitching statistics such as innings pitched and strikeouts. Safe Tie goes to the runner Official rules for batters, including when the batter is out Official rules for runners, including when the runner is out
8.
Pitcher
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In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important defensive player, there are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and closer. The National League in Major League Baseball and the Japanese Central League are among the leagues that have not adopted the designated hitter position. In most cases, the objective of the pitcher is to deliver the pitch to the catcher without allowing the batter to hit the ball with the bat. A successful pitch is delivered in such a way that the batter either allows the pitch to pass through the zone, swings the bat at the ball and misses it. If the batter elects not to swing at the pitch, it is called a strike if any part of the passes through the strike zone. A check swing is when the batter begins to swing, If the batter successfully checks the swing and the pitch is out of the strike zone, it is called a ball. There are two legal pitching positions, the windup and the set position or stretch, either position may be used at any time, typically, the windup is used when the bases are empty, while the set position is used when at least one runner is on base. Each position has certain procedures that must be followed, a balk can be called on a pitcher from either position. A power pitcher is one who relies on the velocity of his pitches to succeed, generally, power pitchers record a high percentage of strikeouts. A control pitcher succeeds by throwing accurate pitches and thus records few walks, nearly all action during a game is centered on the pitcher for the defensive team. A pitchers particular style, time taken between pitches, and skill heavily influence the dynamics of the game and can determine the victor. Meanwhile, a batter stands in the box at one side of the plate. The type and sequence of pitches chosen depend upon the situation in a game. The relationship between pitcher and catcher is so important that some teams select the starting catcher for a game based on the starting pitcher. Together, the pitcher and catcher are known as the battery, although the object and mechanics of pitching remain the same, pitchers may be classified according to their roles and effectiveness. The starting pitcher begins the game, and he may be followed by relief pitchers, such as the long reliever, the left-handed specialist, the middle reliever. In Major League Baseball, every team uses Baseball Rubbing Mud to rub game balls in before their pitchers use them in games, a skilled pitcher often throws a variety of different pitches to prevent the batter from hitting the ball well
9.
Batting (baseball)
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In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for ones team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, drive home, or advance runners along the bases for others to drive home. Hitting uses a motion that is unique to baseball, one that is rarely used in other sports. Hitting is unique because unlike most sports movements in the plane of movement hitting involves rotating in the horizontal plane. In general, batters try to get hits, however, their primary objective is to avoid making an out, and helping their team to score runs. There are several ways they can help their team score runs and they may draw a walk if they receive and do not swing the bat at four pitches located outside the strike zone. In cases when there is a runner on third and fewer than two outs, they can attempt to hit a fly to drive the runner in by allowing the runner on third to tag up. They might even be hit by a pitch, reach on an error or—if first is empty or there are two outs—on a dropped third strike, the defense attempts to get the batter out. The pitchers main role in this is to throw the ball in such a way that the batter strikes out or cannot hit it cleanly so that the defense can get him or her out. Batting is often cited as one of the most difficult feats in sports because it consists of hitting a small ball, usually moving at high velocity. In fact, if a batter can get a hit in three out of ten at bats, giving him an average of.300, he or she is considered a good hitter. In Major League Baseball, no batter has had over a.400 average at the end of the season since Ted Williams in 1941, an OPS at or near 1.000 is considered to be the mark of an exceptional hitter. A sustained OPS at or above 1.000 over a career is a only a few hitters have ever been able to reach. Batters vary in their approach at the plate, some are aggressive hitters, often swinging at the first pitch. Others are patient, attempting to work the count in order to observe all the types of pitches a pitcher will use. In preparation of hitting, every player has their own particular warm-up routine. Warming up before the game is usually done as a team, at the amateur level, the most notable drill used is the Tee Drill, where you hit a ball off a baseball tee and correct any issues you found during previous games or practices
10.
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
11.
Alex Rodriguez
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Alexander Emmanuel A-Rod Rodriguez is a Dominican-American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Rodriguez was one of the sports most highly touted prospects and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. During his 22-year career, Rodriguez has amassed a.297 batting average,696 home runs, over 2,000 runs batted in, over 2,000 runs scored, and over 3,000 hits. He is a 14-time All-Star and has won three American League Most Valuable Player Awards, ten Silver Slugger Awards, and two Gold Glove Awards, Rodríguez is the career record holder for grand slams with 25. The Mariners selected Rodriguez first overall in the 1993 MLB draft, in 1996, he became the Mariners starting shortstop and finished second in voting for the AL MVP Award. Rodriguezs combination of power, speed, and defense made him a cornerstone of the franchise, the 10-year, $252 million contract he signed was the richest in baseball history. He played at a level in his three years with Texas, highlighted by his first AL MVP Award win in 2003. Prior to the 2004 season, Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees, in his first four seasons with New York, he was twice more named AL MVP. After opting out of his following the 2007 season, Rodriguez signed a new 10-year, $275 million deal with the Yankees. He became the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs and he won his first World Series in 2009, which was the first year of the new Yankee Stadium. The following year, he became the leader in home runs by a player of Hispanic descent. In recent years, Rodriguez has been hampered by hip and knee injuries and he played his final game as a Yankee on August 12,2016. In August 2013, MLB suspended him 211 games for his involvement in the scandal, had the original suspension been upheld, it would have been the longest non-lifetime suspension in Major League Baseball history. After an arbitration hearing, the suspension was reduced to 162 games, Rodriguez was born in the Washington Heights section of New York City, to a Dominican family. When he was four, Rodriguez and his parents moved to the Dominican Republic, then to Miami, Rodriguezs favorite baseball players growing up were Keith Hernandez, Dale Murphy, and Cal Ripken Jr. and his favorite team was the New York Mets. In 100 games he batted.419 with 90 steals, westminster went on to win the high school national championship in his junior year. He was first team prep All-American as a senior, hitting.505 with nine runs,36 runs batted in. He was selected as the USA Baseball Junior Player of the Year, in 1993, Rodriguez became the first high school player to ever try out for the United States national baseball team
12.
