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The Baseball Portal
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Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter).
The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning. A game is usually composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature pace-of-play regulations such as the pitch clock to shorten game time.
Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of escapism during troubled points in American history such as the American Civil War and the Great Depression, have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as the national sport of the United States, though in modern times is considered less popular than other sports, such as American football. In addition to North America, baseball is considered the most popular sport in parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. (Full article...)
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Orval Leroy Grove (August 29, 1919 – April 20, 1992) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for ten seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox. In 207 career games, Grove pitched 1,176 innings and posted a win–loss record of 63–73, with 66 complete games, 11 shutouts, and a 3.78 earned run average (ERA).
The only freshman on the Proviso Township High School varsity baseball team, Grove's pitching ability attracted the attention of the White Sox. After signing with the team in 1937, Grove moved between the major leagues and minor leagues for a few seasons until 1943, when he found a solid place in the White Sox's pitching rotation. Grove had a career-year in 1943, finishing the season with career-bests in ERA, wins, and complete games; in 1944, he made his only All-Star appearance. (Full article...) -
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Daniel Lucius "Doc" Adams (November 1, 1814 – January 3, 1899) was an American baseball player and executive who is regarded by historians as an important figure in the sport's early years. For most of his career he was a member of the New York Knickerbockers. He first played for the New York Base Ball Club in 1840 and started his Knickerbockers career five years later, continuing to play for the club into his forties and to take part in inter-squad practice games and matches against opposing teams. Researchers have called Adams the creator of the shortstop position, which he used to field short throws from outfielders. In addition to his playing career, Adams manufactured baseballs and oversaw bat production; he also occasionally acted as an umpire.
From 1847 to 1861, the Knickerbockers selected Adams as their president six times, and as a vice president, treasurer, or director in six other years. As president of the club, Adams was an advocate of rule changes in baseball that resulted in nine-man teams and nine-inning games. When the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was formed in 1858, he led the rules and regulations committee of the new organization. In his role, Adams ruled that the fields' bases should be 90 feet (27 m) apart, the modern distance, and supported the elimination of the "bound rule", which allowed for balls caught after one bounce to be recorded as outs. He resigned from his positions with the Knickerbockers and NABBP in 1862. Adams' contributions in creating baseball's rules went largely unrecognized for decades after his 1899 death, but in 1980 a letter about him appeared in The New York Times; by 1993, researcher John Thorn had written about Adams' role. Other historians have given him credit for helping to develop the sport, and Thorn has called Adams "first among the Fathers of Baseball". (Full article...) -
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Tyler Wayne Skaggs (July 13, 1991 – July 1, 2019) was an American left-handed professional baseball starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels from 2012 until his death in 2019.
A native of Woodland Hills, California, and a graduate of Santa Monica High School, Skaggs was a supplemental first-round selection for the Angels in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. He was traded to the Diamondbacks the following year as part of an exchange for pitcher Dan Haren and rose through Arizona's farm system. After two consecutive appearances at the All-Star Futures Game in 2011 and 2012, Skaggs made his major league debut on August 22, 2012, against the Miami Marlins. He remained with the Diamondbacks through the end of the season, but was optioned to the minor leagues in 2013. (Full article...) -
Image 4During the 1912 baseball season, center fielder Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers was suspended for ten days. Cobb was at the time probably the biggest star in the major leagues. American League president Ban Johnson suspended and fined him $50 ($1,600 in 2023) for going into the stands at New York's Hilltop Park and beating Claude Lucker, a fan who had been heckling him.
Cobb had been Lucker's verbal target throughout the four-game series between the Tigers and New York Yankees. By the fourth inning of the fourth game, on May 15, 1912, with the stream of insults continuing and questioning Cobb's racial ancestry, he lost his temper. He raced into the stands, punching and kicking Lucker, who due to an industrial accident had lost eight fingers and could not defend himself. Cobb was ejected from the game. These events were witnessed by Johnson, who suspended Cobb indefinitely. Since there were at the time few protections for ballplayers from the insults and hurled objects of fans, many took Cobb's side, including his teammates. After beating the Philadelphia Athletics on May 17, the Detroit players telegraphed Johnson that they would not play again until Cobb was reinstated. Johnson refused to do so. (Full article...) -
Image 5Advertisement in Billboard magazine in 1907
How Brown Saw the Baseball Game is an American short silent comedy film produced in 1907 and distributed by the Lubin Manufacturing Company. The film follows a baseball fan named Mr. Brown who overdrinks before a baseball game and becomes so intoxicated that the game appears to him in reverse motion. During production, trick photography was used to achieve this effect.
The film was released in November 1907. It received a positive review in a 1908 issue of The Courier-Journal that reported the film was successful and "truly funny". , it is unclear whether the print of the film has survived. The identities of the film cast and production crew are unknown. (Full article...) -
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Arthur Joseph Houtteman (August 7, 1927 – May 6, 2003) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for 12 seasons in the American League with the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles. In 325 career games, Houtteman pitched 1,555 innings and posted a win–loss record of 87–91, with 78 complete games, 14 shutouts, and a 4.14 earned run average (ERA).
Known on the sandlot for his pitching motion, Houtteman was signed by scout Wish Egan in 1945 at 17 years of age. He was recruited by major league teams, and joined a Tigers pitching staff that had lost players to injuries and World War II. After moving between the major and minor leagues over the next few years, he was nearly killed in an automobile accident just before the 1949 season. Houtteman rebounded from his injuries and went on to win 15 games that season and made his only All-Star appearance in the following year. (Full article...) -
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Thurman Lowell Tucker (September 26, 1917 – May 7, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. A center fielder, Tucker played in Major League Baseball for nine seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. In 701 career games, Tucker recorded a batting average of .255 and accumulated 24 triples, nine home runs, and 179 runs batted in (RBI).
