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 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 advancing 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 spread throughout the rest of the Americas and the Asia–Pacific in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is now 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 -

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

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  Thorpe in 1913

  
  James Francis Thorpe (Meskwaki: Wa-Tho-Huk, May 22 or 28, 1887 – March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won two Olympic gold medals in the 1912 Summer Olympics (one in classic pentathlon and the other in decathlon). He also played football (collegiate and professional), professional baseball, and professional basketball.
  
  He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he had been paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the contemporary amateurism rules. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored his Olympic medals with replicas, after ruling that the decision to strip him of his medals fell outside of the required 30 days. Official IOC records still listed Thorpe as co-champion in decathlon and pentathlon until 2022, when it was decided to restore him as the sole champion in both events. (Full article...)
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  On July 10, 1932, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians 18–17 in 18 innings in a Major League Baseball game played at League Park in Cleveland. Several major-league records were set during the game; for example, Johnny Burnett of the Indians became the only player to hit safely nine (or even eight) times in a game, while Cleveland's 33 hits and the teams' combined 58 hits are also single-game records. Pitcher Eddie Rommel secured the win for the Athletics, pitching an American League-record 17 innings in relief after Philadelphia's Lew Krausse gave up three runs in the first inning. The 29 hits Rommel allowed are a major-league record; the 14 runs against him are the most given up by a winning pitcher.
  
  Coming into the game, the Athletics, who were the three-time defending American League champions, trailed the New York Yankees in the standings by 71⁄2 games. Sunday baseball was still illegal in Philadelphia, forcing the Athletics to make one-game road trips on some Sundays, including July 10. With his pitching staff exhausted by six games in the previous three days, the owner and manager of the Athletics, Connie Mack, took only two pitchers on the train trip to Cleveland, giving the rest of the staff the day off. With no chance of being relieved except by a position player, Rommel pitched with mixed effectiveness, giving up six runs in the seventh inning but only two runs in the final nine innings of the game. He aided his own cause by getting three hits in seven at bats. Cleveland's Wes Ferrell took the loss after Jimmie Foxx got his sixth hit of the game and then scored. Foxx had already batted in eight runs, having hit three home runs and accumulated sixteen total bases, tying a record that has since been broken. (Full article...)
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  Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. Known as "Chappelli", he is considered as one of the greatest captains the game has seen. 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. 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...)
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  Studio portrait of William Ponsford, ca. 1925.jpg

  
  William Harold Ponsford MBE (19 October 1900 – 6 April 1991) was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain. Ponsford is the only player to twice break the world record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket; Ponsford and Brian Lara are the only cricketers to twice score 400 runs in an innings. Ponsford holds the Australian record for a partnership in Test cricket, set in 1934 in combination with Don Bradman (451 for 2nd wicket)—the man who broke many of Ponsford's other individual records. In fact, he along with Bradman set the record for the highest partnership ever for any wicket in Test cricket history when playing on away soil (451 runs for the second wicket)
  
  Despite being heavily built, Ponsford was quick on his feet and renowned as one of the finest ever players of spin bowling. His bat, much heavier than the norm and nicknamed "Big Bertha", allowed him to drive powerfully and he possessed a strong cut shot. However, critics questioned his ability against fast bowling, and the hostile short-pitched English bowling in the Bodyline series of 1932–33 was a contributing factor in his early retirement from cricket a year and a half later. Ponsford also represented his state and country in baseball, and credited the sport with improving his cricketing skills. (Full article...)
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  Official portrait, 1981

  
  Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who was the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in the American conservative movement. His presidency is known as the Reagan era.
  
  Born in Illinois, Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and was hired the next year as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, he moved to California where he became a well-known film actor. During his acting career, Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild twice from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 to 1960. In the 1950s, he hosted General Electric Theater and worked as a motivational speaker for General Electric. During the 1964 presidential election, Reagan's "A Time for Choosing" speech launched his rise as a leading conservative figure. After being elected governor of California in 1966, he raised state taxes, turned the state budget deficit into a surplus and implemented harsh crackdowns on university protests. Following his loss to Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries, Reagan won the Republican Party's nomination and then a landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election. (Full article...)
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  Ruth in 1920

  
  George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.
  
  At age seven, Ruth was sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory where he was mentored by Brother Matthias Boutlier of the Xaverian Brothers, the school's disciplinarian and a capable baseball player. In 1914, Ruth was signed to play Minor League baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Red Sox. By 1916, he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs, a feat unusual for any player in the dead-ball era. Although Ruth twice won 23 games in a season as a pitcher and was a member of three World Series championship teams with the Red Sox, he wanted to play every day and was allowed to convert to an outfielder. With regular playing time, he broke the MLB single-season home run record in 1919 with 29. (Full article...)
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  Youngstown Ohio Works (1906), with pitcher Roy Castleton seated in second row, second from left

  
  The Youngstown Ohio Works baseball team was a minor league club that was known for winning the premier championship of the Ohio–Pennsylvania League in 1905, and for launching the professional career of pitcher Roy Castleton a year later. A training ground for several players and officials who later established careers in Major League Baseball, the team proved a formidable regional competitor and also won the 1906 league championship.
  
  During its brief span of activity, the Ohio Works team faced challenges that reflected common difficulties within the Ohio–Pennsylvania League, including weak financial support for teams. Following a dispute over funding, the team's owners sold the club to outside investors, just a few months before the opening of the 1907 season. (Full article...)
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  Martin with the Yankees in 1954

  
  Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known as a scrappy infielder who made considerable contributions to the championship Yankee teams of the 1950s, he then built a reputation as a manager who would initially make bad teams good, before ultimately being fired amid dysfunction. In each of his stints with the Yankees he managed them to winning records before being fired by team owner George Steinbrenner or resigning under fire, usually amid a well-publicized scandal such as Martin's involvement in an alcohol-fueled fight.
  