Reggie Jackson
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Jackson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. Jackson was nicknamed Mr. October for his hitting in the postseason with the Athletics. He helped Oakland win five consecutive American League West divisional pennants, Jackson helped New York win four American League East divisional pennants, three American League pennants and two consecutive World Series titles, from 1977 to 1981. He also helped the California Angels win two AL West divisional pennants in 1982 and 1986, Jackson hit three consecutive home runs at Yankee Stadium in the clinching game 6 of the 1977 World Series. Jackson hit 563 career home runs and was an American League All-Star for 14 seasons and he won two Silver Slugger Awards, the AL Most Valuable Player Award in 1973, two World Series MVP Awards, and the Babe Ruth Award in 1977. The Yankees and Athletics retired his uniform number in 1993 and 2004. Jackson currently serves as an advisor to the Yankees. Jackson was born in the Wyncote neighborhood of Cheltenham Township, just north of Philadelphia and his father was Martinez Jackson, a half Puerto Rican, who worked as a tailor and who was a former second baseman with the Newark Eagles of Negro league baseball. He was the youngest of four children from his mother, Clara and he also had two half-siblings from his fathers first marriage. Martinez Jackson was a father, and theirs was one of the few black families in Wyncote. Jackson graduated from Cheltenham High in 1964, where he excelled in football, basketball, baseball, a tailback in football, he injured his knee in an early season game in his junior year. He was told by the doctors he was never to play football again, in that game, Jackson fractured five cervical vertebrae, which caused him to spend six weeks in the hospital and another month in a neck cast. Doctors told Jackson that he never walk again, let alone play football. On the baseball team, he batted.550 and threw several no-hitters, in the middle of his senior year, Jacksons father was arrested for bootlegging and was sentenced to six months in jail. In football, he was scouted by Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma, Jackson declined Alabama and Georgia because he was fearful of the South at the time, and declined Oklahoma because they told him to stop dating white girls. For baseball, Jackson was scouted by Hans Lobert of the San Francisco Giants who was desperate to sign him, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins also made offers, and the hometown Philadelphia Phillies gave him a tryout but declined because of his hitting skills. His father wanted his son to go to college, where Jackson wanted to both football and baseball. He decided to attend Arizona State University on a football scholarship and his high-school football coach knew ASUs head football coach Frank Kush, and they discussed the possibility of him playing both sports
13.
Sammy Sosa
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Samuel Kelvin Sammy Peralta Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career, Sosas Major League career began with the Texas Rangers in 1989. After three seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Sosa became a member of the Cubs in 1992, Sosa hit his 400th home run in his 1, 354th game and his 5, 273rd at-bat, the quickest in National League history. In 1998, Sosa and Mark McGwire achieved national fame for their home run-hitting prowess in pursuit of Roger Maris home run record, Sosa finished his career with brief stints with the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers. With the Rangers, Sosa hit his 600th career home run to become the player in MLB history to reach the milestone. He is also the home run leader among foreign-born MLB players. Sosa is one of only three National League players since 1900 to ever reach 160 RBIs in a season, a milestone he reached in 2001, Sosa is the only player to have hit 60 or more home runs in a single season three times. Sosa is known to family and friends as Mikey and his maternal grandmother, who had suggested his birth name of Samuel, also came up with his nickname, heard the name on a soap opera she liked and decided from that moment on he would be Mikey. Sosa was born in the Dominican Republic, though born in Consuelo, his officially registered birthplace is San Pedro de Macorís, which was the largest town nearby. Both Consuelo and San Pedro de Macorís are in San Pedro de Macorís Province, Sosa made his major league debut on June 16,1989, with the Texas Rangers, wearing #17 and leading off as the starting center fielder. He hit his first career home run off Roger Clemens, later in the season, the Rangers traded Sammy to the Chicago White Sox where he would don the #25. In 1990, Sosa batted.233 with 15 home runs,70 runs batted in,10 triples, however, he also struck out 150 times, fourth most in the American League. Sosa started the 1991 season by hitting 2 home runs and driving in 5 runs, however, he would slump for the rest of the year and ended up batting.203 with 10 home runs and 33 runs batted in. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder George Bell before the 1992 season, Sosa batted.260 with 8 home runs and 25 RBIs in his first season with the Cubs. Although not spectacular numbers, it showed that Sosa improved as a hitter, in 1993, Sosa batted.261 with 33 home runs with 93 RBIs. He also showed his speed by stealing 38 bases and he became the Cubs first 30-30 player in their history. Sosa continued to hit for power and speed in 1994 but he improved his batting average. He ended up batting.300 with 25 home runs,70 RBIs, Sosa was named to his first All-Star team in 1995
14.
Umpire (baseball)
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The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump. They are also addressed as blue at lower levels due to the common color of the uniform worn by umpires. In professional baseball, the blue is seldom used by players or managers. In a game officiated by two or more umpires, the umpire in chief is the umpire who is in charge of the entire game. This umpire calls balls and strikes, calls fair balls, foul balls short of first/third base, to avoid injury, the home plate umpire wears the same mask the catcher wears. If another umpire leaves the infield to cover a potential play in foul ground or in the outfield, in the event that an umpire is injured and only three remain, the second base position will generally be left vacant. In nearly all levels of organized baseball, including the majors, an umpiring crew rotates so that each umpire in the works each position, including plate umpire. In the earliest days of baseball, however, many senior umpires always worked the plate, Klem did so for the first 16 years of his career. On the Major League level, an umpiring crew generally rotates positions clockwise each game, for example, the plate umpire in one game would umpire third base in the next. Other umpires are called base umpires and are stationed near the bases. When two umpires are used, the umpire is simply the base umpire. This umpire will make most calls concerning runners on the bases and nearby plays, to indicate a full swing, he will clench his fist. When four umpires are used, each umpire is named for the base at which he is stationed, sometimes a league will provide six umpires, the extra two are stationed along the outfield foul lines are called the left-field and right-field umpires. Outfield umpires are used in events, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. For Major League Baseball, all levels use six umpires, while at lower levels. Rulings on catches of batted balls are made by the umpire closest to the play. The term umpire-in-chief is not to be confused with the crew chief, at the major-league and high minor-league levels, the crew chief acts as a liaison between the league office and the crew and has a supervisory role over other members of the crew. For example, on the Major League level, The Crew Chief shall coordinate, an umpires judgment call used to be final, unless the umpire making the call chose to ask his partner for help and then decided to reverse it after the discussion
15.