Because of his resemblance to film comedian Joe E. Brown he was nicknamed "Joe E.". (Full article...) -
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Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known as a scrappy infielder who made considerable contributions to the championship Yankee teams of the 1950s, he then built a reputation as a manager who would initially make bad teams good, before ultimately being fired amid dysfunction. In each of his stints with the Yankees he managed them to winning records before being fired by team owner George Steinbrenner or resigning under fire, usually amid a well-publicized scandal such as Martin's involvement in an alcohol-fueled fight.
Martin was born in a working-class section of Berkeley, California. His skill as a baseball player gave him a route out of his home town. Signed by the Pacific Coast League Oakland Oaks, Martin learned much from Casey Stengel, the man who would manage him both in Oakland and in New York, and enjoyed a close relationship with Stengel. Martin's spectacular catch of a wind-blown Jackie Robinson popup late in Game Seven of the 1952 World Series saved that series for the Yankees, and he was the hitting star of the 1953 World Series, earning the Most Valuable Player award in the Yankee victory. He missed most of two seasons, 1954 and 1955, after being drafted into the Army, and his abilities never fully returned; the Yankees traded him after a brawl at the Copacabana club in New York during the 1957 season. Martin bitterly resented being traded, and did not speak to Stengel for years, a time during which Martin completed his playing career with various teams. (Full article...) -
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James Howard Thome (/ˈtoʊmi/; born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball corner infielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). He played for six different teams throughout his career, most notably the Cleveland Indians. A prolific power hitter, Thome hit 612 home runs during his career—the eighth-most all time. He amassed a total of 2,328 hits and 1,699 runs batted in (RBIs). His career batting average was .276. He was a member of five All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1996.
Thome grew up in Peoria, Illinois, as part of a large blue-collar family of athletes, who predominantly played baseball and basketball. After attending Illinois Central College, he was drafted by the Indians in the 1989 draft, and made his big league debut in 1991. Early in his career, Thome played third base, before eventually becoming a first baseman. With the Indians, he was part of a core of players that led the franchise to five consecutive playoff appearances in the 1990s, including World Series appearances in 1995 and 1997. Thome spent over a decade with Cleveland, before leaving via free agency after the 2002 season, to join the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he spent the following three seasons. Traded to the Chicago White Sox before the 2006 season, he won the American League (AL) Comeback Player of the Year Award that year and joined the 500 home run club during his three-season tenure with the White Sox. By this point in his career, back pain limited Thome to being a designated hitter. After stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, he made brief returns to Cleveland and Philadelphia, before ending his career with the Baltimore Orioles. Upon retiring, Thome accepted an executive position with the White Sox. (Full article...) -
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Lee Arthur Smith (born December 4, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight teams. Serving mostly as a relief pitcher during his career, he was a dominant closer, was the first pitcher to reach 400 saves, and held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006, when Trevor Hoffman passed his total of 478. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2019 by the Today's Game Era Committee.
A native of Jamestown in Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, Smith was scouted by Buck O'Neil and was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 1975 MLB draft. Smith was an intimidating figure on the pitcher's mound at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and 265 pounds (120 kg) with a 95-mile-per-hour (150 km/h) fastball. In 1991, he set a National League (NL) record with 47 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals, and was runner-up for the league's Cy Young Award; it was the second of three times Smith led the NL in saves, and he later led the American League (AL) in saves once. When he retired, he held the major league record for career games finished (802) and was third in games pitched (1,022). He holds the Cubs' team record for career saves (180), and held the same record for the Cardinals (160) until 2006. (Full article...) -
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The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music industry, specifically the "Nashville sound", a subgenre of country music which originated in the city in the mid-1950s. The team plays their home games at First Horizon Park, which opened in 2015 on the site of the historic Sulphur Dell ballpark. The Sounds previously played at Herschel Greer Stadium from its opening in 1978 until the end of the 2014 season. They are the oldest active professional sports franchise in Nashville.
Established as an expansion team of the Double-A Southern League in 1978, the Sounds led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance in their inaugural season and continued to draw the Southern League's largest crowds in each of their seven years as members. On the field, the team won six consecutive second-half division titles from 1979 to 1984 and won the Southern League championship twice: in 1979 as the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and again in 1982 as the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. (Full article...) -
Image 12Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field between games of the twi-night doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Many had come to see the explosion rather than the games and rushed onto the field after the detonation. The playing field was so damaged by the explosion and by the rioters that the White Sox were required to forfeit the second game to the Tigers.
In the late 1970s, dance-oriented disco was the most popular music genre in the United States, particularly after being featured in hit films such as Saturday Night Fever (1977). However, disco sparked a major backlash from rock music fans—an opposition prominent enough that the White Sox, seeking to fill seats at Comiskey Park during a lackluster season, engaged Chicago shock jock and anti-disco campaigner Steve Dahl for the promotion at the July 12 doubleheader. Dahl's sponsoring radio station was WLUP (97.9 FM, now WCKL), so admission was discounted to 98 cents for attendees who turned in a disco record; between games, Dahl was to destroy the collected vinyl in an explosion. (Full article...) -
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Hershiser pitching for the Dodgers in 1993
During the 1988 Major League Baseball season, pitcher Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers set the MLB record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Over 59 consecutive innings, opposing hitters did not score a run against Hershiser. During the streak, he averted numerous high-risk scoring situations. The streak spanned from the sixth inning of an August 30 game against the Montreal Expos to the 10th inning of a September 28 game against the San Diego Padres. The previous record of 58+2⁄3 innings was set by former Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale in 1968; as the team's radio announcer, Drysdale called Hershiser's streak as he pursued the new record. Pundits have described the streak as among the greatest records in baseball history, with one pundit ranking it among the greatest individual feats in American sports.