  Martin was born in a working-class section of Berkeley, California. His skill as a baseball player gave him a route out of his home town. Signed by the Pacific Coast League Oakland Oaks, Martin learned much from Casey Stengel, the man who would manage him both in Oakland and in New York, and enjoyed a close relationship with Stengel. Martin's spectacular catch of a wind-blown Jackie Robinson popup late in Game Seven of the 1952 World Series saved that series for the Yankees, and he was the hitting star of the 1953 World Series, earning the Most Valuable Player award in the Yankee victory. He missed most of two seasons, 1954 and 1955, after being drafted into the Army, and his abilities never fully returned; the Yankees traded him after a brawl at the Copacabana club in New York during the 1957 season. Martin bitterly resented being traded, and did not speak to Stengel for years, a time during which Martin completed his playing career with various teams. (Full article...)
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  Baldwin photographed in c. 1890

  
  Marcus Elmore Baldwin (October 29, 1863 – November 10, 1929), nicknamed "Fido" and "Baldy", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). In 346 career games, he pitched to a 154–165 win–loss record with 295 complete games. Baldwin set the single-season MLB wild pitches record with 83 that still stands today.
  
  Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baldwin made his professional debut for a Cumberland, Maryland, team in 1883. Though signed by Chicago White Stockings president Albert Spalding to pitch against the St. Louis Browns in the 1886 World Series, Baldwin did not play after the Browns objected. He made his MLB debut for the White Stockings in 1887, when a writer for the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern called him the "swiftest pitcher in the National League" (NL). Released by Chicago player–manager Cap Anson, he signed with the Columbus Solons of the American Association (AA) in 1889, where he led the league in innings pitched (513+2⁄3), losses (34), strikeouts (368), and walks (274). (Full article...)
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  The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals; the Red Sox swept the Cardinals in four games. The series was played from October 23 to 27, 2004, at Fenway Park and Busch Memorial Stadium, broadcast on Fox, and watched by an average of just under 25.5 million viewers. The Red Sox's World Series championship was their first since 1918, ending the Curse of the Bambino.
  
  The Cardinals earned their berth into the playoffs by winning the NL Central division title, and had the best win–loss record in the NL. The Red Sox won the AL wild card to earn theirs. The Cardinals reached the World Series by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-five NL Division Series and the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series. The Red Sox defeated the Anaheim Angels in the AL Division Series. After trailing three games to none to the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series, the Red Sox came back to win the series, advancing to their first World Series since 1986. The Cardinals made their first appearance in the World Series since 1987. With the New England Patriots winning Super Bowl XXXVIII, the World Series victory made Boston the first city to have Super Bowl and World Series championship teams in the same year (2004) since Pittsburgh in 1979. The Red Sox became the third straight wild card team to win the World Series; the Anaheim Angels won in 2002 and the Florida Marlins won in 2003. (Full article...)
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  1929 Kashin baseball card of Berg while with the Chicago White Sox

  
  Morris Berg (March 2, 1902 – May 29, 1972) was an American professional baseball catcher and coach in Major League Baseball who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. He played 15 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely for four American League teams, though he was never more than an average player and was better known for being "the brainiest guy in baseball." Casey Stengel once described Berg as "the strangest man ever to play baseball."
  
  Berg was a graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Law School, spoke several languages, and regularly read ten newspapers a day. His reputation as an intellectual was fueled by his successful appearances as a contestant on the radio quiz show Information Please, in which he answered questions about the etymology of words and names from Greek and Latin, historical events in Europe and the Far East, and ongoing international conferences. (Full article...)
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  Orval Grove in 1948

  
  Orval Leroy Grove (August 29, 1919 – April 20, 1992) was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for ten seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox. In 207 career games, Grove pitched 1,176 innings and posted a win–loss record of 63–73, with 66 complete games, 11 shutouts, and a 3.78 earned run average (ERA).
  
  The only freshman on the Proviso Township High School varsity baseball team, Grove's pitching ability attracted the attention of the White Sox. After signing with the team in 1937, Grove moved between the major leagues and minor leagues for a few seasons until 1943, when he found a solid place in the White Sox's pitching rotation. Grove had a career-year in 1943, finishing the season with career-bests in ERA, wins, and complete games; in 1944, he made his only All-Star appearance. (Full article...)
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  Thome in 2015

  
  James Howard Thome (/ˈtoʊmi/; TOH-mee; born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). A prolific power hitter, Thome hit 612 home runs during his career—the eighth-most all time. He amassed a total of 2,328 hits and 1,699 runs batted in (RBIs). His career batting average was .276. He was a member of five All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1996.
  