Foul ball
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Foul territory or foul ground is defined as the area of the field outside of the foul lines. The foul lines and foul poles are not part of foul territory, a strike is issued for the batter if he had fewer than two strikes. A strike is, however, recorded for the pitcher for every foul ball the batter hits, if any member of the fielding team catches a foul ball before it touches the ground or lands outside the field perimeter, the batter is out. A foul ball is different from a tip, in which the ball makes contact with the bat, travels directly to the catchers hands. In this case, a strike is issued to the batter regardless of the ball/strike count, some consider such a ball to still be in flight, while others consider it a foul ball and dead from the time it strikes. A ball that hits the roof or an object in fair territory is in play. If it gets stuck in fair territory, it is ruled a ground rule double, in different situations, a foul ball may be considered a positive or negative outcome of a pitch or swing. When there are zero or one strikes, a foul ball counts as a strike, foul balls with two strikes are generally considered positive for the batter, since he thus avoids strike three on a potentially difficult pitch. Also, foul balls with two strikes increase the pitch count, adding to his/her fatigue, thus providing some small advantage to the offense
16.
Baseball bat
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A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part, although historically bats approaching 3 pounds were swung, today bats of 33 ounces are common, topping out at 34 ounces to 36 ounces. A baseball bat is divided into several regions, the barrel is the thick part of the bat, where it is meant to hit the ball. The part of the barrel best for hitting the ball, according to construction, the end of the barrel is called the top, end or cap of the bat. Opposite the cap, the barrel narrows until it meets the handle, the handle is comparatively thin, so that batters can comfortably grip the bat in their hands. Sometimes, especially on metal bats, the handle is wrapped with a rubber or tape grip, finally, below the handle is the knob of the bat, a wider piece that keeps the bat from slipping from a batters hands. Lumber is a slang term for a bat, especially when wielded by a particularly able batter. The bat drop of a bat is its weight, in ounces, minus its length, for example, a 30-ounce, 33-inch-long bat has a bat drop of minus 3. Larger bat drops help to increase swing speed, bats with smaller drops create more power. The bats form has more refined over time. In the mid-1800s, baseball batters were known to shape or whittle their own bats by hand and this allowed there to be a wide variety in shape, size, and weight. For example, there were flat bats, round bats, short bats, earlier bats were known to be much heavier and larger than todays regulated ones. During the 19th century, many shapes were experimented with, as well as handle designs, today, bats are much more uniform in design. On June 17,1890, Emile Kinst patented the ball-bat, the bat is shaped with a curve, hence the name banana bat. The mushroom bat, made in 1906 by Spalding, with baseball bats being larger in the 1900s the Spalding company designed a larger bat with a mushroom-shaped knob on the handle. This enabled the batter to get a distribution of weight over the entire length of the bat. The Wright & Ditsons Lajoie baseball bat and this bat had a normal size barrel but had two knobs on the handle. The lowest knob was at the bottom of the handle and the other knob was roughly two inches above the lowest knob and this was designed to have better spacing between the hands due to the knob being in the middle of the grip
17.
Base running
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In baseball, base running is the act of running around the bases performed by members of the team at bat. In general, base running is a part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run. The goal of batting is generally to produce base runners, or help move base runners along, runners on second or third base are considered to be in scoring position since a normal hit, even a single, will often score them. Part of the goal of a runner and a batter is to get the runner into scoring position, for any base running to occur, a batter must initially become a base runner. The term is not applied if the batter hits a foul ball or to a player awarded first base. A player ceases to be a runner when, he scores a run, he is put out in any way. If a base runners teammate is put out for the out of the inning. A runner who is touching a base which he is entitled to occupy may not be tagged out, runners may attempt to advance from base to base on any fair ball that touches the ground. When a ball is hit in the air and caught by the team, runners must return. Once they do this, they may attempt to advance at their own risk, on a ball that touches the ground in fair territory, if there is a force, runners are required to run. Base runners may attempt to advance at any time while the ball is alive, the catcher—or pitcher, in lieu of delivering the pitch—often tries to prevent this by throwing the ball to one of the infielders in order to tag the runner. This pick-off attempt is unsuccessful in tagging out the runner but is effective in keeping the runner closer to the base. If the runner is tagged out while diving back to the base, if the runner attempts to advance to the next base but is tagged out before reaching it safely, he is caught stealing. A successful attempt by the runner is called a stolen base, if a pitch gets away from the catcher, runners may also try to advance. This may be a pitch, if the pitcher is held responsible for the ball getting away. Sometimes the defending team will ignore a runner who is trying to steal a base, in case a runner is not credited with a steal. The standard dimensions of a field, with 90 feet between bases, generate many close base running plays. On one hand, an infielder who fields a ball hit on the ground, then throws it quickly and accurately
18.