During the streak, the Elias Sports Bureau changed its criteria for the official consecutive scoreless innings record for starting pitchers from including fractional innings in which one or two outs had been recorded to counting only complete scoreless innings. Since the streak was active at the end of the 1988 season, it could have spanned two separate seasons. However, Hershiser yielded a run in his first inning of work in the 1989 season against the Cincinnati Reds, thus ending the streak at 59 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. The streak includes only innings pitched in the regular season, excluding eight scoreless innings Hershiser pitched to start Game 1 of the 1988 National League Championship Series on October 4 (unofficially extending his streak to 67 combined innings). Although he completed the ninth inning in each start, the streak's final game lasted 16 innings, of which he pitched only the first 10. Thus, Hershiser did not match Drysdale's record of six consecutive complete game shutouts. Like Drysdale's streak, the penultimate game of Hershiser's streak was a Dodgers–Giants game that featured a controversial umpire's ruling that saved the streak. (Full article...) -
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On July 10, 1932, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians 18–17 in 18 innings in a Major League Baseball game played at League Park in Cleveland. Several major-league records were set during the game; for example, Johnny Burnett of the Indians became the only player to hit safely nine (or even eight) times in a game, while Cleveland's 33 hits and the teams' combined 58 hits are also single-game records. Pitcher Eddie Rommel secured the win for the Athletics, pitching an American League-record 17 innings in relief after Philadelphia's Lew Krausse gave up three runs in the first inning. The 29 hits Rommel allowed are a major-league record; the 14 runs against him are the most given up by a winning pitcher.
Coming into the game, the Athletics, who were the three-time defending American League champions, trailed the New York Yankees in the standings by 71⁄2 games. Sunday baseball was still illegal in Philadelphia, forcing the Athletics to make one-game road trips on some Sundays, including July 10. With his pitching staff exhausted by six games in the previous three days, the owner and manager of the Athletics, Connie Mack, took only two pitchers on the train trip to Cleveland, giving the rest of the staff the day off. With no chance of being relieved except by a position player, Rommel pitched with mixed effectiveness, giving up six runs in the seventh inning but only two runs in the final nine innings of the game. He aided his own cause by getting three hits in seven at bats. Cleveland's Wes Ferrell took the loss after Jimmie Foxx got his sixth hit of the game and then scored. Foxx had already batted in eight runs, having hit three home runs and accumulated sixteen total bases, tying a record that has since been broken. (Full article...) -
Image 15The 2009 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2009 season. As the 105th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League (NL) and defending World Series champions, and the New York Yankees, champions of the American League (AL). The Yankees defeated the Phillies, 4 games to 2, winning their 27th World Series championship.
The series was played between October 28 and November 4, broadcast on Fox, and watched by an average of roughly 19 million viewers. Home field advantage for the Series went to the AL for the eighth straight year as a result of its 4–3 win in the All-Star Game. The Phillies earned their berth into the playoffs by winning the National League East. The Yankees won the American League East to earn their berth, posting the best record in the Major Leagues. The Phillies reached the World Series by defeating the Colorado Rockies in the best-of-five National League Division Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the AL Championship Series (ALCS) to advance to their first World Series since 2003. As a result of their loss, the Phillies became the first team since the 2001 Yankees to lose the World Series after winning it the previous year. As of 2023, this is the most recent World Series to feature a defending champion. (Full article...)
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Image 1Pick-off attempt on runner (in red) at first base (from Baseball rules)
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Image 2Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs. (from Baseball)
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Image 3A first baseman receives a pickoff throw, as the runner dives back to first base. (from Baseball)
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Image 4Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not uniform numbers) (from Baseball)
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Image 5Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs (from Baseball)
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Image 6Alexander Cartwright, father of modern baseball (from History of baseball)
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Image 7A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park (from Baseball)
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Image 8Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs (from History of baseball)
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Image 9A well-worn baseball (from Baseball)
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Image 10In May 2010, the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay pitched the 20th major league perfect game. That October, he pitched only the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history. (from History of baseball)
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Image 11Diagram of a baseball field Diamond may refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field. The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games. Children often play on smaller fields. (from Baseball)
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Image 121906 World Series, infielders playing "in" for the expected bunt and the possible play at the plate with the bases loaded (from Baseball rules)
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Image 13Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the left. (from Baseball)
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Image 15Pesäpallo, a Finnish variation of baseball, was invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s, and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland. (from Baseball)
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Image 16The typical motion of a right-handed pitcher (from Baseball rules)
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Image 18Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 (from Baseball)
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Image 19The NL champion New York Giants baseball team, 1913. Fred Merkle, sixth in line, had committed a baserunning gaffe in a crucial 1908 game that became famous as Merkle's Boner. (from History of baseball)
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Image 20The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million. (from Baseball)
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Image 222013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 (from Baseball)
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Image 24An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 (from Baseball)
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Image 26Cy Young—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young. (from Baseball)
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Image 28Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game (from Baseball)
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Image 30A batter follows through after swinging at a pitched ball. (from Baseball rules)
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Image 31Cover of Official Base Ball Rules, 1921 edition, used by the American League and National League (from Baseball rules)
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Image 32Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs with 868. (from History of baseball)
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Image 33A game from the Cantigas de Santa Maria, c. 1280, involving tossing a ball, hitting it with a stick and competing with others to catch it (from History of baseball)
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Aubrey Lewis Huff III (born December 20, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Huff played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and San Francisco Giants; he was a member of two World Series championship teams for the Giants. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Huff attended Vernon College and the University of Miami, where he finished his career second in school batting average. He was drafted by the Devil Rays in the sixth round in 1998, and debuted with them in 2000. In 2002, he finished tenth in the American League (AL) in batting average. He set a career high in 2003 with 34 home runs and batted .311 with 107 runs batted in (RBI), while tying for the lead in errors among AL right fielders with six. Next season, he batted .297 with 24 home runs and 104 RBI. In 2005, he batted .261 with 22 home runs and 92 RBI. During the 2006 season, he was traded to the Astros. (Full article...) -
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The 1999 Baltimore Orioles – Cuba national baseball team exhibition series consisted of two exhibition games played between the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Cuba national baseball team on March 28 and May 3, 1999. The first game took place in Havana, while the second was held in Baltimore. This series marked the first time that the Cuba national team had faced a squad composed solely of major league players and the close of the hiatus since 1959 that an MLB team played in Cuba.