  Thome grew up in Peoria, Illinois, as part of a large blue-collar family of athletes, who predominantly played baseball and basketball. After attending Illinois Central College, he was drafted by the Indians in the 1989 draft, and made his big league debut in 1991. Early in his career, Thome played third base, before eventually becoming a first baseman. With the Indians, he was part of a core of players that led the franchise to five consecutive playoff appearances in the 1990s, including World Series appearances in 1995 and 1997. Thome spent over a decade with Cleveland, before leaving via free agency after the 2002 season, to join the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he spent the following three seasons. Traded to the Chicago White Sox before the 2006 season, he won the American League (AL) Comeback Player of the Year Award that year and joined the 500 home run club during his three-season tenure with the White Sox. By this point in his career, back pain limited Thome to being a designated hitter. After stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, he made brief returns to Cleveland and Philadelphia, before ending his career with the Baltimore Orioles. Upon retiring, Thome accepted an executive position with the White Sox. (Full article...)
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  Meusel in 1921

  
  Robert William Meusel (July 19, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American baseball left and right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eleven seasons from 1920 through 1930, all but the last for the New York Yankees. He was best known as a member of the Yankees' championship teams of the 1920s, nicknamed "Murderers' Row", during which time the team won its first six American League (AL) pennants and first three World Series titles.
  
  Meusel, noted for his strong outfield throwing arm, batted fifth behind Baseball Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. In 1925, he became the second Yankee, after Ruth, to lead the AL in home runs (33), runs batted in (138) and extra base hits (79). Nicknamed "Long Bob" because of his 6-foot, 3 inch (1.91 m) stature, Meusel batted .313 or better in seven of his first eight seasons, finishing with a .309 career average; his 1,009 RBI during the 1920s were the fourth most by any major leaguer, and trailed only Harry Heilmann's total of 1,131 among AL right-handed hitters. Meusel ended his career in 1930 with the Cincinnati Reds. He hit for the cycle three times, and was the second of six major leaguers to accomplish this feat as many as three times during a career. (Full article...)
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  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). The two stations share studios at the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the city's Streeterville neighborhood and 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...)

General images -

The following are images from various baseball-related articles on Wikipedia.

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  Boston Red Sox player Mookie Betts hits a pitch by swinging his bat. (from Baseball)
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  A batter follows through after swinging at a pitched ball. (from Baseball rules)
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  Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs (from Baseball)
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  The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million. (from Baseball)
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  Baserunners generally stand a short distance away from their base between pitches, preparing themselves to either go back or steal the next base. (from Baseball rules)
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  Diagram indicating the standard layout of positions (from Baseball)
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  A shortstop tries to tag out a runner who is sliding head first, attempting to reach second base. (from Baseball)
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  By the 1860s Civil War, baseball (bottom) had overtaken its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket (top) in popularity within the United States. (from History of baseball)
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  Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the left. (from Baseball)
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  The Tampere Tigers celebrating the 2017 title in Turku, Finland (from Baseball)
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  The standard fielding positions (from Baseball rules)
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  The strike zone determines the result of most pitches, and varies in vertical length for each batter. (from Baseball)
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  Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game (from Baseball)
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  Diagram of a baseball diamond (from Baseball rules)
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  Diagram of a baseball field Diamond may refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field. The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games. Children often play on smaller fields. (from Baseball)
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  By the 1860s Civil War, baseball (bottom) had overtaken its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket (top) in popularity within the United States. Growing American influence abroad meant the same occurred in Japan and the Dominican Republic by the early 20th century. (from Baseball)
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  A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park (from Baseball)
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  1906 World Series, infielders playing "in" for the expected bunt and the possible play at the plate with the bases loaded (from Baseball rules)
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  Pesäpallo, a Finnish variation of baseball, was invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s, and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland. (from Baseball)
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  An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 (from Baseball)
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  Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 (from Baseball)
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  Pitchers are generally substituted during mound visits (team gatherings at the pitcher's mound). (from Baseball rules)
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  Baseball games sometimes end in a walk-off home run, with the batting team usually gathering at home plate to celebrate the scoring of the winning run(s). (from Baseball rules)
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  Pick-off attempt on runner (in red) at first base (from Baseball rules)
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  Stickball is a common street variant of baseball which often features impromptu adaptations. (Note the painted strike zone on the wall behind the batter.) (from Baseball)
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  A pitcher handing off the ball after being taken out of the game during a mound meeting. (from Baseball)
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  Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs (from History of baseball)
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  Alexander Cartwright, father of modern baseball (from History of baseball)
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  A runner sliding into home plate and scoring. (from Baseball)
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  The NL champion New York Giants baseball team, 1913. Fred Merkle, sixth in line, had committed a baserunning gaffe in a crucial 1908 game that became famous as Merkle's Boner. (from History of baseball)
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  The strike zone, which determines the outcome of most pitches, varies in vertical length depending on the batter's typical height while swinging. (from Baseball rules)
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  Cy Young—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young. (from Baseball)
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  Japanese-Americans spectating a World War II-era game while in an internment camp. America's ties to immigrants and to Japan have been deeply shaped by a shared baseball heritage. (from History of baseball)
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  2013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 (from Baseball)
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  A well-worn baseball (from Baseball)
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  David Ortiz, the batter, awaiting a pitch, with the catcher and umpire (from Baseball)
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  Cover of Official Base Ball Rules, 1921 edition, used by the American League and National League (from Baseball rules)
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  Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs. (from Baseball)
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  Babe Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the New York Yankees (from History of baseball)
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  Babe Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the New York Yankees (from Baseball)
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  A first baseman receives a pickoff throw, as the runner dives back to first base. (from Baseball)
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  The typical motion of a right-handed pitcher (from Baseball rules)
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  Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs with 868. (from History of baseball)
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  In May 2010, the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay pitched the 20th major league perfect game. That October, he pitched only the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history. (from History of baseball)

Good articles -

These are Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

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  The statue following its 2009 recovery from the river

  
  The Curse of the Colonel (Japanese: カーネルサンダースの呪い, romanisation: Kāneru Sandāsu no Noroi) is a Japanese urban legend that holds that the ghost of the KFC founder, Colonel Sanders, placed a curse on the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
  
