Portal:Baseball

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Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout hits a home run on a pitch from New York Mets pitcher Tommy Milone on May 21, 2017.

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...)

Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

  • Image 1 McGraw in 1910 John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890s Baltimore Orioles teams, noted for their innovative, aggressive play. McGraw was born into poverty in Truxton, New York. He found an escape from his hometown and a bad family situation through baseball, beginning a quick rise through the minor leagues that led him to the Orioles at the age of 18. Under the tutelage of manager Ned Hanlon, the Orioles of the 1890s won three National League (NL) pennants; McGraw was one of the stalwarts of the team alongside Wee Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings, and Wilbert Robinson. The Orioles perfected the hit and run play and popularized the Baltimore chop; they also sought to win by intimidating the opposing team and the umpire. (Full article...)

    McGraw in 1910

    John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890s Baltimore Orioles teams, noted for their innovative, aggressive play.

    McGraw was born into poverty in Truxton, New York. He found an escape from his hometown and a bad family situation through baseball, beginning a quick rise through the minor leagues that led him to the Orioles at the age of 18. Under the tutelage of manager Ned Hanlon, the Orioles of the 1890s won three National League (NL) pennants; McGraw was one of the stalwarts of the team alongside Wee Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings, and Wilbert Robinson. The Orioles perfected the hit and run play and popularized the Baltimore chop; they also sought to win by intimidating the opposing team and the umpire. (Full article...)
  • Image 2 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...)

    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 712 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 3 WSNS-TV (channel 44) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC outlet WMAQ-TV (channel 5); it is also sister to regional sports network NBC Sports Chicago. WSNS-TV and WMAQ-TV share studios at the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the city's Streeterville neighborhood; both stations are broadcast from the same transmitter atop the Willis Tower in the Chicago Loop. WSNS-TV began broadcasting in 1970. Originally specializing in the automated display of news headlines, it evolved into Chicago's third full-fledged independent station, carrying movies, local sports, and other specialty programming. This continued until 1980, when WSNS became the Chicago-area station for ON TV, an over-the-air subscription television (STV) service owned by Oak Industries, which took a minority ownership stake in the station. While ON TV was successful in Chicago and the subscription system became the second-largest in the country by total subscribers, the rise of cable television precipitated the end of the business in 1985, with WSNS-TV as the last ON TV station standing. (Full article...)

    WSNS-TV (channel 44) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC outlet WMAQ-TV (channel 5); it is also sister to regional sports network NBC Sports Chicago. WSNS-TV and WMAQ-TV share studios at the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the city's Streeterville neighborhood; both stations are broadcast from the same transmitter atop the Willis Tower in the Chicago Loop.

    WSNS-TV began broadcasting in 1970. Originally specializing in the automated display of news headlines, it evolved into Chicago's third full-fledged independent station, carrying movies, local sports, and other specialty programming. This continued until 1980, when WSNS became the Chicago-area station for ON TV, an over-the-air subscription television (STV) service owned by Oak Industries, which took a minority ownership stake in the station. While ON TV was successful in Chicago and the subscription system became the second-largest in the country by total subscribers, the rise of cable television precipitated the end of the business in 1985, with WSNS-TV as the last ON TV station standing. (Full article...)
  • Image 4 Lawrence Winchester Wetherby (January 2, 1908 – March 27, 1994) was an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Kentucky. He was the first of only two governors in state history born in Jefferson County, despite the fact that Louisville (the county seat) is the state's most populous city. The second governor born in Jefferson County is the incumbent governor, Andy Beshear. After graduating from the University of Louisville, Wetherby held several minor offices in the Jefferson County judicial system before being elected lieutenant governor in 1947. He was called Kentucky's first "working" lieutenant governor because Governor Earle C. Clements asked him to carry out duties beyond his constitutional responsibility to preside over the state Senate, such as preparing the state budget and attending the Southern Governors Conference. In 1950, Clements resigned to assume a seat in the U.S. Senate, elevating Wetherby to governor. Wetherby won immediate acclaim by calling a special legislative session to increase funding for education and government benefits from the state's budget surplus. In 1951, he won a four-year full term as governor, during which he continued and expanded many of Clements' programs, including increased road construction and industrial diversification. He endorsed the Supreme Court's 1954 desegregation order in the case of Brown v. Board of Education and appointed a biracial commission to oversee the successful integration of the state's schools. As chairman of the Southern Governors Conference in 1954 and 1955, he encouraged other southern governors to accept and implement desegregation. (Full article...)

    Lawrence Winchester Wetherby (January 2, 1908 – March 27, 1994) was an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Kentucky. He was the first of only two governors in state history born in Jefferson County, despite the fact that Louisville (the county seat) is the state's most populous city. The second governor born in Jefferson County is the incumbent governor, Andy Beshear.

    After graduating from the University of Louisville, Wetherby held several minor offices in the Jefferson County judicial system before being elected lieutenant governor in 1947. He was called Kentucky's first "working" lieutenant governor because Governor Earle C. Clements asked him to carry out duties beyond his constitutional responsibility to preside over the state Senate, such as preparing the state budget and attending the Southern Governors Conference. In 1950, Clements resigned to assume a seat in the U.S. Senate, elevating Wetherby to governor. Wetherby won immediate acclaim by calling a special legislative session to increase funding for education and government benefits from the state's budget surplus. In 1951, he won a four-year full term as governor, during which he continued and expanded many of Clements' programs, including increased road construction and industrial diversification. He endorsed the Supreme Court's 1954 desegregation order in the case of Brown v. Board of Education and appointed a biracial commission to oversee the successful integration of the state's schools. As chairman of the Southern Governors Conference in 1954 and 1955, he encouraged other southern governors to accept and implement desegregation. (Full article...)
  • Image 5 Ichiro Suzuki was the first high-profile NPB player (second overall) to use the posting system. The posting system (ポスティングシステム, posutingu shisutemu) is a baseball player transfer system that operates between Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite the drafting of the United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement, unveiled in 1967 to regulate NPB players moving to MLB, problems began to arise in the late 1990s. Some NPB teams lost star players without compensation, an issue highlighted when NPB stars Hideo Nomo and Alfonso Soriano left to play in MLB after using loopholes to void their existing contracts. A further problem was that NPB players had very little negotiating power if their teams decided to deal them to MLB, as when pitcher Hideki Irabu was traded to an MLB team for which he had no desire to play. In 1998, the Agreement was rewritten to address both problems; the result was dubbed the "posting system". Under this system, when an NPB player is "posted", his NPB team notifies the MLB Commissioner, with the posting fee based on the type of contract a player signs and its value. For minor-league contracts, the fee is a flat 25% of contract's value; for MLB contracts, the fee is based on the value of the contract that the posted player eventually signs. The player is then given 30 days to negotiate with any MLB team willing to pay the NPB team's posting fee. If the player agrees on contract terms with a team before the 30-day period has expired, the NPB team receives the posting fee from the signing MLB team as a transfer fee, and the player is free to play in MLB. If no MLB team comes to a contract agreement with the posted player, then no fee is paid, and the player's rights revert to his NPB team. The current process replaced one in which MLB held a silent auction during which MLB teams submitted sealed, uncapped bids in an attempt to win the exclusive negotiating rights with the posted player for a period of 30 days. Once the highest bidding MLB team was determined, the player could then only negotiate with that team. (Full article...)
    A Japanese man wearing a grey Seattle baseball uniform fielding a ball in the outfield.
    Ichiro Suzuki was the first high-profile NPB player (second overall) to use the posting system.