In the 1990s, Orioles' owner Peter Angelos lobbied the United States federal government to gain permission to hold this series for three years. Various politicians, including members of the United States House of Representatives, opposed the idea and attempted to block the series. Eventually, Angelos secured the approval in 1999, after a change in United States foreign policy to Cuba under President Bill Clinton, which eased travel restrictions and increased cultural exchange. (Full article...) -
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KTVK (channel 3) is an independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CBS affiliate KPHO-TV (channel 5) and low-power station KPHE-LD (channel 44), a grouping known as "Arizona's Family". The three stations share studios on North Seventh Avenue in Uptown Phoenix; KTVK's transmitter is located on South Mountain on the city's south side. The station's signal is relayed across northern Arizona on a network of translator stations.
KTVK signed on in 1955 as the fourth and last commercial VHF station in Phoenix. Owned by a syndicate fronted by former U.S. Senator and newly-elected Governor Ernest McFarland, it took over as Phoenix's ABC affiliate. After spending its first three decades as an also-ran, it poached several employees from then-dominant KTSP-TV in 1985, beginning a surge that made it the market leader by 1990. It lost its ABC affiliation as part of a shuffle of networks in 1994 and 1995 but has since prospered as an independent. It was one of the last family-owned major-market TV stations, being owned in part or whole by the McFarland-Lewis family from its inception until 1999. (Full article...) -
Image 4Burton F. Gustafson (November 30, 1925 – October 22, 2022) was an American athlete and sports coach. After attending Northern Michigan University (NMU) where he was a three-sport star, he coached several high school football, basketball, and track and field teams. He then returned to NMU where he served from 1956 to 1961 as a coach in four sports. He later was an assistant coach for the Wyoming Cowboys and coach and administrator for the Green Bay Packers. (Full article...)
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Image 5"Ode to the Mets" is a song by American rock band the Strokes, the ninth and closing track on their sixth studio album, The New Abnormal (2020). Singer Julian Casablancas began writing the song while waiting for a subway train following the New York Mets' loss in the 2016 National League Wild Card Game at Citi Field. Its title was originally conceived as a joke; however, drummer Fabrizio Moretti, finding it a fitting metaphor for the lyrical themes, convinced Casablancas to keep it.
The Strokes first performed the song live at their New Year's Eve 2019 concert at the Barclays Center. It has been regarded by multiple critics as one of the highlights from The New Abnormal and also reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart. A music video for the song, directed by Warren Fu, was released on July 24, 2020, coinciding with that year's delayed Opening Day for the Mets. (Full article...) -
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Aaron Ryan Rowand (born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball center fielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and the San Francisco Giants and won two World Series championships. During his playing days, Rowand stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 210 pounds (95 kg). He batted and threw right-handed.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Rowand was raised in Glendora, California. He attended California State University, Fullerton, where he was named an All-American in 1998. Drafted by the White Sox in the first round that year, he debuted with the team in 2001. By 2004, he was the team's everyday center fielder. He hit 24 home runs in 2004, batting .310. In 2005, he was part of the White Sox team that defeated the Houston Astros in the World Series for their first championship since 1917. After the season, he was traded to the Phillies as part of a trade that sent Jim Thome to Chicago. During his time with Chicago, Rowand was extremely popular with White Sox fans, owing to his all-out style of play. (Full article...) -
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John Joseph Adams (October 9, 1951 – January 30, 2023) was an American who was regarded as a superfan of the Cleveland Indians, a Major League Baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Adams played his bass drum in the bleacher seats during nearly every Indians home game from August 24, 1973 against the Texas Rangers through 2019, which brought him positive recognition from the Indians and other organizations. He was involved in several ceremonial first pitches, he and his drum received free season tickets from the Indians, and the team gave away bobbleheads with his likeness. (Full article...) -
Image 8Amanda E. Clement (March 20, 1888 – July 20, 1971) was an American baseball umpire who was the first woman paid to referee a game, and may have also been the first woman to referee a high school basketball game. Clement served as an umpire on a regular basis for six years, and served occasionally for several decades afterwards. An accomplished athlete in multiple disciplines, Clement competed in baseball, basketball, track, gymnastics, and tennis, and has been attributed world records in shot put, sprinting, hurdling, and baseball. (Full article...)
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Harold Arthur "Hal" Peck (April 20, 1917 – April 13, 1995) was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1943 to 1949 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. In 355 career games, Peck recorded a batting average of .279 and accumulated 15 home runs and 112 runs batted in (RBI).
Born in Big Bend, Wisconsin, Peck began to play professional baseball in 1938. He spent two years in the lower minor leagues, then spent the better part of five years with the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. In 1942, Peck lost two toes in a shooting accident, but despite the injury was able to continue playing baseball. He made his major league debut in 1943 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, then joined the Philadelphia Athletics 1944. He spent three seasons with them, and was an everyday player in 1945. Peck was then traded to the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians. He achieved a career high in games played with 114 in 1947, and spent 1948 and 1949 as a pinch hitter. Peck also played a game in the 1948 World Series for the Indians. After being traded from the Indians after the 1949 season, he retired from baseball, and died in 1995. (Full article...) -
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Rector v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, No. 303630 (N.Y. Sup. Bronx Co. 2014), was a New York Supreme Court defamation case. Andrew Rector sued Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees, ESPN and their MLB announcers for broadcasting images of him sleeping at a game at Yankee Stadium between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox and allegedly making defamatory comments about him. Rector sued for $10 million for "defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress". The case was dismissed by Judge Julia Rodriguez, who ruled that the statements made were not defamatory. (Full article...) -
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Benjamin Oosterbaan (/ˈoʊstərbɑːn/ OH-stər-bahn; February 24, 1906 – October 25, 1990) was an American football end and head coach for the University of Michigan. He was a three-time All-American college football player, a two-time All-American basketball player, and an All-Big Ten Conference baseball player for the Michigan Wolverines. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players in Michigan history. He was selected by Sports Illustrated as the fourth greatest athlete in the history of the U.S. state of Michigan in 2003, and one of the eleven greatest college football players of the first century of the game (ending in 1968). As a head coach Oosterbaan won a national championship with the 1948 Michigan Wolverines football team, by way of the Associated Press.