  The curse was said to be placed on the team because of the Colonel's anger over treatment of one of his store-front statues, which was thrown into the Dōtonbori River by Hanshin fans before their team's 1985 Central League pennant. As is common with sports curses, the Curse of the Colonel was used to explain the team's failures in subsequent years. Some fans believed the team would never win another Japan Series until the statue was recovered. They appeared in the Japan Series three more times and lost in 2003, 2005 and 2014 before winning in 2023. (Full article...)
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  Kenneth Raymond Hunt Jr. (December 14, 1938 – January 27, 2008) was an American starting pitcher who played one full Major League Baseball season for the 1961 Cincinnati Reds. Listed at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and 200 pounds (91 kg), Hunt batted and threw right-handed. He overcame control problems to reach the major leagues with the Reds in 1961, starting games for the National League champions. He won The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award and appeared in the World Series, which the Reds lost in five games to the New York Yankees. However, his control problems resurfaced in the minor leagues after that, and he never appeared in another major league game. Following his career, he coached baseball and basketball at Morgan High School in Utah for 20 years. (Full article...)
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  Casey McGehee on the Milwaukee Brewers puts a ball in play

  
  
  In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a foul ball counts as a strike against the batter, unless there are already two strikes on the batter, with special rules applying to foul tips and foul bunts. Fly balls are those hit in an arcing manner, with pop-ups being a subset of fly balls that do not travel far. Line drives are batted balls hit on a straight line trajectory, while ground balls are hit at a low trajectory, contact the ground shortly after being hit, and then either roll or bounce. Batted balls, especially line drives, can present a hazard to players, umpires, and spectators, as people have been seriously injured or killed after being struck by batted balls. (Full article...)
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  The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons displaced the Calgary Expos, who played in the rookie level Pioneer League from 1977 until 1984. The team was previously known as the Salt Lake City Gulls before being relocated to Calgary. Following the 2002 season, the team moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they became the Isotopes.
  
  The Cannons played 2,538 regular season games in Calgary, compiling a record of 1,225–1,308. They qualified for the playoffs five times: 1985, 1987, 1989, and 1991 as an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, and 1998 as an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They reached the PCL Championship Series three times, in 1987, 1991, and 1998, though they never won a title. (Full article...)
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  Gyorko with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016

  
  Jedd Lindon Gyorko (/ˈdʒɜːrkoʊ/ JUR-koh; born September 23, 1988) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and third baseman, and current NCAA coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He was previously the manager of the West Virginia Black Bears of the MLB Draft League.
  
  Gyorko attended University High School in Morgantown, West Virginia. Playing for the school's baseball team as a shortstop, he was named one of the best baseball players in the state. He then enrolled at West Virginia University, and set numerous school records for the West Virginia Mountaineers baseball program. Gyorko won the 2010 Brooks Wallace Award as the best shortstop in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. (Full article...)
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  Beasy, c. 1925

  
  Emil Anton Beasy (August 1, 1898 – April 21, 1967) was an American professional football fullback. He played semi-professionally for several years with a team in Hibbing, Minnesota, and joined the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in 1924, playing in one game for them. (Full article...)
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  Sig Mejdal

  
  Sig Mejdal (/ˈmaɪdəl/ MY-dəl; born December 31, 1965) is the assistant general manager for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball. (Full article...)
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  Ruffing in 1924

  
  Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3, 1905 – February 17, 1986) was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1924 through 1947. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox. Ruffing is most remembered for his time with the highly successful Yankees teams of the 1930s and 1940s.
  
  Ruffing dropped out of school as a child to work in a coal mine in his native Illinois. He played for the mine's company baseball team as an outfielder and first baseman. After he lost four toes from his left foot in a mining accident, he became unable to run in the field, and switched to pitching. He played in minor league baseball in 1923 and 1924 before making his MLB debut with the Red Sox. After struggling with Boston, pitching to a 39–96 win–loss record, the Red Sox traded Ruffing to the Yankees, where he became successful, pitching as the Yankees' ace through 1946. After one season with the White Sox, Ruffing retired from pitching to work in coaching. He served as a bullpen coach for the White Sox, a pitching coach for the New York Mets. (Full article...)
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  Etelman in 1925

  
  Carl Edward Etelman (April 1, 1900 – December 18, 1963) was an American football back and coach. After playing college football at Tufts University in Massachusetts, he played semi-professional football for the independent St Alphonsus Athletic Association from 1924 to 1926. He also played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for the Boston Bulldogs and Providence Steam Roller, before returning to the semi-pro ranks with the Fitton Athletic Club, where he spent three seasons. After his playing career, Etelman coached the Whitman High School football team in Massachusetts for 18 years, and also coached the semi-professional Old Town team of Abington for two years. (Full article...)
• 
  The 1998 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 regular season, played between the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants, to determine the National League (NL) wild card winner. The game occurred at Wrigley Field in Chicago, on September 28, 1998. The Cubs won the game 5–3, holding the Giants scoreless for most of the game until the Giants threatened heavily in the ninth inning and scored all three runs. As a result of the game, the Cubs qualified for the postseason, and the Giants did not.
  