First baseman
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First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that players team. A first baseman is the player on the team playing defense who fields the area nearest first base, in the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3. Also called first sacker or cornerman, the first baseman is ideally a tall player who throws left-handed and possesses good flexibility, flexibility is needed because the first baseman receives throws from the other infielders, the catcher and the pitcher after they have fielded ground balls. In order for the runner to be called out, the first baseman must be able to stretch towards the throw and they often are power hitters who have a substantial number of home runs and extra base hits while maintaining a.270 plus batting average. Good defensive first basemen, according to Bill James, are capable of playing off first base so that they can field ground balls hit to the side of first base. The first baseman then relies upon the pitcher to cover first base to receive the ball to complete the out, indications of a good defensive first baseman include a large number of assists and a low number of throwing errors by other infielders. The nature of play at first base often requires first basemen to stay close to the bag to hold runners or to reach the bag before the batter. First basemen are not typically expected to have the range required of a baseman, shortstop. As a result, first base is not usually perceived to be as physically demanding as other positions, however, it can also be a very hard position to play, a large amount of concentration and timing is required. Though many play at first base their entire career, it is common for players to be moved to first base in order to extend their careers or to accommodate other recently acquired players. Facing a possible trade or a reduction in playing time. Catchers and corner outfielders are often moved to first base due to deteriorating health or if their fielding abilities at their position are detrimental to the team. When first base is not occupied by a baserunner, the first baseman usually stands behind first base, the distance he plays from the base and foul line is dependent on the current hitter and any runners on base. The exact position may depend on the first basemans experience, preference. For a known right-handed pull hitter, the first baseman might position himself further towards the second basemans normal fielding position, for a known left-handed pull hitter, the first baseman will position himself closer to the foul line in order to stop a ball hit down the line. To protect against a bunt on the first base side of the infield, as soon as the pitcher commits to throwing towards home plate, the first basemen will charge towards the hitter to field the bunt. During these plays, it is the responsibility of the second basemen to cover first base, with a base runner present at first base, the first baseman stands with his right foot touching the base to prepare for a pickoff attempt. Once the pitcher commits to throwing towards home plate, the first baseman comes off the bag in front of the runner and gets in a fielding position
19.
Bunt (baseball)
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A bunt is a special type of offensive technique in baseball or fastpitch softball. In a bunt play, the batter loosely holds the bat in front of the plate, the primary goal in bunting is to ground the ball into fair territory, as far from the fielders as possible, generally while staying within the infield. The bunt is often characterized by the batter turning his body toward the pitcher, depending on the type of bunt, the batter might square well before the pitcher begins throwing, or as the pitch is being batted. In a sacrifice bunt, the batter will put the ball into play with the intention of advancing a baserunner, in exchange for the batter being thrown out. The sacrifice bunt is most often used to advance a runner from first to base, although the runner may also be advanced from second to third base. The sacrifice bunt is most often used in close, low-scoring games, a sacrifice bunt is not counted as an at-bat. In general, when sacrifice bunting, a batter will square to bunt well before the releases the ball. The squeeze play occurs when the batter sacrifices with the purpose of scoring a runner from third base, due to the high-risk nature of this play, it is not often executed, but can often be an exciting moment within the game. If a runner scores in a play, the batter may be credited with an RBI. A batter may also bunt for a base hit and this is not a sacrifice play, because the batter is trying to reach base safely, without any intention of advancing a runner. A batter may try to bunt for a hit while there are runners on base. A batter bunting for a hit will often hold back his bunt while the pitcher begins delivering the ball. If successful, the bunt is scored as a hit single, rarely does a bunt result in an extra base hit. Often when attempting to bunt for a hit, the batter will begin running as he is bunting the ball. This is called a drag bunt, the action of squaring to bunt is compromised during a drag bunt, as the feet are not set. Players sometimes get one hand up the barrel, and other times bunt with both hands at the base of the bat, there have been instances of one-handed drag bunts as well, in MLB, Rafael Furcal has been known to try such a bunt. A swinging bunt occurs when a hit ball rolls a short distance into play. A swinging bunt is often the result of a checked swing and it is not a true bunt, and if the scorer judges that the batter intended to hit the ball, it cannot be counted as a sacrifice
20.
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
21.
Baseball scorekeeping
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Baseball scorekeeping is the practice of recording the details of a baseball game as it unfolds. Professional baseball leagues hire official scorers to keep a record of each game. Sportswriter Henry Chadwick is generally credited as the inventor of baseball scorekeeping and his basic scorecard and notation have evolved significantly since their advent in the 1870s but they remain the basis for most of what has followed. Some symbols and abbreviations are shared by nearly all scorekeeping systems, at the end of the game Listing the pitchers in the game Usually two scorecards are used to score a game. Because the traditional method has been in use for so long, it has the most variations in its symbols and it is difficult, at this point in time, to describe an authoritative set of rules for traditional scorekeeping, but what is described here is a representative sample. In the traditional method, each cell in the area of the scoresheet represents the lifetime of an offensive player, from at-bat to baserunner. When an out is recorded, the combination of defensive players executing that out is recorded. If the next batter hits a ball to the fielder who catches it on the fly for the second out, it would be noted as F8. If the following batter strikes out, it would be noted as K, If the batter did not swing at the third strike, a backwards K is traditionally used. Other forms include Kc for a third strike with no swing. A slash should be drawn across the right corner to indicate the end of the inning. If in another inning, a baserunner is caught stealing second base and it is then noted CS, with some scorers adding the uniform number or batting position of the batter to indicate when the runner was put out. Then the defensive combination of the put out, normally 2–4 or 2–6 for a play, is written. If the runner on first is instead picked off by the pitcher, a cut off mark is noted on the base lines. If a batter reaches first base, either due to a walk, a hit, or an error, the basepath from home to first base is drawn, for example, If a batter gets a base hit, the basepath is drawn and 1B is written below. If the batter hits a double, however, the basepaths from home to first and first to second are drawn and this change of position is done to indicate that the runner did not advance on another hit. If the batter hits a triple, the basepaths are drawn from home to first to second to third, If a batter gets a walk, the basepath is drawn and BB or W is written below. IBB is written for a base on balls
22.