In high school, he had been an All-American basketball player, a state champion in track and field, and an All-State baseball and football player. During his collegiate athletic career he was a Big Ten batting champion in baseball, the Big Ten scoring champion in basketball, and the Big Ten touchdown leader in football. He was the first University of Michigan athlete to become a first-team All-American in basketball and was the first three-time first-team All-American in football. In addition to his All-American collegiate accolades, Oosterbaan threw three touchdown passes in the dedication game of Michigan Stadium on October 22, 1927. (Full article...) -
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Cindy Lou McCain (née Hensley; born May 20, 1954) is an American diplomat, businesswoman, and humanitarian who is the executive director of the World Food Programme. McCain previously served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture from 2021 to 2023. She is the widow of U.S. Senator John McCain from Arizona, who was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee.
McCain was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a daughter of wealthy beer distributor Jim Hensley. After receiving bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Southern California, she became a special education teacher. She married John McCain in 1980, and the couple moved to Arizona in 1981, where her husband was elected to the United States Congress the following year and reelected five more times. The couple had three children together, in addition to adopting another. From 1988 to 1995, she founded and operated a nonprofit organization, the American Voluntary Medical Team, which organized trips by medical personnel to disaster-stricken or war-torn third-world areas. (Full article...) -
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Willard McKee Hershberger (May 28, 1910 – August 3, 1940) was an American baseball catcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1938 to 1940. In 160 career games, Hershberger recorded a batting average of .316 and accumulated 5 triples and 41 runs. He is the only major league player to date to commit suicide during the season.
Born and raised in California, Hershberger attended Fullerton Union High School where he was a baseball standout. He was signed by the New York Yankees and was part of their minor league system for eight years. He was traded after the 1937 season to the Cincinnati Reds, where he found a place on the major league roster as a backup behind Ernie Lombardi. For three seasons, Hershberger played in relief of Lombardi, stepping in if he needed a day off or was injured. After a slump in late July and early August, Hershberger committed suicide on August 3, 1940, in his hotel room; the Reds went on to win the 1940 World Series. (Full article...) -
Image 14Greene with the Louisville Bats in 2021
Christian Hunter Greene (born August 6, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Reds selected him second overall in the 2017 MLB Draft.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Greene learned how to pitch at the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in Compton. His fastball velocity was already 93 mph (150 km/h) during his first year at Notre Dame High School, and by the time he graduated in 2017, it was up to 102 mph (164 km/h). The Reds drafted Greene out of high school, and he joined their farm system rather than playing college baseball. Greene suffered an ulnar collateral ligament injury partway through the 2018 season and underwent Tommy John surgery the following year. The COVID-19 pandemic kept him from pitching for another year, but once he returned in 2021, he quickly rose through the minor leagues. (Full article...) -
Image 15George H. "Hoss" Hobson (May 4, 1908 – November 19, 2001) was an American athlete and sports coach. After playing college football for Alabama State, Hobson began a coaching career at several high schools, leading his teams to four state championships. In c. 1941, he began his tenure at Alabama A&M University, for which he was best known. He served as head football coach from 1942 to 1959, and was also the athletic director for many years. In the latter position, he revived the school's baseball team and added the sports of basketball, tennis, and golf, serving as the head coach of each for a time. Hobson later served as commissioner of the SIAC and was inducted into both the NACDA and Alabama A&M Halls of Fame. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg/47px-Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg.png)
- ... that four years after Harry Frazee opened his Longacre Theatre, he sold his ownership stake in the theater to focus on baseball?
- ... that a painting by Major League Baseball player Gene Locklear was hung in the White House?
- ... that Kelsie Whitmore was part of the first all-female battery in a professional baseball league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League?
- ... that baseball player Dwight Smith recorded a demo rhythm and blues album during the 1993–94 offseason?
- ... that after the 1918 season, some Major League Baseball owners wanted the National Baseball Commission to be replaced by former president William Howard Taft?
- ... that baseball umpire Cece Carlucci made the umpiring equipment used in The Natural?
- ... that the parents of Bob Glenalvin insisted that he play baseball under an assumed name?
- ... that the 1911 benefit game for Addie Joss was an all-star game that included nine members of the Baseball Hall of Fame?
Quotes
"Any umpire who lasts five years in the minor leagues deserves to be immortalized. Any umpire who lasts ten or more years in the minors deserves to be institutionalized."
— Ron Luciano, on umpiring in the minor leagues.
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Image 1Tip O'Neill, the namesake of the award
The Tip O'Neill Award is given annually to a Canadian baseball player who is "judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to the highest ideals of the game of baseball." The award was created by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and first presented in 1984. It is named after James "Tip" O'Neill, one of the earliest Canadian stars in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Larry Walker, Jason Bay, Joey Votto, and Justin Morneau are the only players to win the Tip O'Neill Award at least three times. Walker won the award nine times, and Votto has won it seven times. Six winners – Walker, Bay, Terry Puhl, Rob Ducey, Ryan Dempster, and Corey Koskie – are members of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. The award has been presented to one amateur player, Daniel Brabant. Walker, Votto, and Justin Morneau won the MLB Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award alongside the Tip O'Neill Award; the trio are the only Canadians to win the MLB MVP Award. Éric Gagné, the 2002 and 2003 recipient, compiled a major league record of 84 consecutive save opportunities converted from 2002 to 2004 and won the Cy Young Award in 2003. He and John Axford went on to win the Rolaids Relief Man Award in the same year as the Tip O'Neill Award. Bay became the first Canadian to win the Rookie of the Year Award, which he won the same year he won his first Tip O'Neill Award. Votto is the only award winner to also win the Hank Aaron Award. (Full article...) -
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Joe Quinn, the first Australian to play in MLB
The first recorded baseball event in Australia took place in Melbourne, Victoria in 1857, between teams from Collingwood and Richmond. Accounts vary as to the details, including whether it was a single game or a series of three games, though details in common include a score of 350–230 in favour of Collingwood, and that the rules used were some form of hybrid between cricket and baseball, with teams batting until all players were out, and runs being scored for every base crossed, rather than just for reaching home plate. Though there are no records to confirm it, the commonly held belief is that baseball in Australia originated on the Ballarat gold-fields among American miners. The Claxton Shield, the first annually recurring national tournament, commenced in 1934. Though the tournament itself has been supplanted at various points in its history, the physical Shield is still awarded to the national champions in the Australian Baseball League.