    The posting system (ポスティングシステム, posutingu shisutemu) is a baseball player transfer system that operates between Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite the drafting of the United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement, unveiled in 1967 to regulate NPB players moving to MLB, problems began to arise in the late 1990s. Some NPB teams lost star players without compensation, an issue highlighted when NPB stars Hideo Nomo and Alfonso Soriano left to play in MLB after using loopholes to void their existing contracts. A further problem was that NPB players had very little negotiating power if their teams decided to deal them to MLB, as when pitcher Hideki Irabu was traded to an MLB team for which he had no desire to play. In 1998, the Agreement was rewritten to address both problems; the result was dubbed the "posting system".

    Under this system, when an NPB player is "posted", his NPB team notifies the MLB Commissioner, with the posting fee based on the type of contract a player signs and its value. For minor-league contracts, the fee is a flat 25% of contract's value; for MLB contracts, the fee is based on the value of the contract that the posted player eventually signs. The player is then given 30 days to negotiate with any MLB team willing to pay the NPB team's posting fee. If the player agrees on contract terms with a team before the 30-day period has expired, the NPB team receives the posting fee from the signing MLB team as a transfer fee, and the player is free to play in MLB. If no MLB team comes to a contract agreement with the posted player, then no fee is paid, and the player's rights revert to his NPB team. The current process replaced one in which MLB held a silent auction during which MLB teams submitted sealed, uncapped bids in an attempt to win the exclusive negotiating rights with the posted player for a period of 30 days. Once the highest bidding MLB team was determined, the player could then only negotiate with that team. (Full article...)
  • Image 6 Stengel in 1957 Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (/ˈstɛŋɡəl/; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New York Mets. Nicknamed "the Ol' Perfessor", he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. Stengel was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1890. In 1910, he began a professional baseball career that would span over half a century. After almost three seasons in the minor leagues, Stengel reached the major leagues late in 1912, as an outfielder, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His six seasons there saw some success, among them playing for Brooklyn's 1916 National League championship team; but he also developed a reputation as a clown. After repeated clashes over pay with the Dodgers owner, Charlie Ebbets, Stengel was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1918; however, he enlisted in the Navy that summer, for the remainder of World War I. After returning to baseball, he continued his pay disputes, resulting in trades to the Philadelphia Phillies (in 1919) and to the New York Giants (in 1921). There, he learned much about baseball from the manager, John McGraw, and had some of the glorious moments in his career, such as hitting an inside-the-park home run in Game 1 of the 1923 World Series to defeat the Yankees. His major league playing career ended with the Boston Braves in 1925, but he then began a career as a manager. (Full article...)

    Stengel in 1957

    Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (/ˈstɛŋɡəl/; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New York Mets. Nicknamed "the Ol' Perfessor", he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.

    Stengel was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1890. In 1910, he began a professional baseball career that would span over half a century. After almost three seasons in the minor leagues, Stengel reached the major leagues late in 1912, as an outfielder, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His six seasons there saw some success, among them playing for Brooklyn's 1916 National League championship team; but he also developed a reputation as a clown. After repeated clashes over pay with the Dodgers owner, Charlie Ebbets, Stengel was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1918; however, he enlisted in the Navy that summer, for the remainder of World War I. After returning to baseball, he continued his pay disputes, resulting in trades to the Philadelphia Phillies (in 1919) and to the New York Giants (in 1921). There, he learned much about baseball from the manager, John McGraw, and had some of the glorious moments in his career, such as hitting an inside-the-park home run in Game 1 of the 1923 World Series to defeat the Yankees. His major league playing career ended with the Boston Braves in 1925, but he then began a career as a manager. (Full article...)
  • Image 7 Formal portrait of Stephen Crane, about March 1896 Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism. He is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation. The ninth surviving child of Methodist parents, Crane began writing at the age of four and had several articles published by 16. Having little interest in university studies though he was active in a fraternity, he left Syracuse University in 1891 to work as a reporter and writer. Crane's first novel was the 1893 Bowery tale Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, generally considered by critics to be the first work of American literary Naturalism. He won international acclaim for his Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage (1895), considered a masterpiece by different critics and writers. (Full article...)

    Formal portrait of Stephen Crane, about March 1896

    Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism. He is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation.

    The ninth surviving child of Methodist parents, Crane began writing at the age of four and had several articles published by 16. Having little interest in university studies though he was active in a fraternity, he left Syracuse University in 1891 to work as a reporter and writer. Crane's first novel was the 1893 Bowery tale Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, generally considered by critics to be the first work of American literary Naturalism. He won international acclaim for his Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage (1895), considered a masterpiece by different critics and writers. (Full article...)
  • Image 8 The 1913 squad, the first that went by the name "Yankees" The history of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball (MLB) team spans more than a century. Frank J. Farrell and William Stephen Devery bought the rights to an American League (AL) club in New York City after the 1902 season. The team, which became known as the Yankees in 1913, rarely contended for the AL championship before the acquisition of outfielder Babe Ruth after the 1919 season. With Ruth in the lineup, the Yankees won their first AL title in 1921, followed by their first World Series championship in 1923. Ruth and first baseman Lou Gehrig were part of the team's Murderers' Row lineup, which led the Yankees to a then-AL record 110 wins and a Series championship in 1927 under Miller Huggins. They repeated as World Series winners in 1928, and their next title came under manager Joe McCarthy in 1932. The Yankees won the World Series every year from 1936 to 1939 with a team that featured Gehrig and outfielder Joe DiMaggio, who recorded a record hitting streak during New York's 1941 championship season. New York set a major league record by winning five consecutive championships from 1949 to 1953, and appeared in the World Series nine times from 1955 to 1964. Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford were among the players fielded by the Yankees during the era. After the 1964 season, a lack of effective replacements for aging players caused the franchise to decline on the field, and the team became a money-loser for owners CBS while playing in an aging stadium. (Full article...)
    A black-and-white photograph of the 1913 New York Yankees
    The 1913 squad, the first that went by the name "Yankees"


    The history of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball (MLB) team spans more than a century. Frank J. Farrell and William Stephen Devery bought the rights to an American League (AL) club in New York City after the 1902 season. The team, which became known as the Yankees in 1913, rarely contended for the AL championship before the acquisition of outfielder Babe Ruth after the 1919 season. With Ruth in the lineup, the Yankees won their first AL title in 1921, followed by their first World Series championship in 1923. Ruth and first baseman Lou Gehrig were part of the team's Murderers' Row lineup, which led the Yankees to a then-AL record 110 wins and a Series championship in 1927 under Miller Huggins. They repeated as World Series winners in 1928, and their next title came under manager Joe McCarthy in 1932.