New York Mets
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The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the National League East division. The Mets are one of two Major League clubs based in New York City, the other is the New York Yankees. One of baseballs first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New Yorks departed NL teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. The Mets colors are composed of the Dodgers blue and the Giants orange, during the 1962 and 1963 seasons, the Mets played their home games at the Polo Grounds. From 1964 to 2008, the Mets home ballpark was Shea Stadium, in 2009, they moved into their current ballpark, Citi Field. In their 1962 inaugural season, the Mets posted a record of 40–120, the Mets made the playoffs in 2006 when they came within one game of the World Series, losing to the eventual champion St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. The Mets missed the playoffs with losses on the last day of the season in 2007 and 2008. The Mets made the playoffs in 2015 for the first time in nine years, the team again returned to the playoffs in 2016, this time with a wild card berth. This is the teams second playoff appearance, the first occurring during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. With the threat of a New York team joining a new third league, for the first two years of its existence, the team played its home games at the historic Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan. In 1964, they moved into newly constructed Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens, in 2009, the club moved into Citi Field, adjacent to the former Shea Stadium site. During their history, the Mets have won two World Series titles, five National League pennants and six National League East titles, the Mets also qualified for the postseason as the National League wild card team in 1999,2000, and 2016. The Mets have appeared in five World Series, more than any other team in MLB history. Their two championships are the most titles among expansion teams, equal to the tallies of the Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, the Mets held the New York baseball single-season attendance record for 29 years. They broke the Yankees 1948 record by drawing nearly 2.7 million spectators in 1970, the Mets broke their own record five times before the record was regained by the Yankees in 1999. The 1962 Mets posted a 40–120 record, a record for the most losses in a season since 1899, in 1966, the Mets famously bypassed future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in the amateur draft, instead selecting Steve Chilcott, who never played in the majors. But the following year, they acquired future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in a lottery, in 1973, the Mets rallied from 5th place to win the division, despite a record of only 82–79
23.
Dwight Gooden
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Dwight Eugene Doc Gooden, nicknamed Dr. K, is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball. Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In a career spanning 430 games, he pitched 2,800 2⁄3 innings and posted a record of 194–112, with a 3.51 earned run average. In 1985, he won the NL Cy Young Award and achieved the pitching Triple Crown, compiling a 24–4 record and a league-leading 1.53 ERA,268 strikeouts, the following season, he helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series. Gooden remained a pitcher in subsequent years, but his career was ultimately derailed by cocaine. After posting a record in each season from 1992 to 1994. As a member of the Yankees in 1996, Gooden pitched a no-hitter and he pitched four additional years for as many teams, but never approached the success of his peak years with his Mets. In 2010, Gooden was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame, Goodens troubles with addiction continued after his retirement from baseball and resulted in several arrests. He was incarcerated for seven months in 2006 after violating the terms of his probation, a native of Tampa, Florida, Dwight Gooden was drafted in the first round in 1982, the fifth player taken overall. He spent one season in the minors, in which he led the Class-A Carolina League in wins, strikeouts, Gooden made his major-league debut on April 7,1984 with the New York Mets at the age of 19. He was dubbed Dr. K, which became shortened to Doc. Gooden soon attracted a section at Shea Stadium that called itself The K Korner. When he took the mound in the inning on July 10,1984. He complemented this distinction by striking out the side, AL batters, Lance Parrish, Chet Lemon, and Alvin Davis. Setting up Gooden, NL Pitcher Fernando Valenzuela had already struck out the side in the fourth, putting down future Hall of Famers Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson, and George Brett. The two pitchers combined performance broke an All-Star game record, coincidentally on its celebrated 50th Anniversary—Carl Hubbells five consecutive strikeouts in 1934. That season, Gooden won 17 games, the most by a 19-year-old since Wally Bunker won 19 games in 1964, Gooden won eight of his last nine starts, in his final three starts of the 1984 season, he had 41 strikeouts and 1 walk. Gooden led the league in strikeouts, his 276 breaking Herb Scores rookie record of 245 in 1955, as a 19-year-old rookie, Gooden set the then-major league record for strikeouts per 9 innings, with 11.39, breaking Sam McDowells record of 10.71 in 1965
24.
Henry Chadwick (writer)
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He edited the first baseball guide that was sold to the public. He is credited with creating box scores, as well as creating the abbreviation K that designates a strikeout and he is said to have created the statistics of batting average and earned run average. He was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Chadwick was born in Exeter, England. His grandfather, Andrew Chadwick, had been a friend of theologian John Wesley. His father, James Chadwick, was a supporter of the French Revolution who also tutored John Dalton in music, James Chadwick had served as editor of a publication known as the Western Times. Edwin Chadwicks mother had made James Chadwick a widower shortly after Edwins birth, Chadwick moved to Brooklyn with his family at the age of 12. He began to write music and to piano and guitar. In 1848, Chadwick married Jane Botts from Richmond, Virginia, Botts father Alexander had been president of the Virginia State Council. She was also related to politician John Botts, Chadwick edited John Botts work titled The Great Rebellion. Chadwick and his wife had three children, Richard Westlake Chadwick, in 1849, Susan Mary Chadwick, in 1851, Chadwick became a frequent player of cricket and similar ball games such as rounders. He began covering cricket for local newspapers such as the Long Island Star. He first came across organized baseball in 1856 as a reporter for The New York Times. Chadwick was one of the movers in the rise of baseball to its popularity at the turn of the 20th century. He also served on baseball rules committees and influenced the game itself and he is sometimes referred to as the father of baseball because he facilitated the popularity of the sport in its early days. Early baseball had a known as the bound rule, which held that a fielder could catch a batted ball on one bounce. Chadwick was a critic of the rule for many years. In 1864, the rule was eliminated for balls hit into fair territory. The bound rule for foul balls persisted into the 1880s, in his 1861 Beadle guide, he listed totals of games played, outs, runs, home runs, and strikeouts for hitters on prominent clubs, the first database of its kind
25.