, 36 Australians have played in at least one MLB game. Of those players, 33 were born in Australia, the remainder having been born elsewhere but raised in Australia and have played for the Australia national baseball team at International Baseball Federation or sanctioned tournaments such as the Olympic Games and World Baseball Classic. 24 of the players have been pitchers and the other 12 have been position players. (Full article...) -
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Mariano Rivera has the most career saves in Major League Baseball history with 652.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 300 save club is the group of pitchers who have recorded 300 or more regular-season saves in their careers. Most commonly a relief pitcher ("reliever" or "closer") earns a save by being the final pitcher of a game in which his team is winning by three or fewer runs and pitching at least one inning without losing the lead. The final pitcher of a game can earn a save by getting at least one batter out to end the game with the winning run on base, at bat, or on deck, or by pitching the last three innings without relinquishing the lead, regardless of score.
The statistic was created by Jerome Holtzman in 1959 to "measure the effectiveness of relief pitchers" and was adopted as an official statistic by MLB in 1969. The save has been retroactively measured for past pitchers where applicable. Hoyt Wilhelm retired in 1972 and recorded just 31 saves from 1969 onwards, for example, but holds 228 total career saves.
Mariano Rivera holds the MLB save record with 652. Only Rivera and Trevor Hoffman have exceeded 500 or 600 saves, and Hoffman was the first to achieve either. Only eight pitchers have recorded 400 or more saves: Rivera, Hoffman, Lee Smith, Francisco Rodríguez, John Franco, Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, and Billy Wagner. (Full article...) -
Image 4The Chicago White Sox is a U.S. professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox are members of the American League Central Division in Major League Baseball. In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager, or more formally, the field manager. The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field. Since the inception of the team in 1901, it has employed 41 different managers. The team's current manager is Pedro Grifol. Grifol was hired on November 3, 2022.
Grifol replaced Tony La Russa, who was re-hired on October 29, 2020. La Russa's first managerial stint with the team lasted from 1979 to 1986. (Full article...) -
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Barry Bonds joined the 30–30 club in five seasons, a record he shares with his father Bobby.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 30–30 club is the group of batters who have collected thirty home runs and thirty stolen bases in a single season. Ken Williams was the first to achieve this, doing so in 1922. He remained the sole member of the club for 34 years until Willie Mays achieved consecutive 30–30 seasons in 1956 and 1957. Bobby Bonds became the club's fourth member in 1969 and became the first player in MLB history to reach the 30–30 club on three occasions and ultimately on five occasions, subsequently achieving the milestone in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1978.
In total, 46 players have reached the 30–30 club in MLB history and fourteen have done so more than once. Of these 46 players, 31 were right-handed batters, 9 were left-handed and 6 were switch hitters, meaning they could bat from either side of the plate. Nine of these players (including five active members of the 30–30 club) have played for only one major league team. The Mets and the Braves each have 4 players to reach the milestone, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, and San Francisco Giants each have had three players reach the milestone. Five players – Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa – are also members of the 500 home run club, and Aaron, Mays and Rodriguez are also members of the 3,000 hit club. Dale Murphy, Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Larry Walker, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Braun, Mookie Betts, and Ronald Acuña Jr. won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in the same year as their 30–30 season, with Bonds achieving this on two occasions (1990 and 1992). Both Mays and Rollins also reached the 20–20–20 club in the same season. Four players accomplished 30–30 seasons in 1987, 1996, 1997, 2011, and 2023, the most in a single season. The feat has been accomplished by teammates twice: by Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson for the New York Mets in 1987, and then by Ellis Burks and Dante Bichette for the Colorado Rockies in 1996. (Full article...) -
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Major League Baseball (MLB) annually honors its best relief pitchers in the American League (AL) and National League (NL) with the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award, respectively. The awards are named after former relievers Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, who played their entire careers in the respective leagues. First issued in 2014, the awards replaced the Delivery Man of the Year Award, which had been presented since 2005.
The Reliever of the Year Awards are based on the votes of a panel of retired relievers. Each voter selects three pitchers for each league based solely on their performance in the regular season; a 5-3-1 weighted point system is used to determine the winner. At its inception in 2014, the panel consisted of the top five relievers in career saves at the time—Rivera, Hoffman, Lee Smith, John Franco, and Billy Wagner—and the four living relief pitchers who were in the Hall of Fame: Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, and Bruce Sutter. (Full article...) -
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Mike Mussina (1990) made five all-star appearances with the Orioles.
The Baltimore Orioles are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland. They play in the American League East division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Orioles have selected 60 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.
Of the 60 players picked in the first round by Baltimore, 30 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 21 of them were right-handed, while 9 were left-handed. Twelve outfielders, eight shortstops, seven catchers, two third basemen, and one second basemen were also taken. The team has never drafted a player at first base. 16 of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, and Florida follows with five players. The Orioles have also drafted two players from Canada, Ntema Ndungidi (1997) and Adam Loewen (2002). The Orioles have not drafted any players from their home state of Maryland. (Full article...) -
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Bob Feller made seven Opening Day starts for the Cleveland Indians.