    The Yankees won the World Series every year from 1936 to 1939 with a team that featured Gehrig and outfielder Joe DiMaggio, who recorded a record hitting streak during New York's 1941 championship season. New York set a major league record by winning five consecutive championships from 1949 to 1953, and appeared in the World Series nine times from 1955 to 1964. Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford were among the players fielded by the Yankees during the era. After the 1964 season, a lack of effective replacements for aging players caused the franchise to decline on the field, and the team became a money-loser for owners CBS while playing in an aging stadium. (Full article...)
  • Image 9 Adams circa 1870 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...)

    Adams circa 1870

    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...)
  • Image 10 Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout hits a home run on a pitch from New York Mets pitcher Tommy Milone on May 21, 2017. 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 initial objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely; this generally occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base before an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing the ball out of the batter's reach. Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called "out" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by getting batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three pitches which result in strikes, while fielders can get the batter out by catching a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by tagging them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base. (Full article...)

    Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout hits a home run on a pitch from New York Mets pitcher Tommy Milone on May 21, 2017.

    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 initial objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely; this generally occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base before an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing the ball out of the batter's reach. Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called "out" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by getting batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three pitches which result in strikes, while fielders can get the batter out by catching a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by tagging them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base. (Full article...)
  • Image 11 Jordan in April 2014 Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1984 and 2003, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was integral in popularizing basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon. His profile on the NBA website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan played college basketball with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the best defensive players. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". Jordan won his first NBA title with the Bulls in 1991 and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. Following the murder of his father, Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization, but returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. He retired for the second time in January 1999, returning for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards. During his professional career, he was selected to play for the United States national team, winning four gold medals—at the 1983 Pan American Games, 1984 Summer Olympics, 1992 Tournament of the Americas and 1992 Summer Olympics—while also being undefeated. (Full article...)

    Jordan in April 2014

    Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1984 and 2003, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was integral in popularizing basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon. His profile on the NBA website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."

    Jordan played college basketball with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick and quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring while gaining a reputation as one of the best defensive players. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the free-throw line in Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". Jordan won his first NBA title with the Bulls in 1991 and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. Following the murder of his father, Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the 1993–94 NBA season to play Minor League Baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization, but returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three more championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as a then-record 72 regular season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. He retired for the second time in January 1999, returning for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards. During his professional career, he was selected to play for the United States national team, winning four gold medals—at the 1983 Pan American Games, 1984 Summer Olympics, 1992 Tournament of the Americas and 1992 Summer Olympics—while also being undefeated. (Full article...)
  • Image 12 Thome in 2015 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...)

    Thome in 2015

    James Howard Thome (/ˈtmi/; 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...)
  • Image 13 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...)
    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+23 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...)
  • Image 14 Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born into a cricketing family—his grandfather and brother also captained Australia—Chappell made a hesitant start to international cricket playing as a right-hand middle-order batsman and spin bowler. He found his niche when promoted to bat at number three. Known as "Chappelli", he earned a reputation as one of the greatest captains the game has seen. Chappell's blunt verbal manner led to a series of confrontations with opposition players and cricket administrators; the issue of sledging first arose during his tenure as captain, and he was a driving force behind the professionalisation of Australian cricket in the 1970s. He was the captain of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup. John Arlott called him "a cricketer of effect rather than the graces". An animated presence at the batting crease, he constantly adjusted his equipment and clothing, and restlessly tapped his bat on the ground as the bowler ran in. Basing his game on a sound defence learned during many hours of childhood lessons, Chappell employed the drive and square cut to full effect. He had an idiosyncratic method of playing back and across to a ball of full length and driving wide of mid-on, but his trademark shot was the hook, saying "three bouncers an over should be worth 12 runs to me". A specialist slip fielder, he was the fourth player to take one hundred Test catches. (Full article...)

    Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation. Born into a cricketing family—his grandfather and brother also captained Australia—Chappell made a hesitant start to international cricket playing as a right-hand middle-order batsman and spin bowler. He found his niche when promoted to bat at number three. Known as "Chappelli", he earned a reputation as one of the greatest captains the game has seen. Chappell's blunt verbal manner led to a series of confrontations with opposition players and cricket administrators; the issue of sledging first arose during his tenure as captain, and he was a driving force behind the professionalisation of Australian cricket in the 1970s. He was the captain of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.

    John Arlott called him "a cricketer of effect rather than the graces". An animated presence at the batting crease, he constantly adjusted his equipment and clothing, and restlessly tapped his bat on the ground as the bowler ran in. Basing his game on a sound defence learned during many hours of childhood lessons, Chappell employed the drive and square cut to full effect. He had an idiosyncratic method of playing back and across to a ball of full length and driving wide of mid-on, but his trademark shot was the hook, saying "three bouncers an over should be worth 12 runs to me". A specialist slip fielder, he was the fourth player to take one hundred Test catches. (Full article...)
  • Image 15 Depiction of the game from The Boston Globe On Saturday, May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves played to a 1–1 tie in 26 innings, the most innings ever played in a single game in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was played at Braves Field in Boston before a crowd estimated at 4,000. Leon Cadore of Brooklyn and Joe Oeschger of Boston each pitched 26 innings and jointly hold the record for the longest pitching appearance in MLB history. The day of the game saw rainy weather, and it was uncertain if the game would be played, but the skies cleared enough to allow it to proceed. Brooklyn scored a run in the fifth inning, and Boston in the sixth; thereafter, the pitchers became increasingly dominant. As the game exceeded eighteen innings, the small crowd at Braves Field cheered both pitchers. The last twenty innings were scoreless, and when darkness started to fall, the umpires called a halt after the twenty-sixth inning, as baseball fields did not yet have artificial lighting. (Full article...)
    Newspaper cartoon depicting significant moments from the game. 1. A player runs into another ("Wheat interferes with Pick and is called out"). 2. Wheat catching a fly ball. 3. A player falling down while throwing a ball past another player running towards him while an umpire watches ("Houke after blocking Gowdy's low throw"). 4. A large image of a play at home plate ("The climax of the hair raising double play in the 17th"). Gowdy is stretched out in the dirt reaching with the ball in an outstretched hand to tag Koney (Konetchy) who is sliding foot-first into the plate. An umpire signals "out" while another player looks on and says "Hank how can we ever thank you?" 5. Statues of Oeschger and Cadore on a pedestal labeled "Hall of Fame" ("Find a place for this pair"). 6. A man in a bowler hat holding an umbrella. It is raining. The man says, "Wonder if they'll be able to play two or three innings". 7. A player reaching out to catch a fly ball while two seated players watch ("Konetchy right on the dugout steps"). 8. A woman placing a personal ad, "George, come home, all will be forgiven". An insert shows George sitting on bleacher seats in the dark saying "C'Mon Tony" ("Many wives were on the point of advertising for a lost husband late last night"
    Depiction of the game from The Boston Globe


    On Saturday, May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves played to a 1–1 tie in 26 innings, the most innings ever played in a single game in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was played at Braves Field in Boston before a crowd estimated at 4,000. Leon Cadore of Brooklyn and Joe Oeschger of Boston each pitched 26 innings and jointly hold the record for the longest pitching appearance in MLB history.