  The game was necessary after both teams finished the season with identical win-loss records of 89–73. The Cubs won a coin flip late in the season, which, by rule at the time, awarded them home field for the game. This victory advanced the Cubs to the 1998 NL Division Series (NLDS), where they were swept by the Atlanta Braves, ending the Cubs' season. Michael Jordan, a popular Chicago sportsman who ended his career with the Chicago Bulls, threw the game's ceremonial first pitch. In baseball statistics, the tiebreaker counted as the 163rd regular season game for both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics. (Full article...)
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  Roepke pictured in The Mansfield News, 1927

  
  John Peter Roepke (December 28, 1905 – February 26, 1962) was an American football halfback who played one season in the National Football League (NFL) for the Frankford Yellow Jackets as well as four seasons in minor leagues with the Atlantic City Tornadoes, Clifton Heights Orange & Black, Upper Darby Greenbacks, and Paterson Night Hawks. A native of New Jersey, he attended Penn State University, playing football, baseball, and basketball before graduating in 1928. He was selected to the College Football All-America Team following his senior season of 1927. Roepke also briefly played professional baseball for the Scranton Miners in 1928. (Full article...)
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  Louis C. Crews (March 27, 1917 – January 20, 2005) was an American athlete and sports coach. He was best known for his time as head football coach at Alabama A&M University, a position he held from 1960 to 1975. He also was head baseball and women's basketball coach at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College (now known as Alcorn State University), head baseball coach at Alabama A&M, and served as head football and men's basketball coach at Jarvis Christian College. He is the all-time winningest head coach of the Alabama A&M Bulldogs football program. The team plays home games at Louis Crews Stadium, named in his honor. (Full article...)
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  Brogdon with the Williamsport Crosscutters in 2017

  
  Connor Michael Brogdon (born January 29, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.
  
  Brogdon was born in Clovis, California, and attended Liberty High School in Madera. Although he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 40th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, he decided to attend Fresno City College rather than sign with the team. After two seasons there, he transferred to Lewis–Clark State College, where he was part of the 2017 NAIA World Series championship team. (Full article...)
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  Daniel Osinski (November 17, 1933 – September 13, 2013), nicknamed "The Silencer", was an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher. The 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 195 pounds (88 kg) right-hander was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before the 1952 season. He played for the Kansas City Athletics (1962), Los Angeles Angels (1962–1964), Milwaukee Braves (1965), Boston Red Sox (1966–1967), Chicago White Sox (1969), and Houston Astros (1970).
  
  Born in Chicago, Osinski played baseball, football, and basketball in high school. He almost attended the United States Naval Academy on a football scholarship, but after flunking his physical, he chose instead to sign a contract with the Indians. He played minor league baseball with them for a few years but was plagued by mononucleosis, which he was diagnosed with in 1955. In 1957, Osinski was drafted by the United States Army, serving at Fort Campbell for two years. Unsure whether he should continue playing baseball or not, Osinski tried out with the White Sox in 1959 and was added to one of their minor league clubs. He focused on serving as a relief pitcher and made his major league debut with the Athletics in 1962. Though he did not last long with the Athletics, Osinski impressed the Angels' general manager while pitching for the minor league Portland Beavers. The Angels acquired him in a trade, and he helped give the team one of the best bullpens in the major leagues in 1962. In 1963, he made 16 starts for the club, though he also appeared in 31 games in relief. He posted a 3.48 earned run average (ERA) used mainly in relief in 1964, then was traded to Milwaukee. (Full article...)
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  Runzler with the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day in 2011

  
  Daniel Joseph Runzler (born March 30, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who is the pitching coach for the Low-A San Jose Giants of the San Francisco Giants organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Giants from 2009 to 2012 and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017.
  
  Born in Santa Monica, California, on March 30, 1985, Runzler attended the University of California, Riverside. A pitcher for the Highlanders, he was twice drafted, first by the Seattle Mariners in 2006, then by the Giants in 2007 after moving from the starting rotation to the bullpen. He signed with the Giants and made his MLB debut in 2009, posting a 1.04 earned run average (ERA) in 11 games. During the Giants' 2010 World Series season, he pitched in a career-high 41 games, posting a 3–0 record with an ERA of 3.03, though the second half of his season was interrupted by a fractured patella. In 2011, the Giants experimented with using him as a starting pitcher, but he posted a 6.26 ERA and spent much of the season in the minor leagues. An injured lat muscle cost him the first two months of 2012, and he only pitched in six games for the Giants in the 2012 season, when they won their second World Series during his time with the club. He did not pitch for San Francisco in 2013 and 2014, pitching in the minor leagues until halfway through the 2014 season, when he went to Japan and joined the Orix Buffaloes' secondary affiliate for the rest of the year. (Full article...)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

• ... that Milt Wilcox, winning pitcher of Game 3 of the 1984 World Series, credited "throwing bowling balls" with rescuing his Major League Baseball career?
• ... that Chuck Eisenmann went from professionally pitching in baseball to owning and training the dogs that starred on the Canadian television series The Littlest Hobo?
• ... that Lyle Lin was the first Taiwanese player to be selected and signed via the Major League Baseball draft?
• ... that labor lawyer Dick Moss argued the 1975 case which resulted in the establishment of free agency in Major League Baseball?
• ... that under a rules draft presented at the 1857 baseball convention, baseball bats would have been allowed to be shaved flat on one side?
• ... that Gerry Snyder brought the Summer Olympics and Major League Baseball to Montreal?
• ... that getting bitten by an eel led Sean Barber to become an umpire?
• ... that Frankie Saluto was a member of the Ringling Giants, a dwarf baseball team that raised money for charity?

Quotes

  Featured lists -

Featured lists have been determined by the Wikipedia community to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.