The Cleveland Guardians are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Cleveland, Ohio; until 2021, they were known as the Cleveland Indians. They play in the American League Central division. The first game of the new baseball season is played on Opening Day, and being named the starter that day is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. Since joining the league in 1901, the Indians have used 58 different Opening Day starting pitchers which includes the Opening Day starting pitchers from the Bluebirds and the Naps. They have a record of 58 wins and 54 losses in their Opening Day games.
The Indians have played in three different home ball parks, League Park from 1901 through 1946, Cleveland Stadium from 1932 to 1993, and Progressive Field since 1994. From 1934 through 1946 some games were played at League Park and some at Cleveland Stadium. They had a record of 11 wins and 4 losses in Opening Day games at League Park, 9 wins and 13 losses at Cleveland Stadium and 2 wins and 4 losses at Progressive Field, for a total home record in Opening Day games of 22 wins and 21 losses. Their record in Opening Day away games is 35 wins and 35 losses. (Full article...) -
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Don Larsen threw the only perfect game ever in MLB postseason play.
The New York Yankees are a Major League Baseball franchise based in the New York City borough of The Bronx. Also known in their early years as the "Baltimore Orioles" (1901–02) and the "New York Highlanders" (1903–1912), the Yankees have had twelve pitchers throw thirteen no-hitters in franchise history. A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "...when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a no-hit game, a batter may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher's interference". No-hitters of fewer than nine complete innings were previously recognized by the league as official; however, several rule alterations in 1991 changed the rule to its current form. Four perfect games, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been pitched in Yankees history. As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game." This feat was achieved by Don Larsen in 1956, David Wells in 1998, David Cone in 1999, and Domingo German in 2023. Wells later claimed he was a "little hung-over" while throwing his perfect game.
George Mogridge threw the first no-hitter in Yankees history, beating their rival Boston Red Sox 2–1, their only no-hitter in which the opposition scored. Their most recent no-hitter was Domingo Germán's perfect game against the Oakland Athletics during the 2023 season on June 28. The Yankees' first perfect game was also thrown by a right-handed pitcher, Don Larsen, and came in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Larsen's perfect game was the only no-hitter in MLB postseason play until Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a no-hitter in Game 1 of the 2010 National League Division Series. Coincidentally, David Cone's perfect game came on "Yogi Berra Day" at Yankee Stadium. Berra had caught Larsen's perfect game and both he and Larsen were in the stands for the game. Of the twelve no-hitters pitched by Yankees players, three each have been won by the scores 4–0 and 2–0, more common than any other result. The largest margin of victory in a Yankees no-hitter was 13 runs in a 13–0 win by Monte Pearson. German's perfect game represented the second largest margin of victory in a Yankees no-hitter, as the Yankees defeated the Athletics 11–0 in the 24th perfect game in MLB history. (Full article...) -
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Fumio Fujimura was the first player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to hit for the cycle and also the first to hit multiple cycles.
In baseball, completing the cycle is the accomplishment of hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle", which has occurred five times in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The cycle itself is rare in NPB, occurring 76 times since Fumio Fujimura's first cycle during the single league era in 1948. In terms of frequency, the cycle is roughly as common as a no-hitter (90 occurrences in NPB history); Baseball Digest calls it "one of the rarest feats in baseball". Hitting for the cycle was not recognized in Japanese professional baseball until former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Daryl Spencer made a remark about it after hitting for the cycle with the Hankyu Braves in 1965. Of the 12 current NPB teams, only the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have never had at least one player hit for the cycle.
The most cycles hit by a player in Nippon Professional Baseball is three, accomplished by Bobby Rose. Playing for the Yokohama BayStars, Rose hit his first cycle on May 2, 1995, the next on April 29, 1997, and his final cycle on June 30, 1999. Other than Rose, only three other NPB players have hit multiple cycles: Fumio Fujimura with the Osaka Tigers and Hiromi Matsunaga with the Hankyu/Orix Braves and Kosuke Fukudome with the Chunichi Dragons and the Hanshin Tigers, all with two. Fujimura is also the only player to have hit a cycle during both the single league era and the current dual league era. The 2003 NPB season saw the most cycles hit in a single season—five. That season also saw the only instance of cycles occurring in two different games on the same day: on July 1, hit by Atsunori Inaba of the Yakult Swallows and Arihito Muramatsu of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. The next day, Shinjiro Hiyama became the third player to hit for the cycle in two days. Conversely, the longest period of time between two players hitting for the cycle is one day shy of 6 years. The drought has lasted from Michihiro Ogasawara's cycle in 2008 until Rainel Rosario's in 2014. (Full article...) -
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Jason Varitek, who has caught a record four no-hitters, was a selected by the American Baseball Coaches Association, Baseball America, and Collegiate Baseball.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete as a unit, the term is used in United States team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. In 1950, the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) selected its first All-American baseball team. It has since chosen All-American teams and a player of the year for each division (National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, Division II, Division III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, junior college and high school). Collegiate Baseball selects All-American, Freshman All-American and High School All-American teams. Baseball America selects pre-season and post-season All-American teams and College Player of the Year honorees.
Various organizations selected All-American lists of the best players for the 1992 NCAA Division I college baseball season. The ABCA, the magazine Baseball America, and Collegiate Baseball were the NCAA-sanctioned selectors. This list only includes players selected to the post-season All-American first team for each selector. However, many All-American selections choose second, third, etc. teams from the remaining eligible candidates. (Full article...) -
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Ty Cobb won more batting titles than any other player, though the precise number is unclear because of the race in the 1910 American League.
In baseball, batting average (AVG) is a measure of a batter's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat. In Major League Baseball (MLB), it is calculated by dividing a player's hits by his at bats (AB). In MLB, a player in each league[L] wins the "batting title" each season for having the highest batting average that year. The American League (AL) winner is known as the "Rod Carew American League Batting Champion", while the National League (NL) leader is designated the "Tony Gwynn National League Batting Champion". Since 1957, a player must have 3.1 plate appearances (PA) per scheduled game in that league (for a total of 502 over the current 162-game season) to qualify for the batting title. However, if a player's lead in AVG is sufficiently large that enough hitless at bats can be added to reach this requirement and the player still would have the highest batting average, he wins the title. Tony Gwynn, for example, had 159 hits in 451 ABs in 1996 (.353 average) but only 498 PAs. Gwynn's batting average would have dropped to .349 (159 hits in 455 ABs) with four hitless ABs added to reach the 502 PA requirement, but this would still have been higher than the next-highest eligible player (Ellis Burks with a .344 average), so he was awarded the 1996 NL batting title.