    The day of the game saw rainy weather, and it was uncertain if the game would be played, but the skies cleared enough to allow it to proceed. Brooklyn scored a run in the fifth inning, and Boston in the sixth; thereafter, the pitchers became increasingly dominant. As the game exceeded eighteen innings, the small crowd at Braves Field cheered both pitchers. The last twenty innings were scoreless, and when darkness started to fall, the umpires called a halt after the twenty-sixth inning, as baseball fields did not yet have artificial lighting. (Full article...)

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  • Image 1 Roberto Alomar's 1994 Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove or Golden Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL). The Gold Glove is widely considered one of the most prestigious defensive awards in baseball. Winners for position awards are determined from voting by the managers and coaches in each league, who are not permitted to vote for their own players. Additionally, a sabermetric component provided by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) accounts for about 25 percent of the vote. For the utility player awards, the sabermetric component and other defensive statistics are exclusively used to select the winners, without any voting by coaches. (Full article...)

    Roberto Alomar's 1994 Gold Glove Award

    The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove or Golden Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL). The Gold Glove is widely considered one of the most prestigious defensive awards in baseball.

    Winners for position awards are determined from voting by the managers and coaches in each league, who are not permitted to vote for their own players. Additionally, a sabermetric component provided by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) accounts for about 25 percent of the vote. For the utility player awards, the sabermetric component and other defensive statistics are exclusively used to select the winners, without any voting by coaches. (Full article...)
  • Image 2 In 2019, Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $426 million contract with the Angels, the richest contract in the history of North American sports at the time. Major League Baseball (MLB) does not have a hard salary cap, instead employing a luxury tax which applies to teams whose total payroll exceeds certain set thresholds for a given season. Free agency did not exist in MLB prior to the end of the reserve clause in the 1970s, allowing owners before that time to wholly dictate the terms of player negotiations and resulting in significantly lower salaries. Babe Ruth, widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players ever, earned an estimated $856,850 ($19,515,718 inflation-adjusted from 1934 dollars) over his entire playing career. When asked whether he thought he deserved to earn $80,000 a year ($1,459,124 inflation-adjusted), while the president, Herbert Hoover, had a $75,000 salary, Ruth famously remarked, "What the hell has Hoover got to do with it? Besides, I had a better year than he did." (Full article...)
    In 2019, Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $426 million contract with the Angels, the richest contract in the history of North American sports at the time.

    Major League Baseball (MLB) does not have a hard salary cap, instead employing a luxury tax which applies to teams whose total payroll exceeds certain set thresholds for a given season. Free agency did not exist in MLB prior to the end of the reserve clause in the 1970s, allowing owners before that time to wholly dictate the terms of player negotiations and resulting in significantly lower salaries.

    Babe Ruth, widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players ever, earned an estimated $856,850 ($19,515,718 inflation-adjusted from 1934 dollars) over his entire playing career. When asked whether he thought he deserved to earn $80,000 a year ($1,459,124 inflation-adjusted), while the president, Herbert Hoover, had a $75,000 salary, Ruth famously remarked, "What the hell has Hoover got to do with it? Besides, I had a better year than he did." (Full article...)
  • Image 3 Giancarlo Stanton holds 10 records for the Marlins franchise, the most of any Marlins player. The Miami Marlins are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in the U.S. state of Florida. The Marlins became members of MLB as an expansion team in the 1993 season. Through 2017, they have played 3,981 games, winning 1,870 and losing 2,111 for a winning percentage of .470. This list documents the superlative records and accomplishments of team members during their tenures as Marlins in MLB's National League East. Giancarlo Stanton holds the most franchise records as of the end of the 2018 season, with ten records, including both the most career and single-season home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and total bases records. (Full article...)
    Giancarlo Stanton wearing black Marlins uniform during 2015 season
    Giancarlo Stanton holds 10 records for the Marlins franchise, the most of any Marlins player.

    The Miami Marlins are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in the U.S. state of Florida. The Marlins became members of MLB as an expansion team in the 1993 season. Through 2017, they have played 3,981 games, winning 1,870 and losing 2,111 for a winning percentage of .470. This list documents the superlative records and accomplishments of team members during their tenures as Marlins in MLB's National League East.

    Giancarlo Stanton holds the most franchise records as of the end of the 2018 season, with ten records, including both the most career and single-season home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and total bases records. (Full article...)
  • Image 4 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...)
    A man wearing a vanilla-colored jacket, with a white collared dress shirt and a black scarf around his neck
    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...)
  • Image 5 Nolan Ryan is Major League Baseball's all-time strikeout leader at 5,714. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 3,000 strikeout club is the group of 19 pitchers who have struck out 3,000 or more batters in their careers. Walter Johnson became the first member in 1923, and was the only one until Bob Gibson joined in 1974. The most recent addition is Max Scherzer, who joined on September 12, 2021. The group includes three left-handed pitchers: CC Sabathia, Steve Carlton, and Randy Johnson. Randy Johnson reached the mark with the fewest games pitched and innings pitched. The Minnesota Twins were the first of four franchises to see multiple pitchers record their 3,000th strikeout: Walter Johnson (while the franchise was called the Washington Senators) in 1923 and Bert Blyleven in 1986. The other teams with multiple members are the Chicago Cubs (Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux), the New York Yankees (Phil Niekro and Sabathia), and the Houston Astros (Nolan Ryan and Justin Verlander). César Gerónimo is the only player struck out by two pitchers for their 3,000th strikeout: Gibson in 1974 and Ryan in 1980. Ten 3,000-strikeout pitchers are also members of the 300-win club. Seven members were named to the All-Century Team, a list of MLB's best 100 players; fans later elected four of them as starters. Thirteen members of the club also won a Cy Young Award in their careers. The club is considered to almost be a guarantee of entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Fourteen members of the 3,000-strikeout club have been elected to the Hall, most recently Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, and John Smoltz, all voted in during the 2015 balloting. Three more members - Sabathia, Scherzer, and Verlander - are not yet eligible for election, being neither dead for six months nor retired for five seasons. The remaining two, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, made their first appearances on the ballot for the 2013 elections and received about half of the total votes needed for induction before falling off the ballot in 2022. Clemens' future election is seen as uncertain because of his alleged links to use of performance-enhancing drugs. (Full article...)
    A man in a white baseball jersey with "ASTROS" on the chest and orange and yellow stripes on his shoulders pitches a baseball with his right hand.
    Nolan Ryan is Major League Baseball's all-time strikeout leader at 5,714.

    In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 3,000 strikeout club is the group of 19 pitchers who have struck out 3,000 or more batters in their careers. Walter Johnson became the first member in 1923, and was the only one until Bob Gibson joined in 1974. The most recent addition is Max Scherzer, who joined on September 12, 2021. The group includes three left-handed pitchers: CC Sabathia, Steve Carlton, and Randy Johnson. Randy Johnson reached the mark with the fewest games pitched and innings pitched. The Minnesota Twins were the first of four franchises to see multiple pitchers record their 3,000th strikeout: Walter Johnson (while the franchise was called the Washington Senators) in 1923 and Bert Blyleven in 1986. The other teams with multiple members are the Chicago Cubs (Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux), the New York Yankees (Phil Niekro and Sabathia), and the Houston Astros (Nolan Ryan and Justin Verlander). César Gerónimo is the only player struck out by two pitchers for their 3,000th strikeout: Gibson in 1974 and Ryan in 1980. Ten 3,000-strikeout pitchers are also members of the 300-win club. Seven members were named to the All-Century Team, a list of MLB's best 100 players; fans later elected four of them as starters. Thirteen members of the club also won a Cy Young Award in their careers.