Matt Kilroy
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Matthew Aloysius Matches Kilroy was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. In 1886, he had 513 strikeouts, which remains the MLB single-season record, Kilroy was born in Philadelphia in 1866. He was one of 13 children of Mary Ann and Patrick Kilroy and he started his professional baseball career with the Southern Leagues Augusta Browns in 1885. That season, he pitched 447 innings and had a record of 29–22 with a 0.97 earned run average and 363 strikeouts. Kilroy starred as an MLB rookie during the 1886 season for the last-place Baltimore Orioles and he started 68 games, completing 66 of them while throwing 583 innings. Although he had a record of 29 wins and 34 losses. Kilroy struck out 513 batters that season, the most ever in a single season, because of these numerous subsequent rule changes, pitching records from that era are not officially compared to those of the modern era, which is variously regarded as beginning in 1893 or 1900. On August 20, Kilroy and Cyclone Miller of the Philadelphia Quakers hurled opposing one-hitters, Baltimore won that game 1–0 on first-inning errors‚ but didnt get a hit until the ninth. During this remarkable season, he hurled 5 shutouts,3 one-hitters, and 4 two-hitters. He pitched his gem against the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, a 6–0 victory, Kilroy followed the success of his rookie season with another productive year in 1887. During his sophomore year he started 69 games, completing 66 while throwing 589 1⁄3 innings with 6 shutouts and he led the league in wins and shutouts. He had this success even though his strikeout total dropped dramatically to 217, Kilroy pitched and won both games of a doubleheader twice during the 1887 season, once on July 26 and the other on October 1. His 46 wins is still the most ever by a pitcher in a season. On September 2, he umpired his only game, after opening his career with two outstanding seasons, he pitched fewer innings and had less success in 1888. Baltimore finished in place, and Kilroy had a 17–21 record in only 40 games. He did complete 35 of those starts and recorded 2 shutouts, earlier, before the season started and after signing his contract with the team, he married Fanny Denny, although he did spend the honeymoon training with the Orioles. The 1889 season was Kilroys comeback season and his last productive season as a pitcher and he completed 55 of his 56 starts, while also pitching in 3 relief appearances, the first of his career. He had a 29–25 record and 5 shutouts in 480 2⁄3 innings, on July 29 of that season, he pitched his second no-hitter, this time a 7-inning affair against the St. Louis Browns that ended in 0–0 tie
26.
Nolan Ryan
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Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. nicknamed The Ryan Express, is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and a previous chief executive officer of the Texas Rangers. He is currently an adviser to the owner of the Houston Astros. During a major league record 27-year baseball career, he pitched for four different teams, the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. Ryan, a hard-throwing, right-handed pitcher, threw pitches that were recorded above 100 miles per hour. The high velocity remained throughout his career, even into his 40s, Ryan was also known to throw a devastating 12–6 curveball at exceptional velocity for a breaking ball. While his lifetime winning percentage was.526, Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star and he leads the runner-up, Randy Johnson, by 839 strikeouts. Similarly, Ryans 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962—walking over 50% more hitters than any pitcher in MLB history. Ryan, Pedro Martínez, Randy Johnson, and Sandy Koufax are the four pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched. Other than Jackie Robinson, Ryan is currently the major league baseball player to have his number retired by at least three different teams, the Angels, Astros, and Rangers. Ryan is the leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for the most one-hitters, with 12, despite the seven no-hitters, he never threw a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award. Ryan is one of only 29 players in history to have appeared in Major League baseball games in four decades. Ryan was born in Refugio, south of Victoria in south Texas, the youngest of six children, to Lynn Nolan Ryan, Sr. and the former Martha Lee Hancock. The senior Ryan operated a distributorship for the since defunct Houston Post which required him to rise in the morning hours to prepare 1,500 newspapers for delivery over a 55-mile route. The children were expected to help with the daily tasks, Ryans family lived in nearby Woodsboro in Refugio County, until they moved to Alvin in Brazoria County, when Nolan was six weeks old. As a young boy, Nolan enjoyed throwing objects at any target and his father thought baseball a better usage for his arm, therefore, he encouraged Nolan to play the game. Ryan joined Alvin Little League Baseball when he was nine, made the team when he was 11 and 12. Ryan also played various positions besides pitcher, Ryan played baseball for Coach Jim Watson at Alvin High School for all of his high school career
27.
Sandy Koufax
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Sanford Sandy Koufax is a former American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched 12 seasons for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1955 to 1966, Koufax, at age 36 in 1972, became the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Koufaxs career peaked with a run of six outstanding years from 1961 to 1966 and he was an All-Star for six seasons and was the National Leagues Most Valuable Player in 1963. Koufax also won the NL Triple Crown for pitchers those same three years by leading the NL in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average, Koufax was the first major league pitcher to pitch four no-hitters and the eighth pitcher to pitch a perfect game in baseball history. Despite his comparatively short career, Koufaxs 2,396 career strikeouts ranked 7th in history as of his retirement, Koufax, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, and Nolan Ryan are the only four pitchers elected to the Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched. Koufax is also remembered as one of the outstanding Jewish athletes in American sports and his decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur garnered national attention as an example of conflict between professional pressures and personal beliefs. Koufax was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family and his parents, Evelyn and Jack Braun, divorced when he was three years old. His mother was remarried when he was nine, to Irving Koufax, shortly after his mothers remarriage, the family moved to the Long Island suburb of Rockville Centre. Before tenth grade, Koufaxs family moved back to the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, Koufax attended Brooklyns Lafayette High School, where he was better known for basketball than for baseball. At the time, school sports were not available because New Yorks teachers were refusing to supervise extracurricular activities without monetary compensation, as an alternative, Koufax started playing basketball for the Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst local community center team. Eventually, Lafayette had a team, Koufax became team captain in his senior year. In 1951, at the age of 15, Koufax also joined a youth baseball league known as the Ice Cream League. He started out as a catcher before moving to first base. While playing first base for Lafayette High Schools baseball team with teammate and friend Fred Wilpon, he was spotted by Milt Laurie, Laurie recognized that Koufax might be able to pitch, and recruited the 17-year-old Koufax to pitch for the Coney Island Sports Leagues Parkviews. Koufax attended the University of Cincinnati and was a walk-on on the basketball team. He later earned a partial scholarship, in spring 1954, he made the college baseball varsity team. That season, Koufax went 3–1 with a 2.81 ERA,51 strikeouts and 30 walks, Bill Zinser, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, sent the Dodgers front office a glowing report that apparently was filed and forgotten. After trying out with the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, during his Pirates tryout, Koufaxs fastball broke the thumb of Sam Narron, the teams bullpen coach
28.