The first batting average champion in the NL was Ross Barnes; in the league's inaugural 1876 season, Barnes batted .429 for the Chicago White Stockings. The AL was established in 1901, and Hall of Fame second baseman Nap Lajoie led that league with a .426 average for the Philadelphia Athletics. Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers, who also holds the highest career batting average of .366, led the AL in average in 11 (or 12) seasons. Honus Wagner and Gwynn are tied for the second-most titles, with eight apiece in the NL. It is unclear whether Lajoie or Cobb won the 1910 AL title, with some sources attributing the title to each man.[1910a] If Cobb is credited with the 1910 title, he won 9 consecutive titles from 1907 to 1915 and 12 total titles for his career. Otherwise, Rogers Hornsby won the most consecutive titles, with six from 1920 to 1925. Without the 1910 title, Cobb still led the league in five consecutive seasons from 1911 to 1915. Cobb holds the record for highest average in two and three consecutive seasons (.414 from 1911 to 1912 and .408 from 1911 to 1913), but Hornsby holds the record for four and five consecutive seasons (.404 from 1922 to 1925 and .402 from 1921 to 1925). Wagner, Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, and Gwynn have each won four consecutive titles. Lajoie also had a streak of four league-leading seasons from 1901 to 1904 if he is credited with the contested AL title in 1902.[1902a] At the 2016 MLB All-Star Game in San Diego, MLB announced that the AL and NL batting champions would henceforth be named in honor of Carew and Gwynn, respectively. Gwynn won all eight titles in the NL with the San Diego Padres, while Carew was a seven-time AL batting champion. (Full article...) -
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The Branch Rickey Award was given annually to an individual in Major League Baseball (MLB) in recognition of his exceptional community service from 1992 to 2014. The award was named in honor of former player and executive Branch Rickey, who broke the major league color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson, while president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey also created the Knothole Gang, a charity that allowed children to attend MLB games.
The award, created by the Rotary Club of Denver in 1991, was first awarded to Dave Winfield in 1992 at their annual banquet. Each MLB team nominates one individual who best exemplifies the Rotary Club motto: "Service Above Self". A vote is then conducted by the national selection committee, which consists of members of the sports media, previous winners of the award, and Rotary district governors in major league cities. Proceeds of the banquet benefit Denver Kids, Inc., a charity for at-risk students who attend Denver Public Schools. Each winner receives a bronze sculpture of a baseball player measuring 24 inches (610 mm), named "The Player", designed by sculptor George Lundeen. A larger version of "The Player", standing 13 feet (4.0 m) tall, was erected at Coors Field in Denver. (Full article...) -
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The Boston Red Sox are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Boston, Massachusetts. From 1912 to the present, the Red Sox have played in Fenway Park. The "Red Sox" name originates from the iconic uniform feature. They are sometimes nicknamed the "BoSox", a combination of "Boston" and "Sox" (as opposed to the "ChiSox"), the "Crimson Hose", and "the Olde Towne Team". Most fans simply refer to them as the Sox.
One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Boston in 1901. They were a dominant team in the early 20th century, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903. They won four more championships by 1918, and then went into one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history. Many attributed the phenomenon to the "Curse of the Bambino" said to have been caused by the trade of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920. The drought was ended and the "curse" reversed in 2004, when the team won their sixth World Series championship. Championships in 2007 and 2013 followed. Every home game from May 15, 2003, through April 10, 2013, was sold out—a span of 820 games over nearly ten years. The team most recently won the World Series in 2018, the ninth championship in franchise history. (Full article...) -
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Team photograph of the 1890 Boston Reds
The Boston Reds were a Major League Baseball franchise that played in the Players' League (PL) in 1890, and one season in the American Association (AA) in 1891. In both seasons, the Reds were their league's champion, making them the second team to win back-to-back championships in two different leagues. The first franchise to accomplish this feat was the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who won the AA championship in 1889 and the National League (NL) championship in 1890. The Reds played their home games at the Congress Street Grounds.
The Reds were an instant success on the field and in the public's opinion. The team signed several top-level players, and they played in a larger, more comfortable and modern ballpark than the Boston Beaneaters, the popular and well established cross-town rival. Player signings that first year included future Hall of Famers King Kelly, Dan Brouthers, and Charles Radbourn, along with other veterans such as Hardy Richardson, Matt Kilroy, Harry Stovey, and Tom Brown. The PL ended after one season, leaving most of its teams without a league. (Full article...)
More did you know
- ... that the San Francisco Giants drafted Brock Bond when they meant to draft Casey Bond?
- ... that Eddie Gillette led the Wisconsin Badgers football team to an undefeated season and in baseball "beat some of the best pitchers in the 'Three-Eye League'"?
- ... that the 2005 book Baseball Before We Knew It brought new evidence of the origins of baseball into play?
- ... that in baseball, no Gold Glove Award-winning catcher posted an errorless season until Charles Johnson and Mike Matheny accomplished the feat twice in six years?
- ... that Bob "Horse" Reynolds founded the Los Angeles Angels baseball team and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame within a year?
- ... that Red Snapp was considered the "king of the minor leagues"?
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![The famous T206 Honus Wager card](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Honus_wagner_t206_baseball_card.jpg/200px-Honus_wagner_t206_baseball_card.jpg)
Credit: American Tobacco Company |
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (/ˈhɒnəs ˈwæɡnər/; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), nicknamed The Flying Dutchman due to his superb speed and German heritage, was an American Major League Baseball shortstop who played in the National League from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won eight batting titles, tied for the most in NL history with Tony Gwynn.
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