    The club is considered to almost be a guarantee of entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Fourteen members of the 3,000-strikeout club have been elected to the Hall, most recently Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, and John Smoltz, all voted in during the 2015 balloting. Three more members - Sabathia, Scherzer, and Verlander - are not yet eligible for election, being neither dead for six months nor retired for five seasons. The remaining two, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, made their first appearances on the ballot for the 2013 elections and received about half of the total votes needed for induction before falling off the ballot in 2022. Clemens' future election is seen as uncertain because of his alleged links to use of performance-enhancing drugs. (Full article...)
  • Image 6 Mike Scioscia (1976) won championships with the Dodgers in 1981 and 1988. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the National League West division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Dodgers have selected 67 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur clubs to its franchises. 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 67 players picked in the first round by Los Angeles, 37 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 24 of these were right-handed, while 12 were left-handed. Nine players at shortstop and nine in the outfield were selected, while five catchers, three first basemen, and three third basemen were taken as well. The team also selected two players at second base. Seven of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of Texas, while California follows with six players. (Full article...)
    A man in a red warmup with gray pants stands arguing with a man in a black baseball jersey and dark gray pants.
    Mike Scioscia (1976) won championships with the Dodgers in 1981 and 1988.

    The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the National League West division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Dodgers have selected 67 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur clubs to its franchises. 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 67 players picked in the first round by Los Angeles, 37 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 24 of these were right-handed, while 12 were left-handed. Nine players at shortstop and nine in the outfield were selected, while five catchers, three first basemen, and three third basemen were taken as well. The team also selected two players at second base. Seven of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of Texas, while California follows with six players. (Full article...)
  • Image 7 Camden Yards has been the Orioles' home ball park since 1992. The Baltimore Orioles are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland. They play in the American League East division. The Orioles started playing in Baltimore in 1954, after moving from St. Louis, where they were known as the St. Louis Browns. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter 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. The Orioles have used 33 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 60 seasons since moving to Baltimore. The 33 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 22 wins, 18 losses and 17 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game. The first Opening Day for the Orioles was played in Detroit against the Detroit Tigers on April 13, 1954. Don Larsen was the Orioles' Opening Day starting pitcher that day, in a game the Orioles lost 3–0. Jim Palmer and Mike Mussina have made the most Opening Day starts for the Baltimore Orioles, with six apiece. Palmer has a record of five wins and one loss in his Opening Day starts, and Mussina has a record of three wins, two losses and one no decision. Dave McNally made five Opening Day starts for the Orioles, with a record of three wins and no losses. Other Oriole pitchers who have made multiple Opening Day starts are Steve Barber, Rodrigo López, and Jeremy Guthrie, with three apiece, and Milt Pappas, Dennis Martínez, Mike Flanagan, Mike Boddicker, and Rick Sutcliffe, with two apiece. Flanagan's two Opening Day starts occurred eight years apart, in 1978 and 1986. (Full article...)
    Camden Yards has been the Orioles' home ball park since 1992.

    The Baltimore Orioles are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland. They play in the American League East division. The Orioles started playing in Baltimore in 1954, after moving from St. Louis, where they were known as the St. Louis Browns. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter 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. The Orioles have used 33 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 60 seasons since moving to Baltimore. The 33 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 22 wins, 18 losses and 17 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.

    The first Opening Day for the Orioles was played in Detroit against the Detroit Tigers on April 13, 1954. Don Larsen was the Orioles' Opening Day starting pitcher that day, in a game the Orioles lost 3–0. Jim Palmer and Mike Mussina have made the most Opening Day starts for the Baltimore Orioles, with six apiece. Palmer has a record of five wins and one loss in his Opening Day starts, and Mussina has a record of three wins, two losses and one no decision. Dave McNally made five Opening Day starts for the Orioles, with a record of three wins and no losses. Other Oriole pitchers who have made multiple Opening Day starts are Steve Barber, Rodrigo López, and Jeremy Guthrie, with three apiece, and Milt Pappas, Dennis Martínez, Mike Flanagan, Mike Boddicker, and Rick Sutcliffe, with two apiece. Flanagan's two Opening Day starts occurred eight years apart, in 1978 and 1986. (Full article...)
  • Image 8 Hard Rock Stadium, the Marlins former home ballpark from 1993-2011 The Miami Marlins are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Miami, Florida. They play in the National League East division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter 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. The Marlins have used 17 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 27 seasons. Since the Marlins' first season in 1993, the 17 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 12 wins and 14 losses with two no-decisions. Notably, no Marlins Opening Day starter received a no-decision until the team's 24th season in 2016. No-decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game. Nine Marlins pitchers have started on two or more Opening Days. Those nine are Charlie Hough, Kevin Brown, Alex Fernandez, Ryan Dempster, Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, and José Ureña. Beckett and Johnson hold the record for most Opening Day starts as a Marlin, with three appearances each, from 2003 to 2005 for Beckett and 2010 to 2012 for Johnson. When playing at their original home field, the venue now known as Hard Rock Stadium, the Marlins had a record of nine wins and five losses (9–5). At their current home of Marlins Park, Opening Day pitchers have a record of 1–5 with one no-decision. In the franchise's history, the Marlins have only played Opening Day games at another team's home stadium eight times. As the away team, Marlins' starting pitchers have an Opening Day record of 1–6 with one no-decision. (Full article...)
    Hard Rock Stadium, the Marlins former home ballpark from 1993-2011

    The Miami Marlins are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Miami, Florida. They play in the National League East division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter 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. The Marlins have used 17 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 27 seasons. Since the Marlins' first season in 1993, the 17 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 12 wins and 14 losses with two no-decisions. Notably, no Marlins Opening Day starter received a no-decision until the team's 24th season in 2016. No-decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.