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• 
  In baseball, earned run average (ERA) is a statistic used to evaluate pitchers, calculated as the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched.^[a] A pitcher is men by a baserunner who reached base while batting against that pitcher, whether by hit, base on balls or "walk", or being hit by a pitched ball; an earned run can be charged after the pitcher is relieved if he allows the runner before leaving the game. Runs scored by players who reach base on errors, passed balls, or catcher interference under special circumstances are treated as unearned runs, and do not count towards the pitcher's ERA.
  
  Major League Baseball recognizes the player in each league^[b] with the lowest earned run average each season.^[c] The first ERA champion in the National League was George Bradley; in the National League's inaugural 1876 season, Bradley posted a 1.23 ERA for the St. Louis Brown Stockings, allowing 78 earned runs in 573 innings pitched. The American League was established in 1901, and Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young led that league with a 1.62 ERA for the Boston Americans during the 1901 season. (Full article...)
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  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...)
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  Todd Worrell (1982) is the only Cardinals first-round draft pick to win the Rookie of the Year Award.

  
  The St. Louis Cardinals are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri. They play in the National League Central division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Cardinals have selected 77 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.
  
  Of the 77 players picked in the first round by St. Louis, 39 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 30 of them were right-handed, while nine were left-handed. Eight outfielders, ten third basemen, six shortstops, six first basemen, five catchers, and two second basemen were taken as well. The team also drafted one player, Leron Lee (1966), who played as an infielder. 16 of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, and Texas and Arizona follow with seven and six players. The Cardinals have not drafted any players from their home state of Missouri. (Full article...)
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  Roy Halladay is the only pitcher in Phillies history to throw multiple no-hit games with the team: a perfect game in May 2010; and a postseason no-hitter in October of that year.

  
  The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Philadelphia. They play in the National League East division. Also known in their early years as the "Philadelphia Quakers", pitchers for the Phillies have thrown fourteen separate 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", though one or more batters "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 less 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.
  
  Of the fourteen no-hitters pitched by Phillies players, three have been won by a score of 6–0, and three by a score of 1–0, more common than any other results. The largest margin of victory in a Phillies no-hitter was ten runs, in a 10–0 win by Chick Fraser. Charlie Ferguson's no-hitter, the first in franchise history, was a 1–0 victory, as were two of the more recent regular season no-hitters, thrown by Kevin Millwood in 2003 and Roy Halladay in 2010. Three pitchers to throw no-hitters for the Phillies have been left-handed: Johnny Lush (in 1906), Terry Mulholland (in 1990) and Cole Hamels (in 2015). The other nine pitchers were right-handed. Halladay is the only Phillies' pitcher to throw more than one no-hitter in a Phillies uniform, and others, including Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, have pitched more than one in their careers. The longest interval between Phillies no-hitters was between the games pitched by Lush and Bunning, encompassing 58 years, 1 month, and 20 days from May 1, 1906 to June 21, 1964. Conversely, the shortest interval between no-hitters was between Halladay's two 2010 no-hitters, with a total of merely four months and seven days from May 29 to October 6; the shortest gap between regular-season no-hitters was between Mulholland's and Tommy Greene's games (nine months and eight days from August 15, 1990 to May 23, 1991). Two opponents have been no-hit by the Phillies more than one time: the San Francisco Giants, who were defeated by Mulholland (in 1990) and Millwood (in 2003); and the Cincinnati Reds, who were no-hit by Rick Wise (in 1971) and Halladay (in 2010). (Full article...)
• 
  The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media. It is named for Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente. Originally known as the Commissioner's Award, it has been presented by MLB since 1971. In 1973, the award was renamed after Clemente following his death in a plane crash while he was delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.
  
  Each year, a panel of baseball dignitaries selects one player from among 30 nominees, one from each club. Teams choose their nominee during the regular season, and the winner is announced before Game 3 of the World Series. The player who receives the most votes online via MLB's official website, MLB.com, gets one vote in addition to the votes cast by the panel. Since 2007, the Roberto Clemente Award has been presented by Chevy. Chevy donates money and a Chevy vehicle to the recipient's charity of choice and additional money is donated by Chevy to the Roberto Clemente Sports City, a non-profit organization in Carolina, Puerto Rico, that provides national sports activities for children. Chevy donates additional funds to the charity of choice of each of the 30 club nominees. (Full article...)
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  Fumio Fujimura was the first player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to hit for the cycle and also the first to hit multiple cycles.

  
  In baseball, completing the cycle is the accomplishment of hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle", which has occurred five times in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The cycle itself is rare in NPB, occurring 76 times since Fumio Fujimura's first cycle during the single league era in 1948. In terms of frequency, the cycle is roughly as common as a no-hitter (90 occurrences in NPB history); Baseball Digest calls it "one of the rarest feats in baseball". Hitting for the cycle was not recognized in Japanese professional baseball until former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Daryl Spencer made a remark about it after hitting for the cycle with the Hankyu Braves in 1965. Of the 12 current NPB teams, only the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have never had at least one player hit for the cycle.
  