Fastball
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The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Pitchers who throw more slowly can put movement on the ball, the appearance of a faster pitch can sometimes be achieved by minimizing the batters vision of the ball before its release. The result is known as a fastball, a pitch that seems to arrive at the plate quickly despite its low velocity. All fastballs are usually thrown with backspin, so that the Magnus effect creates a force on the ball. This causes it to fall less rapidly than expected, and sometimes causes an optical illusion called a rising fastball. A straight pitch is achieved by gripping the ball with the fingers across the part of the seam so that both the index and middle fingers are touching two seams perpendicularly. A sinking fastball is thrown by gripping it across the part so that both the index and middle fingers are along a seam. Lateral motion is achieved by holding a four-seam fastball off-center, colloquially, a fastball pitcher throws heat or puts steam on it, among many other variants. The four-seam fastball is the most common variant of the fastball, the pitch is used often by the pitcher to get ahead in the count or when he needs to throw a strike. This type of fastball is intended to have minimal lateral movement and it is often perceived as the fastest pitch a pitcher throws, with recorded top speeds above 100 mph. The fastest pitch recognized by MLB was on September 25,2010 and it was clocked at 105.1 miles per hour. April 19,2011 Chapman lit up the radar gun at 106 MPH. Two general methods are used to throw a four-seam fastball, the first and most traditional way is to find the horseshoe seam area, or the area where the seams are the farthest apart. Keeping those seams parallel to the body, the places his index. The thumb then rests underneath the ball about in the middle of the two fingers, with this grip, the thumb will generally have no seam on which to rest. A two-seam fastball, sometimes called a two-seamer, tailing fastball, running fastball and it is designed to have more movement than a four-seam fastball, so the batter cannot hit it hard, but it can be more difficult to master and control. Because of the deviation from the trajectory, the two-seam fastball is sometimes called a moving fastball. The pitcher grabs a baseball and finds the area on it where the seams are the closest together, a sinker is a similar pitch thrown with almost the same grip, but with the thumb directly underneath the ball
29.
Ernie Harwell
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William Earnest Ernie Harwell was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 seasons,42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, in January 2009, the American Sportscasters Association ranked Harwell 16th on its list of Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time. Ernie Harwell grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, working in his youth as a paperboy for the Atlanta Georgian, at sixteen he began working as a regional correspondent for The Sporting News. Harwell attended Emory University, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, after graduating, Harwell worked as a copy editor and sportswriter for the Atlanta Constitution. In 1943, he began announcing games for the Crackers on WSB radio, Harwell broadcast for the Dodgers through 1949, the New York Giants from 1950-53, and the Baltimore Orioles from 1954-59. Early in his career, he also broadcast The Masters golf tournament, as well as pro, Harwell joined the Tigers broadcast crew in 1960, replacing Van Patrick. George Kell, who had begun calling Tigers games with Patrick in 1959, was instrumental in bringing Harwell to Detroit, george called and said, I recommended you and the Tigers asked me to get in touch with you. Harwell shared TV and radio duties with Kell through 1963, then with Bob Scheffing in 1964 and he began working radio exclusively in 1965, teaming with Gene Osborn for two seasons and then with Ray Lane from 1967-72. In 1973, Paul Carey replaced Lane and joined Harwell to form the Tigers best-known and longest-lasting radio team, which lasted until the end of the 1991 season. On December 19,1990, the Tigers and radio station WJR announced that the wanted to go in a new direction. Rick Rizzs was hired away from the Seattle Mariners to replace Harwell in 1992, Harwell worked a part-time schedule for the California Angels in 1992. The following year, the Tigers were purchased by Mike Ilitch, in 1993 Harwell teamed with Rizzs and Rathbun on the WJR broadcasts, calling play-by-play of the middle innings in each game. From 1994-98, Harwell called television broadcasts for the Tigers on PASS Sports, during spring training in 2002, Harwell announced that he would retire at the end of the season, his final broadcast came on September 29,2002. Dan Dickerson, who had joined Harwell and Price in 2000, nationally, Harwell broadcast two All-Star Games and two World Series for NBC Radio, numerous ALCS and ALDS for CBS Radio and ESPN Radio, and the CBS Radio Game of the Week from 1992 to 1997. He also called the 1984 World Series locally for the Tigers, following his retirement, Harwell came back briefly in 2003 to call a Wednesday Night Baseball telecast on ESPN, as part of that networks Living Legends series of guest announcers. In 2005, Harwell guested for an inning on the Fox networks coverage of the All-Star Game, Harwell also called one inning of Game 1 of the 2006 World Series for WXYT. Harwell served as a guest color commentator for two Tiger games on FSN Detroit on May 24 and 25,2007, Harwell worked the telecasts as a substitute for regular analyst Rod Allen, who took the games off to attend his sons high school graduation. He also appeared as a guest on an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball telecast in Detroit on July 1,2007, Harwell occasionally did vignettes on the history of baseball for Fox Sports Detroits magazine program Tigers Weekly
30.