    Nine Marlins pitchers have started on two or more Opening Days. Those nine are Charlie Hough, Kevin Brown, Alex Fernandez, Ryan Dempster, Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, and José Ureña. Beckett and Johnson hold the record for most Opening Day starts as a Marlin, with three appearances each, from 2003 to 2005 for Beckett and 2010 to 2012 for Johnson. When playing at their original home field, the venue now known as Hard Rock Stadium, the Marlins had a record of nine wins and five losses (9–5). At their current home of Marlins Park, Opening Day pitchers have a record of 1–5 with one no-decision. In the franchise's history, the Marlins have only played Opening Day games at another team's home stadium eight times. As the away team, Marlins' starting pitchers have an Opening Day record of 1–6 with one no-decision. (Full article...)
  • Image 9 The San Diego Padres are a professional baseball franchise based in San Diego, California. They are a member of the National League (NL) West in Major League Baseball (MLB). The team joined MLB in 1969 as an expansion team and have won two NL Championships in 1984 and 1998. The team played their home games at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly known as San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium) from 1969 to 2003. Starting with the 2004 season, they moved to PETCO Park, where they have played since. The team is owned by Ron Fowler, and A. J. Preller is their general manager. There have been 21 managers for the Padres franchise. The team was most recently managed by Jayce Tingler, who was fired at the end of the 2021 season. The first manager of the Padres was Preston Gómez, who managed for four seasons. Bruce Bochy is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games managed (1926), the most regular-season game wins (951), the most playoff games managed (24), and the most playoff-game wins (8). Bob Skinner is the Padres' all-time leader for the highest regular-season winning percentage, as he has only managed one game, which he won. Of the managers who have managed a minimum of 162 games (one season), Jack McKeon has the highest regular-season winning percentage with .541, having managed for 357 games. Dick Williams, the only Padres manager to have been elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, is the franchise's all-time leader for the highest playoff winning percentage with .400. Williams and Bochy are the only managers to have won an NL Championship with the Padres, in 1984 and 1998 respectively. Bochy and Black are the only managers to have won a Manager of the Year Award with the Padres, in 1996 and 2010. Greg Riddoch and Jerry Coleman have spent their entire managing careers with the Padres. (Full article...)
    The San Diego Padres are a professional baseball franchise based in San Diego, California. They are a member of the National League (NL) West in Major League Baseball (MLB). The team joined MLB in 1969 as an expansion team and have won two NL Championships in 1984 and 1998. The team played their home games at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly known as San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium) from 1969 to 2003. Starting with the 2004 season, they moved to PETCO Park, where they have played since. The team is owned by Ron Fowler, and A. J. Preller is their general manager. There have been 21 managers for the Padres franchise. The team was most recently managed by Jayce Tingler, who was fired at the end of the 2021 season.

    The first manager of the Padres was Preston Gómez, who managed for four seasons. Bruce Bochy is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games managed (1926), the most regular-season game wins (951), the most playoff games managed (24), and the most playoff-game wins (8). Bob Skinner is the Padres' all-time leader for the highest regular-season winning percentage, as he has only managed one game, which he won. Of the managers who have managed a minimum of 162 games (one season), Jack McKeon has the highest regular-season winning percentage with .541, having managed for 357 games. Dick Williams, the only Padres manager to have been elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, is the franchise's all-time leader for the highest playoff winning percentage with .400. Williams and Bochy are the only managers to have won an NL Championship with the Padres, in 1984 and 1998 respectively. Bochy and Black are the only managers to have won a Manager of the Year Award with the Padres, in 1996 and 2010. Greg Riddoch and Jerry Coleman have spent their entire managing careers with the Padres. (Full article...)
  • Image 10 A bronze statue of Luis Aparicio, the namesake of the award The Luis Aparicio Award is given annually to a Venezuelan player in Major League Baseball (MLB) who is judged to have recorded the best individual performance in that year. The winner of the award is determined by a vote conducted by Venezuelan sports journalists and Spanish-language media around the world. It is named after former MLB shortstop Luis Aparicio, who is the only player from Venezuela to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The award was first presented in 2004, and was created in order to honour Aparicio's major league career and to commemorate his father, who died thirteen years before his son was elected into the Hall of Fame. Johan Santana, José Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, and Ronald Acuña Jr. are the only players to win the Luis Aparicio Award more than once, with Cabrera having won the award five times. Cabrera won the MLB Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award and Hank Aaron Award alongside the Luis Aparicio Award in 2012 and 2013, becoming the first Venezuelan to win the MLB MVP Award. Santana, the 2004 and 2006 recipient, also won the Cy Young Award in those two years, winning by a unanimous vote on each occasion. Altuve is the only player to win the Luis Aparicio Award, the MVP award, and become a World Series champion in the same season in 2017. He has also won a batting title in three of his four award seasons. Santana (2006) and Cabrera (2012) are the only award winners to also earn the pitching and batting Triple Crown respectively in the same season. In accomplishing the feat, Cabrera became the first player in 45 years to achieve a Triple Crown in batting since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, while Santana became the first pitcher since Dwight Gooden in 1985 to secure a "Major League Triple Crown" by leading all of MLB in wins, earned run average and strikeouts. Francisco Rodríguez compiled a major league record of 62 saves in a single season in 2008 and went on to win the Rolaids Relief Man Award in the same year as the Luis Aparicio Award. Five winners – Cabrera, Altuve, Magglio Ordóñez, Carlos González, and Arráez – were batting champions in their respective leagues in the same year they won the award. (Full article...)

    A bronze statue of Luis Aparicio, the namesake of the award

    The Luis Aparicio Award is given annually to a Venezuelan player in Major League Baseball (MLB) who is judged to have recorded the best individual performance in that year. The winner of the award is determined by a vote conducted by Venezuelan sports journalists and Spanish-language media around the world. It is named after former MLB shortstop Luis Aparicio, who is the only player from Venezuela to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The award was first presented in 2004, and was created in order to honour Aparicio's major league career and to commemorate his father, who died thirteen years before his son was elected into the Hall of Fame.

    Johan Santana, José Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, and Ronald Acuña Jr. are the only players to win the Luis Aparicio Award more than once, with Cabrera having won the award five times. Cabrera won the MLB Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award and Hank Aaron Award alongside the Luis Aparicio Award in 2012 and 2013, becoming the first Venezuelan to win the MLB MVP Award. Santana, the 2004 and 2006 recipient, also won the Cy Young Award in those two years, winning by a unanimous vote on each occasion. Altuve is the only player to win the Luis Aparicio Award, the MVP award, and become a World Series champion in the same season in 2017. He has also won a batting title in three of his four award seasons. Santana (2006) and Cabrera (2012) are the only award winners to also earn the pitching and batting Triple Crown respectively in the same season. In accomplishing the feat, Cabrera became the first player in 45 years to achieve a Triple Crown in batting since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, while Santana became the first pitcher since Dwight Gooden in 1985 to secure a "Major League Triple Crown" by leading all of MLB in wins, earned run average and strikeouts. Francisco Rodríguez compiled a major league record of 62 saves in a single season in 2008 and went on to win the Rolaids Relief Man Award in the same year as the Luis Aparicio Award. Five winners – Cabrera, Altuve, Magglio Ordóñez, Carlos González, and Arráez – were batting champions in their respective leagues in the same year they won the award. (Full article...)
  • Image 11 In baseball, batting average (AVG) is a measure of a batter's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat, and is calculated by dividing a player's hits by his at bats. The achievement of a .400 batting average in a season is recognized as the coveted "standard of hitting excellence", in light of how batting .300 in a season is already regarded as solid. Forty-two players have recorded a batting average of at least .400 in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) season as of 2023,, but none have done so for more than 75 years. The last to do so were Bill Terry in the National League (1930), Ted Williams in the American League (1941), and Willard Brown and Artie Wilson in the Negro American League (1948). Five players – Ed Delahanty, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Oscar Charleston, and Josh Gibson– have accomplished the feat in three different seasons, the highest batting average for a single season was .4711 single-season record established by Tetelo Vargas in 1943. Ross Barnes was the first player to bat .400 in a season, posting a .429 batting average in the National League's inaugural 1876 season. In total, 42 players have reached the .400 mark in MLB history and nine have done so more than once. Of these, twenty one were right-handed batters, nineteen were left-handed, and two were switch hitter, meaning they could bat from either side of the plate. Three of these players (Terry, Leonard and Williams) played for only one major league team. The Philadelphia Phillies are the only franchise to have four players reach the milestone while on their roster: Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, and Tuck Turner, all of whom attained a batting average over .400 during the 1894 season. Three players won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in the same year as their .400 season. Tip O'Neill, Nap Lajoie, Josh Gibson, Willie Wells, Mule Suttles, Oscar Charleston (3 times), Heavy Johnson and Rogers Hornsby (twice) also earned the Triple Crown alongside achieving a .400 batting average, leading their respective leagues in batting average, home runs and runs batted in (RBI). Although Ray Dandridge's .432 batting average in 1934 did not earn him the Negro National League's batting title, it established a major league record for a rookie that stands to this day. Fred Dunlap has the lowest career batting average among players who have batted .400 in a season with .292, while Cobb – with .366 – recorded the highest career average in major league history. (Full article...)