  The most cycles hit by a player in Nippon Professional Baseball is three, accomplished by Bobby Rose. Playing for the Yokohama BayStars, Rose hit his first cycle on May 2, 1995, the next on April 29, 1997, and his final cycle on June 30, 1999. Other than Rose, only three other NPB players have hit multiple cycles: Fumio Fujimura with the Osaka Tigers and Hiromi Matsunaga with the Hankyu/Orix Braves and Kosuke Fukudome with the Chunichi Dragons and the Hanshin Tigers, all with two. Fujimura is also the only player to have hit a cycle during both the single league era and the current dual league era. The 2003 NPB season saw the most cycles hit in a single season—five. That season also saw the only instance of cycles occurring in two different games on the same day: on July 1, hit by Atsunori Inaba of the Yakult Swallows and Arihito Muramatsu of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. The next day, Shinjiro Hiyama became the third player to hit for the cycle in two days. Conversely, the longest period of time between two players hitting for the cycle is one day shy of 6 years. The drought has lasted from Michihiro Ogasawara's cycle in 2008 until Rainel Rosario's in 2014. (Full article...)
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  In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 20–20–20 club is the group of batters who have collected 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 home runs in a single season. Frank Schulte was the first to achieve this, doing so in 1911. The last players to reach the milestone – Curtis Granderson and Jimmy Rollins – attained 20–20–20 during the 2007 season. This marked the first time that two players accomplished the achievement in the same season.
  
  In total, seven players are members of the 20–20–20 club. Of these, five were left-handed batters, one was right-handed and one was a switch hitter, meaning he could bat from either side of the plate. Two players – George Brett and Willie Mays – are also members of the 3,000 hit club, and Mays is also a member of the 500 home run club. Schulte, Rollins, and Jim Bottomley won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in the same year as their 20–20–20 season. Both Mays and Rollins joined the club while also hitting 30 home runs and stealing 30 bases that same season to join the 30–30 club. Brett and Rollins collected more than 200 hits alongside achieving 20–20–20. Furthermore, four players amassed 20 or more stolen bases during their 20–20–20 season. These players are collectively referred to as the 20–20–20–20 club. (Full article...)
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  Joe Quinn, the first Australian to play in MLB

  
  The first recorded baseball event in Australia took place in Melbourne, Victoria in 1857, between teams from Collingwood and Richmond. Accounts vary as to the details, including whether it was a single game or a series of three games, though details in common include a score of 350–230 in favour of Collingwood, and that the rules used were some form of hybrid between cricket and baseball, with teams batting until all players were out, and runs being scored for every base crossed, rather than just for reaching home plate. Though there are no records to confirm it, the commonly held belief is that baseball in Australia originated on the Ballarat gold-fields among American miners. The Claxton Shield, the first annually recurring national tournament, commenced in 1934. Though the tournament itself has been supplanted at various points in its history, the physical Shield is still awarded to the national champions in the Australian Baseball League.
  As of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, 38 Australians have played in at least one MLB game. Of those players, 33 were born in Australia, the remainder having been born elsewhere but raised in Australia and have played for the Australia national baseball team at International Baseball Federation or sanctioned tournaments such as the Olympic Games and World Baseball Classic. 25 of the players have been pitchers and the other 13 have been position players. (Full article...)
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  Derek Jeter (1992) has won five World Series titles with the New York Yankees, and was the Rookie of the Year in 1996.

  
  The New York Yankees are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in The Bronx, New York. They play in the American League East division. Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Yankees have selected 46 players in the 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, 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 48 players the Yankees have selected in the first round, 23 were pitchers. Of these, 18 were right-handed and 5 were left-handed. The Yankees have drafted ten outfielders, six shortstops, three catchers, three first basemen, and three third basemen. The team has never drafted a player at second base. The Yankees drafted 29 players out of high school, and drafted 18 players out of college. Eleven of the players came from high schools or colleges in the state of California, and Florida follows with five players. (Full article...)
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  Roberto Alomar leads all second basemen with 10 Gold Glove Award wins.

  
  
  The Gold Glove Award is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), as voted by the managers and coaches in each league. Managers are not permitted to vote for their own players. Eighteen Gold Gloves are awarded each year (with the exception of 1957, 1985, 2007 and 2018), one at each of the nine positions in each league. In 1957, the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position. The award was created from a glove made from gold lamé-tanned leather and affixed to a walnut base. Initially, only one Gold Glove per position was awarded to the top fielder at each position in the entire league; however, separate awards were given for the National and American Leagues beginning in 1958.
  
  Roberto Alomar leads second basemen in wins; he won 10 Gold Gloves in 11 years with three different American League teams. Ryne Sandberg has the second-highest total overall; his nine awards, all won with the Chicago Cubs, are the most by a National League player. Bill Mazeroski and Frank White are tied for the third-highest total, with eight wins. Mazeroski's were won with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and White won his with the Kansas City Royals. Joe Morgan and Bobby Richardson each won five Gold Glove Awards, and four-time winners include Craig Biggio (who won after converting to second base from catcher), Bret Boone, Bobby Grich, Orlando Hudson, Dustin Pedroia, and Brandon Phillips. Hall of Famers who won Gold Gloves at second base include Alomar, Sandberg, Mazeroski, Morgan, Biggio and Nellie Fox. (Full article...)
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  The 1879 Cleveland Blues baseball team

  
  The Cleveland Blues were a professional baseball franchise that operated in the National League (NL), a "major" league, from 1879 until 1884. They were organized by businessmen William Hollinger, and J. Ford Evans in 1878 as the Forest Citys, and played a season as an independent team. The NL expanded from six teams to eight before the 1879 season, and the Forest Citys accepted an invitation to join the league. Evans became their president and stayed in that capacity until C. H. Bulkeley assumed the role in 1882. In their six seasons in the NL, the team never finished higher than third place in the standings. They played their home games in League Park.
  