2006 National League Championship Series
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The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the heavily favored New York Mets in 7 games to advance to the 2006 World Series against the Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals and the Mets took the series to the limit, the Cardinals took the lead with Yadier Molinas 2-run home run off Mets reliever Aaron Heilman in the 9th to put his team ahead 3–1. The Mets had home-field advantage due to their record in the regular season. The Mets and Cardinals previously met in the 2000 NLCS, which the Mets won in 5 games, until 2015,2006 was only the second time the Mets have qualified for postseason play since 2000. St. Louis won the series, 4–3, †, Game 1 was postponed due to rain on October 11. Game 2 was subsequently pushed back a day as well. ‡, thursday, October 12,2006 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York On a game pushed back a day by rain, both pitchers pitched magnificently. Tom Glavine earned the win with seven innings of shutout baseball, the only two runs came from a two-run homer by Carlos Beltrán off losing pitcher Jeff Weaver. Weaver pitched 5 2⁄3 shutout innings giving up a single to Paul Lo Duca. Glavine was aided by stellar defense, as the Mets turned two double plays, in the third inning, with runners on first and second, third baseman David Wright caught a line drive off the bat of David Eckstein and threw to second to double up Yadier Molina. In the following inning, Juan Encarnación flied out to center to Beltrán, who threw to first on the run to double up Albert Pujols. Left fielder Endy Chávez also made an excellent diving play on a hit by Ronnie Belliard. He replaced Cliff Floyd, who left in the inning when he reaggravated his injured Achilles tendon. Friday, October 13,2006 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York In an exciting back-and-forth game, in the first inning, Carlos Delgado hit a three-run home run and added another home run in the fifth, both off the Cardinals ace, Chris Carpenter. Yadier Molina then drove in two runs with a double in the second inning. In the bottom of the inning, Julio Franco pinch-hit for Mets pitcher Aaron Heilman. Left fielder Chris Duncan, a lefty hitter, was due to lead off the top of the ninth, so, Duncan was pulled in favor of So Taguchi, a right-handed-hitting outfielder who was a better defensive option than Duncan. Taguchi led off the top of the ninth with a homer off Mets closer Billy Wagner to put the Cardinals ahead. St. Louis would go on to win the game, 9–6, Scott Spiezio hit a two-run triple in the bottom of the first inning to put the Cardinals ahead, 2–0
31.
Immaculate inning
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In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat. No player has ever struck out four batters on twelve pitches in an inning, john Clarkson was the first player to strike out three batters on nine pitches, doing so in the third inning for the Boston Beaneaters against the Philadelphia Quakers on June 4,1889. Out of the 75 pitchers who have accomplished the feat,58 were right-handed and 17 pitched left-handed, thirteen of these players have played for only one major league team. Five pitchers—Roger Clemens, Bob Gibson, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, sloppy Thurston, Wade Miley and Ryan are the only rookies to have attained the milestone. Ryan struck out three batters on nine pitches in the American League and National League, becoming the player to achieve the feat in both leagues of MLB. Danny Jackson is the player to pitch an immaculate inning in the World Series. Once a relatively uncommon feat – there were no known immaculate innings thrown from 1929 through 1952 – there has been at least one immaculate inning thrown every year since 2006, in total,41 of the 80 of the known immaculate innings have been thrown since 1997. Of the players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who pitched an inning, twelve have been elected. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least ten major league seasons, and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months
32.
Hat-trick
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A hat-trick or hat trick in sports is the achievement of a positive feat three times in a game, or another achievement based on the number three in some sports. In association and rugby football, the scoring of two goals or tries by one individual in a match is referred to as a brace. The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephensons taking three wickets with three consecutive deliveries, fans held a collection for Stephenson, and presented him with a hat bought with the proceeds. The term was used in print for the first time in 1865, the term was eventually adopted by many other sports including hockey, association football, water polo and team handball. A hat-trick occurs in association football when a player scores three goals in a game, whereas scoring two goals constitutes a brace. In common with other official record-keeping rules, goals in a penalty shootout are excluded from the tally, the extra time in a knockout cup match may also be calculated towards a players potential hat-trick. The fastest recorded time to score a hat-trick is 70 seconds, the previous Guinness world record of 90 seconds was held by Tommy Ross playing for Ross County against Nairn County on 28 November 1964. The first hat-trick in a game was by Scottish player John McDougall. American player Bert Patenaude scored the first hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup, two hat-tricks have been scored in a final, by Geoff Hurst for England in the 1966 final during extra time against West Germany, and Carli Lloyd against Japan in the 2015 Womens World Cup final. Football has also extended the term to include the phrase perfect hat-trick, achieved when a player scores one right-footed goal, one left-footed goal and one headed goal within one match. In Germany, the term Hattrick refers to when a player scores three goals in a row in one half without the break or a goal scored by another player interfering the performance. In recent years, hat trick has been often used to describe when a player hits three home runs in a game. This new usage appears be the transposition of the term, by Canadian baseball fans, from ice hockey. For example, on 29 August 2015, Toronto Blue Jays fans celebrated Edwin Encarnacións third home run of the game by throwing hats onto the field, a hat-trick occurs in cricket when a bowler dismisses three batsmen with consecutive deliveries. Only wickets attributed to the count towards a hat-trick, run outs do not count. Hat-tricks are rare, and as such are treasured by bowlers, in Test cricket history there have been just 42 hat-tricks, the first achieved by Fred Spofforth for Australia against England in 1879. In 1912, Australian Jimmy Matthews achieved the feat twice in one game against South Africa, lasith Malinga achieved a hat-trick while playing for Sri Lanka against Australia on 22 August 2011 in the last match of the five-ODI series in Colombo. He is the bowler to take three hat-tricks in any form of international cricket
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