    In baseball, batting average (AVG) is a measure of a batter's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat, and is calculated by dividing a player's hits by his at bats. The achievement of a .400 batting average in a season is recognized as the coveted "standard of hitting excellence", in light of how batting .300 in a season is already regarded as solid. Forty-two players have recorded a batting average of at least .400 in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) season as of 2023,, but none have done so for more than 75 years. The last to do so were Bill Terry in the National League (1930), Ted Williams in the American League (1941), and Willard Brown and Artie Wilson in the Negro American League (1948). Five players – Ed Delahanty, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Oscar Charleston, and Josh Gibson– have accomplished the feat in three different seasons, the highest batting average for a single season was .4711 single-season record established by Tetelo Vargas in 1943. Ross Barnes was the first player to bat .400 in a season, posting a .429 batting average in the National League's inaugural 1876 season.

    In total, 42 players have reached the .400 mark in MLB history and nine have done so more than once. Of these, twenty one were right-handed batters, nineteen were left-handed, and two were switch hitter, meaning they could bat from either side of the plate. Three of these players (Terry, Leonard and Williams) played for only one major league team. The Philadelphia Phillies are the only franchise to have four players reach the milestone while on their roster: Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, and Tuck Turner, all of whom attained a batting average over .400 during the 1894 season. Three players won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in the same year as their .400 season. Tip O'Neill, Nap Lajoie, Josh Gibson, Willie Wells, Mule Suttles, Oscar Charleston (3 times), Heavy Johnson and Rogers Hornsby (twice) also earned the Triple Crown alongside achieving a .400 batting average, leading their respective leagues in batting average, home runs and runs batted in (RBI). Although Ray Dandridge's .432 batting average in 1934 did not earn him the Negro National League's batting title, it established a major league record for a rookie that stands to this day. Fred Dunlap has the lowest career batting average among players who have batted .400 in a season with .292, while Cobb – with .366 – recorded the highest career average in major league history. (Full article...)
  • Image 12 The Miami Marlins are a professional Major League Baseball based in Miami, Florida. The Marlins are members of the National League East division in MLB, joining in 1993 as an expansion team. 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. The Marlins have employed fifteen different managers (two interim) since their founding as the Florida Marlins in 1993, with three leading then to the postseason that has resulted in two World Series championships (1997, 2003). The Marlins' first manager was Rene Lachemann, who led the team from its creation in 1993 through part of the 1996 season. After Cookie Rojas managed for one game, John Boles served as manager for the final 75 games of the 1996 season. Jim Leyland took over the franchise for the next two seasons, and in the process led the Marlins to their first World Series championship in 1997. In 1999, Boles took over and started his second stint as manager of the Marlins, which lasted until partway through the 2001 season. Tony Pérez was interim manager for the rest of 2001; Pérez is the only Miami Marlins manager who is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, inducted as a player in 2000. (Full article...)
    The Miami Marlins are a professional Major League Baseball based in Miami, Florida. The Marlins are members of the National League East division in MLB, joining in 1993 as an expansion team. 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. The Marlins have employed fifteen different managers (two interim) since their founding as the Florida Marlins in 1993, with three leading then to the postseason that has resulted in two World Series championships (1997, 2003).

    The Marlins' first manager was Rene Lachemann, who led the team from its creation in 1993 through part of the 1996 season. After Cookie Rojas managed for one game, John Boles served as manager for the final 75 games of the 1996 season. Jim Leyland took over the franchise for the next two seasons, and in the process led the Marlins to their first World Series championship in 1997. In 1999, Boles took over and started his second stint as manager of the Marlins, which lasted until partway through the 2001 season. Tony Pérez was interim manager for the rest of 2001; Pérez is the only Miami Marlins manager who is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, inducted as a player in 2000. (Full article...)
  • Image 13 Bill Virdon is the all-time winningest manager in Astro history; he won 544 games while leading the Astros to their first postseason berth in 1980 and two division titles. The Houston Astros are a professional baseball franchise based in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the American League West Division in Major League Baseball. The team joined MLB in 1962 as an expansion team named the Houston Colt .45s and changed their name to the Houston Astros in 1965. The team won their first NL Championship in 2005. Having first played in Colt Stadium (1962–1964), and later in The Astrodome, now known as the Reliant Astrodome (1965–1999), the Astros have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, which was first named The Ballpark at Union Station, since 2000. The current manager is Joe Espada. There have been 25 managers for the Astros franchise. The team's first manager was Harry Craft, who managed for three seasons. Bill Virdon is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games managed (1066) and the most regular-season game wins (544). Dusty Baker is the franchise's all-time leader in career playoff games managed (53) and playoff games won (34). Salty Parker is the Astros' all-time leader for the highest regular-season winning percentage, as he has only managed one game, which he won. Of the managers who have managed a minimum of 162 games (one season), Baker has the highest regular-season winning percentage with .594. Leo Durocher is the only Astros manager to have been elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Durocher and Baker each achieved their 2,000th managerial win with the Astros. Garner, Hinch, and Baker are the only managers to have won league pennants with the franchise, Garner winning one in the National League in 2005, Hinch winning two in the American League in 2017 and 2019, and Baker winning two in 2021 and 2022. Larry Dierker is the only Astros manager to have had his uniform number retired by the Astros, with his uniform number 49 retired by the Astros in 2002. Dierker is also the sixth manager in MLB history to win a division championship in his first season for the Astros in 1997. Lanier and Dierker are the only managers to have won a Manager of the Year Award with the Astros, winning it in 1986 and 1998 respectively. Grady Hatton, Lanier, Dierker, and Cooper have spent their entire managing careers with the Astros. (Full article...)
    Bill Virdon is the all-time winningest manager in Astro history; he won 544 games while leading the Astros to their first postseason berth in 1980 and two division titles.