  For their first season in the NL, the franchise (now named the Blues due to their dark blue uniforms) employed Jim McCormick as the manager as well as the ace of their pitching staff. Cleveland did not fare well, winning just 27 games against 55 losses, with a league-low .223 batting average. The 1880 season was better, however, as the team increased its win total to 47 against 37 losses and a tie, McCormick winning a league-leading 45 of those victories. Over the next two seasons, the team changed the on-field leadership often; employing Mike McGeary and John Clapp as player-managers in 1881, and Fred Dunlap in 1882. The changes did not prove effective as the team was unable to finish higher than fifth place during that span. The team had their best record and highest win total in 1883 under manager Frank Bancroft. On September 13, 1883, Hugh Daily threw the franchise's lone no-hitter. (Full article...)
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  Cy Young is the all-time leader in wins.

  
  In Major League Baseball, the 300-win club is the group of pitchers who have won 300 or more games. Twenty-four pitchers have reached this milestone. This list does not include Bobby Mathews who won 297 in the major leagues plus several more in 1869 and 1870 before the major leagues were established in 1871. Early in the history of professional baseball, many of the rules favored the pitcher over the batter; the distance pitchers threw to home plate was shorter than today, and pitchers were able to use foreign substances to alter the direction of the ball. Moreover, a schedule with rest days after most games allowed pitchers to start a far higher proportion of their team's games than modern pitchers do, typically every other game or even more (in the second half of the 1884 season Old Hoss Radbourn started 40 games out of 43). The first player to win 300 games was Pud Galvin in 1888. Seven pitchers recorded all or the majority of their career wins in the 19th century: Galvin, Cy Young, Kid Nichols, Keefe, John Clarkson, Charles Radbourn, and Welch. Four more pitchers joined the club in the first quarter of the 20th century: Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Eddie Plank, and Grover Cleveland Alexander. Young is the all-time leader in wins with 511, a mark that is considered unbreakable. If a modern-day pitcher won 20 games per season for 25 seasons, he would still be 11 games short of Young's mark.
  
  Only three pitchers—Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, and Early Wynn—joined the 300-win club between 1924 and 1982, which may be explained by a number of factors: the abolition of the spitball; World War II military service, such as Bob Feller's; and the growing importance of the home run in the game. As the home run became commonplace, the physical and mental demands on pitchers dramatically increased, which led to the use of a four-man starting rotation. Between 1982 and 1990, the 300-win club gained six members: Gaylord Perry, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, and Tom Seaver. These pitchers benefited from baseball's increase from a 154-game schedule to a 162-game schedule in 1961, and expansion of the league from 16 teams in 1960 to 26 by 1977. The increased use of specialized relief pitchers, an expanded strike zone, and new stadiums, including Shea Stadium, Dodger Stadium and the Astrodome, that were pitcher's parks all also suppressed offensive production. Also, the increasing sophistication of training methods and sports medicine - such as Tommy John surgery - allowed players to maintain a high competitive level for a longer time. Randy Johnson, for example, won more games in his 40s than he did in his 20s. (Full article...)
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  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...)
• 

  

  Roy Halladay (1995) is the only Blue Jays' first-round pick to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and to win a Cy Young Award with the team.

  
  The Toronto Blue Jays are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They play in the American League East division. Since the Blue Jays' entrance into the league in 1977, the Blue Jays have selected 72 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1976 expansion draft in which the Blue Jays initially filled their roster.
  
  Of the 72 players picked in the first round by Toronto, 35 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 26 of them were right-handed, while nine were left-handed. 14 shortstops, 12 outfielders, four catchers and third basemen, and three first basemen have also been selected. The team has never drafted a player at second base in the first round. 38 players were drafted out of high school, while 31 came from four-year college programs and two from junior colleges. They have also drafted two players from Puerto Rico: Alex Ríos (1999) and Miguel Negrón (2000). (Full article...)
• 

  

  Evan Longoria (2008) is the only Rays' first-round pick to win a Rookie of the Year Award with the team.

  
  The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball franchise based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays (formerly the Tampa Bay Devil Rays) compete in the American League East division. Since the franchise was established in 1995, the Rays have selected 36 players in the 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, 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. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1997 expansion draft in which the Rays filled their roster.
  
  Of the 36 players the Rays have selected in the first round, 10 have been outfielders and 12 have been drafted exclusively as pitchers. Of the 12 pitchers, eight were right-handed and four were left-handed. The Rays have also drafted five shortstops, four third basemen, two catchers, one second baseman, and one first baseman. In addition to these, one player (2017 pick Brendan McKay) was drafted as both a left-handed pitcher and a first baseman. Twenty players were drafted out of high school, 12 were drafted out of four-year colleges, and one was drafted from a junior college. Two players were drafted from Rice University in Houston, Texas in consecutive years. (Full article...)

More did you know

• ... that after future all-star Phil Nevin was taken first overall in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, Houston Astros' scout Hal Newhouser quit, protesting that the club should have taken Derek Jeter instead?
• ... that 21-year-old Danny Duffy's abrupt retirement from the Kansas City Royals organization in 2010 reminded many of when Zack Greinke left the baseball club in 2006?
• ... that Rudy Árias was a replacement player during the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, though he retired as a player in 1979?
• ... that Koji Mitsui was unsuccessfully posted to Major League Baseball twice in one offseason?
• ... that baseball executives thought that Toe Nash was a hoax, similar to Sidd Finch?

Sports portals

Selected picture

Johnny Evers, Hall of Fame second baseman for the Chicago Cubs

John Joseph Evers (July 21, 1883 – March 28, 1947) was a Major League Baseball player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1946. He was born in Troy, New York. He is famously featured in the poem Baseball's Sad Lexicon along with teammates Joe Tinker and Frank Chance.

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