    The Houston Astros are a professional baseball franchise based in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the American League West Division in Major League Baseball. The team joined MLB in 1962 as an expansion team named the Houston Colt .45s and changed their name to the Houston Astros in 1965. The team won their first NL Championship in 2005. Having first played in Colt Stadium (1962–1964), and later in The Astrodome, now known as the Reliant Astrodome (1965–1999), the Astros have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, which was first named The Ballpark at Union Station, since 2000. The current manager is Joe Espada.

    There have been 25 managers for the Astros franchise. The team's first manager was Harry Craft, who managed for three seasons. Bill Virdon is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games managed (1066) and the most regular-season game wins (544). Dusty Baker is the franchise's all-time leader in career playoff games managed (53) and playoff games won (34). Salty Parker is the Astros' all-time leader for the highest regular-season winning percentage, as he has only managed one game, which he won. Of the managers who have managed a minimum of 162 games (one season), Baker has the highest regular-season winning percentage with .594. Leo Durocher is the only Astros manager to have been elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Durocher and Baker each achieved their 2,000th managerial win with the Astros. Garner, Hinch, and Baker are the only managers to have won league pennants with the franchise, Garner winning one in the National League in 2005, Hinch winning two in the American League in 2017 and 2019, and Baker winning two in 2021 and 2022. Larry Dierker is the only Astros manager to have had his uniform number retired by the Astros, with his uniform number 49 retired by the Astros in 2002. Dierker is also the sixth manager in MLB history to win a division championship in his first season for the Astros in 1997. Lanier and Dierker are the only managers to have won a Manager of the Year Award with the Astros, winning it in 1986 and 1998 respectively. Grady Hatton, Lanier, Dierker, and Cooper have spent their entire managing careers with the Astros. (Full article...)
  • Image 14 David Wright, one of the Mets' first-round picks in 2001 The New York Mets are a Major League Baseball franchise based in New York City. They play in the National League East division. Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Mets have selected 63 players in its first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball'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, and the team that had the worst record receives the first pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1961 expansion draft in which the Mets initially filled their roster. Of the 63 players picked in the first round by the Mets, 25 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 18 of these were right-handed, while seven were left-handed. 18 of the players picked in the initial round were outfielders, while eight shortstops, six catchers, and three third basemen were selected. The team also selected two players at first base and one at second base. 14 of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, while Florida and Texas follow, with nine and five players, respectively. (Full article...)
    Man in a white baseball uniform with "Mets" and "5" on the chest wearing a baseball glove on his left hand and a blue baseball cap.
    David Wright, one of the Mets' first-round picks in 2001

    The New York Mets are a Major League Baseball franchise based in New York City. They play in the National League East division. Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Mets have selected 63 players in its first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball'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, and the team that had the worst record receives the first pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1961 expansion draft in which the Mets initially filled their roster.

    Of the 63 players picked in the first round by the Mets, 25 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 18 of these were right-handed, while seven were left-handed. 18 of the players picked in the initial round were outfielders, while eight shortstops, six catchers, and three third basemen were selected. The team also selected two players at first base and one at second base. 14 of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, while Florida and Texas follow, with nine and five players, respectively. (Full article...)
  • Image 15 The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball franchise based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the National League (NL) East Division in Major League Baseball (MLB). The team began playing in 1969 as an expansion team in Montreal, Quebec, then known as the Montreal Expos. There have been 18 different managers in the franchise's history. The team has played its home games at the Nationals Park since 2008. The Nationals are owned by Ted Lerner, with Mike Rizzo as their general manager. The Expos' first manager was Gene Mauch, who managed for six seasons. Felipe Alou is the franchise's all-time leader in regular season games managed (1,408) and regular season game wins (691). Jim Fanning is the only Expos manager to have gone into the post-season. Buck Rodgers and Alou are the only managers to have won the NL Manager of the Year Award with the Expos, in 1987 and 1994 respectively. Karl Kuehl, Jim Fanning, and Tom Runnells have all spent their entire MLB managing careers with the Expos/Nationals. After Manny Acta was fired during the 2009 season, Jim Riggleman, the bench coach, was named interim manager to replace him, and was promoted to the position full-time for the 2010 season. After Riggleman resigned during the 2011 season and John McLaren ran the team for three games as an interim manager, the team hired veteran manager Davey Johnson, who had previously served as an advisor to Rizzo. Johnson led the team to the 2012 National League East title and the franchise's first playoff berth since moving to Washington and was 2012's NL Manager of the Year, but the team did not advance past the 2012 National League Division Series. Johnson retired after the 2013 season. Matt Williams took over in 2014, leading the team to another National League East title that season, and was 2014 NL Manager of the Year, but the team did not advance past the 2014 NLDS, and Williams was fired after an unsuccessful second year in 2015. Dusty Baker managed the team in 2016 and 2017, leading Washington to consecutive National League East titles, but the team did not advance beyond the NLDS in either season and Baker's contract was not renewed after the 2017 season. The Nationals hired Dave Martinez in October 2017 to take the helm in 2018; along with leading the team to its first World Series championship, Martinez has the most victories as a manager since the team moved to Washington. (Full article...)
    The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball franchise based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the National League (NL) East Division in Major League Baseball (MLB). The team began playing in 1969 as an expansion team in Montreal, Quebec, then known as the Montreal Expos. There have been 18 different managers in the franchise's history. The team has played its home games at the Nationals Park since 2008. The Nationals are owned by Ted Lerner, with Mike Rizzo as their general manager.

    The Expos' first manager was Gene Mauch, who managed for six seasons. Felipe Alou is the franchise's all-time leader in regular season games managed (1,408) and regular season game wins (691). Jim Fanning is the only Expos manager to have gone into the post-season. Buck Rodgers and Alou are the only managers to have won the NL Manager of the Year Award with the Expos, in 1987 and 1994 respectively. Karl Kuehl, Jim Fanning, and Tom Runnells have all spent their entire MLB managing careers with the Expos/Nationals. After Manny Acta was fired during the 2009 season, Jim Riggleman, the bench coach, was named interim manager to replace him, and was promoted to the position full-time for the 2010 season. After Riggleman resigned during the 2011 season and John McLaren ran the team for three games as an interim manager, the team hired veteran manager Davey Johnson, who had previously served as an advisor to Rizzo. Johnson led the team to the 2012 National League East title and the franchise's first playoff berth since moving to Washington and was 2012's NL Manager of the Year, but the team did not advance past the 2012 National League Division Series. Johnson retired after the 2013 season. Matt Williams took over in 2014, leading the team to another National League East title that season, and was 2014 NL Manager of the Year, but the team did not advance past the 2014 NLDS, and Williams was fired after an unsuccessful second year in 2015. Dusty Baker managed the team in 2016 and 2017, leading Washington to consecutive National League East titles, but the team did not advance beyond the NLDS in either season and Baker's contract was not renewed after the 2017 season. The Nationals hired Dave Martinez in October 2017 to take the helm in 2018; along with leading the team to its first World Series championship, Martinez has the most victories as a manager since the team moved to Washington. (Full article...)

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Credit: User:TonyTheTiger

Christopher Ryan Young (born May 25, 1979, in Dallas) is a starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball. He made his major league debut on August 24, 2004, for the Texas Rangers. He had previously excelled in basketball and baseball at Highland Park High School in University Park, Texas and Princeton University.

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